DFW Running Talk

Matthew Kanarr went from a 3:12 debut at the 2023 Austin Marathon to a 2:48:16 Boston qualifier at CIM 2024 — and he's heading to his first Boston Marathon. In this episode, Matthew shares how connecting with Plano Run Club, Ray's Track Club, and coach Fonz at Train Pegasus completely transformed his running. We talk training blocks, race day mindset, and what he's most looking forward to at the 130th Boston Marathon. Episode 3 of 10 in our DFW Runners Road to Boston series.

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Tats Arai has run Boston nine times. But his 10th is unlike anything he's done before.

In Episode 2 of our Boston Marathon Special, the Dallas-area runner shares how he's heading to Hopkinton this April to push his friend Scott — a graduate school buddy living with ALS — in a wheelchair across all 26.2 miles of the Boston Marathon course.

Tats walks us through his running journey, from his first Boston in 2011 to rediscovering his passion after moving to Dallas in 2014 and training with the local running community. But the heart of this episode is Scott — the friend he always joked would one day run Boston — and the promise Tats made to get him there.

They ran the 2025 Marine Corps Marathon together in 3:08 as their proof of concept. Now Boston is next.

If you've ever run for something bigger than a finish time, this episode is for you.

🎧 New episodes daily during Boston Marathon week. Subscribe so you don't miss one.

Tre Montigue has run Boston 16 consecutive times — and he's already qualified for his 17th.

In this episode, the Dallas-Fort Worth runner and member of the DFW Running Club shares how he went from casual jogger to Boston Marathon regular, including qualifying for his very first marathon with just 26 days of training and then racing Boston the following year with two fractured vertebrae.

Tre takes us through 16 years of Boston memories — the scorching 83° race, the year Meb won, the 2013 bombing, and missing his PR by one second in the rain. His Boston best is 3:14 and his overall marathon PR is 3:10, set at Tokyo.

Now 62, Tre trains every other day, prioritizes strength work, and has his sights set on the Quarter Century Club — 25 straight Boston finishes. Five weeks after Boston 2026, he'll race the Age Group World Championship in Cape Town.

This is episode 1 of Road to Boylston — a 10-part daily series featuring DFW runners heading to the 2026 Boston Marathon.

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Fort Worth runner, TCU alumna, and nutrition professor McKale Montgomery has one of the most remarkable stories in the DFW running community — and probably all of American distance running.

At her peak, McKale was running 2:34 marathons, chasing Olympic Trials qualifying standards by seconds, and competing against the best women in the country. Then in 2022, her right leg stopped working mid-run. No warning. No explanation.

After three and a half years, dozens of doctors, MRIs, and dead ends, she was finally diagnosed with runner's dystonia — one of only 48 confirmed cases in the United States.

In this episode, McKale and host Chris Detzel cover:

• Growing up in rural Oklahoma and running 7 miles a day to make a basketball team
• Earning a full scholarship to run at TCU and winning a conference championship
• Running a 2:48 in her first Chicago Marathon while targeting the Olympic Trials
• The Woodlands Marathon disqualification — what may have been the fastest 26 miles of her life
• Her runner's dystonia diagnosis and the experimental medication with a 3-hour half-life
• Training 90-100 miles a week on a treadmill to maintain her balance
• Winning the Cowtown 50K outright — beating every man and every woman — in her first-ever ultra

This is a story about resilience, ego (her word), and what it means to keep running when your body fights back.

DFW Running Talk is your podcast for stories from the heart of the DFW running community. New episodes weekly. Subscribe, follow, and leave a review.

Sponsored by Rise Racing Co. Use code DFW for 10% off Panther City Ultra on April 4th, 2026

Chris Detzel joins Drew Martig of the Happy Running Podcast for a collab episode on running community, marathon training, and what it really takes to get faster. Chris shares how he went from zero to consistent runner at 37, built an 11,000-member DFW running community, and why miles — not secrets — are the key to improvement. Drew opens up about coming back from a serious injury with his eye on Chicago 

Find the full video here: https://youtu.be/D99yH7pU0fc?si=Mv7r8SFOmzOBVom1

Find Drew Martig's YouTube page here: https://www.youtube.com/@DrewMartig

Ryan Burrell ran 2:53:01 in his very first marathon at the 2026 Houston Marathon —
one of the fastest marathon debuts in the Dallas running community in recent memory.
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Sponsor: Rise Racing Co., Get 10% off, use code DFW, Register for the Panther City Ultra in Fort Worth,

50k, 25k, 10k and 5k

​

April 4th, 2026

Marion Sansom Park

2501 Roberts Cut Off Rd,

Fort Worth, TX 76114

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But the story behind that time is what makes this episode unmissable. Ryan was a 
4:23 miler in high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana — a state qualifier who burned 
out from overtraining without an aerobic base. He walked away from running for years. 
Then he moved to Dallas in 2021, got reinspired, linked up with coach Matt and the 
Sloth Running Club, and quietly built himself into one of the most exciting distance 
runners in DFW.

