#11 - The Melbourne Marathon Post-Mortem - With Katherine Newton

Welcome to Diary Entry No. 11! This week, Cosi and Foz are joined by Katherine Newton, distance runner and Head of Marketing at SHYU, fresh off running the Melbourne Half Marathon alongside Cosi. We put Katherine straight in the hot seat to break down her 21.1km performance—from navigating the Batman Avenue adrenaline trap to surviving the Albert Park grind—before diving into her athletic journey transitioning from VFL football to distance running, meeting the GOAT Eliud Kipchoge post-race, and how 5 months off with a sacral stress fracture completely reshaped her perspective on the sport. Plus, Cosi breaks down his race day execution, Foz shares what the carnage looked like from the coaching sidelines, and Katherine takes us behind the scenes of SHYU, marathon week culture, and why socks make or break your feet. What we cover in this episode: • From Footy to the Road: Katherine’s sports career in the VFL and the mental/physical transition from team sport to endurance running. • Meeting the GOAT: The surreal post-race moment crossing paths with Eliud Kipchoge. • The 5-Month Perspective Shift: Rebuilding from a sacral stress fracture 18 months ago and finding genuine gratitude for every kilometer. • Katherine’s Half Marathon Breakdown: Target pacing vs. race-day reality, battling through the mid-race slump, and hitting the turf. • Cosi’s Race Report: Pacing discipline, translating the 6x5min threshold session to race day, and surviving the back half. • Foz’s Coach's Eye: The sideline perspective—who executed their plan, who fell victim to the spectrum of delusion, and an update on Foz’s first runs back post-injury. • Inside SHYU & Modern Run Culture: Expo energy, cheer zones, avoiding blister disasters, and why technical socks became an essential performance piece. • The Golden Rule Check: Did Katherine and Cosi actually linger on the MCG turf to soak it in? • Post-Race Recovery: Navigating the post-marathon blues and what your training should look like over the next 10 days. CONNECT WITH THE GUEST:• Katherine Newton: @katherinenewton_ • SHYU Running: @shyurunning / shyu.com.au CONNECT WITH US:• Instagram: @therundiariespod • Stream on Spotify & Apple Podcasts Did you race in Melbourne this weekend? Slide into our DMs and share your race debrief with us! If you loved this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating on Spotify or Apple Podcasts—it helps us keep growing the community.