Most Pleasant Exhaustion

Last weekend, Allison Mercer had a historic run at the Strolling Jim 40-mile run in Tennessee, becoming only the third woman to earn a coveted gold shirt for running under five hours. We talked to her about her start in distance running and return to it after a stint of focusing on ultimate frisbee, her moving to ultras, her brilliant run at Strolling Jim, and how it felt when she got word that Ca...

This week, we talked about two sprinters--Lester Wright and Erriyon Knight--and that will probably be the last time we talk about sprinters this year. We also fixed and expanded on a few things from our Boston recap, we discussed George's slightly modified spring marathon plans, and we heard all about the Tobacco Road Relay.

The 2022 Boston Marathon is behind us, and this week, we looked at several storylines from the race. We talked about the winners, of course, but we also discussed our friends who ran, the pros who competed well, and the stories of several athletes that you may have missed from Marathon Monday.

This week, after a bit of a digression into F1, we debriefed last week's conversation with Danielle Friedman. We then announced our NEW Book of the Quarter for Q2 of 2022! We also talked a bit about next week's Boston Marathon--one of only two World Marathon Majors this spring and the first Boston Marathon to be held on its traditional April date since 2019!

This week, we talked about our Book of the Quarter, "Let's Get Physical," with the book's author, Danielle Friedman! We had a great conversation about the history and nature of the women's fitness movement, and we discussed the ways that exercise over the last seventy years has both challenged and reflected prevailing ideas about womanhood.

This week, we caught up on the latest goings-on in our lives and the endurance sports world, we reflected on our interview with Shane Streich, and we shared the highlights of Peyton's Wild and Wacky 10x5K.

We got to interview the new American record holder in the indoor 1000m, Shane Streich! Last month, Shane ran 2:16.16 in Louisville, and this week, he came on the podcast to tell us about how he got to that place in his career, the reasons he chose to go pro with the Atlanta Track Club, and what's next for him.

Over our last two podcasts, we interviewed two really different runners: ultrarunner Coree Woltering and 800m runner Sadi Henderson. This week, we reflected on our big takeaways from our time with each of them. We also caught up on a lot of missed news, like the performances at USA Indoor Nationals, the Tokyo Marathon, Grant Fisher's new American records, the new 50K world record, and the death of...

This week, we spoke to professional runner Sadi Henderson. Fresh off a fifth-place finish at the USA Indoor Nationals in the 800m, Sadi told us a bit about that race, her decision to become a professional runner, her time with Oiselle and the Atlanta Track Club, and her work in mental health.

This week, we had a super-fun discussion with professional ultrarunner Coree Woltering. We discussed his going from a middle-distance runner to an ultrarunner, his experience on Eco-Challenge Fiji, his FKT on the Ice Age Trail, his breaking the ultrarunner mold, and of course, his affinity for red velvet cupcakes.

This week, Swedish speed skating Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Nils van der Poel released a 62-page document that detailed his training approach leading up to the 2022 games. His approach, while traditional in many ways, included a lot of provocative and unique elements. While most of us cannot approach the awe-inspiring scale of his training, there are still aspects of his program...

This week, after catching up with each other and with the news in the running world, we discussed cold weather running. We discussed factors to keep in mind when you're running in the cold and what gear works best.

Since our last podcast, Michelle ran the Houston Marathon--where two new American records were set!--and George ran the difficult Mountain Mist 50K. We discussed our experiences at these race and also announced our new book of the quarter!

This week, we considered our Book of the Quarter for the last quarter of 2021: The Practice of Groundedness by Brad Stulberg. Stulberg argued that western culture inspires a destructive personality orientation that he called "heroic individualism." We considered the six practices that Stulberg recommended to combat heroic individualism and talked about their relevance to and feasibility in our liv...

This week, we looked back at 2021, including our favorite races, what we learned, and our goals and resolutions for next year. Happy New Year!

This week, we heard about Erik's race at the Beast of the East 50-miler (which was won by the incomparable Karl Meltzer) and Camille Herron's new American record in the 100 mile distance. We also reflected on our great interview with Pat Binienda, sharing our favorite pieces and biggest takeaways.

This week, for our 200th episode, we interviewed the man who talked Michelle into running her first marathon. Pat Binienda has been a runner for nearly fifty years--having run at least one marathon in each of those years--and recently ran across the United States. He shared the wisdom and insight he has gained over all those miles, and he offered advice for anyone who is intrigued by the prospect...

Wondering what to look for in a pair of off-road shoes? This week, Erik took a deep dive into what makes trail shoes different and special. In addition, we talked a bit about our Spotify year-in-review lists, our Turkey Trots, our Jingle Jogs, and a bit of research on the endurance benefits of bodyweight exercises.

This week, we spent a lot of time discussing the NCAA XC championship, but we also talked about some recent research on running uphill in super shoes, the new men's world best in the half-marathon, and Tommy "Rivs" Puzy.

There's always a lot of stories that come out the New York City Marathon, and 2021 was no different. We consider the performances of Molly Seidel, Ben True, Shalane Flanagan, Chelsea Clinton, Wrinkle the Duck, and others.

This week, we did a roundup of all the latest news, led by the amazing half-marathon run by Letesenbet Gidey. We also discussed the *newly announced* selection criteria for the Team USA World Championship Marathon team, Camille Herron's latest win, the upcoming NYC Marathon, and Atlanta Track Club's new sponsor.

This week, we heard a lot about Michelle's difficult experience at the Boston Marathon. She had a gutsy performance, but it wasn't what she hoped for. We also revealed our last Book of the Quarter for 2021!

Our old friend Justin Dugan came on the podcast to tell us about his experience at the 2021 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in St. George, Utah. Hills? Check. Extreme weather? Check. Top-notch competition? Check.

This week, we shared our thought's on this season's Book of the Quarter: Rise of the Ultrarunners by Addie Finn. As usual, there were things we liked and things we didn't like, but overall, we are all happy to have read the book.

George and Erik discussed the challenges and highlights of the 2021 Blue Ridge Relay, and we got a brief update on Michelle's Boston training and our Book of the Quarter.