Marathon Handbook Podcast

Our editors Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle breakdown everything you need to know about the 2024 Chicago Marathon, one of the biggest marathons in the world!  But first they discuss their early experiences using Strava's new "Athlete Intelligence" AI (1:02), which provides a training prompt after each run. Is it merely a low-fi chatbot gimmick or the future of coaching? Then they get int...

Editors Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle chat about Alex's trip to Memphis (and his morning runs in a parking lot) (00:48). Then they talk about Marathon Handbook's fancy new website! (06:14). Michael has been testing the Brooks Glycerin Max and shares his thoughts after a big run (09:33); and Katelyn shares her plan for the Kodiak UTMB ultra in California next week! (16:13). Then, they g...

Editors Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle jump into the studio for an emergency pod, right after the finish of the 2024 Berlin Marathon on Sunday morning. SPOILER ALERT: we talk about how the race played itself out, and who won. Chapters 00:00 Instant Reactions to the 2024 Berlin Marathon 06:17 Men's and Women's Races 12:19 Adidas Dominance in the Marathon 17:37 The Impact of Missing Big N...

Marathon Handbook's news editor Jessy Carveth and editor-in-chief Michael Doyle unpack why the American ultrarunner  Camille Herron is embroiled in a messy Wikipedia scandal. The conversation delves into the controversy surrounding ultrarunner Camille Herron, who has faced backlash for allegedly manipulating her Wikipedia page to enhance her image while undermining her competitors by altering thei...

Our editors Alex, Katelyn and Michael break down everything you need to know about this Sunday's Berlin Marathon, including how to live stream the race, key storylines, a bit of the fascinating history of the marathon, and who will win each race. They discuss the significance of the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Marathon, its ranking as a World Marathon Major, why so many marathon world records h...

Marathon Handbook editors Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle discuss the latest developments in the World of Marathon Majors: Boston Marathon's new qualification standards and the Sydney Marathon's rise to reportedly become the next World Marathon Major, perhaps as early as next year. They also delve into Alex's recent 5K PR, exploring the training changes he made and the importance of coac...

Editors Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle chat about Alex's recent trip to the French Alps for a week of trail running in the mountains. He shares what he learned, the mistakes he made on the trails, and the YouTube vlog he produced documenting this humbling and enlightening experience. Then, they provide a primer on how to get into trail running, particularly if you're coming from a road...

In this episode, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle discuss why UTMB continues to be the most talked about ultramarathon in the world. Then they dive into the big topic of the pod: fuelling for marathons.  They emphasize the importance of fuelling properly for optimal performance and discuss the timing and composition of pre-race meals. They share their personal approaches to race week nutrition and...

Marathon Handbook editors Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle discuss the upcoming season two of the docu-series 'Sprint' on Netflix, the Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc (UTMB) race, and answer listener questions.  Your questions ask about the importance of rest days after long runs and how to adjust training paces based on individual abilities, improving your mile time, dealing with feet and leg...

On this week's pod, Alex, Katelyn and Michael begin with Alex's latest YouTube video, in which he goes Strava segment hunting in front of Drake's $100 million mansion. Then, they briefly break down the just-announced 2024 New York City Marathon elite fields, with a surprising number of Olympic marathoners on the list. And then, they dive deep into the big topic of the day (inspired by the Paris Ol...

Editor Michael Doyle is joined by Marathon Handbook's resident coach Katelyn Tocci to break down everything you need to know about how to go about setting goals for the marathon. They discuss: Setting Marathon Goals Understanding SMART Goals What is the “SMART” criteria for goal setting? How can applying SMART goals enhance your marathon training? 2. Process-Based vs. Outcome-Based Goals Differenc...

Editors Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle jump into the studio for a their final emergency pod of these Olympic Games, right after the finish of the women's Olympic marathon in Paris on Sunday morning. The final event of the Olympics did not disappoint, delivering a thrilling finish. SPOILER ALERT: we talk about how the race played itself out, and who won. Watch a video version of this pod...

