This episode is sponsored by ASICS, and throughout September we're celebrating the best athletes in the world taking part in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where as the official sponsor of the championships,

ASICs are aiming to celebrate the power of sport to unite people, lift spirits and spread positivity.

A lot of athletes who will be lining up on the world stage this year have a lot of pressure on them, not only to perform, but also the pressure of the media, social media, a lot of which can be

really negative. And what ASEX are doing is providing care and support for athletes' well-being

so that they can turn up in the best possible shape, both physically and mentally. Yeah, it's a

programme for ASEX-sponsored, and a happy athlete is a fast athlete.

Luckily for me, I didn't really have to deal with social media that much.

It was in its infancy when I was competing.

But I did feel that external pressure and worry about what people were saying about me.

So I needed to feel supported and looked after.

And ultimately, as a caregiver brand brand i do think it's amazing what

assix is doing for its athletes this episode is sponsored by ennator and their shop absorbing insoles

rick this sounds like a bit of you well it does because they absorb over half of the force of each

foot strike and what i like about these things I can just flip them from shoe to shoe.

Yeah, you love wearing a different pair of shoes and you are a force of nature. So anything

that can absorb that force is definitely worth it in your book. Yeah. And the nice thing is

they're also clinically shown to relieve pain, including planter fasciitis pain. Anything that can

help that pain because it is so annoying. To honestly, it's painful enough to even spell that. It is. I don't think I ever successfully have managed to spell it. But if you want to get your hands on a pair of shock-absorbing insoles from Ennator, then use our code the running channel to get 15% off at Ennator.com for the next two weeks. This episode is sponsored by Cliff Bar. Andy, did you know that Cliff Bar was actually created in Gary's Mum's Kitchen in 1992? I love the idea of it being found in the kitchen. I didn't know that. I am familiar with Cliff Bar, though. I spent loads of time competing as a pro in the US where Cliff Bar are huge. You can buy them everywhere. And I would regularly grab them for before my training, sometimes during and then after after as well I love grabbing one before I get on a plane I think so often we're talking about nutrition within racing or within running but actually it's so important as well to think about how are you fueling yourself outside of that more important for me than for you because I have to deal with you being hungry on a long flight yeah I always need a snack in my bag my bag. In terms of the ingredients, there's a balance of carbohydrate. It's an energy bar, but also protein and fibre, which is cool. Did you know it contains phosphorus? So this helps maintain metabolism, and it supports your body's natural energy production. So if you want to check out Cliff Bar, head to eU.com. That's clyf with 1F. and you can learn more about their bars today. Also, use code TRC to get a discount.

This is the Running Channel podcast with Andy Badley, a former Olympian, Sarah Hartley,

who turns up when she likes. Rick Kelsey, journalist, chatterbox, you know, gets around a bit.

Someone who speaks about himself in the third person.

You do that every week, mate. You do that every week. Today we are talking about joy, grief and

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