00:00.00
ukrunchat
Hi Liz. Thank you so much for joining us on the Uk Run Chat Podcast today we’re really excited to have you on and just learn a little bit more about you. So do you want to just.

00:09.13
Liz Fraser
Yeah, um, like to be here by the way I’ve just totally interrupted you in the in the first ten seconds of this but I’m so so happy to be doing this because you guys have been absolutely lovely to me and for me and I’ve met loads of read. Love you runners through through UKRunChat so yay for doing this there. We go.

00:24.50
ukrunchat
Yeah, it’s really nice to have you on. We just we want to learn more about our community members. So we thought we’ll get you on. We love seeing all your running posts. Um, find them very motivational. So um I mean you want to just start by telling us just a little bit about you and your running and where it started really.

00:29.22
Liz Fraser
Um.

00:38.50
Liz Fraser
Yeah I’ll be really happy to. Um so I’ve been I haven’t been running as a runner. Um, really until I was about 30 I mean I’m I’ll be fifty this year but before that you know I I ran as a child you know at school on school sports days as we all do. But.

00:57.70
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

00:57.76
Liz Fraser
I was good at it and I liked it and my mom was a runner when she was in her teens and in her into her twenty s and my mom really encouraged running and made us I think all aware of athletics track and field Actually so I think there are many people who grow up you you know, just not connected to that.

01:17.44
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

01:17.87
Liz Fraser
At all. It might be football or it might be rugby or wherever it might be but for us it was athletics and um, that was very much part of our life. We’d go and see aththetics meets occasionally so it wasn’t weird for me to be on an athletics track. For example, that was very normal environment for me and and then I guess yeah after I had my kids in my early twenty s.

01:28.54
ukrunchat
Yeah, yeah.

01:36.31
Liz Fraser
Um I sort of picked up running at that point and you know these races were just starting up as a normal thing something like the race for life I don’t know when that started exactly but I started doing those in about 2000 ish give or take.

01:51.42
ukrunchat
Yeah I think that was my first race actually a race for life. Yes, only isn’t it. Yeah yeah, no more.

01:55.90
Liz Fraser
Yeah, really and they were 5 ks weren’t they in those and it was a real fun run. It was a fun run everybody wore pink and you know raise money and off we went did our five five k and as they just grew and grew and then more and more people started realizing my god you know people love getting involved in in. Fun runs which then became less fun runs and more run runs and um I mean I would love to know the statistics for how many serious or semi-serious to serious runners. There are now compared with twenty years ago I think it would be an absolutely phenomenal increase and how wonderful is that.

02:19.89
ukrunchat
Ah.

02:30.47
ukrunchat
Um, yeah, yeah.

02:34.82
Liz Fraser
So just and just to finish up like where am I now as I’ve been going up through my 40 s and my pace has you know gone 5 k’s are struggling a little but but I’ve got my goals for this year then I started doing tens and then I started doing half marathons I think the first half marathon was. Maybe eight nine years ago something like that in Cambridge and I think it was the first Cambridge half marathon actually I did that one um and discovered that actually you know you you can you can do a pretty decent half marathon when you’ve lost your.

02:57.30
ukrunchat
You.

03:08.50
Liz Fraser
You know your sprinting pace. You can do quite well and I love it and I am very competitive against myself and yeah, why not like I Just you know it’s part of my characters part of my nature just kind of quite slightly driven.

03:08.79
ukrunchat
Nothing.

03:19.64
ukrunchat
Yeah I think I think it’s great I mean how how do you keep motivated then you know what? what kind of drives you to keep going and keep improving.

03:30.66
Liz Fraser
I think 2 things um the first is that I know I always feel better when I’m fitter and when I’m stronger. Um, there has never been a point in my life where doing the work getting fitter again has made me feel less good than I did before. And generally I feel worse when I have become sluggish in not just in my you know sort of myself and physically but my thinking and all of that. So I think that’s the first thing and the second is is genuinely I do actually. When when it’s going well when it’s going well I enjoy it I mean what a feeling is that you know ah people listening to this I’m sure will identify. You know, even if you hit a sweet spot for only 5 minutes out of a 10 k trading run those 5 minutes are very nice.

04:18.53
ukrunchat
Yeah, they are are are they yeah you think it’s clicked. It’s all going. Well yeah yeah.

04:21.89
Liz Fraser
Yeah, yeah, it’s like flying. It’s just like and I think if you’ve never felt that if you’ve never pushed yourself to the moment where you know after six months of trying you suddenly hit a sweet spot. It’s like all the wonderful things in the world just happened in my body right now. Be quite here.

04:41.68
ukrunchat
Ah, when does that usually come is that when you’re kind of pushing yourself hard on intervals because I have that on Tuesday I was doing intervals and I was like the wind in my face and I thought this is brilliant and then it gets harder. But do you feel that when you’re running really fast or is it kind of when you’re in the zone on a tempo run or.

04:46.65
Liz Fraser
Who bit for you.

04:57.73
ukrunchat
And Alum game. Yes.

04:57.78
Liz Fraser
Ah I get both and it’s very different I I think after about 5 k after five k which is slightly annoying when you’re trying to do a park run which is five k and you just get to the end and think oh I’m ready now. But after about 5 k something happens and if I if I actually if I pause at that point just stop.

