GLP-1 medications are everywhere right now, but what should runners know before considering them?

This week, I’m joined by pharmacist, evidence-based medicine educator, and fellow runner Zack Dumont to unpack the conversation around medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound.

We discuss:

• How these medications work and why there are so many different names.

• Who might benefit and why individual circumstances matter.

• Side effects and how they could affect your eating, training, and recovery.

• Why meeting your fueling needs deserves extra attention as a runner.

• Questions to ask your healthcare team when weighing your options.

We also explore the gaps in research specific to runners and why a change on the scale doesn’t tell the whole story.

Zack has been a pharmacist since 2008 and holds a Master’s Degree in Pharmacy Leadership. He develops educational resources to support patient-centred medication decisions and lectures on leadership and evidence-based medicine.

If you’ve been curious about GLP-1s and how they might fit alongside your running goals, this episode will give you plenty to think about.

And, if you have questions about GLP-1s, you can connect with Zack at zackdumont@me.com, or reach out to your local pharmacy team.

Ready to take the next step with your fueling?

Not sure what's working (or what's missing) in your current nutrition strategy? Start with my FREE Runner's Fueling Audit. In just 5 minutes, you'll identify the biggest gaps in your fueling and what to focus on next.

⁠Take the free Runner's Fueling Audit⁠

Ready to stop piecing together nutrition advice and build a fueling strategy that actually works for you?

The Fueled Runner is my 8-week nutrition program designed to help runners fuel better for their training, performance, recovery, and body composition goals—with the education, tools, and support to put it all into practice.

⁠Learn more about The Fueled Runner⁠

Creatine has come a long way from its reputation as a bodybuilding supplement. But with so many new claims about brain health, endurance performance, and “optimal” doses, what’s actually supported by research?

In this episode, I’m joined by creatine researcher Dr. Scott Forbes, who last visited the podcast in season one. We discuss what’s changed in the research over the past four years and what recreational runners should know before adding creatine to their routine.

We cover:

• How creatine works and why the training still matters
• Whether it can help endurance athletes, especially during bursts of high intensity effort
• What the evidence says about muscle, body composition, bone health, injury, and cognition
• Why the research doesn’t establish that you need 20 grams a day for brain benefits
• Who may respond differently to supplementation, including plant-based athletes
• Why creatine monohydrate remains the practical choice, and what to watch for with gummies

While creatine may offer a small benefit, particularly alongside strength training, it isn’t a requirement for being a strong, well-fueled runner. Sleep, training, and nutrition still do most of the heavy lifting.

Be sure to follow Dr. Forbes on Instagram: @scott_forbes_phd

Ready to take the next step with your fueling?

Not sure what's working (or what's missing) in your current nutrition strategy? Start with my FREE Runner's Fueling Audit. In just 5 minutes, you'll identify the biggest gaps in your fueling and what to focus on next.

⁠Take the free Runner's Fueling Audit⁠

Ready to stop piecing together nutrition advice and build a fueling strategy that actually works for you?

The Fueled Runner is my 8-week nutrition program designed to help runners fuel better for their training, performance, recovery, and body composition goals—with the education, tools, and support to put it all into practice.

⁠Learn more about The Fueled Runner⁠

If your approach to fueling is a little… willy nilly, this episode is for you.

Maybe you eat breakfast before your run. Maybe you don’t. Sometimes you nail your post-run meal, other times lunch is a protein bar you found in your bag. And when your training ramps up, you’re never quite sure whether you should be eating more, when those extra carbs should happen, or what your body actually needs.

The problem? Not having a consistent fueling strategy could be costing you more than you realize.

In this episode, we discuss how your everyday nutrition impacts your training quality, recovery, consistency, injury risk, gut health, appetite, body composition goals, and ultimately, how much you’re able to get out of all the work you’re putting into your running.

We also talk about why a nutrition strategy that worked perfectly well for shorter workouts may stop working when you start training for a half marathon, marathon, or ultra — and why simply “eating healthy” isn’t the same thing as fueling your training.

If you’re putting in the miles but still struggling with low energy, unpredictable workouts, excessive soreness, GI issues, cravings, injuries, or disappointing race-day performances, it might be time to look at what’s actually going into the tank.

Ready to take the next step with your fueling?

Not sure what's working (or what's missing) in your current nutrition strategy? Start with my FREE Runner's Fueling Audit. In just 5 minutes, you'll identify the biggest gaps in your fueling and what to focus on next.

