Episodes

Whoooaaa! Where did 2022 go??? The Start Line Girls are back after a little hiatus over the summer (and autumn!) and here we are at Christmas already!!! But the great thing about that is this is the first TSL Christmas episode! Yes, we managed to pull it outta the bag to celebrate the season (and to mark the official end of the first (3 year long!) season of The Start Line Podcast) and got round the table together to record this special episode. We take a look back at what we did over the summe...

October marks Black History Month in the UK, and to celebrate this The Start Line Girls are taking a look at people who are making history in the Black Community. In this special episode we speak to Jesse (Specs) Spellman, creator of online running publication Mid Strike Magazine, an avid runner since 2016 and proud member of Black Men Run NYC. Jesse's goal was to create a diverse magazine which showed our run culture and journeys. As a runner Jesse always struggled to find stories of runners th...

After an unannounced summer hiatus, The Start Line Girls are back! Join us as we recap on what we got up to this summer, get the lowdown our favourite restaurants in Croatia (Corto Maltese and Pandora Greenbox in Split; Paradise Garden in Hvar) and hear about Dee's birthday trip to Porto. We also hear from ERC members Rachel and Nina, who dropped us a voice note, sharing their thoughts on participating ERC's Black Crews United Carnival Run (Rachel) and the experience of running on the mother co...

The Start Line Girls have an extra special treat lined up for their 3rd anniversary edition, as they are joined by their good friend, award-winning leadership coach, author, speaker and educator Michelle Moore. Michelle joins TSL to talk about her acclaimed debut book Real Wins, which draws on Michelle's work delivering coaching and leadership programmes during a twenty year’ career in senior leadership roles across sport, government and education. Frank, funny and fierce, Michelle explains how...

Celebrating International Women's Day and Women's History Month, The Start Line Girls take a look back in the archives to their favourite moments from the ladies who have graced The Start Line Podcast over the last 3 years. Check out the featured episodes: Ep 5 - But My Hair… (Yes, Black Girls DO Run!) featuring Matila Egere-Cooper Ep 7 - It Just Gets Better with Time (featuring Donna McConnell) Ep 13 - We Run: TSL Meets... Black Girls Do Run UK Ep 16 - What Happens When You Break The Silence? ...

The Start Line Girls are back with episode 33, the last in the series of the 'Behind the Podcast' episodes. This month, our special guest is Marcus Brown (formerly known as Marathon Marcus and now as Marcus_Runs on Instagram!). Marcus is what we would call an 'Amateur Elite' athlete! A man of many marathons, he is a co-founder of Black Trail Runners, co-host of BTR podcast 'The Checkpoint' and his own podcast 'A Runners Life'. Marcus speaks to The Start Line Girls about his life as a runner, a...

The Start Line Girls are back for 2022 and in this episode they look back to their favourite running moments of 2021, discuss the issue of female safety, talk about what they are looking forward to in 2022 and share their first experience of hosting at stand at The National Running Show with Emancipated Run Crew. We'd love to hear from you, so please follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook by searching for @thestartlinepod. You can also follow the show on your favourite podcast provider or...

After suffering another recent loss, the Start Line Girls are back after a little hiatus, as Dee, Jules and Petrina invite their mother Imogene to talk to them about coping with loss and how life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain. If you're suffering from a bereavement, you may want to check the Mind website which has some useful resources for support and assistance: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/ber...

The Start Line Girls dedicate this episode to our beautiful, funny, caring, special friend and loved one David Ajilore who passed away from gall bladder cancer on the 28 August 2021💔💔💔. We think you would have appreciated this episode hun!❤️ ‘We understand that in order to achieve anything noteworthy in life it takes a combination of grit and grind.’ Derek Oxley Our guest in this special episode is Derek Oxley, the amazing podcaster, one of the first, (Behind The Wheel Podcast), public speaker...

In part 2 of the Blazing Trails series, The Start Line Girls are joined by Sabrina Pace-Humphries and Sonny Peart, co-founders of the trailblazing Black Trail Runners (BTR), on the day they celebrated the first anniversary of their launch. The group which was born in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movements of 2020, was formed to create a space for Black runners to experience the joys and challenges of trail running. BTR actively campaigns for an increase in representation, inclusivity and a...

The Start Line Girls return with the second instalment of their Behind the Podcast sessions. This month we interview India Cook and Tommy Mitchell creators and hosts of The Run Duo Podcast. The Run Duo Podcast is a bi-weekly podcast which was launched in 2018. Co-Hosts India Cook and Tommy Mitchell are Atlanta-based runners, who have enjoy running at all distances - from 5ks to marathons. This dynamic duo talk all things running on their brilliant podcast, as they educate and entertain their li...

Danny Stokes is a father of two from Basildon, Essex and a teacher and head of house at Mulberry Academy, Shoreditch in East London. He's a trail runner who has completed all sorts of events, including several trail marathons and he is transitioning to ultras, with a 40 miler under his belt (although he claims that he is ‘NOT FAST!’) He loves working with young people and he loves trail running so combining the two was always on the cards. In April 2021 Danny started Trail Fam. Following the d...