05:04.87
ukrunchat
Yeah, yeah.

05:15.14
Liz Fraser
Have a stretch I’ll absolutely fly for an hour after that really easy. But yeah I did I did some hill sprints a couple of days ago I did 10 1 and two. It doesn’t really count then always about 3 and 4 I think I’m gonna die guess that he can’t do anymore i. And then I had a couple of beauties I was like yes I was quite good but you got to oh so my my email just came in. Do you hear that when my email comes in very wasn’t even anything interesting either. So yeah.

05:41.86
ukrunchat
Yeah, don’t worry about it Li Yeah, dont worry will just carry on professionally nothing happened there. Yeah, go and so you were saying about your your sweet spot and you’re running So how? how.

05:50.36
Liz Fraser
Yeah.

05:58.92
ukrunchat
You know how are your long runs going at the moment because you’ve got some big goals this year haven’t you and.

06:01.84
Liz Fraser
Well, what I’m doing this year is kind of waking up again. Really I mean you know anyone who’s followed my story you know I’ve been working in the media for 2025 years so you know it’s not me trying to sound grandiose and interesting. But you know there are a lot of people who have read my books or followed my writing or my life over a long period of time. Um and and and that’s lovely for me because I feel like people kind of have come along with me and I’ve I’ve picked up friends along the way. Um, but yeah I think it’s fair to say that the last um. Yeah, seven or eight years of my life have been very very difficult. Um, especially you know a middle block in there and um, really I’ve spent the last two and a half years in in recovery from from very very traumatic things and things which exhausted me and every facet of my life and. And it it takes as long as it takes unfortunately and circumstances can knock that as well and the impact on my running has been profound so I don’t think it’s quite as simple for me to say it’s because I’m older that my running’s got worse. It. It isn’t that it’s been absolutely circumstantial and. If you are mentally exhausted and practically exhausted I was a solo parent for example for 2 years so when when are you supposed to train I mean really when you know I did my best with a running buggy and so on but it was very hard and now my situation is entirely different in a very good way and I feel.

07:16.91
ukrunchat
Um, yeah, yeah.

07:29.46
Liz Fraser
So absolutely like a kind of a re rebirth like like really coming back to myself and and a better version of myself than I’ve ever been and and so yes that that is I think now I’m at a point where I can say I am ready.

07:31.88
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

07:45.20
Liz Fraser
To put running back where it was once for me which was very high up my list of loves I love sport I love fitness and I love the feeling. It gives me um and so I think I think to be honest, however, hard I had tried in the last few years it was never going to happen. But now it can so hence. The goals. Um, my new working goals I’ve started a couple of new you know work blogs and and running is one of them and I’ve decided that in this year that I’m turning 50 I’m going to run my first marathon.

08:16.27
ukrunchat
Oh that’s exciting. So so he done a marathon before he didn’t marathon distance before or what? yeah yeah.

08:21.36
Liz Fraser
Well not really I mean I’ve done it once? um maybe a month ago. Um, almost exactly a month ago actually ah I did I covered the 42 Kiloometer distance. But I stopped several times along the way and it and and it was ah it was sort of an accident I just headed out to see how far I could go.

08:31.62
ukrunchat
Right? yeah.

08:39.99
ukrunchat
Yeah.

08:40.63
Liz Fraser
And it turned into a marathon. So great. Um, but as anyone who’s done that before I’m sure you know we’ll sort of be nodding at this point it’s kind of once you’ve once you’ve done it once you’ve done that distance you go all right? Okay I know what that distance is now maybe I could work to make that better.

08:55.86
ukrunchat
Um, please.

09:00.49
Liz Fraser
Um, so that’s my my big target for later in this year is to run my first marathon. My body doesn’t like it though like it. My knees don’t don’t like it. Do you do you? do you run longer marath.

09:04.00
ukrunchat
Yeah.

09:12.61
ukrunchat
No okay um I run yeah I I run I used to run very long distance um have probably haven’t done long distance since about July I think I’ve been about 2021 miles back in July last year but

09:25.45
Liz Fraser
Um, okay miles. Okay, yeah, Noris a long way.

09:29.71
ukrunchat
Yeah I do find as I’m getting older that it does take its toll and I find it harder because I’ve slowed down a bit and you just out you just out my feet longer and it’s just more tiring for me. Yeah.

09:37.23
Liz Fraser
Yeah, hard aware like as in in your okay you know so it’s not like a physical thing so you know your knees have gone or your hips or something like that. It’s It’s more just generally, you find it more tiring.

09:53.45
ukrunchat
Yeah, it’s the tiring I have had some knee issues this year. But I think that’s down to perimenopause having redlock about hormones and the effect that they can have on your body. Yeah so I suspect it’s that.

09:55.49
Liz Fraser
There.

09:59.31
Liz Fraser
Oh right? Yeah, that’s a whole discussion isn’t it.

10:09.25
ukrunchat
And that’s resolved itself as I’ve been experimenting with different kind of hormone therapies. So I’ve not had that for a while touchwood? Yeah, um, yeah.

10:16.50
Liz Fraser
Wow, that’s really interesting and wow that’s and that’s great to hear that you know something something’s changed for the positive. Oh that’s great I find I certainly find the longer distances. Um I yeah I find them mechanically very changing so I went out yesterday and did.

