DFW Running Talk

Matthew Kanarr went from a 3:12 debut at the 2023 Austin Marathon to a 2:48:16 Boston qualifier at CIM 2024 — and he's heading to his first Boston Marathon. In this episode, Matthew shares how connecting with Plano Run Club, Ray's Track Club, and coach Fonz at Train Pegasus completely transformed his running. We talk training blocks, race day mindset, and what he's most looking forward to at the 1...

Tats Arai has run Boston nine times. But his 10th is unlike anything he's done before. In Episode 2 of our Boston Marathon Special, the Dallas-area runner shares how he's heading to Hopkinton this April to push his friend Scott — a graduate school buddy living with ALS — in a wheelchair across all 26.2 miles of the Boston Marathon course. Tats walks us through his running journey, from his first B...

Tre Montigue has run Boston 16 consecutive times — and he's already qualified for his 17th. In this episode, the Dallas-Fort Worth runner and member of the DFW Running Club shares how he went from casual jogger to Boston Marathon regular, including qualifying for his very first marathon with just 26 days of training and then racing Boston the following year with two fractured vertebrae. Tre takes...

Fort Worth runner, TCU alumna, and nutrition professor McKale Montgomery has one of the most remarkable stories in the DFW running community — and probably all of American distance running. At her peak, McKale was running 2:34 marathons, chasing Olympic Trials qualifying standards by seconds, and competing against the best women in the country. Then in 2022, her right leg stopped working mid-run....

Chris Detzel joins Drew Martig of the Happy Running Podcast for a collab episode on running community, marathon training, and what it really takes to get faster. Chris shares how he went from zero to consistent runner at 37, built an 11,000-member DFW running community, and why miles — not secrets — are the key to improvement. Drew opens up about coming back from a serious injury with his eye on C...

Ryan Burrell ran 2:53:01 in his very first marathon at the 2026 Houston Marathon — one of the fastest marathon debuts in the Dallas running community in recent memory. ------------------------- Sponsor : Rise Racing Co., Get 10% off, use code DFW, Register for the Panther City Ultra in Fort Worth, 50k, 25k, 10k and 5k ​ April 4th, 2026 Marion Sansom Park 2501 Roberts Cut Off Rd, Fort Worth, TX 761...

Houston Marathon qualifier Andrew Smith ran 2:53:52 in January 2026 to earn his Boston Marathon 2027 BQ — with a hamstring cramp at mile 24 nearly derailing everything. In this episode of DFW Running Talk, Andrew shares the full three-year marathon journey that took him from signing up for his first half marathon on three days' notice to qualifying for Boston. We cover his first marathon at Irving...

What does it take to run one of Texas's most iconic marathons — and then launch a brand new one from scratch? This week, Chris sits down with Jason Schuchard, President of the BMW Dallas Marathon, for a candid conversation about his life in running, what's fueling Dallas Marathon's incredible growth, and the exciting new McKinney Historic Half Marathon launching March 28th. Jason shares how his mo...

Eric Bretl's running story is one of humility, growth, and the undeniable power of community. In this episode, Eric shares how a humbling 1:34 half marathon finish — after training solo and thinking he was working harder than everyone around him — set him on a path to completely reinvent himself as a runner. From lifting weights and eating Jack's pizza in college to dropping from 225 lbs and event...

Joe Hale has won the Dallas Marathon twice — and in 2025 came back from a year battling an Achilles injury to finish third in one of the most competitive fields the race has seen. In this episode, Joe takes us through his full running journey: from summer track in Grapevine at age seven, to building a marathon career on 140-mile training weeks. He breaks down race day 2025, the frozen glove incide...

Braden Keefer's running story is one of redemption and consistency. After running mediocre times in high school and never making varsity, Braden quit running entirely in college—gaining 40 pounds, smoking American Spirits, and developing some unhealthy habits along the way. But in December 2019, a girlfriend got him back on the track. What started as casual runs slowly turned into something more s...

At just 20 years old, Jera Crandall ran 3:05:39 in her first-ever marathon at the 2025 Dallas Marathon—shattering the Boston qualifying standard by over 20 minutes and finishing 13th overall women and 6th in her age group. This race became deeply meaningful when Jera lost her father in early September during her training cycle, turning the marathon into a tribute to him and a way to process her gr...

Join host Chris Detzel for an inspiring conversation with Nicole Bitter, one of the most accomplished ultrarunners in North America. Nicole's journey began with an unexpected tap on the shoulder from her 7th-grade gym teacher who redirected her from basketball to cross country—a decision that would change her life forever. From running at Northwestern University to discovering trail running during...

