Looking for the perfect gift for the endurance athlete in your life? We have suggestions! This week, Erik, George, and Michelle offered their suggestions for holiday gift-giving for 2024. We spent the entire year eyeing new releases and trying various things, and we offer our unfiltered thoughts on the budget items, reasonable items, and reach item…

This week, Allison Mercer--a part of the extended MPE family!--came on the podcast to talk about her upcoming race at the 100K World Championship on December 7! George also has a race coming up--the Valencia Marathon on December 1--so we talked a bit about that, too! Travel plans, goals, preparation, nerves . . . we considered it all.…

Our aim was to preview the New York City Marathon this weekend, but we ended up talking about a variety of things including the food sensitivity test that George recently took.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

Ruth Chepngetich broke the women's marathon world record by nearly two minutes at the Chicago Marathon. In this installment of the podcast, we talked all about how she did it, where she came from, and what it's like to be a distance running fan when such mind-blowing performances seem to be happening more and more often. We also spent a small amoun…

This week, after hearing a bit about Erik's experience at the Doggettville 12-Hour, we discussed the destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene on the Blue Ridge Relay course in western North Carolina.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

We turned our attention to three big stories this week: Tara Dower's new FKT on the Appalachian Trail, the controversy over Camille Herron's Wikipedia edits, and the two press releases from the Boston Athletic Association regarding entry into the Boston Marathon. We had a lot to say about each of them, including hearing Michelle's first-hand accoun…

This weekend, friend of the podcast Tara Dower (from Episode 293) is going to be finishing the Appalachian Trail in what is likely to be a Fastest Known Time! Michelle will be there to watch the end of Tara's run, but before we sent her off, we talked a bit about where we are, what our fall plans look like, and how we're doing on our resolutions so…

The weekend after Labor Day means it's time for our favorite race: the Blue Ridge Relay! Last weekend, Erik, George, and four other guys took on the Blue Ridge Relay for the seventh time. Hear about how it went, what we wore, and the challenges we faced along the way.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

Have you ever wanted to run fifteen miles on trails at altitude with a donkey? Well, we haven't either, but this week, we talked to two people who did just that! Megan Ressler and Amy Krupka joined us to tell us about their experience with Millie and Charleston--their donkeys--at the Leadville Boom Days Pack Burro Race. We talked about managing the…

This week, we looked back at Sifan Hassan's historic TRIPLE at the Olympics, climaxing with the Olympic Record in the marathon. We also talked about the men's marathon, and we considered how the Americans performed. We wrapped up the podcast with a quick review of the record-setting day at the Leadville 100.…

Two years ago, in Episode 227, we interviewed Ken Sevensky, the race director for the Blue Ridge Relay. This week, we brought Ken back to hear about his preparations for the 2024 race. Ken told us about how the race has overcome obstacles over the years and grown into the event that it is today, and he gave us a glimpse of all that goes into pullin…

The three of us have been consumed by the Olympics over the last two weeks, so we took a few minutes together to talk about them today. Even though the Games aren't yet over, we had fun talking about the things we have seen and what we've been thinking over the last little while.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

For the second week in a row, we talked to a 2024 Race Across America finisher! This week, it was Katie Aguilar, who raced as part of Four the Record, a four-woman team. Her husband, Carlos, was on the crew, and he also joined us. Katie and Carlos told us about what it was like to take on such an ambitious goal, the changes that Katie had to make t…

This week, we talked to a couple of folks who just successfully finished Race Across America: Brian Hetherington and Alyssa Godesky! Brian raced as part of a four-person team called Team One Life, and they raised money for a charity called Special Love. Alyssa, herself an accomplished professional triathlete and ultrarunner, coached Brian and serve…

There is so much going on in the world of endurance sports right now! We spent a lot of time this week talking about our experiences in the 2024 Peachtree Road Race, plus the first week of the Tour de France, the Olympic Track Trials, and an incredibly fast day at the Western States Endurance Run.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we previewed the 2024 Men's Tour de France with our crack analysts Justin Dugan and Justin Schmidt! As they have done the last few years, Justin and Justin joined us to talk about the course, discuss the contenders, and of course, make a few predictions.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