⁠Take the free Runner's Fueling Audit⁠

Ready to stop piecing together nutrition advice and build a fueling strategy that actually works for you?

The Fueled Runner is my 8-week nutrition program designed to help runners fuel better for their training, performance, recovery, and body composition goals—with the education, tools, and support to put it all into practice.

⁠Learn more about The Fueled Runner⁠

Should you be running less?

The “3 runs per week” debate is making the rounds again, with runners sharing stories about how cutting back their running helped them get faster, stay injury-free, and finally hit a big PR.

But there’s an important piece of context that often gets left out.

A runner with 10–15 years and thousands of miles under their belt can thrive on three runs per week for very different reasons than a newer runner training for their first half or full marathon.

In this episode, we’re breaking down why there isn’t one “ideal” running frequency, and why copying someone else’s training schedule without considering their running history can backfire.

We discuss:

• Why running frequency and total running volume aren’t the same thing
• How years of easy mileage build an aerobic foundation you can’t shortcut
• Why an experienced runner might get faster by temporarily running less
• Why a newer runner may actually need MORE running to improve
• The relationship between training volume, intensity, recovery, and performance
• How strength training and cross-training fit into the equation
• Why marathon “durability” matters, and what your training has to do with falling apart late in a race
• When focusing on your 5K speed could eventually make you a better marathoner
• How to decide whether 3, 4, 5, or 6 runs per week makes sense for YOU

The goal isn’t to run as much—or as little—as possible. It’s to find the amount of running that gives your body the stimulus it needs while still allowing you to recover, stay consistent, and actually get better.

Looking for the resources mentioned in today's episode?

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free fueling audit here!⁠

And if you’re ready for more support, I’ve got options—whether it’s my nutrition ebook⁠ ⁠Fuel Smarter, Run Stronger⁠⁠, my online coaching programs The Fueled Runner or ⁠ ⁠The Fuel Train Recover Club,⁠⁠ or apply for limited spots in my personalized⁠ ⁠1:1 coaching ⁠⁠programs.

If marathon or half marathon training suddenly has you feeling like you could eat everything in sight, this episode is for you.

An increase in hunger when your training volume goes up is normal—but feeling constantly ravenous, thinking about food all day, or reaching the end of the day completely starving can also be a sign that something about your fueling strategy needs to change.

In this episode, we’re revisiting one of our most popular conversations about runner hunger and breaking down some of the most common reasons your appetite might feel out of control during training.

We discuss:

• Why simply eating “healthy” foods doesn’t necessarily mean you’re eating enough for your training

• How meal size and eating frequency can impact hunger later in the day

• Why skipping meals or doing a lot of fasted training can leave you playing catch-up with your nutrition

• The importance of including carbohydrates, protein, fibre, and fats in your everyday meals

• Why big salads, protein shakes, and other seemingly filling meals might not actually keep a runner satisfied

• How drinking too many of your calories can affect fullness

• Why your hunger cues aren't always a perfect indicator of whether you're fueling enough

• What it can mean if you’re experiencing the opposite problem and rarely feel hungry at all

If you’ve ever wondered, “Why am I SO hungry when I’m running more?”—or felt frustrated that race training seems to send your appetite through the roof—this episode will help you understand what might actually be going on and how to fuel in a way that better supports your training, recovery, and performance.

Ready to take the next step with your fueling?

Not sure what's working (or what's missing) in your current nutrition strategy? Start with my FREE Runner's Fueling Audit. In just 5 minutes, you'll identify the biggest gaps in your fueling and what to focus on next.

⁠Take the free Runner's Fueling Audit⁠

Ready to stop piecing together nutrition advice and build a fueling strategy that actually works for you?

The Fueled Runner is my 8-week nutrition program designed to help runners fuel better for their training, performance, recovery, and body composition goals—with the education, tools, and support to put it all into practice.

⁠Learn more about The Fueled Runner⁠

What if your nutrition and training plan is working… just not as quickly as you expected?

In this episode of The Fuel Run Recover Podcast, we’re continuing the conversation about expectations—this time when it comes to weight loss and body composition for runners.

If you’re trying to improve your body composition while also getting faster, stronger, and better fueled, it can feel like those goals are constantly competing with each other. But they don’t have to be.

