The InnerFight Endurance Podcast

Rob Jones finished the Arc of Attrition in 2026. Of the 630 who started the 100 mile race that year, 261 made it to the end.

The 2027 edition runs 22 to 24 January. Entries are open now, first come first served, no ballot. Which means if you want it, the decision is this month, not October.

This episode is for the athlete who wants the Arc but trains somewhere that looks nothing like Cornwall in winter. Hot, flat, no mud, no hills, no night running. The question is not whether you are tough enough. It is whether the last 23 weeks of your training can be pointed at a race you cannot rehearse.

Rob covers what actually transfers from your environment and what does not, the mistake he made in his own build, the decisions he had to make in order to finish that no plan would have told him to make, and how to choose between the 100M, 100K, 50K and 20K honestly.

Not sure which distance to enter? Rob will help you... Book a free 15min call with him, just email rj@innerfight.com

Steph Humphrey joins us fresh off the back of finally cracking her sub 3 hour marathon goal, five years in the making. She talks through the final 100 metres, the mix of elation and relief, and why the real work of getting faster happens off the road just as much as on it.

We also hear from Mary Ames, recorded live at an LRC Online Forum, sharing her journey from a 4:15 marathon to qualifying for and running the Boston Marathon in 3:20. Mary talks strength training, staying present in hard sessions, and why running the world's oldest marathon lived up to every bit of the hype.

Two brilliant stories about patience, consistency and getting better at life through running.

In this episode, Rob Jones and Tom Walker break down one of the running world's most powerful tools and potential pitfalls. They kick off by catching up on Rob's final week of Chamonix training for the 13 Valleys, share quick heat management hacks for training in Dubai, and then dive deep into Strava.

From its Swedish roots in 1995 to 195 million athletes across 185 countries, Strava has transformed how we train and share. But here's the real conversation: Is it motivating you or manipulating you? Through the story of Rob's VK (vertical kilometer) comeback, where friendly competition sparked a 3-minute PB, they explore when Strava works for you and when it works against you.

They tackle the hard truths: How social validation can hijack your training plan. Why you shouldn't run hard every session just to post a decent average pace. The safety risks of location sharing. And most importantly, how to tell if you're chasing intrinsic goals or just chasing likes.

Perfect for endurance athletes, weekend warriors, and anyone wondering why their Strava feed looks nothing like their training plan.

They fire a gun at exactly 12 hours. If you're not across the line by then, it doesn't matter how close you are, your race is over. That's Comrades, and this week we sit down with four-time finisher Steph Donaldson to unpack what actually gets you through 90km of South African road, from fuelling disasters to the strangers who talk you off the ledge in the final 20K.

Then Rob Foster debriefs his first-ever triathlon at Challenge Roth in Germany, admitting exactly where his own prep let him down on the run. And Rob Jones brings us inside the Chamonix training camp, on why stripping the pace pressure out of a session makes people run better, not worse. It's a long one, but a good one.

Three athletes, three very different days, and the same lesson underneath all of them: showing up matters more than the metrics.

Going pro has nothing to do with talent — it has everything to do with removing stress from your life.

Rob Foster sits down with pro triathlete Zachary Cooper for an honest, occasionally hilarious look at the long way around to the top of the sport: quitting a stable job at the UCI with no plan beyond turning pro, six months at the legendary Laidlow camp that rewired how he trains and recovers, and the swim — the one weakness that demands everything and gives nothing back.

They cover the case for a daily nap, why 180g of carbs an hour is becoming the new normal on the bike, and what two collapsed races this season taught him heading into Roth.

If you've ever wondered what separates the athletes who make it from the ones who don't — this is patience, process, and refusing to be defined by your weakest discipline.