Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we visited our friend and sponsor Elemental Altitude to do some sweat testing! Both Michelle and George spent an hour on the treadmill to see how much fluid they would lose and how salty their sweat was. The results met our expectations in some ways, but in other ways, we were surprised by what we found.

This week, we talked to Doug Olsen. Doug recently finished the brutal Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker 50-mile race, which traverses three massive climbs and includes 12,000 feet of gain and loss over the course. Along the way, he summited Mount Mitchell, the highest point in the eastern United States. Doug talked to us about his training, the challenges he faced along the way, his gear, and his [surpr...

This week, we discussed George's recent run at a new trail race, the Cove 50K. We also talked about the amazing performances at The Ten, a time-trial-style race in California where eight men ran under 27:00, Nico Young set a new collegiate record, and a woman (Tigise Gebreselama) ran under 30:00 for the first time on American soil.

In this week's short episode, we talked about all of the people we know that are racing over the weekend, and we heard a bit about Michelle's experience at the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, VA.

This week, we caught up on everyone's training, and we discussed George's test of the new KICKR Treadmill! We also talked about our takeaways from Lululemon's Further event, where Camille Herron set fourteen new ultra-running records.

This week, we discussed a variety of things, but we spent most of our time considering what Molly Seidel talked about in the final episode of her limited series podcast, The Build Up. The podcast, which was only six episodes long, described the hurdles Molly faced in building up to the Olympic Marathon Trials race--a race that she ultimately did not start due to injury. Among other things, we talk...

This year, the Atlanta Track Club made some big changes to the Atlanta Marathon, including a new start and finish area and new race formats. Michelle and George took advantage and ran the first Atlanta Marathon Relay, and this week, they offered their thoughts on the course, the race, and the changes that Atlanta Track Club instituted.

We couldn't let the news of Kelvin Kiptum's death go by without discussing it, but we also talked about where our training is right now, the apocalyptic conditions at Mountain Mist 2024, and the death of another great Kenyan runner, Henry Rono.

Yesterday, the best marathoners in the United States raced to see who would get to represent their country at this summer's Olympic Games. Both the men's and women's races were exciting, and we recap them here, along with our analysis.

This week, we talked about a variety of stuff, but we mostly focused on two things: a recent article published by Strava about what coach Jim van den Berg says that amateur athletes can learn about training by looking at the pros, and a preview of the Olympic Marathon Trials here in the US.

This week, we talked a bit about George's takes on Caster Semenya's book, The Race to Be Myself. We also reviewed how George ran at the Disneyland Half Marathon, and we discussed why Michelle was forced to pull out of the Houston Marathon at the last minute. Finally, building on our conversation from the last episode, we had a bit more to say about influencers.

This week, we're sending Michelle off to the Houston Marathon, so we got to hear a bit about her training and final race preparation. We also talked a bit about the role of influencers in the running landscape.

Episode 279--2023 Year in Review! by Most Pleasant Exhaustion

It's our long-awaited gift guide! Not sure what to get the endurance athlete in your life? Well, we've got a few ideas. Clothes, technology, stocking stuffers, accessories . . . we've got it all.

After spending a bit of time talking about our Spotify Wrapped for 2023, we finally reviewed a book we started reading back in September, "The Race That Changed Running; The Inside Story of UTMB." It offered an interesting history of the event as well as a thorough exploration of the changes that have been made over the past few years. It's filled with photos and charts, and if you're planning to...

On November 11, friend of the podcast Allison Mercer ran a new American record for masters women at the Tunnel Hill 50-mile! This week, we got to talk to Allison about how she prepared for the race in the six weeks between running the Berlin Marathon and Tunnel Hill, and we heard all about her crew, her nutrition, her race strategy, her shoes, and of course, how the Ragnar Relay we did together in...

This week, we got to talk to longtime endurance athlete Brian Hetherington about his experience at the 2023 Ironman Arizona. Brian has been a runner and cyclist for years, and we dove into what brought him to long course triathlon and what he plans to do next. (Spoiler alert: it's 4-person Race Across America!)

This week, we talked a bit about the results at the New York City Marathon, then we spent a while discussing Michelle's approach to her long runs. Along the way, we shared a bit about what the research says on whether to fast or fuel and how far to go.

Episode 273--Are UTMB and USATF Wrecking Our Sport?!? by Most Pleasant Exhaustion

Episode 272.1--Ironman World Championship Race Report with Jaclyn Nasser! by Most Pleasant Exhaustion

On September 10, the men's Ironman World Championship was contested in Nice, France, and Joseph McLeod is here to tell us all about it! After years of trying to qualify, Joseph earned a spot based on his performance and Ironman Chattanooga, and he came on the podcast to tell us about his training and his race experience.

Only one week after the Blue Ridge Relay, Erik ran more than fifty miles at the Doggettville 12-Hour race, once again taking the "Double Dog Dare" trophy. (He's the only man ever to have won it!) This week, he told us all about the race, his strategy, how he fueled, and how he got more miles than he's ever gotten in this race despite having a compromised build.

George ran the 2023 Berlin Marathon, and he gave us a full race report this week--everything from his training and pre-race meals to his shoe choice and post-race soreness. We discussed how he approached the race, whether he met his goals, and what it was like to share the course with the new women's world record holder!

GC Kuss! For this extra episode, our friend Justin Dugan joined George to talk about the US's latest Grand Tour Champion, Sepp Kuss! Last week, Sepp, from Durango, CO, became only the fourth U.S. cyclist to win a Grand Tour when he took first place at the Vuelta a Espana. It wasn't a straight path, though, and we discussed the challenges he faced in taking the win.

This week, we discussed George and Erik's experience at the 2023 Blue Ridge Relay! This was the sixth times they've run that race, and they recounted the challenges they faced, the shoes they wore, and why they keep going back to this one race.