We’re talking about why sustainable progress often happens much more slowly than diet culture has taught us to expect, and why that doesn’t mean your approach isn’t working. I’m also sharing the stories of two runners with very similar goals and results—but very different perspectives on their progress—to show just how much our expectations can influence whether we feel successful or frustrated.
In this episode, we cover:

• Why runners don’t have to choose between fueling well and improving body composition

• Why quick-fix weight loss strategies often clash with the demands of training for a race

• How realistic timelines can completely change how you view your progress

• Why consistency matters more than constantly starting over with a “better” plan

• How to recognize progress beyond the number on the scale

• Why the strategies you can sustain for months (and years!) are often the ones that create the biggest transformation

If you’ve ever thought, “I’m doing everything right… so why isn’t this happening faster?” this episode will help you zoom out, reset your expectations, and see your progress a little differently.

Ready to take the next step with your fueling?

Not sure what's working (or what's missing) in your current nutrition strategy? Start with my FREE Runner's Fueling Audit. In just 5 minutes, you'll identify the biggest gaps in your fueling and what to focus on next.

⁠Take the free Runner's Fueling Audit⁠

Ready to stop piecing together nutrition advice and build a fueling strategy that actually works for you?

The Fueled Runner is my 8-week nutrition program designed to help runners fuel better for their training, performance, recovery, and body composition goals—with the education, tools, and support to put it all into practice.

⁠Learn more about The Fueled Runner⁠

It's my 38th birthday! 🎉

So we're doing something a little different on The Fuel Run Recover Podcast this week.

I asked you to send me your questions about running, fueling, business, motherhood, and life behind the scenes—and today, I'm answering them.

In this episode, we're chatting about:

• My most memorable finish line (and why it wasn't at an official race!)
• The fuel I personally reach for most often during long runs
• Whether runners actually need to use gels
• What returning to running after having twins really looked like for me
• My favorite race distance and the races still sitting on my bucket list
• The BIG running goal I'd love to accomplish someday
• Why I wasn't always a runner—and how I spent five years making the same training mistakes before finally having a breakthrough
• My favorite (and hardest!) parts of being a twin mom

This one's a little more personal, a little behind-the-scenes, and hopefully a fun way to celebrate another trip around the sun together.

Thanks for being here and being part of The Fuel Run Recover Podcast!

Ready to take the next step with your fueling?

Not sure what's working (or what's missing) in your current nutrition strategy? Start with my FREE Runner's Fueling Audit. In just 5 minutes, you'll identify the biggest gaps in your fueling and what to focus on next.

⁠Take the free Runner's Fueling Audit⁠

Ready to stop piecing together nutrition advice and build a fueling strategy that actually works for you?

The Fueled Runner is my 8-week nutrition program designed to help runners fuel better for their training, performance, recovery, and body composition goals—with the education, tools, and support to put it all into practice.

⁠Learn more about The Fueled Runner⁠

Sometimes the thing ruining your run isn’t your fitness, your fueling, or your training plan.

It’s your expectations.

In this episode, we’re talking about how the gap between what you expect a workout or race to feel like and what actually happens can completely change your experience — and even impact how well you perform.

We discuss:

• Why even a well-fueled, well-trained run can still feel hard

• How unrealistic expectations can turn a perfectly normal workout into a “bad” one

• Why better fueling or hydration may not feel as dramatic as you expected right away

• How exceeding your expectations can give you a huge mental boost

• The difference between an actual problem and simply having your expectations unmet

• How to set more realistic expectations before long runs, hard workouts, and races

• Why “feeling good” and “working hard” can absolutely coexist

If you’ve ever finished a run thinking, “Why did that feel so hard? I did everything right,” this episode will help you look at your training from a completely different perspective.

Because sometimes, nothing is actually going wrong.

The experience just didn’t match the picture you had in your head.

Ready to take the next step with your fueling?

Not sure what's working (or what's missing) in your current nutrition strategy? Start with my FREE Runner's Fueling Audit. In just 5 minutes, you'll identify the biggest gaps in your fueling and what to focus on next.

Take the free Runner's Fueling Audit

Ready to stop piecing together nutrition advice and build a fueling strategy that actually works for you?

The Fueled Runner is my 8-week nutrition program designed to help runners fuel better for their training, performance, recovery, and body composition goals—with the education, tools, and support to put it all into practice.

Learn more about The Fueled Runner