S2 EP04 Kate Hyland - Kidney Donation, London vs. Local Races, and Saying Yes to Everything

Paul sits down with Kate Hyland, a Nottinghamshire-based runner, run leader, and self-confessed extrovert, for a conversation that swings from cereal-mixing psychology to one of the most quietly powerful stories the podcast has covered. Kate started running in January 2023 not for fitness or fun, but to prepare her body for major surgery: donating a kidney to her husband Lee, who lives with end-stage kidney disease. Testing later revealed a rare condition that ruled her out as a donor — but weeks after that news, she was offered a charity place in the London Marathon for Kidney Care UK, and the running habit she'd built for an entirely different reason became the thing that carried her through. Paul and Kate talk honestly about what marathon training actually looks like around a full-time job, two teenagers, and a husband managing dialysis at home — and how Kate's back-of-the-pack, coffee-after-a-long-run approach to running club life is just as valid as chasing PBs. They compare notes on London Marathon (crowded, overhyped, a hard pass for both of them) versus the low-key charm of a local 10K with a burger van at the finish, and Kate breaks down the 30-minute improvement between her London debut (6:15) and her Brighton follow-up (5:43). The conversation also covers Kate's leap into triathlon with zero swimming or cycling experience, the run-leader trick that gets her out the door in torrential rain, training through perimenopause and anxiety, and a shared love of trifle-sized post-run treats — including the time Kate ate an entire family trifle solo after a brutal 30K training run. Honest, funny, and quietly moving — this episode is about running for reasons bigger than a finish line, saying yes before you feel ready, and why community keeps you showing up when motivation won't.