Podcasts

Elite marathon training with Victor Urquhart Smångs

I just recorded a great podcast with Victor Urquhart Smångs, a coach and 28:57 10k runner in Sweden who is in the middle of a big build-up for the Valencia Marathon. We talked about elite-level marathon training, including key workouts, periodization, and heat versus altitude training. 

Check out the full episode on your podcast app of choice: 

🎙️ Listen on Spotify here

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts here

To follow Victor's training, check out his Instagram here, and check out the rest of his podcast episodes on Runners FM. As always, if you enjoy the show leave a review and share the episode with your friends and training partners!

Read more

Talking marathon training on the Life in Stride Podcast

I just went on the Life in Stride Podcast to chat about all aspects of marathon training—workouts, periodization, fueling, tapering, recovery, and more! 

This was a super fun chat with Chris, Scotty, and Danny, and it was great to get their own perspectives on training (Chris had just done the classic 8 x (1k, 1k) workout that morning) so definitely give it a listen! Check out the episode on your favorite platform here: 

🎙️ Listen on Spotify

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts 

🖥️ Watch on YouTube

You can follow the Life in Stride Podcast here on Instagram, or here on YouTube. Remember to like, review, and share the episode with your friends and training partners if you enjoy it—it’s a huge help to creators like Chris, Scotty, and Danny!

Read more

Podcast: Marathon Excellence on Running Book Reviews with Alan and Liz

I was just on the perfectly-named Running Book Reviews Podcast to chat with hosts Alan and Liz about my book, Marathon Excellence for Everyone.

We talk about why I wrote the book, how I approach periodization for the marathon, and how to mentally approach race day, among many other topics.

I really enjoyed this show because Alan and Liz have a huge amount of knowledge about the various ways different coaches approach the marathon and it really shows in the podcast. 

Check out the show on your favorite platforms below! 

🎙️ Listen on Spotify

🎧 Apple podcasts

🖥️ Watch on Youtube

Read more

Lecture: The science behind modern marathon training

John Davis lecturing about marathon science

I just posted the video from my live lecture on the science of modern marathon training! 

In the video, I uncover the science behind the modern approach to marathon training, including how VO2max, running economy, lactate threshold, and physiological resilience each contribute to marathon performance. Then, I explore the training methods that most effectively target each of these components of marathon fitness. 

The Q&A session at the end covers lactate shuttling, glycogen depletion, periodization, and long-term development, among other topics. 

Here’s the full video—be sure to like the video and subscribe to my YouTube channel if you want to see more video-based content in the future. 

You can watch the embedded video above, or watch it here on YouTube. There is some material that’s easier to convey in a lecture or video, so I’m hoping to do more video content in the future (don’t worry, I’ll still be writing plenty too). 

Read more

Chatting marathon training, strength work, and mindset with Alec Blenis

Recently I sat down to chat about training with hybrid athlete, coach, and content creator Alec Blenis. This was a particularly interesting conversation because I am also coaching Alec on his quest to break 2:30 in the marathon while maintaining his strength and physique goals. 

I’m always looking to learn new things as a coach, and working with Alec, who is very knowledgeable about strength training, is a great opportunity for me to learn how to integrate marathon training and serious strength work. 

Check out the video below!

We had an excellent chat about marathon training, strength work, mindset, my thoughts on current trends in training, and my opinion on the greatest marathon ever run. 

If you enjoyed this conversation and want to follow Alec’s training, be sure to follow him on Instagram, like the video, and subscribe to Alec’s YouTube channel. These are super easy and helpful ways to show content creators that you appreciate their work! 

Read more

Podcast: Base training for the marathon with the Seconds Flat Podcast

I just recorded a great conversation on the Seconds Flat Podcast from Columbus Running Company where we chatted about base training for the marathon, what coaches influenced me, how to set your marathon goal pace, and the merits of single vs. double threshold, among other topics. 

