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Episode 367--Reviewing the 2026 Blue Ridge Relay by Most Pleasant Exhaustion

This week, we present a recording of a paper entitled "The Appeal of Running Long Distances" that George presented at an event at his college. In the paper, he discussed some of the things that may have inspired him to keep running after a wreck nearly ended his career (and his life).

This week, George and Allison got together to talk about two big Atlanta-based running stories that have echoed around the endurance sporting world: the death of Olympian and coach Jeff Galloway and the unfortunate debacle at the USATF Half Marathon Championship at the Atlanta Half Marathon over the weekend.

On January 18, Erik and Michelle ran the Tsali 50K in Almond, NC. Even though George had hoped to run it with them, he ended up just cheering instead. The three of us all got together and talked about the race, including the weather, the fueling, the course, and the challenges that Erik and Michelle faced along the way. Spoiler: they had a great time and highly recommend this race.

This week, longtime friend of the podcast Justin Dugan joined George to talk about "The Chain," a harrowing new memoir from Sir Bradley Wiggins. Sir Wiggins--who received his knighthood in 2013--is arguably the most successful British cyclist of all time, having won five Olympic gold medals, numerous world championships, and several stage races on the road. In 2012, he rocketed to fame when he became the first British winner of the Tour de France. Everything came crashing down after that, though. It turns out that there was a lot of trauma in Sir Wiggins's life, and when he quit racing his bike, it all came to the surface. The next decade was filled with drug and alcohol addiction, and he only recently started to find his way back. This memoir was an important step in that process.

Each year, we look spend some time talking about what Spotify told us about our listening habits and what Strava told us about our training habits. Today was that day! Of course, each of this tools gives us the opportunity to reflect on how we have spent our time, and that can potentially prompt changes in how we behave. And it's super-fun!

It's the 2025 gift guide! Every year, we talk about the suggestions that we have for the runners in your lives, and this year, we covered all the bases. Want something small? We have you covered. Big? We have that, too. Kinda random? Yep--there are some of those on the list. We even discussed the things that we suggest that you NOT purchase. Happy holidays!

This week, we spent a lot of time talking about the fabulous men's and women's races at the NCAA cross-country championships, including a repeat win for Doris Lemongole and a long-awaited championship for Habtom Samuel. Before we got into the details of those races and our analysis of the issues related to the races, though, we talked about the biggest news of the week: the unfortunate--but ultimately understandable--postponement of the World 50K Championship that Allison was set to run in December. We discussed how the news hit her and what her plans are moving forward.

This week, we talked about a new job posting from the Atlanta Braves--an opening for their on-field sprinter/entertainer, the Freeze! Although lots of folks have fowarded this application to us, we talked about how incredibly unfit for the job that we are! In addition, we checked in on Allison's mindset with only three weeks to the World 50K Championship, we made a few corrections based on listener feedback, and we discussed a recent controversy in the FKT world.

This past weekend, several records fell at the Tunnel Hill 100-miler, including the women's 50-mile world record, the women's 100-mile world record, and the women's 100K national record. Allison ran the marathon--setting a course record in the process!--so she was on-hand to watch it all go down. This week, she shared with us all that she saw while there!

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.