Former Welsh 800m runner Jimmy Watkins reached a World Championship final, ran 1:46 for 800m… and then walked away from running completely.

In this episode of the Rokman Podcast, Jimmy talks about the reality of elite athletics, why he quit at his peak, drinking before races, swapping running for life in a rock band, getting sober, rediscovering his love for running and eventually co-founding Running Punks.

We also get into what happened when he left Running Punks, how the breakup affected him personally, his Running Reviews, working with BBC 6 Music and Craig Charles, and why combining running with music helped him find his identity again.

Then we get into training. Jimmy’s approach is refreshingly simple. We talk about how to actually get faster, interval training, why running is a skill, warm-ups, and the advice he gives people who want to find out what they’re genuinely capable of.