The Real Science of Sport Podcast

Episode guest Dr Ian Gallen is an award-winning Consultant Endocrinologist at Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading. He is a consultant physician, endocrinologist, and diabetologist whose career has included clinical medicine, research, medical education, and work relating to diabetes, exercise, and sport. His particular expertise is in diabetes, exercise and sport, including the practical challenges of managing diabetes during physical activity and competitive sport.

In this episode, Gallen breaks down the basics of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, the latest in management and care, how modern technology is helping sufferers and why there is no reason diabetics cannot play sport at the highest level.

His work has explored the relationship between insulin, glucose metabolism, nutrition and exercise, including the practical management of diabetes in people undertaking intensive physical activity. His clinical experience has included work with athletes and physically active people with diabetes. (Society for Endocrinology⁠)
He has served as a Special Medical Adviser to the London 2012 Olympic Games, with responsibilities relating to medical issues affecting athletes with diabetes. His work in this area has included teaching, lecturing and professional education on diabetes and exercise.

Ian has contributed to publications in diabetes, endocrinology, and exercise medicine, including work on exercise physiology, hypoglycaemia, insulin management, and athletic performance in diabetes.
In 2012 he edited Type 1 Diabetes: Clinical Management of the Athlete, published by Springer. The book addresses the clinical management of athletes with type 1 diabetes and the practical considerations involved in participating in sport. (Springer⁠)
He has also contributed to professional medical literature, including a chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Sport and Exercise Medicine.

Ian has contributed to professional and advisory work relating to diabetes, driving and medical practice. He received the Royal Society of Medicine Gold Medal in 2012 and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2019.
He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCPE) and holds the degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD).

Ian’s professional interests include the interaction between diabetes, metabolism, exercise and healthy ageing. He is particularly interested in helping people with diabetes participate safely in exercise and sport while managing the physiological challenges of training and competition.

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Our Applied shows are normally exclusive to our Supporters. However, the 2026 track and field season has been so good, and given us so many threads to follow, that we've opened up the first part of this one to everyone! The Guardian's Sean Ingle joins us to look back on a year of 17 world records, from Sabastian Sawe's sub-two hour marathon and Josh Kerr's mile record to 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus becoming the youngest ever world champion, and a women's 800m that kept on giving all summer. Sean gives us his inside view on the Ultimate Championships, why World Athletics plans a world championships every year after 2030, why London lost out to Nairobi, why a doping-tainted marathon world record still stands, the brand wars behind the scenes, and whether a skin suit could ever be worth 2.5% over 800m.

Then, exclusively for our Supporters, the show becomes a journey into the mind of one of sport's most fascinating characters. Sean spent a day with Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen at his home in Norway, and shares what he learned about his upbringing (serious training from the age of seven), how his talent was shaped, his relationship with running, and the principles that drive him, from 180km weeks and no days off, to his rivalry with Kerr.

Links
The article on the Ingebrigtsen brothers that we discuss in our exclusive segment (full article available to members on Discourse)
Sean's two pieces on Jakob Ingebrigtsen. First, at home with Jakob and "obsession" he feeds
And the second instalment - 10 lessons from one of the world's most beguiling athletes
Epstein's Sports Gene - the best book on nurturing talent (and nature) you'll ever read
The paper that comes up in Sean's Talent discussion, showing that "successful juniors and successful seniors are largely two disparate populations"
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Become a Supporter and you'll get Friday's VIP member exclusive half of our Sean Ingle interview on the training and philosophy of Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Plus you'll get ad-free shows and access to our world-class Discourse community.

