This week, Allison, Michelle, and George discussed the brilliant performance of Matthew Richtman and this year's Los Angeles Marathon, where he ran the seventh-fastest time that any American man has ever run in the marathon. After that, we discussed the most recent edition of Barkley Marathon, including how the race unfolded and why George is not a fan.

This week, we talked about George's race at the Marin Ultra Challenge 50-Miler. The conversation was split into two pieces: one before the race and one after the race. In the first part, we discussed his training and his mindset going into the race, and in the second part, we got all the details on how it actually went. At the end of the podcast, Allison and Michelle discussed a little bit about Fastest Known Times (or FKTs) and what distinguishes an FKT from a really good run.

This year, the USATF Half-Marathon Championship took place as part of the Atlanta Marathon and Half-Marathon. Allison, George, and Michelle all took part in varying capacities, and they got together after the weekend to talk about the pro races, the conditions, the course, and the event as a whole.

This week, Michelle and Allison got together to discuss a variety of recent news inside the world of track and field, including the recent disqualification of Raj Pannu for wearing illegal shoes at the US 100-Mile Championship, the US Indoor Track and Field Championship, and the inaugural season of Grand Slam Track. More than anything, though, they discussed their excitement over the US Half-Marathon Championship taking place on our home course here in Atlanta!

Last week, we heard about the last few few things Michelle had to do to get ready for the Black Canyon 100K. This week, we heard all about the race! And to help tell the story of Michelle's accomplishment, she brought along her sole crew member, Eric, and the pacer that they gained in the hotel lobby, Hilary! It took a boatload of determination to get Michelle across the finish line--plus some silent disco headphones--and we got all the details.

This week, we got to hear about Michelle's final preparations before she ran the Black Canyon 100K in Arizona on February 8. We'll hear about what she has packed, how she plans to pace herself, the shoes she's going to wear, and what her mindset is heading into the race. Tune in for Part Two next week!

When Tara Dower last joined us on the Most Pleasant Exhaustion Podcast (Episode 293), she was on her way to scout some parts of the Appalachian Trail in Maine. Since then, she set the record for the fastest known time on the Trail, she became a professional runner, and she moved to Colorado. This week, we got to talk to her about her whirlwind last six months, what it's like to be recognized in the airport, and all of the upcoming races on her schedule.

Have you heard of Heart Rate Variability, or HRV, and wondered what it is? Have you seen it on your watch or in your training log and not known what it means or how it can be used? We have the podcast for you! This week, we discussed what it is, how to interpret it, and how to use it, and what to do if you want it to change.

This week, we considered a recent Wall Street Journal article that described the increasing number of Gen Z runners who are taking on the marathon. We had a slightly different take on the phenomenon than the WSJ! We also talked about the new Puma Project 3, and we offered our ideas on whether the revived Marathon Project will be successful.

On the day that most Americans abandon their New Years resolutions, the whole crew got together to talk about how we are doing on our resolutions so far. We also talked about how we're getting along in the cold weather, and we reviewed the new race from the Atlanta Track Club, the Polar Opposite Peachtree!