10:29.35
ukrunchat
And yeah.

10:34.10
Liz Fraser
Twenty Five kilometers yeah um but that was within a week where I’d done Twenty one kilometers five days before honestly my my normal in the last couple of years again only in this period where it’s been very very difficult.

10:35.89
ukrunchat
Yeah.

10:51.45
Liz Fraser
My training runs went from a daily 10 k that was my normal in Cambridge I’d run 10 k almost every day six days a week I’d do that dropped to six seven kilometers maybe 3 times a week to go to 10 that was my long run I mean and that’s been the case for ages. So to suddenly go from that.

10:53.37
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

11:11.21
Liz Fraser
To to a normal run is 10 k and a weekly every week you clock a 21 every week and let’s say every other week I will build towards a marathon length. That’s massively increasing the. The effort that my body’s putting in and and the effect on my body. Oh I slept last night it was like someone had knocked me out but it will yeah it can go like way the thing which held me back was um I drank loads of water when I came in so I needed the lure at night and I was starving.

11:33.40
ukrunchat
Ah, do you sleep? well because sometimes after a long run I have a terrible night’s sleep. And yeah.

11:44.98
ukrunchat
And.

11:46.34
Liz Fraser
I was so hungry I work up but two o’clock and four o’clock both times got off and 8 food. So I think because I’m tiny so I can’t eat huge volumes of food and anyway when you’re running long distances you you know you can’t ingest a lot of food food. You just want the sugar and the kind of the gels and the sweets pocket full of.

11:59.97
ukrunchat
No yeah, yeah, so is that your preferred fueling is that is that gonna you gonna stick with the gels in the the kind of the jelly babies and.

12:05.91
Liz Fraser
Wine comes in a fear.

12:12.51
Liz Fraser
Well yeah, and that was actually I was listening to a couple of runners on ah on on a different podcast recently. So what? you know what is your go to fuel and it’s amazing. How many people just say sweets just a pocketful of sweets. The first time I ever had that was on the wings for life. So I did the I think it was.

12:17.70
ukrunchat
Yes, yes.

12:28.00
Liz Fraser
First ever wings for life in about 2015 or 16 or something in Cambridge in the summer and they had trestle tables this was before covid so you couldn’t do this or but they had tables with piles of wine Gums I just remember thinking I was a bit weird but then yeah just grabbing handfuls and.

12:35.46
ukrunchat
Yes.

12:45.98
ukrunchat
I.

12:46.63
Liz Fraser
Putting them in my mouth and just sugar like pouring down off my chin but it was like yes I need the sugar not the volumes so it was very good but gels Yeah I need to find you got a fake I don’t know I don’t for loudest of name names. But I need to find Yeah, my my best fuel supply that I can.

12:52.17
ukrunchat
Um, yeah, and.

13:01.59
ukrunchat
Yeah, oh well we can certainly ask our followers for some suggestions there I’m sure they’d be happy to yeah to so let us know what what your preferred method of fueling is do let us know.

13:04.31
Liz Fraser
In a pocket and um, one I would love that? yeah yeah yeah I would really like to know that and before and after as well I’m not very I don’t you know I’ve never done carb loading or anything like that. That’s never. Never been a thing for me I think one of the most important things actually pre-races is not to change anything I don’t change my sleep pattern I don’t apart from you know, tapering sure I run less but I don’t eat anything different I think you know, especially when you’re. Reaching 50 I mean but you know your body. My body has not changed really since I was 25 is the same mean same thing. My weight has barely fluctuated and I lost a bit of weight at one point I was rather skinny a couple of years ago but we’re talking. 5%. It’s not um so yeah people so say oh what do you do before a race and how do you like nothing I it the same um and that seems to work really well for me I mean it’s it’s something I don’t really like to say particularly because I don’t want to cause problems. But for people but.

14:04.90
ukrunchat
Yeah.

14:17.83
Liz Fraser
There is no doubt that the fastest I ran was when I was the lightest um you you know it’s just I mean you know look look at ultra runners that you look at the look at the world’s best marathon runners. They don’t carry anything. They’re Kenyan and ethiopian and you know what? very very skinny.

14:21.10
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

14:25.49
ukrunchat
Um, yes, yeah.

14:37.62
Liz Fraser
Guinea people and and the bottom line is yeah when I’m when I’m not carrying extra and I have a very high muscle to weight ratio then I run my best and I’m okay with that so long as it’s healthy so long as I’m eating healthy. My body’s functioning Well then that’s.

14:48.45
ukrunchat
Yes.

14:57.90
Liz Fraser
How I like to feel and how I like to perform.

14:58.80
ukrunchat
Yeah, that’s good to hear fit. We just we need to make sure we are fueling ourselves Well don’t we we don’t need to be eating extra. We just need to be fueling Well and yeah.

15:02.41
Liz Fraser
Yes, yeah, we need to be fueling well and we need to be listening to who we are and what our bodies need because there will be people who run at their best when they are Heavier. You know when they’re bulkier when they have more muscle. Because they are more of a you know an ectomorph than an endomorph or whatever it is you know I know my body shape and size and so if anybody tries to emulate what I do if somebody tries to copy what I do it might not work for them at all and isn’t that one of the most important things about you know, doing any sort of sport at any level.

15:25.40
ukrunchat
Yes.

