Claim OwnershipThe Women's Running Lab
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© 2025 Alison Marie, PhD LLC
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Welcome to the Women’s Running Lab Podcast. I’m your host, Alison Marie teacher, coach and self proclaimed running nerd. Here you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the physics and physiology of running and what that means for your body and your training. We are going to get nerdy, but we are also going to break it down into the simplest form of what actually works AND in a way that you can consistently do it.
53 Episodes
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In this episode of the Women’s Running Lab podcast, host Alison introduces a “runner’s hierarchy of needs,” modeled after Maslow’s pyramid, to explain how athletes can progress toward their full potential. She emphasizes that true success begins with a self-care version of base training for runners—focusing on consistency, recovery, sleep, fueling, and nutrition—before layering in smart volume management, keeping easy runs truly easy, and gradually adding purposeful pacing and strength traini...
In this episode, Alison challenges the idea that more stretching is always the answer and instead highlights the value of carefully chosen mobility exercises for runners. She explains that hypermobile athletes often develop chronic tightness by gripping in areas like the feet, glutes, or pelvic floor, and that true relief comes from balancing stiffness, stability, and mobility. By building “good tension,” improving alignment, and increasing body awareness, runners can release unnecessary tens...
In this 50th episode of The Women’s Running Lab podcast, host Alison celebrates the milestone by sharing ten key lessons she wishes runners knew about their bodies, all centered on the idea that the body works as an integrated system rather than isolated parts. She discusses topics such as the pelvic floor’s crucial role in running, the misconception of “over-pronation,” why tight hips and hamstrings often signal a need for strength instead of stretching, the importance of stability over exce...
This episode of The Women’s Running Lab explores how to approach running while pregnant with both flexibility and strategy. Host Alison and guest Martina discuss managing the “athlete brain,” using run-walk intervals, and knowing when to pause without seeing it as failure, since rest often sets up a stronger postpartum return. They highlight strength training as essential for supporting pelvic floor health, core stability, and efficient mechanics, with single-leg work and hinges as key exerci...
In this episode, host Alison Marie discusses how to strengthen the pelvic floor for running by explaining how pelvic floor health connects to posture, breathing, hip rotation, and foot mechanics. She emphasizes that a responsive pelvic floor is not about constant Kegels but about finding length, mobility, and natural activation through internal rotation, pronation, and dynamic movement. By combining mindful breathwork, rib cage mobility, and progressive strength training, runners can better m...
This episode explores how training, performance, and recovery are deeply influenced by the nervous system and our ability to manage stress. Stress from both life and workouts can overload the body, so balancing intentional training stress with effective recovery is essential. The host highlights breath work as a key tool for nervous system health, introducing CO2 tolerance testing and breathing exercises for running like nasal breathing, box breathing, waterfall breathing, and humming. These ...
In this episode, Alison shares how a knee injury at camp inspired her to discuss shifting from the traditional RICE method (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) to the more modern PEACE & LOVE approach for recovery from injury. While RICE can help in the acute stage by reducing swelling and pain, it doesn’t address the need for movement and tissue loading. PEACE focuses on the early days post-injury—Protection, Elevation, avoiding overuse of Anti-inflammatories, Compression, and Education—w...
This episode offers a comprehensive guide to returning to running postpartum, outlining six key strategies to rebuild strength, movement quality, and impact readiness after pregnancy. Host Alison explains how physical changes like pelvic tilt, rib flare, and altered hip mobility affect running mechanics, and emphasizes the importance of restoring core and pelvic floor connection, improving rib and thoracic mobility, and retraining hip function and mid-stance loading. Through intentional ...
This episode explores the journey of running postpartum, with Alison sharing her personal struggles with incontinence, pain, and a premature return to running. Emphasizing that recovery is highly individual, she outlines a thoughtful, phased approach focused on rebuilding pelvic floor strength, core connection, and overall stability before gradually returning to running with a structured milestone plan. The episode highlights the importance of patience, tuning into your body’s signals, and av...
