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1 % Better - Hidden Stories in Sport

1 % Better - Hidden Stories in Sport

1% Better Podcast 140 Episodes Oct 30, 2026

1% Better - Hidden Stories in Sport digs beneath the headlines to explore the lesser-known stories, science and small details that shape athletic performance. Hosts Xylon van Eyck and Dr David Lipman look at what is really happening in sport, going a little deeper and differently than the usual coverage. Each episode blends storytelling with insight from sports science and behind-the-scenes happenings. The aim is to find fascination and wonder in the margins of elite performance rather than only the top layer of results.

Episodes

The 15-Mile Long Run: How Parker Wolfe Trains to Win Diamond Leagues
The 15-Mile Long Run: How Parker Wolfe Trains to Win Diamond Leagues Oct 30, 2026 02:11:15 Parker Wolfe is a professional distance runner who has multiple diamond league wins, an NCAA championship, 12th place at world cross country and a 3rd at the world ultimate athletics championships.  (00:00) Introduction(00:18) Medical Question  (12:05) Xylon’s Training(20:13) David’s Training Whilst on the Road (24:12) Sports Equinox(27:04) Listener Question Strength Training(40:35) Referees and P
Overtraining - Dr Filip Larsen
Overtraining - Dr Filip Larsen Oct 23, 2026 01:40:09 Prior to our interview, we cover off some marathon and trailrunning stories. We then get into the interview with Dr Filip Larsen who is the Chief scientific officer at SVEXA, an associate professor at the Swedish School of Sports and Health Sciences, a physiologist with the Swedish National Orienteering Team and a Scientific Advisor to Nomio.  (00:00) Introduction(00:44) Medical Question  (05:13)
Lessons in Patience and Pacing
Lessons in Patience and Pacing Oct 16, 2026 01:17:23 A big weekend of sport yielded some very specific and more general insights for listeners to learn from. This is in addition to some listener questions on beating jet lag and running shoes and their relationship to injuries. We also briefly discuss some proposed changes to cycling, including shortening some Grand Tours and reducing the size of teams. (00:00) Introduction(00:18) Medical Question  (
How I Placed 3rd at Kona with Professional Triathlete Matthew Marquardt
How I Placed 3rd at Kona with Professional Triathlete Matthew Marquardt Oct 11, 2026 00:46:33 Fresh off his Ironman World Championship 3rd place in Kona, Matthew Marquardt joins us for this exclusive bonus podcast on how everything went down. We discuss the race, tactics, his penalty and his wardrobe choices amongst other things like what this means for his Ironman and medical careers. (00:00) Introduction(02:16) Interview starts(03:08) Matt’s Shape Leading into Kona(04:56) Thoughts on the
How Do you Plan Your Ultramarathon Nutrition - Emily Arrell
How Do you Plan Your Ultramarathon Nutrition - Emily Arrell Oct 9, 2026 01:44:40 In today’s episode we are joined by Emily Arrell to discuss building an ultra endurance fueling plan. Emily is a sports scientist at Precision Fuel and Hydration. She holds a bachelor of science in sport and exercise science from the University of Bath and works with many of the professionals that Precision supports, including Rachel Entrekin. Before Emily joins us we have lots of news from the ma
Tigst Assefa's 2:11 on a Ruptured Achilles
Tigst Assefa's 2:11 on a Ruptured Achilles Oct 2, 2026 01:22:09 Maintaining mental focus when sleep deprived in a race, avoiding rebound hypoglycaemia and training in a caloric deficit are some of the questions we discuss before some shoe talk. We touch on Adidas’ innovation and whether sub 100g is the new standard for race shoes. When then discuss Keely Hodgkinson’s speed suit and review Berlin marathon before a discussion about zonal compression in heart rat
Should We Ban Tackling in Youth Sport? - Dr Alan Pearce
Should We Ban Tackling in Youth Sport? - Dr Alan Pearce Sep 25, 2026 01:56:57 We review David’s race and some other happenings over the last week including Hayden Wilde’s big pay day and Kylian Mbappe moving to on as well as a crazy new triathlon race before getting to our guest this week. Our guest this week is Dr Alan Pearce is an Adjunct professor at Swinburne university of technology, a Consultant neurophysiologist and researcher in the Concussion and CTE space.  (00:00
Blummenfelt’s 65-Minute Half Marathon Off the Bike
Blummenfelt’s 65-Minute Half Marathon Off the Bike Sep 18, 2026 01:23:56 Covering off a listener question on preparing for altitude, we also touch on a review of Ironman 70.3 world championships. We then go on to review the Athletics Ultimate Championships and touch on some updates from previous weeks like the NFL travel schedule and tactical adaptation in a series. We also discuss Salomon sponsoring Ironman and the Athletics World Championship locations announcements
Cycling to running conversions, volume helps
Cycling to running conversions, volume helps Sep 11, 2026 01:21:46 After answering a few great listener questions we quickly touch on the half marathon world record ratification and some marketing happenings in the world of footwear. We then discuss the NFL in Australia and the different travel plans from the teams and influencers behaving badly at the US Open. Following this we cover some take aways from the Diamond League finals before a quick visit to the doct
Unexpected UTMB takeaways & Improving Running Threshold
Unexpected UTMB takeaways & Improving Running Threshold Sep 4, 2026 01:36:44 With some great listener questions to start us off we then get into some gripes around gravel running and finishers shirts. We then touch on the new half marathon world record, Sydney marathon and the happenings at UTMB. We also discuss some insights and highlights from the Diamond League. Finally, we have a busy doctor’s office and some seen on social.  (00:00) Introduction(00:18) Medical Questio
Is Treadmill Running the Same as Road Running?
Is Treadmill Running the Same as Road Running? Aug 28, 2026 01:12:27 Aside from debuting a new segment, we get an update on the showdown in the women’s 800m at the moment before discussing 2 interesting happenings in the running world; a lawsuit against On running and the Edmonton marathon course measuring long. We then discuss Antoine Dupont’s historic signature rugby boot and the NYC marathon fields before looking at a few research papers. The first is on the rol
Superstars, Super Racing and Super Beef
Superstars, Super Racing and Super Beef Aug 21, 2026 01:28:07 In a broad episode we cover everything from NFL athletes going back to college to play, Canicross - a sport where you run towed by a dog, runners dystonia and some of the happenings from the European championships. We also discuss the Josh Kerr v Jacob Ingebrigtsen beef before a discussion of the merits of making TUEs public.  (00:00) Introduction(00:17) Medical Question - Twins (08:09) David’s Up

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