15:40.68
Liz Fraser
Is it’s coming to the understanding of your body and what works for you. Why is that so complicated right people or is have to compare and go oh this person does that I’ll do that too. Why is it not working for me. It’s like well because you’re not the same person. So layo.

15:56.22
ukrunchat
Yeah, it’s very much trial and error isn’t it when you’re training like that for a lot for long distance. It’s just finding what works for you and using that training wisely to experiment really and try different things. Yeah yeah.

16:07.28
Liz Fraser
Yeah, ah definitely I mean I can go a long way on a you know packet of almonds. You know it works for me. It gives me good fats and I mean I’m a fat consumer So I like oil fish oily fish I drink olive oil. Um.

16:16.79
ukrunchat
Yeah.

16:22.88
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

16:25.22
Liz Fraser
Right out of the bottle. Um, and that’s how I work whereas some people crave sugar and Donughutts and and cakes and stuff I I don’t like that stuff I Oh ah well yeah, well we put chocolate in its own bracket chocolate goes in the sex bracket. That’s like it’s a whole other thing but.

16:30.73
ukrunchat
Yeah, yeah I think having that cam chocolate please live. Ah.

16:40.12
ukrunchat
Um, yeah, ah yeah, absolutely yeah, so you venture muscle that talk to me about kind of strength training. Do you do any of.

16:43.77
Liz Fraser
It’s just wonderful essential. It’s essential life life formed. Ah.

16:57.72
ukrunchat
Um, kind of weightlifting or any kind of strength straining too talk to us a little bit about that.

17:01.11
Liz Fraser
Yeah, yes I do I do and I love it I absolutely love it and um, you know I’ve been doing it for. Do you know what? you lose a decade. Don’t you every time I think I’m about to say ten years I mean 20 years I’ve been doing it for about 20 years

17:11.39
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

17:19.40
Liz Fraser
Class and um, when I So I said you know when I started going to to the gym to do weights as in not to go to the gym to do aerobic stuff but to do weights I was one of the only women in there. It was really unusual and um. And not very welcoming particularly gyms were not pretty places as they are now and not welcoming as they thank God You know they are now um, but it was very often a thing of you know women don’t want to bulk up. You know I don’t want to get really big and musclely I’m not quite sure how many weights I’d ever have to do to get big and Muscley but I think.

17:43.37
ukrunchat
Yes.

17:50.97
ukrunchat
Yes, yeah, a lot. Yeah yeah.

17:51.83
Liz Fraser
Don’t think it’s ever gonna happen to me I’m tiny I am a tiny person but that ah is did you I Assume you do weights right? and pretty isn’t it just the best though. Ah I love it I Love it so much and I love.

17:59.92
ukrunchat
Yes, yeah, yeah, it is. It’s a good feeling. Yeah.

18:10.20
Liz Fraser
Feel and look of my body when it is supertoned um and again that has most definitely that lost. Um quite a lot in the last few years um but how quickly you can get it back. So if you if you’ve. Done the training like long long term just this is part of your everyday life just as you brush your teeth twice a day so you do weight training twice a week or 3 times a week whatever um if that is a part of your life. Then even if you go through a period of illness or whatever or pregnancy or practical. You can’t do it. Muscle memories there and only I think it must have been not more than about three weeks ago um I just decided I’d had enough actually of the way my body felt and because it’s not a body that I was enjoying living in I didn’t recognize myself I saw some pictures of myself swimming in the sea. And I remember thinking who’s that that’s not me. That’s not what I’ve ever looked like and I put I started putting the work in before Christmas and honestly the change is when I say putting the work in what do I mean by that. Okay, so every morning plank.

19:24.82
ukrunchat
Yeah, okay, and.

19:26.64
Liz Fraser
Every morning and I used to do a 5 minute plank every morning and I stopped doing it planks. You know if I when I get up from a working break. Just do some crunches. Do some side planks I’ve been doing the work in the gym. And it’s like my body’s coming back sort of underneath this other body was my body. It’s is my body hi yeah, it’s really nice. Yeah, and and I feel like stand different and I smile more and I laugh more and I’m working better and I’m happier. Um.

19:42.78
ukrunchat
Yeah, but you got that mental image of who you were and it was still there and you’ve kind of unwrapped yourself again. Yeah, like ah yeah.

19:57.11
ukrunchat
Yes.

20:00.42
Liz Fraser
And again it’s winter. You know we all hibernate and I get that um I kind of build up towards Christmas November December is always a bit you know, but um, but the but the positive the point is that you know when you build weight training into your normal part of your life. The positive response to that.

20:05.70
ukrunchat
Yeah, yeah.

20:19.12
Liz Fraser
In Mental Health terms in how you look and how you feel and then how you perform running is absolutely amazing and it happens so quickly any of these things which say just 10 minutes a day of this believe it 10 minutes a day of of of weight. Even if it’s your own body weight. Um.

20:30.14
ukrunchat
Yeah, works does there? Yeah yeah.

20:38.86
Liz Fraser
You know that you know sort of core exercise that stuff makes a huge difference. Yes, we might.

20:39.94
ukrunchat
Yeah, so what kind of impact does that have when you’re running then because there’s probably people out there are thinking I should do it I’m not quite sure I need it. You know what? what impact does it have.