Juliette Vielhauer only started running in 2023, and just two years later, she ran a stunning 3:01:57 debut marathon at California International Marathon (CIM). At 25 years old, this former lacrosse player from Cal Poly and SMU has taken the Dallas running scene by storm. In this conversation, Juliette shares her unconventional journey into running—signing up for a half marathon without ever racin...

In this episode of DFW Running Talk, Chris Detzel sits down with Aaron Pearson to discuss his inspiring running journey from small-town Kansas to the California International Marathon, where he ran a phenomenal 2:35:02 PR. Aaron shares his early running experiences, including going undefeated in the 800m during his senior year of high school before taking second place at state. He talks about his...

In this episode of DFW Running Talk's "New Blood" series, Chris sits down with Casey Novelo, the 22-year-old rising star who ran 2:24:43 to finish second overall at the 2024 Dallas Marathon. Casey's running journey is anything but typical. Starting as one of the slowest runners on his high school cross country team—finishing second-to-last at districts with a 21+ minute 5K—he transformed himself t...

Talon Smith owns FTX Hybrid Athletics in Fort Worth, where he's built one of the most successful Hyrox programs in America. In this conversation, he demystifies the sport for runners: 8 kilometers of running broken up by 8 functional fitness stations (ski erg, sled push, burpees, rowing, farmers carry, lunges, wall balls). Learn why Dallas Hyrox sold 12,000 tickets in hours, how to structure hybri...

In this special episode of New Blood: DFW's Young Gals Raising the Bar , Chris sits down with three remarkable athletes who proved that the best training partners are sometimes the ones you never actually train with. Sisters Maddie Stier (32, Allen, TX) and Grace Chow (29, Washington, DC), along with their close friend Melanie Lassen (34, Casper, WY), came together at the California International...

Welcome to The OGs: DFW's Running Pioneers - a series dedicated to the runners who built the DFW running community from nothing. These are the originals. The ones who ran when nobody cared, when the shoes were garbage, when there were no gels, barely any water, and definitely no fanfare. They did it because they loved it, and they created the foundation we're all standing on today. Kerry Little la...

New Blood: DFW's Young Guns Raising the Bar The bar just got raised in Dallas. Steven Fahy, a 29-year-old NCAA steeplechase champion and Brooks Running employee, just won the Dallas Marathon in his debut with a time of 2:23:28 - making him the fastest marathoner in DFW at this moment. But this isn't just a story about natural talent crushing a race. It's about rediscovering why you run in the firs...

Brent Woodle didn't run competitively in high school or college—he was too busy playing World of Warcraft. But after moving to Dallas at 25 with no friends and a bucket list goal to run a marathon, he joined every running club he could find. Fast forward to today, and Brent is one of the fastest masters runners in DFW, with a 2:28 marathon PR. In this episode, recorded before the Dallas Marathon (...

Ruth Atkinson is helping runners of all levels achieve their own breakthroughs as a coach with McKirdy Trained. In this episode, Ruth shares her unconventional path to running, starting with a spontaneous decision to go for a run instead of watching Grey's Anatomy one night in 2018. With a background in music education and drum corps, Ruth brings a unique perspective to coaching that emphasizes pa...

Paul Box is the embodiment of running as adventure. Starting his serious running journey at age 30 with a 3:29 marathon, Paul has become a 12-time Boston Marathon finisher, ultrarunning enthusiast, and two-time World Marathon Challenge finisher (7 marathons, 7 continents, 7 days). As a board member of the Dallas White Rock Marathon, Paul is helping elevate the race by bringing in approximately 150...

In this inspiring episode, Chris sits down with Shirley Barbaro, founder of Plano Running Club, to hear one of the most remarkable late-bloomer running stories you'll ever encounter. Shirley didn't run a single mile until 2010, and what started as a reluctant journey at Russell Creek Park in the freezing dark turned into something extraordinary—she won her age group and Boston qualified in her ver...

This is a special episode of DFW Running Talk! Host Chris Detzel sits down with Marcus Grunewald (Executive Managing Director) and Jodi Jordan (Operations Director) of the Dallas White Rock Marathon Organization for an announcement you don't want to miss. BREAKING NEWS Hosted by TUPPS Brewery: The Dallas Marathon organization is launching the McKinney Historic Half Marathon presented by BMW on Mar...