Mostpleasantexhaustion

This week, we present a recording of a paper entitled "The Appeal of Running Long Distances" that George presented at an event at his college. In the paper, he discussed some of the things that may have inspired him to keep running after a wreck nearly ended his career (and his life).

This week, George and Allison got together to talk about two big Atlanta-based running stories that have echoed around the endurance sporting world: the death of Olympian and coach Jeff Galloway and the unfortunate debacle at the USATF Half Marathon Championship at the Atlanta Half Marathon over the weekend.

On January 18, Erik and Michelle ran the Tsali 50K in Almond, NC. Even though George had hoped to run it with them, he ended up just cheering instead. The three of us all got together and talked about the race, including the weather, the fueling, the course, and the challenges that Erik and Michelle faced along the way. Spoiler: they had a great time and highly recommend this race.

This week, longtime friend of the podcast Justin Dugan joined George to talk about "The Chain," a harrowing new memoir from Sir Bradley Wiggins. Sir Wiggins--who received his knighthood in 2013--is arguably the most successful British cyclist of all time, having won five Olympic gold medals, numerous world championships, and several stage races on the road. In 2012, he rocketed to fame when he became the first British winner of the Tour de France. Everything came crashing down after that, though. It turns out that there was a lot of trauma in Sir Wiggins's life, and when he quit racing his bike, it all came to the surface. The next decade was filled with drug and alcohol addiction, and he only recently started to find his way back. This memoir was an important step in that process.

Each year, we look spend some time talking about what Spotify told us about our listening habits and what Strava told us about our training habits. Today was that day! Of course, each of this tools gives us the opportunity to reflect on how we have spent our time, and that can potentially prompt changes in how we behave. And it's super-fun!

It's the 2025 gift guide! Every year, we talk about the suggestions that we have for the runners in your lives, and this year, we covered all the bases. Want something small? We have you covered. Big? We have that, too. Kinda random? Yep--there are some of those on the list. We even discussed the things that we suggest that you NOT purchase. Happy holidays!

This week, we spent a lot of time talking about the fabulous men's and women's races at the NCAA cross-country championships, including a repeat win for Doris Lemongole and a long-awaited championship for Habtom Samuel. Before we got into the details of those races and our analysis of the issues related to the races, though, we talked about the biggest news of the week: the unfortunate--but ultimately understandable--postponement of the World 50K Championship that Allison was set to run in December. We discussed how the news hit her and what her plans are moving forward.

This week, we talked about a new job posting from the Atlanta Braves--an opening for their on-field sprinter/entertainer, the Freeze! Although lots of folks have fowarded this application to us, we talked about how incredibly unfit for the job that we are! In addition, we checked in on Allison's mindset with only three weeks to the World 50K Championship, we made a few corrections based on listener feedback, and we discussed a recent controversy in the FKT world.

This past weekend, several records fell at the Tunnel Hill 100-miler, including the women's 50-mile world record, the women's 100-mile world record, and the women's 100K national record. Allison ran the marathon--setting a course record in the process!--so she was on-hand to watch it all go down. This week, she shared with us all that she saw while there!

This past weekend, George and Michelle ran the New York City Marathon! As they made their way across the five boroughs with more than 59,000 other people, they experience the intensity and enthusiasm that makes the New York City Marathon a truly one-of-a-kind event. This week, we talked about how it felt to toe the starting line, to run the race, and to cross the finish, plus we considered some of the performances by the pro runners and celebrities who competed.

We've talked a lot about the New York City Marathon this season since both George and Michelle are running it, and the race is finally upon us! We talked about final prep, the pros that will be there, and our plans for the weekend! (Make sure to tune in next week for the race report!) We also talked about the stunning course records at the first 2026 Golden Ticket race: the Javelina Jundred!

