DFW Running Talk

Miranda Hyvl started running 14 years ago with a couch-to-5K program as a busy mom just trying to get in shape. Today she's run 23 marathons, finished Boston seven times, checked off five of the six World Marathon Majors, and become an RRCA-certified coach — all while raising five kids in a blended family. But Miranda's biggest impact might be off the racecourse. When Rockwall's running community...

Neil Robinson started running seriously in his 40s, ran a 4:53 first marathon he swore would be his last, and then — at 52 — ran a 3:16:24 Boston Qualifier. This is the story of the slow build: years of run-walking, the nutrition and training lessons from the White Rock Running Co-op crowd, Pfitzinger plans, 1,960-mile years, and the mindset shift of learning to push through discomfort. A conversa...

Eleven days before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in North Texas, runners and soccer fans are converging on The Sound at Cypress Waters for the Countdown to the Cup 5K — and in this episode, I get the full story from the two people making it happen. Cindy Solomon of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee and Eric Lindberg of On Your Left Marketing & Events join me to break down...

Drew Martig started running at 27 — talked into a 5K by his CMO at Checkpoint Software. Less than a decade later, he ran 2:28 at the Berlin Marathon while self-coaching from his home in Flagstaff, Arizona. In this conversation, Chris Detzel and Drew (Tanium teammates and fellow distance runners) get into the nuts and bolts of building real marathon fitness on limited time. Drew opens up about leav...

Nick Polito is a DFW running institution — 60 marathons, 30+ ultras, a 2:58 Boston PR, a Western States 100 buckle, and 19 straight years of high-mileage training. He founded Dallas Running Project, helped shape White Rock Running Club, and has paced 40-50 races for runners chasing their own goals. He's also the rare runner willing to tell on himself: in this episode, Nick shares the full story of...

Scott Manis didn't start running until his early 40s, and he started in a swimsuit. Twenty years later, he's logged 45 marathons, five Boston appearances, a full Ironman, and become one of the most well-known and well-loved figures in the Dallas running scene through the White Rock Running Co-op. In this conversation, Chris and Scott trace the whole journey — from a lonely job transfer to West Pal...

Sergio Mena grew up running cross country in Spain, earned a full D1 scholarship to the University of Kentucky, got his MBA in Texas, and is now one of the most dominant half marathon runners in the DFW area — all while working full-time as an accounting manager. In this episode, Chris sits down with Sergio to talk about his journey from Spain to Kentucky to Texas, his years-long quest to win the...

Dallas runner Jodi Jordan is back at Boston for her third time — and she's never felt more ready. In this conversation recorded live at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza the day before the 2025 Boston Marathon, Jodi shares how she went from partying on weeknights to qualifying for Boston with a 3:23 at St. George in 2015, the health scare that almost kept her from her second Boston, and how she's evolv...

Michael Ryan didn't come to running through a 5K — he came through a half Ironman in Panama, a full in Arizona, and a 3:24 debut at Kiawa three weeks after finishing the iron distance. Now he's standing on the eve of his first Boston Marathon, fired up, a little uncertain, and ready to feel every mile of it. Chris and Michael chat about his sub-2:50 breakthrough at Pegasus, the coaching relationsh...

Nathan Rankin grew up watching his dad Greg run Boston — so many times it stopped feeling special. Then he qualified himself, debuted with a 2:38 at Eugene, came to Boston chasing a PR, and blew up at mile 16. Now he's back. This time staying in the city, riding the yellow bus, soaking in everything he skipped last year — and locked in on one number: 2:46:40. That's his dad's Boston PR, and Nathan...

Chris sits down with Megan Brown at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza the day before the 2026 Boston Marathon. Megan shares what it's been like to run Boston five times, including once while three months pregnant and again just five months postpartum — and why she's never stopped chasing the streak. Now eyeing a sub-3 breakthrough with a training partner to push her, Megan talks about how motherhood re...

Recorded live at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, Kevin Hebert joins Chris Detzel to talk about what it feels like to finally be here — at the Super Bowl of marathons. From his CIM debut to a tougher training block with double workout weeks, Kevin opens up about running with his wife Brooke and 10-year-old son Gus, the electric Boston energy, and chasing a sub-3:00 on one of the hardest courses in...

Nick Pencil moved to Dallas knowing nobody, found Train Pegasus, and ran a 2:44 in his very first marathon. Now he's toeing the line at the 2026 Boston Marathon after battling an IT band injury that sidelined him for six weeks just months before race day. Chris catches up with Nick live from the Hilton Boston Park Plaza the day before the race. They talk about going from fourth-grade track meets t...