In this episode, Chris Detzel sits down with Ryan to talk about:

- His high school track career — 4:23 mile, state finalist, 4x800 relay
- How overtraining without easy running derailed his college career  
- The 4+ year running gap and what finally brought him back
- Getting connected with DFW's run club scene (ZFT, Sloth RC, Velvet Hammer 5K)
- Training for Houston — long runs, aerobic base building, and race strategy
- The brutal final miles: cramping and stopping three times between miles 23–25
- Crossing the finish line in 2:53:01 and what's next (Boston qualifier? You decide)

If you're a runner in Dallas-Fort Worth, training for your first marathon, chasing 
a sub-3, or just love a great comeback story — this one's for you.

🎙️ DFW Running Talk | Hosted by Chris Detzel
📬 Newsletter: dfwrunningtalk.substack.com
🏃 Community: DFW Running Group (11,000+ members on Facebook)

Keywords: marathon debut, Houston Marathon 2026, Dallas running, DFW running, 
sub-3 marathon, marathon training, running comeback, Sloth Running Club, 
first marathon, running podcast

Houston Marathon qualifier Andrew Smith ran 2:53:52 in January 2026 to earn his Boston Marathon 2027 BQ — with a hamstring cramp at mile 24 nearly derailing everything.

In this episode of DFW Running Talk, Andrew shares the full three-year marathon journey that took him from signing up for his first half marathon on three days' notice to qualifying for Boston. We cover his first marathon at Irving (4:03), running NYC for charity through Hope Story, hiring a coach, the training cycle that changed everything, and the chaotic race-day at Houston — strep throat nine days out, his family stuck at home, and a brutal cramp in the final miles he had to run through on a prayer.

Topics: Houston Marathon 2026, Boston Marathon qualifier, BQ training, marathon race strategy, Dallas marathon community, running coach, marathon fueling, DFW running

DFW Running Talk is Dallas-Fort Worth's running podcast. New episodes every week. Subscribe at dfwrunningtalk.substack.com.

This episode is sponsored by Rob Goyen and Rise Racing Co. The Panther City Ultra at Marion Sampson Park on April 4th brings trail running to Fort Worth with distances from 5K to 50K. Limited to 300 runners. Use code DFW for 10% off at https://www.riseracingco.com/panther-city-ultra

What does it take to run one of Texas's most iconic marathons — and then launch a brand new one from scratch?

This week, Chris sits down with Jason Schuchard, President of the BMW Dallas Marathon, for a candid conversation about his life in running, what's fueling Dallas Marathon's incredible growth, and the exciting new McKinney Historic Half Marathon launching March 28th.

Jason shares how his mom's passion for running shaped his own journey — from cross country at Plano Senior High, to 8-10 marathons, to Ironman competitions — and how all of it eventually led him to lead one of DFW's premier running events.

They cover what's behind the Dallas Marathon's annual sellouts, why adding more bibs isn't as simple as it sounds, and what makes the 
McKinney Historic Half a completely different experience — a half and half road/trail course winding through McKinney's historic square with a 4,000-person cap in year one.

If Dallas is on your 2026 race calendar, don't sleep on registration — it opens May 1st and sells out fast.

In this episode:

• Jason's running origin story & 3:23 marathon PR
• What's driving the Dallas Marathon's growth
• The story behind the new McKinney Historic Half (March 28th)
• How the race benefits Scottish Rite for Children
• Why you should register for Dallas 2026 early

 Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to DFW Running Talk on Substack, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. 

Eric Bretl's running story is one of humility, growth, and the undeniable power of community. In this episode, Eric shares how a humbling 1:34 half marathon finish — after training solo and thinking he was working harder than everyone around him — set him on a path to completely reinvent himself as a runner. From lifting weights and eating Jack's pizza in college to dropping from 225 lbs and eventually running a 2:35 at the California International Marathon (CIM), Eric's journey is a testament to what's possible when you find your people. He talks about training alongside Jennifer and Aaron, waking up at 5 AM for 14-mile workouts, and the unforgettable moment all three of them crossed the CIM finish line within 30 seconds of each other. If you've ever wondered whether running with a community really makes a difference — Eric's story is your answer. 

Joe Hale has won the Dallas Marathon twice — and in 2025 came back from a year battling an Achilles injury to finish third in one of the most competitive fields the race has seen. In this episode, Joe takes us through his full running journey: from summer track in Grapevine at age seven, to building a marathon career on 140-mile training weeks. He breaks down race day 2025, the frozen glove incident on the lake, how the front pack split apart in the final miles, and what it actually takes to compete at the front of a major marathon as a non-professional. Honest, tactical, and packed with insight for runners at every level.