20:51.55
Liz Fraser
It’s almost like it’s almost like saying if you had a car you know what impact does it have having it more streamlined with you know, better fuel and better tires. It’s like this is the basis. You know and winter winter training is what is it. It’s it’s it’s Strength. It’s strength training so that you can go and have your glory runs in the scene the summer with you when yeah little running bra on feeling great. Um, but but seriously ah you know what’s a war. Seriously um, the impact on running.

21:11.15
ukrunchat
Yeah, yes.

21:26.47
Liz Fraser
Of of actual strength and proper weight training is enormous when I run really? well it comes from my core when I’ve said this for years and people like oh isn’t it all about legs I’m like well no because I mean your legs are always going to be strong and you know if you’re running a lot and you do some weight training in your legs but when my core is strong.

21:31.12
ukrunchat
Um, yes.

21:45.86
Liz Fraser
Um, I feel that each pace it’s like I’ve got ah like an elastic from my core pulling me forward and if you okay so another thing that I haven’t done for a while but I used to do and actually now I Really want to do it right? now is watch beautiful runners watch. Oh.

21:51.97
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

22:01.79
ukrunchat
Tough.

22:05.80
Liz Fraser
God isn’t it good and you watch them and I used to watch so many you know, even if you go right back to um chariot to fire. You know there was a film that I used to watch over and over again when I was very very young. We used to watch you know the Olympics.

22:13.69
ukrunchat
Yes.

22:23.75
Liz Fraser
You remember 202012 right the whole country went sports athletics mad in 2012 it was fantastic and I’m sure it’s because we all sat at home watching people running and we all went I want to do that you know I want that feeling watch people running and when you run.

22:26.72
ukrunchat
Um, yes, ah yes.

22:35.55
ukrunchat
You have.

22:41.67
Liz Fraser
I remember when I was trying to run better and it worked I used to just pretend that I was mofara like Bemo Farah and I just felt so good I was like yeah I can do this I would run faster. So.

22:50.10
ukrunchat
Um, little bit.

23:00.68
Liz Fraser
Whatever works for you? Um, but we are like anything else that you’re trying to improve at if you want to be a better writer. You know, read read more good books and and study that study that if you want to be a better runner watch people who do it better than you and.

23:12.10
ukrunchat
And yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah I did that I mean even going to partner I Love going to partner and just watching a whole range of runners come in because everybody’s you know all shapes and sizes everybody runs totally different. It’s fascinatingimating.

23:19.47
Liz Fraser
And do that thing.

23:26.57
Liz Fraser
Um, my new name.

23:29.91
Liz Fraser
You know and actually yeah that that is that is such a good point that I’ve sort of gone off into the sort of you know, running your very very very best and blah blah blah. But um I started park gruns just very recently I think I’ve done 5 in my life. Um.

23:43.20
ukrunchat
Yes.

23:46.41
Liz Fraser
And it was one of the it is one of the loveliest things about parkran you know is is to to really appreciate a that if you can run well how lucky that is that you know not everybody. You know, not everybody can do that? Um, but also just how much joy. Anybody gets from running however fast or however, far that yeah there was just is. There’s so much joy and enjoyment even the walkers. You know there are people walking and you go running past on your second lap and they’re still walking halfway around the first step but they’re out and they’re chatting and they’re having a great time and um.

24:16.50
ukrunchat
Yes.

24:20.63
Liz Fraser
Yeah,, that’s so important to remember it is absolutely you know your your goals and your targets are your own and that kind of brings us you know into a whole conversation about about the non supportive sort of. Vibe that can be out there some sort of a critical voice of people. Oh you’re running too much and you know and um I think we need to be so careful of that not to listen to that where where if if.

24:40.30
ukrunchat
Yes.

24:51.76
Liz Fraser
If you are in a group of people who don’t understand why you run or want to run better then you move into a different room or have different groups of people have that group of people because you hang out and you talk about other things that if you really want to improve your running and enjoy your running. You’ve got to be talking with people who love running to otherwise it’s.

24:57.20
ukrunchat
Yeah.

25:08.90
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

25:11.23
Liz Fraser
It. It’s not. It’s just not going to prell you forward and and let you enjoy what you enjoy.

25:14.89
ukrunchat
Yeah I think that’s absolutely crucial and I think that kind of leads us into not comparing yourself to other people as well in terms of pace and you know number of runs you’re doing because you know, especially with social media.

25:30.69
Liz Fraser
Talk about that.

25:32.40
ukrunchat
If you’re putting on there What you’re doing there’ll always be somebody telling you you’re doing it wrong or you need to be doing things now. Yeah.

25:35.68
Liz Fraser
Or that they went out faster. It’s difficult though isn’t it the difference between comparing yourself with other people and being inspired by other people to do better you know because yeah, you know is it.

25:43.42
ukrunchat
Yes, yeah, it’s a fine line sometimes isn’t it. Yeah.

25:50.42
Liz Fraser
So bad for me to scroll through Instagram and obviously I follow loads of running accounts like we all do which is pretty much all it shows me now is mountains and running it’s wonderful. Um, but you know I get real benefit from that it doesn’t make me feel lazy. It makes me feel.

25:54.70
ukrunchat
Yes.