Jana Kizakova ran her first marathon in 2017 on a New Year's resolution dare — finished in 3:44 and swore she'd never do it again. She meant it. Five years went by with zero marathons. Then a quiet moment on a seawall in Vancouver changed everything. Inspired by the memory of a former manager named Alex who ran alongside her on her worst training days, Jana set a single condition: if she was going...

Recorded live at the Hilton Park Plaza in Boston, Chris sits down with Train Pegasus coach and Dallas running legend Alfonzo "Fonz" Gonzales on the eve of his 10th Boston Marathon. Fonz breaks down why he keeps coming back year after year (hint: it's not for himself), shares his race-day strategy for 2026 — a disciplined progression run targeting around 2:45 while using Boston as a tune-up for the...

Eli Rodriguez went from tearing his rotator cuff as a bodybuilder to qualifying for Boston — twice — in just a few years of running. In this live episode recorded at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza the day before the 2026 Boston Marathon, Eli shares how he went sub-3 in only his second marathon, what he learned from his first Boston, and why he's chasing a 2:49 this year. Plus, his take on how run cl...

What does it take to go from nearly 200 pounds and no fitness routine to crossing the finish line of the world's most iconic marathon? For Kathy Smith, it took 16 years of walking, jogging, stress fractures, 100+ half marathons, two volunteer stints at the Boston finish line — and finally, a lottery win through her employer, Bank of America. Recorded live at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza during 202...

The "Boston Bound: DFW's Road to Hopkinton" series ends here — with Alan Schonborn, one of the most beloved figures in DFW running. At 67, Alan is heading to his 11th Boston Marathon. He literally lives around the corner from the finish line. He guides blind runners with Achilles International. And it all started with a mastiff who wouldn't let him quit. Alan opens up about finding community throu...

Bobby Mack of Aubrey, TX didn't lace up his first pair of running shoes until he was nearly 40. Now he's a two-time Boston finisher, Abbott Six Star chaser, and Berlin PR holder (3:11) — and on April 20, 2026, he's heading back to Hopkinton with one goal: a clean, healthy sub-3:20. In this episode of our Boston Bound: DFW's Road to Hopkinton series, Bobby opens up about qualifying for Boston with...

Dr. Mark Denny has run Boston 11 times. He's completed 100+ marathons across all 7 continents. And he was on a bus to the starting line the morning the 2013 bombs went off. In this episode, the 67-year-old DFW runner opens up about the moment an 81-year-old doctor — on his 41st Boston — leaned in nose-to-nose and quietly dismantled everything Mark thought running was about. Heading back to Hopkint...

Angela Awald didn't start running until her thirties — already a mom of six. After a miscarriage, postpartum depression, and seasonal depression, she turned to running to trust her body again. She pushed a double jogging stroller through her early miles, worked through an IT band injury, and still ran a 3:45:21 at the Philadelphia Marathon to qualify for Boston. Then she ran 3:39 at Buffalo. Then...

Will Christensen went from running his first marathon at the BMW Dallas Marathon in 3:55 to qualifying for Boston with a 2:47 at a tiny under-100-person race in Grand Island, Nebraska — and now he's heading to Hopkinton with an A goal of 2:40. In this episode, the Army veteran and Dallas-based runner shares his full journey: a near-miss BQ at Big Sur (2:57 when he needed 2:55), finding the Nebrask...

Carrie Varner didn't even know what a BQ was when she ran one by accident in Las Vegas. A phone call from a friend that night changed everything — and sent her on a journey that now spans 13 consecutive Boston Marathons, with number 14 just weeks away. But her story isn't just about streaks and finish lines. Carrie's first Boston was 2013 — the bombing year. She crossed the finish line six minutes...

Joel Mays didn't know what a marathon was when he watched runners shut down Boston streets as a college student in Rhode Island. Now he's one of 10 runners selected nationally by iFit to run the 2026 Boston Marathon on April 21st — and every mile he runs is dedicated to his daughter, who he lost to heart complications as a newborn. In this episode, Joel opens up about the moment he held his daugth...

Jane Buthod has run Boston five times — and in two weeks, she lines up for number six. In this episode of the Boston Bound: DFW's Road to Hopkinton series, the Allen-based runner shares how she BQ'd at a no-frills Fort Worth marathon on just her second marathon ever, what made her COVID-era Boston debut the most unforgettable race of her life, and why she keeps coming back year after year. Jane op...