The Strength Running Podcast · Jason Fitzgerald

Cross-Training Masterclass: Coach Megan Flanagan on How to Add Other Sports to Your Running

·1 hr·3 clips

On a bike, Megan sometimes feels leg fatigue before her cardio system is taxed at all.

1. The Strength Running Podcast episode 426 focuses on cross-training for runners with Megan Flanagan. 2. Jason Fitzgerald hosts the conversation, and Megan Flanagan is a running coach, strength coach, former Outside Magazine writer, and collegiate track athlete who brings athlete and coaching experience. 3. The episode asks how runners can add other sports without losing running-specific fitness or increasing injury risk. 4. Megan says she started running in third grade with her first 5K and kept running through high school and college. 5. She says collegiate running pushed her toward strength training and other sports after graduation, including rock climbing, cycling, and biking. 6. Jason says he was a college track and cross-country athlete too, and he shares that his own teams did not encourage other sports. 7. Megan argues that runners often need lateral movement and rotation because trail running and tight muscles demand more than straight-ahead mileage. 8. She says online marathon plans often do not include enough cross-training, and when they do, it is often not specific enough. 9. Megan warns that adding cross-training should not mean simply adding more stress, fatigue, or injury risk on top of the existing plan. 10. She says runners should think about whether cross-training is a substitute or an addition before stacking it into the week. 11. Megan says enjoyment matters, because pool running may sound terrible to her while climbing or biking may be better fits for other athletes. 12. She recommends strength training at least one or two days per week, with two 30-minute sessions as a practical starting point. 13. She names uphill skiing, Nordic skiing, skate skiing, biking, cycling, swimming, and hiking as options that can build endurance in different ways. 14. Megan says bike, ski, and pool work are low-impact, but they are not fully specific to running, so they should be sprinkled into the routine rather than dominate it. 15. She says some runners feel leg fatigue on the bike before their cardiovascular system is taxed, while uphill skiing can make spring hill running feel easier later. 16. Megan says climbing is more like mobility and strength endurance than running-specific strength, and she avoids placing it after long runs. 17. The tone is practical and coach-to-coach, with Jason and Megan trading examples from Colorado, marathon training, and ultra running. 18. The format is a back-and-forth interview that moves from principles to specific placement, intensity, and sport selection. 19. Runners who want more durable training and smarter cross-training choices. 20. Runners who only want pace talk and no training tradeoffs.

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