Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we finally discussed one of the biggest stories of the summer for fans of American distance running: the positive doping test of American record-holder Shelby Houlihan. We also talked about recent running-related Covid developments. On a brighter note, though, we described the amazing ultrarunning feats of Aleksandr Sorokin and Courtney Dauwalter, and we considered Camille Herron's late...

After a brief summer break, we took tonight's episode to catch up and talk about our favorite moments from the Olympic Games.

This week, we discussed the events that we're most excited to watch at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, now being held after a one-year postponement.

This week, we debriefed our interview with Grace Hall a bit, checked in on George's Berlin Marathon training now that the Zwift Duathlon League is behind him, and described the incredible exploits of Lachlan Morton in the "Alt Tour." We also named our next Book of the Quarter! Tune in next week for our Olympic Games preview!

Last month, 17-year-old Grace Hall become one of the youngest people ever to finish a 100-mile race. As it happens, she's the daughter of podcast regular Erik, so she joined us this week to tell us about her decision to do the race, her training, her nutrition, and the race itself.

This week, we reviewed our book of the quarter: "Bravey" by Alexi Pappas. In the book, Pappas--a Greek Olympian and filmmaker--describes the physical and mental challenges she has faced as an elite athlete and the survivor of depression. It's an important contribution to the ongoing conversation about athletes and mental health, but we had differing opinions of the book.

Justin Schmidt and Justin Dugan are back to talk about the 2021 Tour de France, which begins on June 26! The course, key stages, riders to watch, our theories about how the race will unfold, stage and podium predictions . . . it's all here just in time for the Grand Depart!

This week, we got to talk to triathlete Tiencia James. Tiencia recently qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, and she told us about her path to qualification, her expectations for the race, and of course, her favorite workouts.

This week, we spoke with age group world record holder Betty Lindbergh. At age 96, Betty still competes at a variety of distances, and she offered us advice on how to endure for as long as she has.

We took a few minutes this week to record a special edition about Sifan Hassan's new WR in the 10,000m . . . that was then broken by Letsenbet Gidey two days later! We break down each race and talk a bit about what we hope to see if/when the two amazing runners square off in Tokyo this summer!

We had a lot to say this week about Colleen Quigley's new contract, Naomi Osaka's exit from the French Open, Hobbs Kessler's new HS 1500 record, Francine Niyonsaba's new 5K PR, and Erik's new favorite shoes!

This week, we debriefed our interview with Taggart VanEtten, we discussed the virtuosity of Simone Biles, and we celebrated the accomplishments of Hellah Sidibe and the Marietta High School XC teams. We also discussed (again) whether the Tokyo Olympics will be happening, and we recounted the tragedy at the Yellow River Stone Forest 100K in China this past weekend.

On May 1st, Taggart VanEtten ran 100 miles on the treadmill faster than anyone ever has. This week, we talked to Taggart about the race, his setup and nutrition, his background and training, and what's next on his calendar.

This week, we talked to professional runner Wilkerson Given. Wilkerson qualified for both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials, and he told us a bit about how he got where he is, the challenges he has faced along the way, and what it was like to be a professional athlete in 2020 when no races were happening. Wilkerson is also the co-owner of Stoke, a company that he founded with his friend Ja...

We're all about the marathon this week, as we recount George's virtual Eugene Marathon, which he also used for the World Marathon Majors Global Challenge. (Spoiler alert: it went well!) We also discussed the gigantic margin that runners had to be under the qualifying standard in order to gain acceptance to the 2021 Boston Marathon, and we celebrate the fact that Michelle is one of those very runne...

This week, we had the opportunity to interview the Executive Director of the Atlanta Track Club, Rich Kenah. Rich is an accomplished runner--he won two World Championship bronze medals and was on the U.S. Olympic team in 2000--who came to Atlanta to lead the track club in 2014. We talked about the challenges he has faced, the changes he has made, and what the near future holds for ATC and its most...

This week, we focused on two races: Des Linden's world best in the 50K, and our own Erik Hall's win at the Southern Tour Ultra 50-miler!

This week, we talked about a wide variety of news items, including a recent OTQ from the Atlanta Track Club, the latest on Des Linden's 50K record attempt, Hellah Sidibe's run across the United States, our own launch of a Race Across America team, and a new race in Colorado that's on Michelle's radar. Erik tells us about his preparation to run a 50-miler this weekend, and we discuss a bit about wh...

It's tech night on the Most Pleasant Exhaustion Podcast! Super shoes are here to stay, and the number of brands offering them continues to grow. This week, we talked about new offerings from Diadora, Asics, and Puma. We also announced our next Book of the Quarter!

This week, we reviewed our book of the quarter, "Running to the Edge" by Matthew Futterman. "Running to the Edge" is the story of Bob Larsen, who coached a ragtag group of runners to a U.S. cross-country championship in the 1970s, coached the UCLA track and cross-country teams through the 1980s and 1990s, and coached Meb Keflezighi for Meb's entire career. Despite our appreciation for Larsen and o...

This week, we briefly looked back on the life of pioneer Dick Hoyt, who along with his son Rick paved the way for thousands of athletes with disabilities to compete in endurance events. We also talked about the updated registration procedures for the Boston Marathon and the Peachtree Road Race, and we discussed Des Linden's upcoming attempt on the 50K world record. And oh yeah: we discussed George...

This week, we spent a lot of time deepening topics that we had previously discussed, like the Lake Biwa Marathon, Gwen Jorgensen's recent performances, the Virtual Boston, and Yuki Kawauchi's training. We also spent some time talking about the strategies you can and should use when you're using running power versus those that you use when you're using cycling power.

This week, we talked about George's last-minute decision to jump into the Atlanta Marathon and the BAA's decision to offer a virtual option for this October's Boston Marathon. In addition, we discussed Yuki Kawauchi's 101st sub-2:20 (and PR!) at the deepest marathon ever run. We wrap up by discussing the incredible Frederick Davis.

This week, we heard about Erik's major undertakings on the bike last week, George's completing a big goal, and Michelle's return to running after her post-race break. We also caught up on some of the results from the last week of pro racing, and we talked a bit about the Atlanta Marathon and Half-Marathon, happening this weekend.

In a solo effort this week, George talked about a few new rules that the UCI passed to start the 2021 cycling season, and he considered the research on Vitamin D supplementation.