Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This past weekend, George and Michelle ran the New York City Marathon! As they made their way across the five boroughs with more than 59,000 other people, they experience the intensity and enthusiasm that makes the New York City Marathon a truly one-of-a-kind event. This week, we talked about how it felt to toe the starting line, to run the race, and to cross the finish, plus we considered some of the performances by the pro runners and celebrities who competed.

We've talked a lot about the New York City Marathon this season since both George and Michelle are running it, and the race is finally upon us! We talked about final prep, the pros that will be there, and our plans for the weekend! (Make sure to tune in next week for the race report!) We also talked about the stunning course records at the first 2026 Golden Ticket race: the Javelina Jundred!

Who talks about a 5K and a 24-hour race in the same podcast? We do! This week, we discussed the IAU 24-hour World Championship that saw Sarah Webster set a new world record for the distance. We also gave our thoughts on the online frenzy around Camille Herron that preceded the race. Before we got into all of that, though, we checked in with Michelle's experience at the local 10-miler--one of her last big tune-ups before the New York City Marathon!--and George's experience at the accompanying 5K, which also happened to be the US Masters National 5K Championship.

This past weekend was HUGE for endurance events, and we started with the most important one: the Hartford Marathon! Allison reported to us how it went, gave us the details on the course, and described the challenges she faced. We then talked about the Chicago Marathon, where among other things, Conner Mantz set a new American record in the men's marathon. We then touched on a few of the other things we tracked this weekend, including the Kodiak 100, the Ironman World Championship in Kona, and the Athlos Games!

This week, we caught up on several pieces of news in the world of distance running, including Courtney Dauwalter's first pro marathon, Killan Jornet's completion of States of Elevation, Connor Mantz's attempt on the AR this weekend at the Chicago Marathon, and the upcoming Athlos track meet in New York City. We also caught up on Michelle's training for the New York City Marathon and Allison's tapering for the Hartford Marathon.

It has been more than two weeks since George, Allison, and Michelle got together, so we spent this week catching up on a few things. First, we discussed Allison's interview with Jeff Garmire that we published last week. Despite being incredibly tired from his incredible self-supported record on the Appalachian Trail, Jeff had some insightful things to share, and we wanted to go back over that stuff. In addition, we talked about George's race over the weekend at the Loch Ness Marathon in Scotland, including how the race unfolded, what the course was like, and how he finished. We then checked in on Michelle's New York City Marathon training and Allison's final preparations for next week's Hartford Marathon!

This week, Allison interviewed her friend and brand new *self-supported* FKT-holder for the Appalachian Trail, Jeff Garmire! Jeff's accomplishment was amazing; not only did he do the entire trail in 45 days, 8 hours, and 37 minutes, but he did it without any help at all. This meant that he had to solve any problems that cropped up along the way, whether it was missing a food shipment, or having the wrong shoes, or leaving a bunch of chargers on the side of the trail. Allison and Jeff talked about all of it only a couple of days after Jeff finished, and he had a lot to share about the challenges he faced and how he's feeling now.

This week, we discussed a few different things happening in the endurance sporting world, and as usual, we offered our takes on them. We started by talking about the men's and women's marathons at the World Championship, both of which ended in sprint finishes! We went on to discuss the unfortunate recent doping positive of UTMB OCC winner Joyline Chepngeno, considering why and how it may have happened in light of what we have learned about doping culture in Kenya. We talked a bit about Kilan Jornet's latest adventure--a massive undertaking in which he's climbing all 67 14,000-foot peaks in the United States and cycling between them. And finally, we talked about Jeff Garmire's experience on the Appalachian Trail, where he is on the verge of setting a new FKT for a self-supported traverse.

This week, we celebrated Allison's being officially named to Team USA for the World 50K Championship by going back over a few things that Bobby Norwood said during our interview last week. We also analyzed some of the results from Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), one of the biggest and most prestigious ultra races in the United States. Finally, we discussed a recent article in the New York Times that described a small study by a Virginia oncologist that seemed to suggest a link between distance running and colon cancer. While it's still preliminary, there are some good takeaways for endurance athletes like us!

This week, we got to talk to Bobby Norwood, who recently completed the 2025 Leadville Trail 100. Bobby told us all about his preparation, his fueling, and the race itself. Miles on the trail? A lot. Carbs consumed? So, so many. Twisted ankles? Alas, yes. We got the fully story.