In this episode, host Alison dives into the science and strategy behind building running performance “from the ground up”—both literally and figuratively. She explains how consistent, progressive training lays the foundation for long-term gains, while strength, coordination, and tendon health help the body store and transform energy through ground reaction forces. By breaking down key movement skills—like posture alignment, single-leg stability, rotational control, and proper hip-to-knee exte...
In this episode, Alison dives into the importance of squats for runners, highlighting how this foundational movement improves force production, coordination, and running mechanics. She explains that effective squatting—particularly through the often-overlooked mid-range—requires proper foot pronation, hip internal rotation, and a stacked body position. By mastering these elements, runners can enhance stability, strength, and stride efficiency. Resources Mentioned: Glute Accelerator: A 7...
In this episode, host Alison Marie emphasizes the importance of stepping back from constant racing to focus on intentional base building as a critical foundation for long-term running progress. She explains that frequent racing can lead to excessive stress, inadequate recovery, and stalled development, while consistent base phases—focused on easy running, gradual mileage increases, and foundational habits like strength training, sleep, and nutrition—build the aerobic fitness and structural re...
In this episode, Alison reflects on her recent half marathon success—finishing in 1:42:17 and winning her age group—achieved through a year of patient, low-volume running, strength training, and consistent fueling. She introduces the Women’s Running Academy, a holistic training plan for women runners that emphasizes sustainable progress through tailored strength and running programs, education on female physiology, and a flexible approach to training. Designed to help women avoid burnout, pre...
In this episode, Alison discusses the trend of walking backward on a treadmill at an incline to strengthen knees and reduce pain. While she acknowledges that this exercise may offer short-term benefits, such as improving foot mechanics and providing a novel stimulus to the quads, she emphasizes that it should be part of a broader strength training routine for lasting results. Alison critiques the pervasive idea of quick-fix exercises, arguing that consistent, progressive strength training wit...
In this episode, host Alison explores the popular advice for midlife women—especially runners—to “lift heavy” and breaks down the science and strategy behind it. She explains that while lifting heavy can support muscle retention, bone density, metabolic health, and running performance during perimenopause and menopause, the real key is lifting to failure for maximum muscle fiber recruitment. Alison emphasizes that lifting heavy is often promoted because it requires less training volume, which...
In this episode, host Alison introduces the Women's Running Lab and the mission of the Women's Running Academy, explaining why her coaching is tailored specifically for women. She emphasizes that effective training must consider not only female-specific biomechanics—such as pelvic shape, muscle mass, and connective tissue laxity—but also physiological factors like the menstrual cycle, perimenopause, PCOS, and the importance of proper fueling. Alison advocates for cycle awareness rather than r...
In this episode of the Women's Running Lab podcast, host Alison Marie dives deep into the role of strength training for runners across different race distances. She explains why strength training is essential not just for performance, but also for long-term health, especially for female athletes. Alison shares how to adjust your strength training strategy based on your race goals and training season, and introduces her Women's Running Academy program designed to help women build and mai...
In this episode, Alison discusses the benefits of strength training for runners, including improved running economy, injury resilience, and long-term bone and connective tissue health. She outlines six common mistakes runners make with strength training, such as prioritizing volume over intensity, doing too much too soon, chasing soreness and sweat, lacking consistency, constantly changing exercises, and missing opportunities to incorporate run-supportive skills. Alison emphasizes a strategic...
In this episode, Alison introduces the concept of understanding running from both a physiological and practical perspective, using her own recent personal experiences as a foundation. She shares a story about a painful injury she sustained while commemorating her late daughter’s birthday, which kept her from running and pushed her back into therapy. This experience led her to reflect on how runners often respond to stress or setbacks by overdoing it—leaning into productivity rather than rest....
In this episode, Alison explores the biomechanics of running, focusing on gait analysis and form cues. She emphasizes that runners shouldn't try to consciously alter their running mechanics mid-run, as the body cannot process adjustments quickly enough and doing so can create more issues. Instead, she uses gait analysis to inform strength training and warm-up drills that help improve stride efficiency over time. Alison highlights useful running cues like a forward lean from the ankles ("tits ...
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