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.By 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.By 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.By 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.By 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.By 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.By Most Pleasant Exhaustion

Episode 279--2023 Year in Review! by Most Pleasant ExhaustionBy 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.By 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.By Most Pleasant Exhaustion

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

Episode 272.1--Ironman World Championship Race Report with Jaclyn Nasser! by Most Pleasant ExhaustionBy 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.By 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.By 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.By 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.…

We kept it under wraps a bit, but last weekend, Erik and Michelle both ran the Silver Rush 50 in Leadville, CO! This week, they joined us on the podcast to talk all about it, including their training, how they handled the altitude, what they used for nutrition, the shoes they wore, and of course, what's next!…

This week, we had an interview with one of our new favorite people: Kyle Torok from Atlanta Snack Club! It's hard to pin down exactly what the ASC is, but it's clear that they have a lot of fun exploring Atlanta on foot. We appreciated Kyle's refreshing take on the purpose of running, and we're excited to go to an upcoming group run!…

Justin and Justin are back to preview the men's 2024 Tour de France! This year, newly minted expert Michelle joined us to talk about the stages, who we're excited to watch, our favorite jerseys, and our predictions for this difficult and exciting edition of the Tour. We even discussed which pro riders we believe each other resemble. This is everyth…

After a brief summer break, we spent some time this week talking about the Netflix documentary about the Tour de France and a few of the many recent impressive performances from around the world of running.By Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we finally discussed our Book of the Quarter for Q1 of 2023: "Fit Nation" by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela. While the book wasn't our favorite, we did have a good conversation about the ideas in it and what they mean for us as members of the endurance community. We also announced our next BOTQ, which we will make sure to finish on time!…

This week, we were joined by Krystle Andrews--Ironman, Boston Qualifier, Six-Star Medal winner, and recent finisher of the Antarctica Marathon! Krystle told us all about the things she saw and experienced as part of this unique marathon, including the difficulties in getting there, the course, and the penguins!…

This week, friends of the podcast Justin Dugan and Allison Mercer came on the podcast to review the Ragnar Ultra Relay that the two of them, Michelle, and George all did together on April 21st and 22nd. Each runner did six trail runs totaling around 31 miles over the course of the roughly twenty-hour race, and we discussed the course, our nutrition…

This week, we bring you another race report! This time, we talked to James Aldridge about his experience at the Boston Marathon. We spoke to James a few days before he left about his preparation and his expectations for the race, and then we came back to him about a week after the race to hear how it went.…

The Boston Marathon is right around the corner, and the fields for the men's and women's races are incredible. We took a little bit of time to discuss them after giving Camille Herron the praise she deserved for setting a new 48-hour world record last month.By Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, George and Michelle went to Elemental Altitude to take a tour of the various physiological tests that they have there--and to take a Resting Metabolic Rate test!--and, of course, to complete a workout at 10,000 feet. The owner Chuck took us through the history of the place and told us all about the various offerings he has. He also told …

Japan is one of the top countries in the world for marathoning. There are multiple examples of Japanese races with literally hundreds of people running under 2:20. Why is this so? This week, Brett Larner, the writer behind Japan Running News, came on the podcast to discuss the historical and cultural reasons that Japanese marathon fields are so dee…

This week, Lee and Aaron joined us to share their experience at the Croatan Buck Fifty gravel bike race in North Carolina. Aaron--who rode with his 75-year-old dad--was riding his first bike race, and Lee was looking to finish strong. In the pre-race interview, they tell us about their training, their fears, and their expectations, and in the post-…

This week, we heard about George's experience at the Austin Marathon, which came five weeks after the Houston Marathon and three weeks after the Mountain Mist 50K! We discussed the hills--including one particular hill--the vibe of the race, and perhaps most importantly, how he felt doing his third big race in just over a month. Before we got to it,…

This week, we got to talk to David Eliuk about what it took to set the Guinness World Record for Most T-Shirts Worn During a Half-Marathon. David described how he decided on this goal, how he trained, the requirements for the record to be recognized, and the challenges he faced along the way. Running 13.1 miles while wearing 120 shirts is no mean f…

This week, after catching up a bit on recent news--including the story of a Canadian man who ran a half-marathon wearing 120 shirts!--we discussed the training metrics that are available on popular watches and online training logs. While the way that various companies calculate your training "load" can be helpful, we also discuss a few drawbacks wi…

This week, we discussed some impressive early-season indoor track performances, and we talked about the "constrained daily energy expenditure" model of metabolism. The model, as described by Dr. Herman Pontzer, suggests that no matter how much you exercise, your metabolism will be roughly the same.By Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we welcomed our new sponsor, Elemental Altitude Training Center! We also announced the new Book of the Quarter, talked about lots of endurance news from Australia, described the Boston Athletic Association's new policy on pregnancy deferrals, and discussed a recent piece of research on the differences between trail and road runners.…

We chose to run 2023 Mountain Mist 50K together, and we had a lot to say about it! With a pre-race conversation on Friday night, our first impressions post-race on Saturday, and our final wrap-up on Sunday, we discussed every aspect of the race--the weather, the gear, the course, the competition, and the results.…

This week, we discussed the new pricing structure at Strava, even though we--and everyone else--do not really know what it is. We also reviewed the Houston Marathon, which one of us may have run.By Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we reviewed our most recent Book of the Quarter, "Running While Black" by Alison Desir. The book, Desir's memoir of growing up and becoming a runner as a Black women in a sport and country that is filled with white spaces, was provocative and interesting, and we will all continue to think about the ideas for the next long while. We also …

On the last day of 2022, we talked about how the year went for us--including our Strava "Year in Sports" data--what our favorite races were, and what we're resolving for 2023.By Most Pleasant Exhaustion