On June 9th, George got to run the one race he's always wanted to run: the Comrades Marathon in South Africa! He trained with this race specifically in mind for nearly a year, including a lot of strength and mobility work, but he ran into some training issues with only a month to go. Nonetheless, he was able to finish the race with a silver medal, …

This week, we talked about the controversy that is brewing around Spring Energy's gel, Awesome Sauce. We also recapped the Bowerman Mile, and we talked about George's final preparations before he heads off to South Africa for the Comrades Marathon next Monday!Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

Episode 294--Comrades Training Update and the Upcoming Olympic Marathon Showdown! by Most Pleasant ExhaustionOleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

In April, Tara Dower won the overall title at the Umstead 100, and this week, she came on the podcast to tell us about it! Even though Tara is fairly new to ultrarunning, she has found a great deal of success, and she tells us what she has learned in her short career, what it's like to be sponsored by Altra, how the Umstead race unfolded, and what'…

This week, we talked all about our experience at the Tobacco Road Relay over the weekend. TRR is an event that Erik and George helped win in 2022 in its inaugural year, and this year, they were back to give it another go on a three-person team with their friend Lee. The course had changed a great deal, though, and the race director--Ken Sevensky, t…

This week, we visited our friend and sponsor Elemental Altitude to do some sweat testing! Both Michelle and George spent an hour on the treadmill to see how much fluid they would lose and how salty their sweat was. The results met our expectations in some ways, but in other ways, we were surprised by what we found.…

This week, we talked to Doug Olsen. Doug recently finished the brutal Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker 50-mile race, which traverses three massive climbs and includes 12,000 feet of gain and loss over the course. Along the way, he summited Mount Mitchell, the highest point in the eastern United States. Doug talked to us about his training, the challenge…

This week, we discussed George's recent run at a new trail race, the Cove 50K. We also talked about the amazing performances at The Ten, a time-trial-style race in California where eight men ran under 27:00, Nico Young set a new collegiate record, and a woman (Tigise Gebreselama) ran under 30:00 for the first time on American soil.…

In this week's short episode, we talked about all of the people we know that are racing over the weekend, and we heard a bit about Michelle's experience at the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, VA.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we caught up on everyone's training, and we discussed George's test of the new KICKR Treadmill! We also talked about our takeaways from Lululemon's Further event, where Camille Herron set fourteen new ultra-running records.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we discussed a variety of things, but we spent most of our time considering what Molly Seidel talked about in the final episode of her limited series podcast, The Build Up. The podcast, which was only six episodes long, described the hurdles Molly faced in building up to the Olympic Marathon Trials race--a race that she ultimately did no…

This year, the Atlanta Track Club made some big changes to the Atlanta Marathon, including a new start and finish area and new race formats. Michelle and George took advantage and ran the first Atlanta Marathon Relay, and this week, they offered their thoughts on the course, the race, and the changes that Atlanta Track Club instituted.…

We couldn't let the news of Kelvin Kiptum's death go by without discussing it, but we also talked about where our training is right now, the apocalyptic conditions at Mountain Mist 2024, and the death of another great Kenyan runner, Henry Rono.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

Yesterday, the best marathoners in the United States raced to see who would get to represent their country at this summer's Olympic Games. Both the men's and women's races were exciting, and we recap them here, along with our analysis.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we talked about a variety of stuff, but we mostly focused on two things: a recent article published by Strava about what coach Jim van den Berg says that amateur athletes can learn about training by looking at the pros, and a preview of the Olympic Marathon Trials here in the US.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we talked a bit about George's takes on Caster Semenya's book, The Race to Be Myself. We also reviewed how George ran at the Disneyland Half Marathon, and we discussed why Michelle was forced to pull out of the Houston Marathon at the last minute. Finally, building on our conversation from the last episode, we had a bit more to say about…

