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It is said that birds of a feather flock together, and so it was in podcast episode 8.  Oiselle runners Lauren Fleshman and Kate Grace are joined by the company’s founder and CEO Sally Bergesen in a wide ranging interview that covers Fleshman’s best races, Grace’s taking flight on the track and roads, and Bergesen’s attempt to turn the running industry on its head. Elsewhere in the episode Brenn does an inventory of shoe contracts and reads viewer feedback from the mailbox, while Gregg takes Bill Rogers’ “Marathon Man” off the shelf of the library and climbs on the soapbox to rant about new baggage policies at races.

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Photo by Dustin Whitlow

In episode 7 we have the good fortune to catch up with Patrick Rizzo, the top American finisher (12th overall, in 2:16:10) at the London Marathon. Patrick describes the tense pre-race atmosphere on the heels of the Boston tragedy, hiccups he faced during the race, and running as a pacer in London last year. Rizzo shows a true distance runner’s grit in his attitudes about facing top competition and making a living by running. Elsewhere in the episode, we offer lessons from the spring marathons, Gregg shares exemplary post-Boston writing, and Brenn critiques coverage that fell short. That means you, New York Post.

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The Boston Marathon is just a week away, and in podcast episode six we converse with Nick Arciniaga, who was the top American finisher at Boston in 2008 and who has run three marathons with a 2:11 handle. Nick shares highlights and lowlights of his 26.2 mile ventures, and suggests a workout that is sure to make us suffer as we strive to break three. Gregg takes us to the library’s magazine rack to dust off a Sports Illustrated article, and with unfond recollections of last year, we climb atop the soapbox with a peek at the weather forecast for Patriot’s Day.

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In podcast episode 5, we welcome our first Olympian to the Cloud: Amy Begley. Amy discusses challenges track and field athletes face making a living and possible improvements to the business side of the sport. She then takes us to Hayward Field and movingly relives the epic 10,000m race that made her an Olympian. Gregg brings us to the library reading room for “Once a Runner,” and Brenn gets on the soapbox with a simple solution to the conundrum of getting cross-country into the Olympics.

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In our fourth podcast, we check out splits from world record races, and contrast that to how most of us pace marathons. Note to runners: there is much room for improvement! Local elite runner and coach James Chu of the North Brooklyn Runners offers tips to help Brenn and Gregg realize their dreams of a sub 3-hour marathon. Brenn checks out Lopez Lomong’s “Running for my Life,” and Gregg gets on the soapbox and gives the Runner’s World mock-March Madness bracket an earful for picking Scott Jurek over Paula Radcliffe in the second round.

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In podcast episode 3 we interview Ulrich Fluhme about PEDs in running. Uli, who ran a 2:33:33 NYC Marathon for the Central Park Track Club in 2009, shares provocative views about drug use in the sport and forward-thinking ideas for cleaning it up. Elsewhere in the episode we trace the performance statistics that have raised suspicion of drug use, Brenn checks out Roger Robinson’s “Running in Literature” from the library, and Gregg asks the Swedes to come up with new graded categories for runners with certain challenges.

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While the U.S. has experienced a sustained running boom, mainstream media coverage and viewership of the sport has been a bust. In podcast episode 2, Gregg unearths startling data on how poorly the mainstream media covers distance running. We also highlight the Millrose Games, take Chris Lear’s “Running with the Buffaloes” out of the library, and critique the tweets of elites.

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Are we in the second running boom? Third? No, Brenn takes a look at the numbers and argues it’s all just one big impressive sustained boom. Gregg gives his thoughts on a sudsy run with inflatable obstacles, and we offer training methods for when you are really out of shape.

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