UNTAPPED with Spencer Matthews
Mary McCarthy Debunks Over-Training Rumours, Stress Fracture Accident and Online Critique
15 Jun 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Mr. Blobby in this jacket. Is it cool? You didn't until you mentioned it. Do I look like a marshmallow?
No, that's going to be an intro to the video.
Welcome, Mary McCarthy.
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
It's a great pleasure. We're big fans of yours in here. Your first ever marathon, you ran a 303.
Yeah, 303.
303, non-professional runner. Where were you at in your life at that time? And what drew you to running?
So I've been running now for nearly 20 years. So I started running when I was eight. So my first marathon, obviously it was my first like competitive marathon race, but it was like my hundredth competitive race. So I...
Around that marathon period of my life, because I basically came out of competitive running from the age of eight, primary school, secondary school, university, came to London and was like, what does running mean to someone who's not in an athletics club and competitive space? And I found a new circle of friends and they all signed up to do Valencia Marathon.
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Chapter 2: What motivated Mary McCarthy to start running?
Because I'd been running for so long, but I'd been running, like, 3K on track or, like, cross-country. And, like, we weren't even really allowed to road race growing up because it was, like, deemed bad on your bones. So I'd never... I'd done, like, one 10K race. And they were like, we're doing Valencia Marathon. I was like... That's a crazy thing to do.
And I was like signed up to the ballot, got in and I was like, should I do it? And they were all like, yeah. And I trained with like a group of friends to do my first marathon. And then I just kind of like, I guess I just fell into running the marathon because everyone that I was friends with at the time was like training for it.
And it was just like the next thing that our like social group was doing.
What drew you to running when you were so young, when you were eight? Did somebody in your family run or was it a friendship thing?
My dad ran. So my dad was doing like... So I grew up swimming and then my dad was a runner. Grew up swimming. Yeah, you're going to notice a little hand movement.
Just for the record, we've got hands. We grew up swimming with hands.
With hands. My dad did a half marathon and was like... I obviously don't remember the conversation because I was eight, but he obviously was like, you should do the fun run. So I did the fun run with him, which was probably a kilometre, came third and met Jessica Ennis.
And then the next weekend he was like, I think you should do the primary school cross country, proceeded to win by like five minutes or something. And then I guess I just fell into it from that because he was like, oh, this is clearly something you're good at. And then I literally never looked back, just ran for the rest of my life.
I love the way you were just that much better than other kids who didn't even know it.
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Chapter 3: How does Mary train for marathons without a professional setup?
I think, for me... Going out at a pace, even just for like 800 meters, where I know that I've got like four more gears is beneficial to me.
To the mindset.
Because I just think, say if I'm going for 1730 and I go out at 330s, I'm not sure I can hold 330 for 5k. I'm not sure I have that. Maybe I do.
I just don't think.
It's been a long time since I've raced 5k. So for all I know, I'm talking crap. But maybe I do.
In the high fives, yeah.
But I think if I did, even if you did 345 for a K, and then literally just drop the hammer to 330s for 3K, and then the 2K just go... Yeah, that's just being scared of the distance, though, because you're just saying, well, I'm happy to be doing that for 4K, but not 5. Yeah, no, I am frightened. I'm frightened.
I hate it. It's the worst distance. I'd rather race a 10K. You'd rather run 325 for 4K. than 330 for five.
Yeah, yeah.
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Chapter 4: What does Mary say about the importance of fueling like her male training partners?
She'll go out and she'll plod her 5K. I'm speaking about racing 5K. Yeah. Most people hate it.
Yeah.
Right? Like, I haven't found anyone who loves racing the 5K. Yeah. God, just, like, it's genuinely making me feel like it is. It's crap. I've got one on Saturday.
Oh, you have one on Saturday?
Yeah.
I think, I do think it's a bit of an ego race.
Yeah, it's a badge. Yeah, it's like... What's your 5K time?
Yeah, because it's like, it's the distance that like, if we're all, everyone in the world's running marathons now, right? It's the one distance where you can kind of be like... I'm going to show you how fast I actually am. Like no one's doing anything shorter than a 5K now.
Like no one's going to like go and run an 800 meters on the track because like a 210, 800 is completely irrelevant to most people. But to everybody, even if you don't run, for example, your wife, you could say my PB to her and she'd be like, that was quite quick. But without having any knowledge of the sport at all,
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Chapter 5: How does Mary address online criticism as a content creator?
I could just do it now, you know, bash. Just start the watch. But no, unfortunately, well, it would count, I suppose.
Maybe we should race.
You and I? Yeah. Well, I'm happy to do that.
5K.
Yeah, I mean, I think by the sounds of things, you're going to smoke me, but that's okay.
No, but also I'm coming off the back of injury and you're trying to go for a 245.
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Chapter 6: What is Mary's perspective on overtraining and injury?
Okay.
Which is also my marathon goal. Oh. So. What's your marathon PB? 250.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
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Chapter 7: What mistakes do runners make when trying to improve their speed?
I was training for a sub 245 in Tokyo this year.
Okay.
And I was definitely in shape to do that. And then I got injured.
I was in Tokyo.
Oh, were you? Yeah.
Did you run it? I ran 257.
Oh. I was there cheering because I had a bib but couldn't do it. Is it somewhere? Oh, it's there.
Shit medal. Yeah, that's a tiny one. No, genuinely, I was like, they put it around my neck. And it's a world major. I realised 30k, 35k into the race. I was like, oh my God, I've split these 5k's perfectly with my friends. This is the best day ever. I'm not even exhausted yet. It was kind of like a weird... It was just the perfect race.
And in my mind, I was like, I'm going to carry this through to the end. I'm going to run a 2.54.50 or something. And I'd slept for an hour the night before. But everything came together. And it was literally just like, I was listening to a playlist that I'd never listened to before that was the best playlist ever.
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