The Start Line Girls have got some bonus treats in store for you starting this month, as we kick off our Going Behind The Podcast series! We will be speaking to some of our favourite podcasters to bring you their stories, getting closer to the person behind the podcast. First up is one of our favourite ladies, Coach Pilar Arthur-Snead, host of The Last Tenth Podcast. Podcaster, runner, coach and former photographer, Coach Pilar started running in 2015 shortly after turning 43. Starting with a 5...

In the week that marked one year since the killing of George Floyd, the Start Line Girls were absolutely honoured to speak to Deo Kato, an amazing young man who is using running as a form of activism. He is on track to complete an incredible 381 day running streak where he has run at least 10k every day! Inspired by the 381 day strike that African Americans participated in as part of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, Deo started running last year after the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery...

The Start Line is celebrating 2 years, 24 episodes (well, 25 including the bonus TSL In The Round special ep...) and almost 4.5k downloads! We take a look back at the our top 5 most popular episodes in this short but sweet birthday edition. Thanks to all our listeners for sharing this journey with us - your listening ears are something we will never take for granted. We would love to hear from you, so please follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook by searching for @thestartlinepod and sub...

8 March 2021 is International Women’s Day and in celebration of this day we bring together for conversation some of our incredible sister-friends, who have each chosen to create their own paths in life, shaking things up and intelligently breaking down the perceptions society may have of them as black women. They are creating their own destinies whilst smashing expectations. They show the world what it is like to succeed and thrive despite where you start out. We discuss what it is to be a black...

On 4th February 2021, we ‘celebrated’ World Cancer Day. Cancer had never been a feature in our family, up until 2019, when it erupted into our lives with our Auntie Bev being diagnosed with lung cancer and our Dad with prostate cancer. Auntie B passed away in May 2019, five months after her diagnosis. Our darling cousin Stephanie, Auntie Bev’s daughter, is now cruelly travelling through her own cancer journey, having been diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2020, almost a year to the day of ...

Goodbye 2020! Hello 2021! Wow! What a year!!!! Bushfires, Kobe, Covid, BLM, Trump overthrown, inequalities highlighted…...No one would have predicted the mess that was 2020. How much has life changed? How much heartbreak and challenge. But also how much opportunity and recognition of God’s beauty and life’s fragility. 2020 was a year unlike anything anyone has ever seen. Throughout 2020 The Start Line Podcast was able to showcase some headline issues which otherwise may not have been aired. We a...

It's Part 2 of our specials celebrating black businesses to reclaim Black Friday and celebrate #BlackPoundDay in the UK which is the first Saturday of the month in the UK and for this episode we speak to our lovely neighbours Ade Adeleke and Carmelita Goodwin, owners and managers of Stones Gym in Thornton Heath, south London. This incredible couple of 32 years purchased a gym 14 years ago, as they had a vision to own their own business which would enable them to blend their skills and passion wi...

Episode 19…and 20! Its Black Friday and Black Pound Day……!! The Start Line Girls are claiming this year’s Black Friday event and celebrating Black Pound Day by bringing you something a little special! Its a Double Header Edition where we are celebrating not one, but two amazing Black couples and business partners who are doing their own thing! In these two episodes we are celebrating two of our key passions - eating and exercise! Made all the more special as the services are offered by these wo...

With the coronavirus rampaging across the world, various protests against racial injustices with the Black Lives Matter movement, ecological and natural disasters and political unrest, so far 2020 has been the year that many want to forget. But one thing The Start Line Girls want to remember is the amazing content on screen and online which marked Black History Month 2020 in the UK. This episode, we discuss the best of the TV shows we've seen and the podcasts we've listened to as we ask, has the...

We’ve been on a lil' hiatus but The Start Line Girls are back with a special edition to kick off the start of Black History Month for the UK. Following the successes experienced by our running crew @emancipatedruncrew over the summer, namely being featured in The Running Channel, working with @blackcrewsunited in organising The Carnival Run 2020 (running the route of the Notting Hill Carnival with flags, whistles, speakers), and Dee and Jules being featured in the Telegraph’s Women’s Supplement...

After last episode’s round table discussion around why there is a reluctance in the UK and United States to talk about race, The Start Line Girls invite friends Tasha Thompson (@blackgirlsdorunuk) and Lara-Lee Green to discuss what happens when you do you break the silence to discuss race in what may be seen as traditionally white spaces - Tasha in the social pages of Runner’s World, and Lara-Lee in a Black Voices campaign launched by ITV. The Start Line Girls also share their experiences after ...

In this special bonus episode of The Start Line, recorded prior to the murder of George Floyd on Monday 25 May 2020, we discuss the tragic murder of Ahmaud Arbery. A 25 year old black man who loved running. Ahmaud was out running on the afternoon 23 February 2020 when he was hunted down, trapped, and shot to death around 1.30pm in the afternoon by two white men, father and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael in Brunswick, Glynn County, Georgia US. The full details of this incident can be found her...