Paul and JP sit down with Rory Coleman, the "Marathon Man" of UK ultrarunning. At 64, Rory has run 1,250 marathons and completed the Marathon des Sables 19 times. He had only just got back from Morocco, where he got lost on the MDS 120 and still won his age category.

It all started on 5 January 1994. Rory was 31, smoking and drinking his way through a decade in the print trade, and in a dark place. He went for a run in his work clothes, managed 100 steps and passed out. Within a year he'd run London, and not long after he was chasing 100 marathons in a year. Along the way came a first Marathon des Sables in a three-piece Union Jack suit, a run to London in a gorilla costume that got him questioned by police over an "escaped monkey", and Guinness World Records for treadmill running and the world's deepest marathon, 1,300 metres underground in a Swedish zinc mine.

Rory tells the story of coaching Sir Ranulph Fiennes across the Marathon des Sables, and how it felt to put a national treasure in his car and think "I haven't killed him". He also opens up about 2016, when Guillain-Barré syndrome left him paralysed from the neck down. A few weeks later he taught himself to walk again, finished a parkrun in last place, and went back to the desert the following year.

Now a full-time coach with around 40 clients, Rory explains why he thinks of his work as life plans, not running plans, and why he reckons ChatGPT can't tell when you've just been made redundant. He also talks about the Rory Coleman Method, running with 16 prison inmates for the London Marathon, why he doesn't care about times, and the one thing that matters most: listening.

Along the way: why the older runners outlast the youngsters in the desert, the tribe you find at MDS, Rory's verdict on whether treadmill-only runners count as runners, and a very tempting invitation to Race to the Stones next year (with the desert in '28) that Paul and JP may or may not regret accepting.

Funny, warm and unashamedly inspiring. This episode is about second chances, community, and going and having an adventure before it's too late.

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The PKS Running Club Podcast is a running motivation podcast for everyday runners — real personal stories, honest conversations about health and fitness, and a growing community built around showing up, not chasing elite times. Hosted by Paul, it's a health & fitness podcast and community sports podcast for anyone running at their own pace, from first 5Ks to ultramarathons.

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