Re-Run: Foot strength masterclass with Jay Dicharry (Feb, 2022)

·1 hr 5 min·4 clips

Jay says if you cannot do 20 calf raises without the rear foot collapsing, he will not load the foot yet.

Jay Desherry joins Brodie for a rerun built around foot strength and the demands runners place on the foot over time. The conversation begins by clearing up the anxiety that often hangs around pronation and supination. Those terms, Jay argues, are simply ways to describe motion. Brodie keeps the framing practical and runner-specific. The goal is not to make the foot sound fragile. It is to treat it as a trainable body part that needs to function under sport demands. Jay comes back to the idea that a runner should be able to control the foot through the full event, whether that means an ultra, a shorter race, or even sprints. The episode also gives space to the common listener fear that foot work is somehow more complicated than other movement patterns. Jay pushes back by comparing it with everyday knee flexion, spinal rotation, and other motions runners already accept without panic. The discussion then shifts to exercise choice. A listener question opens the door to top foot-strength ideas and when to add them. Jay describes a pattern he sees often in runners. They jump straight to loaded work without enough coordination or stability first. Calf raises come up as the obvious example. They are useful, but they are not the whole story. The episode places them inside a broader sequence rather than treating them like a magic answer. First comes control. Then comes load. Then comes a careful progression based on how the body responds. Brodie keeps the conversation anchored in what runners actually need to do next. That means thinking about tolerance, not just effort. It also means watching symptoms week by week instead of chasing a perfect exercise label. The pacing is measured and explanatory. Jay takes time to define the problem before moving toward a solution. That makes the episode especially useful for runners who want a framework instead of a list. It also helps explain why the discussion lands with people who have been stuck in injury cycles. The core message is steady rather than flashy. Build the foot so it can do the work, then prove it over distance.

As heard by us

A practical foot-strength discussion that reframes pronation, supports progression, and keeps attention on long-distance control.

Jay Desherry and Brodie use this rerun to look closely at how the foot behaves under load, and the clearest strength of the discussion is its calm treatment of pronation and supination as motion terms rather than red flags.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Feet that hold up when the workout stops being neat.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Run Smarter Podcast