This week, we're sending Michelle off to the Houston Marathon, so we got to hear a bit about her training and final race preparation. We also talked a bit about the role of influencers in the running landscape.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

Episode 279--2023 Year in Review! by Most Pleasant ExhaustionOleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

It's our long-awaited gift guide! Not sure what to get the endurance athlete in your life? Well, we've got a few ideas. Clothes, technology, stocking stuffers, accessories . . . we've got it all.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

After spending a bit of time talking about our Spotify Wrapped for 2023, we finally reviewed a book we started reading back in September, "The Race That Changed Running; The Inside Story of UTMB." It offered an interesting history of the event as well as a thorough exploration of the changes that have been made over the past few years. It's filled …

On November 11, friend of the podcast Allison Mercer ran a new American record for masters women at the Tunnel Hill 50-mile! This week, we got to talk to Allison about how she prepared for the race in the six weeks between running the Berlin Marathon and Tunnel Hill, and we heard all about her crew, her nutrition, her race strategy, her shoes, and …

This week, we got to talk to longtime endurance athlete Brian Hetherington about his experience at the 2023 Ironman Arizona. Brian has been a runner and cyclist for years, and we dove into what brought him to long course triathlon and what he plans to do next. (Spoiler alert: it's 4-person Race Across America!)…

This week, we talked a bit about the results at the New York City Marathon, then we spent a while discussing Michelle's approach to her long runs. Along the way, we shared a bit about what the research says on whether to fast or fuel and how far to go.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

Episode 273--Are UTMB and USATF Wrecking Our Sport?!? by Most Pleasant ExhaustionOleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

Episode 272.1--Ironman World Championship Race Report with Jaclyn Nasser! by Most Pleasant ExhaustionOleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

On September 10, the men's Ironman World Championship was contested in Nice, France, and Joseph McLeod is here to tell us all about it! After years of trying to qualify, Joseph earned a spot based on his performance and Ironman Chattanooga, and he came on the podcast to tell us about his training and his race experience.…

Only one week after the Blue Ridge Relay, Erik ran more than fifty miles at the Doggettville 12-Hour race, once again taking the "Double Dog Dare" trophy. (He's the only man ever to have won it!) This week, he told us all about the race, his strategy, how he fueled, and how he got more miles than he's ever gotten in this race despite having a compr…

George ran the 2023 Berlin Marathon, and he gave us a full race report this week--everything from his training and pre-race meals to his shoe choice and post-race soreness. We discussed how he approached the race, whether he met his goals, and what it was like to share the course with the new women's world record holder!…

GC Kuss! For this extra episode, our friend Justin Dugan joined George to talk about the US's latest Grand Tour Champion, Sepp Kuss! Last week, Sepp, from Durango, CO, became only the fourth U.S. cyclist to win a Grand Tour when he took first place at the Vuelta a Espana. It wasn't a straight path, though, and we discussed the challenges he faced i…

This week, we discussed George and Erik's experience at the 2023 Blue Ridge Relay! This was the sixth times they've run that race, and they recounted the challenges they faced, the shoes they wore, and why they keep going back to this one race.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we talked about our favorite moments at the men's and women's track World Championship from last week, including several thoughts about the relays, Jakob Ingebrigsten, and Sifan Hassan.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we talked a bit about the Blue Ridge Relay, now coming up in less than three weeks! We also announced the new Book of the Quarter, and we discussed a bit about what we've seen in the Track and Field World Championships so far.Oleh Most Pleasant Exhaustion

Two big things were unveiled this week: the name of the new coach of the Atlanta Track Club elite team and the details of the Olympic Marathon Trials to be held in Orlando next February. We offered our thoughts on both of these things, plus caught up with where everyone is after the Silver Rush 50 and before the Blue Ridge Relay and Berlin Marathon…

This week, we talked about our Book of the Quarter for the second quarter of 2023: Choosing to Run by Des Linden. We found it to be straightforward and fun, which is exactly what we were looking forward. Even so, there were a lot of things in it that stood out to us, and it was fun to discuss them on the podcast.…