26:05.38
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

26:09.50
Liz Fraser
Yeah, yeah I want to go out and and do that So it’s not a and not a negative comparison thing. It’s more an inspiration a motivation um to to go out is that funny though you see we wouldn’t say the same about you know home decoration. You wouldn’t.

26:17.40
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

26:22.82
ukrunchat
No.

26:24.84
Liz Fraser
You wouldn’t say to someone. Oh you know you keep looking at all these pictures of people painting their walls a different color and now you need to well maybe you would but it but it can inspire you and it can inform you and you can go Actually yeah I do I do want to do that to my house or ever um I’m just all for people sharing.

26:31.47
ukrunchat
You know.

26:42.51
ukrunchat
Yes, yeah.

26:42.73
Liz Fraser
Being happy about what they love doing. That’s just the loveliest thing in any walk of life and um, the running community is is particularly very supportive though isn’t it I mean it is is lovely much more so than let’s say the parenting community can sometimes be or.

26:50.66
ukrunchat
Yes, it is yes yes.

27:00.45
Liz Fraser
In the creative industries you know sometimes we can be quite um, protective over our ideas or you know whereas running community Everybody just wants to share positive stuff and encourage each other I Love it I Love it.

27:04.97
ukrunchat
Okay, yeah.

27:11.50
ukrunchat
Yeah, yeah, that’s a good point actually so so the because you’re a writer I mean how do those 2 worlds those 2 loves of yours crossover you you did you? You mentioned your writing a bit more about running have you got any any more plans.

27:27.13
Liz Fraser
I Am thank you for mentioning it I can now direct you all to my through my new running blog. Ah I have started something called the running diaries. What an original title? Um, but um I’m going to start just diarying my journey to the marathon.

27:30.33
ukrunchat
Oh yes.

27:38.51
ukrunchat
Um.

27:41.58
ukrunchat
Town.

27:43.47
Liz Fraser
But going right back to when I started running my first my first post about that will be in fact, this week um of when I was a very young child and they’re just the beginnings of my running I want to talk about running all around the world and different runs that people can do I will be interviewing other runners I have a very particular interest in running. Um, for mental health and more particularly even for trauma recovery and Adhd and pd ptsd um, all of which I have I have luckily not luckily that all of which I have experience with um and there is a very strong.

28:10.90
ukrunchat
Okay. Yes, okay.

28:20.95
Liz Fraser
Link and and there’s more and more work being done in it between the benefits of the particular movement of running this repetitive movement and and Adhd and ptsd and the good things it can do for a brain that has been changed. Um.

28:37.70
ukrunchat
Yeah.

28:40.18
Liz Fraser
For various reasons or which is just functioning and in in a way you know that makes various things difficult and the the action of running can really help that and so I’m going to be writing a book about that. Um sort of as as time goes on and I and I really want to talk to people. Who have found that running in particular is something which has helped them not just with mental health generally and with depression anxiety but more specifically with with um with ptsd and with Adhd because there’s there’s not enough.

29:02.76
ukrunchat
Yeah.

29:08.15
ukrunchat
Are. Now.

29:13.67
Liz Fraser
There’s not enough written about it actually and when you start talking with people about it. A lot of people come forward and say yes I find that and there are very good reasons for that and that’s what I want to be writing more about um and okay and just connecting with the community. So it’s zom substack by the way. So if people go to a thing or go to go to my profile am I allowed to say this at this point.

29:23.95
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

29:29.53
ukrunchat
Yeah, you can say that? yeah you I was gonna ask you at the end anyway. So we might as well do it anywhere. That’s fine.

29:36.78
Liz Fraser
Yeah, ah, okay, well well maybe you’ll check it up on the on the info. But if people go to my my profile which is my handle is lizf fraser 1 on Twitter and Instagram and there’ll be links on there to my substa to to the running diaries and the Venice Diaries um because I also live.

29:41.44
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

29:51.77
Liz Fraser
But partly in Venice in italy and I do a lot of running there and people don’t think of Venice as a place to run and it’s actually fantastic place to run. Oh yeah, oh where did you? where did you live roughly.

29:55.88
ukrunchat
Oh know, yeah, talk to us a little bit about that then I’ve never and and I lived in italy for a while but I wasn’t runner I wasn’t a run event. So I’ve never done any running over there and um I lived in Pascaro which is in aloar which is kind of.

30:11.83
Liz Fraser
Oh yeah, oh a brick so is gorgeous, very rural and very mountainous and yeah, yeah, well I moved to Venice in 2018 and then moved back again a year later but and so now I come and go between the two. So I live.

30:14.80
ukrunchat
Ah, the south yeah Berry Mountain is beautiful. Yeah I’ve never been to Venice that tell us about Venice.

30:30.95
ukrunchat
Yeah.

30:31.94
Liz Fraser
Partly in the yeah uk and and partly um, here in Venice and it’s well I mean it’s it’s a city like everybody knows it’s got gondolas and canals and bridges. But um, it’s it’s an incredible place very close to the Dynammites which is a mountain range just to the north of Venice. Um, and we have an island called Lido which is.

30:41.60
ukrunchat
Yeah.

30:50.26
Liz Fraser
So fifteen kilometers long and flat. So if you want to do a beautiful flat half marathon draining Lido is your place and I also run over the bridges at night. So if you run through venice at night up and over bridges you you know for a start, you’re having the most incredible tourist experience. But you’re also running so going forward I um.