Find the show on your favorite podcasting platform: 

🎧 Listen on Spotify 

🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts

I really enjoyed this one and I hope you enjoy listening to it too! As always, if you enjoy it, feel free to share the episode with your friends and leave a review on your podcasting app of choice.

Read more

Podcast: Building a marathon plan from scratch with Dane Verwey from Run Culture

I just recorded an awesome podcast on marathon training with Dane Verwey on his excellent Run Culture Podcast. I was really looking forward to going on this show because Dane was one of the beta testers who tried out the Marathon Excellence training plans before the book came out! Dane ran 2:24 at the Ballarat Marathon using the Tornado plan. 

We chat about Dane’s experience doing the plan, including some of his most memorable workouts and a breakdown of how he felt throughout the 18-week training program. 

We also chat in-depth about how to put together a marathon starting from scratch—when to schedule your biggest workouts, how to build up to them, and how different types of workouts support one another. 

If you’ve been looking for an in-depth account of what doing a full-spectrum marathon build really looks like, or what the process of building up a program from a blank calendar looks like, this podcast is a great listen. I really enjoyed doing this show and I hope you enjoy it as well! 

Here are links to the show:

🎙️ Click here to listen on Spotify

🎧 Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts 

To keep up with Dane, you can follow Run Culture on Instagram here. If you enjoy the episode, make sure you leave a review on your podcasting app of choice! Reviews are really helpful for content creators, and help more runners find good podcasts! 

Read more

Podcast: what it means to run an excellent marathon with The Planted Runner

I just went on this week’s episode of The Planted Runner Podcast with Claire Bartholic to chat about how you can apply the principles of modern marathon training, even if you’re not an elite runner. 

We also talk about some of the most useful findings from scientific research in the last few years, and how large-scale studies on everyday runners are upending some of the training myths and mistakes that a lot of amateur runners make.

Lastly, we answer the big question spurred by my new book’s title: can everyone really achieve Marathon Excellence?

Check out the show on your favorite podcasting platform!

🎧 Listen here on Apple Podcasts

🎧 Listen here on Spotify

Read more

Podcast: How to improve physiological resilience for the marathon

Regular readers will know that I’m a big believer in the importance of physiological resilience for the marathon—the ability to resist the decline in your effective fitness level as a race continues. This week I was thrilled to return to Jason Fitzgerald’s Strength Running Podcast to do a deep dive into physiological resilience.

In the podcast, we unpack every aspect of resilience (sometimes also called durability): what it is, why it matters, and how you can improve it.

We also discussed questions like:

  • Is resilience the most important thing for the marathon?
  • Is fueling the key to better resilience?
  • What aspects of marathon training have I changed my mind on?
  • And much more!

Regular readers will remember that I appeared on Jason’s show in August of last year to chat about “Zone 3” and the benefits of high-end aerobic training. It was awesome to come back on the show and talk about another one of my favorite scientific topics. 

You can find the show on your favorite podcasting service:

🎙️ Click here to listen on Spotify

🎙️ Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts

Read more

Podcast: chatting marathon training with That Triathlon Show

I had the pleasure of being the guest on the latest episode of Mikael Eriksson’s That Triathlon Show, a podcast focused on the science of everything endurance-related. Regular listeners will remember that I went on this same podcast back in June to chat about the intersection of physiology and training, and it was great to come back on the show.

This time, Mikael and I went in-depth on the modern approach to marathon training that I lay out in my new book, Marathon Excellence for Everyone. We talk about periodization, mileage, workout progression, structuring your weekly schedule, and what most runners get wrong about marathon training.

We also do some Q&A from listeners on LT1 (the first lactate threshold), double threshold vs. special blocks, heat training, and more. I love doing technical deep-dives like this, so this show was incredibly fun.

You can find the show on your favorite podcasting service - check out the links below! 

🎧 Listen to the show here on Spotify

🎧 Listen to the show here on Apple Podcasts

Read more

Check out my new book on marathon training!