Editors Alex Cyr and Michael Doyle jump into the studio for an emergency pod, right after the finish of the men's Olympic marathon in Paris on Saturday morning. SPOILER ALERT: we talk about how the race played itself out, and who won. Be sure to follow this pod feed for an instant reaction episode after the women's Olympic marathon as well, shortly after the race concludes on Sunday morning. _____...

Alex, Katelyn and Michael describe the Paris Olympic marathon course in detail, and what to expect when live streaming both the men's and women's marathons this weekend. Will Eliud Kipchoge pull of the improbable and win gold in the Olympic marathon for a third straight time? Or will there be a new Olympic champ at 26.2 miles? And in the women's marathon, which concludes the Paris Olympics, will d...

Alex Cyr and Michael Doyle scramble the pod mics for an emergency pod that's all about the first medal event of the 2024 Olympic Games, the men's 10,000m.  The race turned out to be among the best distance championship finals of all-time, with an electric finish. Spoiler alert: world record holder Joshua Chepetegei is incredible. American Grant Fisher also delivered the race of his life, and there...

Our editors go through every running event in the first week in Paris, providing you with a cheat sheet on the favorites, the contenders, fun facts you should know while watching each race, and which events are must see (and which you can probably skip). The events we cover on the pod: Men's 10,000m final (3:26) Mixed 4x400m final (11:59) Women's 100m final (16:56) Men's 100M final (24:00) Women's...

Our editors Alex, Katelyn and Michael share their picks for the most intriguing athletes, exciting races and hot storylines to keep tabs on going into the first week of the Olympics next week. Can Sifan Hassan pull off running three track events AND a marathon? Will Noah Lyles actually break one of Usain Bolt's world records? And what's more exciting: the nasty showdown in the men's 1,500m, or the...

Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle talk about Wahoo's forthcoming "Kickr Run" treadmill, with legitimately might be the best piece of running tech since the super shoe. They also chat about boutique brand Tracksmith's $700 analog watch (which is already sold out), and another crazy innovation by the Swiss brand On Running (spoiler alert: robots can now make super shoes in under six minutes,...

Our editors Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle discuss the ultra GOAT Courtney Dauwalter's return to the Hard Rock 100, one of the toughest races in the world. Katelyn explains why Dauwalter has emerged as one of the greatest distance athletes of all time, and puts her performances in context.  Then, they talk about Alex's foray into the world of indie brands launching shoes, including Rabb...

Marathon Handbook's staff gather together with popcorn in hand to breakdown everything you need to know about the new Netflix docuseries "Sprint," which features the top 100m and 200m runners in the world as they gear up for the 2023 Paris Summer Olympics.  We highlight our favorite athlete/characters, crazy moments in the series, if there are any villains, and if Sprint will connect with a mass a...

On this week's pod, editors Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle break down all the excitement and serious drama from the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Then, they provide a primer and preview of the Western States 100, which is one of the oldest and most celebrated ultras in the world. And in the main segment of the pod, they chat all about the state of running shoes...

On this week's episode of the Marathon Handbook Podcast, our editors Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle discuss Alex's recent video essay entitled "Can Andrew Huberman's Daily Blueprint Make Me a Better Runner?".   Then, they break down everything you need to know about the long run, a weekly cornerstone workout for marathon training. Watch Alex's video essay "Can Andrew Huberman's Daily Bl...

Our editors Alex, Katelyn and Michael break down the newly released trailer for the upcoming Netflix docuseries Sprint, which features the top 100m and 200m track runners as they prepare for this summer's Paris Olympics. Then, they look at the bizarre partnership between the dating app Tinder and the running app Runna. Is it a disaster waiting to happen, or genius? Finally, the big topic of the da...

In this week's episode, Alex, Katelyn and Michael discuss why it is that the Boston Marathon decided to (literally) give the unicorn on their logo a face lift. Then, they unpack the brief history of the running influencer — how it all started, some of the influential figures in the space, the pro athlete as influencer, and where this all goes from here. Finally, they break down how to approach eat...

Editors Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle break down every aspect of how a successful marathon training plan is built, including: Ideal length of a marathon training plan  Macrocycle vs mesocycles, what are they? Our favorite workouts Training methods (Heart rate/pace training / RPE training) Long runs: how long should they be and how many should you do How to choose the correct training p...