30:59.10
ukrunchat
Perfect. Ah.

31:04.90
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

31:09.77
Liz Fraser
Um, hoping to run running retreats in Venice actually and get groups of people to come over and we’ll run Venice because then you get the best of the best of everything really you’re doing what you’re doing in a really beautiful place. It’s hard on the feet. Um Venice is made of stone pretty much. It’s all.

31:19.10
ukrunchat
Yeah, this sounds amazing. Yes, um.

31:24.53
ukrunchat
Um, yes.

31:27.62
Liz Fraser
Stones labs but there’s a very strong running community out there and that’s another lovely thing. You know when you travel and you know I was in Amnesy which is near geneva but it’s it in France a couple of times over the summer and you know the running community in that you know.

31:35.00
ukrunchat
Um, you.

31:45.80
Liz Fraser
Shammoni and and geneva and ansy. It was fantastic and people would kind of pull you in and go come on you want to come for this run. Let’s go for this run all right great to know So I Really love the international aspect of running.

31:56.72
ukrunchat
Yeah, no.

32:01.90
Liz Fraser
And that you you know you can enter a marathon anywhere in the world and build into a holiday and it does. Yeah, there’s a marathon at the end of October um I ran the ten k the Venice. So Venice Marathon has a 10 k at the beginning of it. Um, and I ran that one in 2018

32:03.49
ukrunchat
Yeah, you can I mean Venice has its own marathon of course doesn’t it. Yeah yeah.

32:13.37
ukrunchat
Yes.

32:19.32
Liz Fraser
Um, which was before they’d built the flood barrier and so we came in first obviously because we were the 10 k but by the time the marathon finishes were coming in they were knee-deep in water because the floods were really bad that year. So that’s so you know that always adds a bit of a bit of difference a bit of fun.

32:26.75
ukrunchat
Oh wow.

32:37.34
Liz Fraser
I quite like to do Berlin like everybody wants to do Berlin um I have no draw particularly to New York or Chicago or sort of um you know like a big big big commitment like that to one of the really big ones I think that sounds a bit overwhelming to me but I always watch with great awe.

32:37.81
ukrunchat
Yeah, and.

32:56.53
Liz Fraser
Um, people who do it, you know and and commit to that and trouble is the thing is I’d go all the way over there and then I’d get a stomach cake or something or you know achilles Tendonitis about that whole thing would be scuppered but big guilty. Yeah.

32:56.78
ukrunchat
Um, yeah, yeah.

33:08.26
ukrunchat
Yeah, it’s a lot of pressure isn’t it I think will you choose a smaller marathon for your first manathon more a people one have you.

33:13.72
Liz Fraser
I have already chosen I have entered I have my race entry and I have a running partner who’s going to run it with me which is going to make it really exciting actually because I’m not going to tell you where it is yet. You have to know the running diaries and a certain point.

33:21.23
ukrunchat
Exploit. Yeah, no, okay yeah, we can do that bit of intrigue.

33:32.81
Liz Fraser
I’m gonna drop the big bomb shelf see. But so I run alone you know I like running alone I know that a lot of my running friends are the same generally. It’s for um, practical reasons to be honest I I.

33:40.73
ukrunchat
Um, in.

33:45.15
ukrunchat
Yes.

33:47.98
Liz Fraser
I tried to commit to a running club several times but the meets were always at times when I couldn’t go or I couldn’t get child care or it was like didn’t work for me. Ah, or so yeah I worked freelance I’d be called into the Tv thing in London so I couldn’t do it so I run. Only when it works for me isn’t that one of the greatest things about running. You’re not letting anybody down I used to be a cox for a rowing crew when I was at Cambridge and um, you know you couldn’t not turn up because if 1 person doesn’t turn up then that’s 9 people who another 8 people have just been knocked out of their day.

34:04.21
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

34:15.76
ukrunchat
Yeah.

34:21.66
Liz Fraser
Whereas I Love the independence of running the piece I don’t want to talk and run I want to run and either run and think or run and not think but I think for a marathon it feels slightly different that it will be very nice to have somebody. Um you know to encourage you on the tough days and say right come on. We’re gonna do a really.

34:23.12
ukrunchat
Um, you.

34:41.28
Liz Fraser
Pretty big one this week or you know let’s take a rest day that will be very good for me to have somebody read.

34:45.11
ukrunchat
Okay, that’s interesting. Yeah yeah, so you’re gonna do your training together then is that the plan or follow the kind of same plan. Yes, individually. Yeah.

34:52.22
Liz Fraser
Ah, we’ll be doing the training together but remote like but not always but in the same geographical and but you know I would say so well they um this person is also Team G B level kind of athletes so way above my level um in their own field. But.

35:02.69
ukrunchat
Yeah, okay.

35:09.84
Liz Fraser
I Just I think I just am so enjoying the the community spirit of it all but to have somebody to tell me to take a rest day will be really good for me I’m very bad at rest days which you know you know are so important. Um.

35:27.73
ukrunchat
Um, yeah, yeah, and.

35:29.81
Liz Fraser
Or I’m quite bit of varying I’m quite a good all round you know and especially in the summer I’ll go swimming um sort of really sort of mix it up a little bit or even I’ll just do some I’ll do ballet dancing at home. So you know you can I can I can just do some ballet and and that oh my goodness.