This week, Tigst Assefa's Achilles injury and a near-miss marathon world record in Berlin, Demi Vollering and Brandon McNulty's world titles in Montreal, and the UCI's long-overdue crash and injury data:

(00:00:31) Assefa was on world record pace through 40km of the Berlin Marathon before her Achilles tendon gave way. Ross doubts anyone could run the last 2.2km on a complete rupture, and we discuss whether her super shoes helped, and whether pushing on was brave or foolish
(00:17:43) Adidas sweeps both Berlin podiums, and we look ahead to Chicago and Valencia, where Ruth Chepngetich's tainted world record may not last long, and Sawe's 2026 record is also under threat
(00:20:04) Vollering adds the world title to her Giro and Tour triumphs, beating Kasia Niewiadoma and Elisa Longo Borghini in a fantastic women's race
(00:23:49) McNulty wins a chaotically competitive men's race with help from Quinn Simmons and Matteo Jorgenson, as the chase sits up within ten seconds of him. Is "second group syndrome" ever rational? Plus Paul Seixas's cramps, and a junior double not seen since Remco Evenepoel
(00:36:41) New UCI data shows women suffer 4.3 times more head injuries and 2.5 times more fractures in crashes than men. We explore bone health, low energy availability, skill gaps in the peloton, and how this research may open up evidence-led opportunities for rider safety
(00:47:35) Does looking fabulous make elite athletes faster? A debate about Keely Hodgkinson's skinsuit (and beige) gets out of hand on Instagram
(00:53:52) And finally, a six-year-old Rubik's Cube world record holder, a 15-year-old skateboarder given anaesthetic injections at the Asian Games, and what to do with prodigious talent
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Show notes

This week: how Jakob Ingebrigtsen was beaten over 5km on the roads, the physiology of altitude and 800m pacing, and what to do with outrageous teenage talent:

(00:02:33) The Ultimate Championships, national vests, and whether real-time data on release angle could make field events worth watching
(00:14:58) The World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, where Ingebrigtsen was beaten by Eritrea's Dawit Seare in the 5km. We trace the decisive suicidal surge at 4km, why closing that three-second gap emptied his tank for the last 200m, and what it means for athletes who race the Norweigian over 5000m in future. Plus, we preview a show focused on the fascinating approach that Ingebrigtsen brings to his life and training
(00:26:29) Likina Amebaw wins the women's 5km, Agnes Ngetich sets a women-only half marathon record, and Andreas Almgren runs a 58:06 European record ahead of his New York Marathon debut
(00:33:16) Nairobi gets the 2029 World Championships at 1,760m. Why does thin air help sprinters (and track cyclists) but hurt anyone racing 1500m and up?
(00:42:08) Athlos, 'action density', Keely Hodgkinson's speed suit, and whether aerodynamics matters in running at all
(00:55:05) Are women pacing the 800m wrong? Peripheral fatigue, and why race duration (roughly 100 vs 115 seconds) might shift the optimal strategy
(01:01:28) Enric Mas wins the Vuelta, and a wide-open cycling Worlds road race awaits
(01:08:29) 13-year-old swimmer Yu Zidi wins two Asian Games golds. How should coaches handle talent this young?
(01:17:18) Joe Warne explains MetaStudent, pooling student research projects into bigger, better studies
(01:22:28) And finally, the Red Roses' 39-match winning streak ends, Wales women put 50 on South Africa, and Anna's ride around Australia reaches nine magpie attacks and counting!
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In a groundbreaking study - commissioned by the British Heart Foundation and published in July 2025 (see details below) - Dr Peter Swoboda led a team from the University of Leeds to establish whether prolonged endurance exercise could be a risk factor for heart health in older athletes. The results offer revealing insight into the role of exercise in long-term heart health and whether endurance training carries any risks. Dr Swoboda also explains the basics of what exercise does for heart health, which types of exercise work best, why sudden death can happen in sporting events, and how best to look after your heart in the long term. Swoboda is an Associate Professor of Cardiology and Consultant Cardiologist at the University of Leeds with over 100 peer-reviewed publications.

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SHOW NOTES

The VENTOUX Study led by our guest, Dr Peter Swoboda
The British Heart Foundation write up of that study's first finding
A recent review article that looks at the overall picture of heart health in endurance trained athletes, discussing the three risk factors we explore on the show
One of those risk factors is Coronary Artery Disease, which is studied in this paper
Going back some time, this is one of the papers that first raised the fear that endurance training in large doses could be harmful to the heart
One of a few studies that showed progressive improvements in life expectancy and health with more exercise
Alex Hutchinson has done a great deal to explain the risks, and misplaced fears, of endurance training. Here is one such article
Another by Hutchinson, from 2021, providing a good overview of the three purported risks of endurance training on the heart
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