Episode Description

Sam and Katie sit down with Jeff Cheso to dive into his impressive running journey. Jeff shares his standout personal bests—8:56 for 3k, 15:17 for 5k, 69:39 for the half marathon, and 2:29 for 3rd place at the Canberra Marathon—while reflecting on how his sporting career began with rugby league before shifting to competitive running. He credits consistency and a touch of healthy rivalry with fellow runners like Russ as key to his success. The conversation traces Jeff’s evolution from a talented young athlete to a competitive masters runner, highlighting both his achievements and the challenges of sustaining performance with age.

Training Weeks

Cheso runs over 100km this week with 2 tempo sessions below 3:40 pace and a solid long run featuring 26km at 4:05 pace. Katie continues to work through her achilles tendinitis, but manages a few wins in the Hunter Valley and gets in two 6km runs. Sam starts to feel the effects of intense training and backs things off with an 85km week, though still nails 3:20 –3:35 per km paces in his 2 x 2k, 2 x 1k, and 2 x 500m session on a very windy morning.

Cafe Kit of the Week

Tennis ball, Thailand knock-off Nike split shorts, OG Saucony trainers, Scraper.

Round the Club Shoutouts

This week’s spotlight is on Xavier Wilson, a vision-impaired runner who sits at the very top of his category and is the reigning Australian Cross Country Champion. Sam also rattles off some strong local results from the Sydney Marathon, celebrating standout efforts across the community.