35:43.14
ukrunchat
Yeah.

35:48.69
Liz Fraser
You want to stretch your glutes. Ah yeah that that gets my glute So like what just happened there. Oh right? Okay, that’s a muscle I don’t use when I’m running um ah ballet dance is not the most incredible at all round athletes that exist I mean you know I’m terrible terrible a ballet but it’s some.

35:49.73
ukrunchat
That’s a good stretch I can imagine. Yeah yeah, ah.

36:01.97
ukrunchat
Absolutely Yes, yes. Yeah, and as long as you’re having fun. That’s the main thing. Yeah so I mean what does your have you kind of written out your marathon plan that what does it look like what kind of things and oh if you picked up any tips yet your training buddy that you can share with us.

36:08.60
Liz Fraser
But it’s good for the stretching and well yeah, yeah.

36:20.68
Liz Fraser
Ah, yeah, well I I laugh because I am well known in all my running community friends as the person who has no plan I have no plan and this is actually part of the reason one of the really attractive things for me of doing this marathon is because I’ve got to have a plan that’s it.

36:29.35
ukrunchat
Okay, and.

36:36.61
ukrunchat
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

36:39.64
Liz Fraser
Um, so my mantra and I was writing this on my blog recently this year the 2 words are consistency and discipline. That’s it. So it’s like the plank. It’s every day you do it I don’t care that you aren’t 5 minutes late for work. You’re gonna get down there and you’re gonna do your plank.

36:47.50
ukrunchat
Oh yes I love it. Yeah.

36:58.84
Liz Fraser
Um, and again it just comes back to that kind of that sluggishness that laziness of thinking and of being and so in everything that I do you know making the phone call to your parents. It’s it’s everything consistency and discipline and do it as an experiment. This is an experimental year for me what happens.

37:07.37
ukrunchat
Yes.

37:12.83
ukrunchat
Um, yeah.

37:15.79
Liz Fraser
If I do things differently to how I usually do them and when I get to the end of the year. What impact will have that have had on me my life my work my income my social life and my running. Um, so there will be a plan. Yeah, the marathons are we way off. So it’s not. It’s not like it’s.

37:26.64
ukrunchat
Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, gave a while.

37:33.40
Liz Fraser
Month I’ve got I’ve got time and I will have a plan and I would love please to hear from you guys people listening you know what is the best marathon training plan that you followed what is the best app to be on or the best you know. Instagram profile to follow or what because I really want to to a little bit do as I’m told this time and go all right? This person says do that I’m gonna do that it goes against the grain so high. So strongly I can’t tell you.

37:56.98
ukrunchat
Yeah, okay, yeah.

38:08.63
ukrunchat
It’s nice to try something different. There is an air and you know that that might pay off and you might you know you might have an amazing marathon and who knows you don’t know and unless you try to? yeah.

38:16.47
Liz Fraser
Um, I might you never know to use right? And what I do know So I’m quite good on that looking at like let’s look at actual facts here. The actual facts is that I’m not running as well as I could as well as I used to and as as well as I’d like to be so if I just take that as that’s that’s that’s the status quo.

38:23.40
ukrunchat
And thanks.

38:34.88
Liz Fraser
I want to change that status quo. It’s not going to change if I don’t change anything and given that I am very stuck in my ways if I if I devote myself to doing things differently. Let’s see if it doesn’t work is a year of my life gone. Is fine I’ll go back to just my haphazard way of living ha.

38:57.85
ukrunchat
Ah, we’ll we’ll look forward to hearing how it goes and we’ll keep an eye on your blog that list for updates. Yeah.

39:02.68
Liz Fraser
Thank you very much and um I think one of the loveliest things about V Blogs particularly is that you know people do interact and and do write and um and I would love to come on and and host another Uk Run chat um a few guys again at some point because I love doing that and every time I do it So many people.

39:17.55
ukrunchat
Yeah.

39:18.30
Liz Fraser
You know, come wine way and we enter these albeit brief conversations. But some of them have now lasted I think the last one I did was over a year ago till just recently and I was in touch with some of those people. So yeah, you have a great great running community on there and I really enjoy it. So thank you for that? um.

39:24.64
ukrunchat
Yeah, oh that’s incredible. Isn’t it. That’s the power of Community really isn’t it. Yeah.

39:38.30
Liz Fraser
Yeah, and I know a lot of other people who follow it and get get a lot from it. So that’s great.

39:40.14
ukrunchat
Yeah, yeah, well, it’s been absolutely wonderful learning a bit more about you Liz and chatting to you today. So thank you so much. Can you just remind all our listeners where they can find you on social media. No no real life.

39:51.42
Liz Fraser
Yeah, please don’t come and find me I don’t want to be found but you can find this this week I’m usually running around somewhere and my social media handle is Liz Fraser 1 so l I said f r I s e r and then the number one and my substack is.

39:59.94
ukrunchat
Yes.

40:10.96
Liz Fraser
Running diaries and the Venice Diaries of which there will be overlap so come and find me come and chat to me come and connect with me and come and make me a better runner. Please thanks! Very much.

40:19.91
ukrunchat
Yeah I will we’ll look forward to seeing more of your joyful running photos and those beautiful photos of Venice that you’re always sharing. So thank you.

40:27.25
Liz Fraser
Thank you very much.

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