Who talks about a 5K and a 24-hour race in the same podcast? We do! This week, we discussed the IAU 24-hour World Championship that saw Sarah Webster set a new world record for the distance. We also gave our thoughts on the online frenzy around Camille Herron that preceded the race. Before we got into all of that, though, we checked in with Michelle's experience at the local 10-miler--one of her last big tune-ups before the New York City Marathon!--and George's experience at the accompanying 5K, which also happened to be the US Masters National 5K Championship.

This past weekend was HUGE for endurance events, and we started with the most important one: the Hartford Marathon! Allison reported to us how it went, gave us the details on the course, and described the challenges she faced. We then talked about the Chicago Marathon, where among other things, Conner Mantz set a new American record in the men's marathon. We then touched on a few of the other things we tracked this weekend, including the Kodiak 100, the Ironman World Championship in Kona, and the Athlos Games!

This week, we caught up on several pieces of news in the world of distance running, including Courtney Dauwalter's first pro marathon, Killan Jornet's completion of States of Elevation, Connor Mantz's attempt on the AR this weekend at the Chicago Marathon, and the upcoming Athlos track meet in New York City. We also caught up on Michelle's training for the New York City Marathon and Allison's tapering for the Hartford Marathon.

It has been more than two weeks since George, Allison, and Michelle got together, so we spent this week catching up on a few things. First, we discussed Allison's interview with Jeff Garmire that we published last week. Despite being incredibly tired from his incredible self-supported record on the Appalachian Trail, Jeff had some insightful things to share, and we wanted to go back over that stuff. In addition, we talked about George's race over the weekend at the Loch Ness Marathon in Scotland, including how the race unfolded, what the course was like, and how he finished. We then checked in on Michelle's New York City Marathon training and Allison's final preparations for next week's Hartford Marathon!

This week, Allison interviewed her friend and brand new *self-supported* FKT-holder for the Appalachian Trail, Jeff Garmire! Jeff's accomplishment was amazing; not only did he do the entire trail in 45 days, 8 hours, and 37 minutes, but he did it without any help at all. This meant that he had to solve any problems that cropped up along the way, whether it was missing a food shipment, or having the wrong shoes, or leaving a bunch of chargers on the side of the trail. Allison and Jeff talked about all of it only a couple of days after Jeff finished, and he had a lot to share about the challenges he faced and how he's feeling now.

This week, we discussed a few different things happening in the endurance sporting world, and as usual, we offered our takes on them. We started by talking about the men's and women's marathons at the World Championship, both of which ended in sprint finishes! We went on to discuss the unfortunate recent doping positive of UTMB OCC winner Joyline Chepngeno, considering why and how it may have happened in light of what we have learned about doping culture in Kenya. We talked a bit about Kilan Jornet's latest adventure--a massive undertaking in which he's climbing all 67 14,000-foot peaks in the United States and cycling between them. And finally, we talked about Jeff Garmire's experience on the Appalachian Trail, where he is on the verge of setting a new FKT for a self-supported traverse.

This week, we celebrated Allison's being officially named to Team USA for the World 50K Championship by going back over a few things that Bobby Norwood said during our interview last week. We also analyzed some of the results from Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), one of the biggest and most prestigious ultra races in the United States. Finally, we discussed a recent article in the New York Times that described a small study by a Virginia oncologist that seemed to suggest a link between distance running and colon cancer. While it's still preliminary, there are some good takeaways for endurance athletes like us!

This week, we got to talk to Bobby Norwood, who recently completed the 2025 Leadville Trail 100. Bobby told us all about his preparation, his fueling, and the race itself. Miles on the trail? A lot. Carbs consumed? So, so many. Twisted ankles? Alas, yes. We got the fully story.

This week, we spent some time talking about the amazing run that Sibusiso Kubheka had at the Adidas Chasing 100 project, but we wondered what the purpose of the event may have been. In addition, we spent a little more time talking about shoes--particularly ahead of UTMB this weekend--and we discussed what the decision to go pro may mean for 800m runner Cooper Lutkenhaus. And of course, we talked about Taylor and Travis!