Marathon Handbook Podcast
Marathon Handbook's weekly podcast covers everything you need to know about running, from wrapping your head around running your first 5K to qualifying for the Boston Marathon!
Each week, our team of editors chat about what's going on in the running scene, as well as timely training tips, the hottest new gear and tech, and what's happening at the world's biggest races. We'll cover everything from the Boston Marathon to the Barkley Marathons, often podding live from the most important moments in running!
Watch our video podcast each week on YouTube, and listen to it wherever you get your podcasts!
For inquiries: hi@marathonhandbook.com
Marathon Handbook Podcast
We Answer Your Running Questions: Our Summer Mailbag Episode!
It’s time for our Summer Mailbag episode! The Marathon Handbook Podcast crew — Michael, Katelyn, and Alex — dive into listener questions about marathon training, race strategy, running shoes, and how to get faster without getting injured. We kick things off with Katelyn’s 100-mile training update and Alex powering through a raspy-voiced episode (00:00), before unpacking how marathon pace should feel over a 16- to 20-week build (03:30). We talk through why you don’t need to hit every distance time trial to validate your marathon goal (12:05), and why Garmin’s race predictor might be messing with your head (15:00).
We break down how to build VO₂ max with 5K interval workouts (19:45), what those sessions should look like (21:45), and what shoes are best for hard efforts (25:15). Michael shares his go-to marathon prep workout — a 10K at goal pace 10 days before race day (30:45), and we discuss how to train on terrain that matches your race (33:45). Then comes blob run talk: how to handle purposeless or failed workouts and how to bounce back stronger (35:15).
We dive into heat training and how to adjust your pacing using the VDOT calculator’s temperature function (43:00), and help a listener decide if a 4:30 marathon goal is realistic for CIM (47:05). Next, we take on the great supershoe debate: Should you train in them or save them for race day? (50:15) Are they just for fast runners? (55:00) And how do you properly break in a brand new pair? (59:30).
We even ask: Is a “carbon cleanse” coming? Will runners rebel against high-stack, tech-loaded shoes? (1:02:00) Then we unpack Boston Marathon’s new qualifying rules and debate whether shoes with >40mm stack heights should be banned (1:05:15). We also offer advice for overpronators looking for racing shoes (1:14:00), and help a listener navigate heart rate training on hilly routes (1:18:45).
Finally, we respond to some pushback around Alex’s “real marathon” comments (1:26:00) and discuss what defines a meaningful marathon experience. As always, thank you for the amazing questions — keep them coming!
📩 Got a question for the pod? Email us at hi@marathonhandbook.com or drop a comment on YouTube or Spotify!
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