Coach Bennett's Podcast

Episode 156: LIVE From Nike: Finding the Joy in Running With Brett Chody, Deepa Ramprasad and Kaytlin Lam
Recorded live in front of an audience at Philip H. Knight Campus) Coach Chris Bennett and producer Emily Abbate celebrate the After Dark Tour and the power of women’s running communities. Joined by Deepa Ramprasad (Senior Director, Nike Road Running Footwear), Brett Chody (Global Nike Running Creator & Founder of Bites Run Club), and Kaytlin Lam (Global Brand Management Specialist, Nike Running), the squad explores how running builds relationships, breaks down intimidation barriers, and creates spaces where every runner belongs.
HIGHLIGHTS
Running as a Relationship: Coach Bennett highlights how running mirrors an evolving personal relationship—from awkward first steps to finding lifelong joy and routine.
Overcoming Self-Doubt & Building Community: Brett Chody discusses why starting lines can feel intimidating and how inclusive run clubs give new runners the community and confidence to keep showing up.
The Energy of the After Dark Tour: Caitlyn Lam shares her journey from dancer to half-marathoner, reflecting on the electric, supportive atmosphere of her first After Dark race.
Footwear Insights & "Benefits Don’t Discriminate": Deepa Ramprasad breaks down Nike’s core road-running lineup (Pegasus, Vomero, Structure) and emphasizes that premium cushioning and support belong to every runner, regardless of pace or experience level.
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AFTER DARK TOUR SERIES
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Episode 155: Own Your Pace With Intisar Abdul-Kader
Every runner has a moment when someone else sees something in them before they see it in themselves. For Intisar Abdul-Kader, that moment came in a school gym, when a PE teacher who also happened to be her science teacher told her the team needed another runner for the mixed 4x400 relay. She trusted him, she ran, and she never looked back.
This episode covers a lot of ground including track in Abu Dhabi and cross country in the woods outside London after her family moved when she was 13. A multiple sclerosis diagnosis three days after her 23rd birthday, and the walk, then the jog, then the 5K, then the marathon that followed. She's now completed all six World Majors, run largely on the strength of ballot entries she didn't even realize were building toward that goal until a stranger told her so in a Chicago hotel lobby.
We talk about what it means to run as a hijab-wearing Muslim woman on the world stage, why doing less is so often the harder and more important choice, and how she measures a good run by nothing more complicated than whether she'd go back and do it again (her answer, every time, is yes).
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________________________________________________________________________
AFTER DARK TOUR SERIES
If you have a question or story for the special After Dark Tour series of episodes please leave me a voicemail by tapping this sentence. 
Send us a message
My book This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running. is now available for pre-order!
USA readers can pre-order my book by clicking this sentence. 
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________________________________________________________________________
AFTER DARK TOUR SERIES
If you have a question or story for the special After Dark Tour series of episodes please leave me a voicemail by tapping this sentence. 
__________________________________________________________________________
Be sure to send any and all questions and comments for Coach Bennett to the mailbag:
Coach Bennett’s Podcast 
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Your Running Glossary With Coach Lydia O’Donnell
What do "tempo," "fartlek," and "recovery run" actually mean? Coach Bennett is joined by Nike Running Pacific Head Coach Lydia O'Donnell to break down the running terminology that can feel intimidating to new runners and explain why it doesn't have to be.
Coach Lydia shares how her mom and high school coach sparked a lifelong love of running, why community has shaped every step of her coaching career, and how her own experience with RED-S inspired her to co-found FEMMI, a global women's running community focused on education, confidence, and sustainable training. Together, Coach Bennett and Coach Lydia discuss the importance of understanding your body, building confidence through running, and why easy runs are just as valuable as hard workouts.
They also dive into the purpose behind recovery runs, tempo runs, intervals, fartleks, and long runs, plus Coach Lydia shares the workout she dreads most and the one pair of shoes she never travels without.
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Cheers and thank you for listening to the episode,
Coach Bennett
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________________________________________________________________________
AFTER DARK TOUR SERIES
If you have a question or story for the special After Dark Tour series of episodes please leave me a voicemail by tapping this sentence. 
__________________________________________________________________________
Be sure to send any and all questions and comments for Coach Bennett to the mailbag:
Coach Bennett’s Podcast 
57 South Main Street #215, Neptune, NJ 07753
Be sure to check out the Two Coach Bennetts Merch Store for t-shirts, hoodies, coffee mugs, pint glasses and more! - https://twocoachbennetts.com/merch...

Episode 153. Telling the Story of a Run Using 80's Song Titles
What can I say? I love 80's music. I love telling stories. And I love running. Seems like the perfect combination to give myself the excuse to mix them all up together for an episode of Coach Bennett's Podcast. This one was a fun one to make and because I love all of you so much I decided to make a companion playlist that you can listen to on your runs or in traffic or while you cook or party or shower or dance. No need to thank me for creating your new favorite music playlist. Just promise me that you'll share this episode with someone you care about and share this sport of ours with them too. 
Cheers and thank you for listening,
Coach Bennett
Listen to the companion music playlist here on Spotify
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Send us a message
My book This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running. is now available for pre-order!
USA readers can pre-order my book by clicking this sentence. 
FREE POSTER CAMPAIGN for US residential pre-orders 
GLOBAL/INTERNATIONAL readers can pre-order my book by clicking this sentence.
________________________________________________________________________
AFTER DARK TOUR SERIES
If you have a question or story for the special After Dark Tour series of episodes please leave me a voicemail by tapping this sentence. 
__________________________________________________________________________
Be sure to send any and all questions and comments for Coach Bennett to the mailbag:
Coach Bennett’s Podcast 
57 South Main Street #215, Neptune, NJ 07753
Be sure to check out the Two Coach Bennetts Merch Store for t-shirts, hoodies, coffee mugs, pint glasses and more! - https://twocoachbennetts.com/merch...

Every runner has a starting line that didn't look like a starting line. For Lilia Martinez, hers looked like a dance floor. Ballet first, then tap, then jazz, the thing that finally stuck because it gave her room to move without a script. Running wasn't the plan. It showed up later, the way a lot of meaningful things do, in the form of a New Year's resolution with roommates and a half marathon she signed up for without fully understanding what she'd agreed to.
That's basically the whole theme of this one. Saying yes before you feel ready. Lilia talks about training through the Nike Run Club app, learning the sport from scratch with a coach on the other side of a screen in Mexico, and slowly building the kind of belief that doesn't stay contained to running. That belief turned outward into El Barrio Running, the community she co-founded in New York City two years ago that's grown from six runners to fifty showing up most Saturdays.
We get into structure versus freedom, dancer versus runner, and the imposter syndrome that convinces so many people to add a qualifier to their own accomplishments. I run, but I'm slow. I run, but I've never done a marathon. Lilia's answer to all of it: maybe the run doesn't need a qualifier. Maybe showing up is the whole point.

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My book This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running. is now available for pre-order!
USA readers can pre-order my book by clicking this sentence. 
FREE POSTER CAMPAIGN for US residential pre-orders 
GLOBAL/INTERNATIONAL readers can pre-order my book by clicking this sentence.
________________________________________________________________________
AFTER DARK TOUR SERIES
If you have a question or story for the special After Dark Tour series of episodes please leave me a voicemail by tapping this sentence. 
__________________________________________________________________________
Be sure to send any and all questions and comments for Coach Bennett to the mailbag:
Coach Bennett’s Podcast 
57 South Main Street #215, Neptune, NJ 07753
Be sure to check out the Two Coach Bennetts Merch Store for t-shirts, hoodies, coffee mugs, pint glasses and more! - https://twocoachbennetts.com/merch...