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
Episodes
In this special episode of the Marathon Handbook Podcast, hosts Michael Doyle, Alex Cyr, and Katelyn Tocci each share the greatest race of their lives—offering up deeply personal stories packed with insight, grit, and emotion. From Alex’s freezing sub-65 half marathon in Houston (04:15), to Katelyn’s comeback victory at a rugged Italian sky race after a terrifying Hep A diagnosis (39:27), to Michael’s flawlessly executed PB at the ...
Step into the fast lane with our deep dive into super shoes — the revolutionary footwear changing the face of distance running.
We break down what actually makes a shoe “super” (01:45), take you inside the never-before-told history of Nike’s prototype era (06:30), and trace how the Vaporfly flipped the script on competitive marathoning (18:50). From foam wars to carbon plates, from elite deception to banned shoes, this is the comp...
The Grand Slam Track League is here – but is it actually working?
In this special episode of the Marathon Handbook Podcast, hosts Michael, Alex, and Caitlin break down everything you need to know about Michael Johnson’s ambitious new league. We dive into how it compares to the Diamond League, explore its bold innovations (like guaranteed prize money, racer vs. challenger formats, and athlete branding), and debate whether it’s doing ...
What does it take for a woman to break the 4-minute mile? In this exclusive and groundbreaking interview, Dr. Andy Jones—one of the world’s leading exercise physiologists and the mastermind behind Kipchoge’s sub-two-hour marathon—reveals the science, strategy, and secrets behind Nike’s latest audacious project: Breaking4.
Dr. Jones has worked with legends like Paula Radcliffe and Eliud Kipchoge, and now, he’s applying decades of res...
Are you really doing a tempo run—or just running in the gray zone without purpose? In this episode, Michael Doyle, Alex Cyr, and Caitlin Tocci take a sledgehammer to one of running’s most overused and misunderstood terms: the “tempo run.” We explore the history of the term, why it’s misapplied in so many training plans, and what terms like lactate threshold, critical velocity, VO2 max, and steady state actually mean. Plus: our “Tem...
Stop guessing your training and race pace! In this episode of the Marathon Handbook Podcast, hosts Michael Doyle, Coach Katelyn Tocci, and Alex Cyr break down how to scientifically and practically discover your true race and training pace — without falling into common runner traps.
We explore:
- Six pace trap archetypes every runner should avoid (like the Marathon Mathematician and Legacy PR Guy)
- The most effective tools and calcula...
In this episode of the Marathon Handbook Podcast, the hosts Alex Cyr, Katelyn Tocci and Michael Doyle delve into the complexities of running a 5K, exploring its challenges, physiological demands, and effective training strategies.
They discuss the mental and physical aspects of the race, emphasizing the importance of pain tolerance and speed endurance. The conversation includes personal anecdotes, expert insights, and practical tips...
Our co-host Alex Cyr finally did it — broke 30 minutes in the 10K before his 30th birthday. But in this deeply personal episode, he, Katelyn Tocci, and Michael Doyle go beyond splits and finish lines. They unpack the mental toll of public goals (13:00), the crash after big wins (25:00), and how to redefine motivation (40:00). It’s a story of resilience, racing, identity, and the strange emotional alchemy of chasing big dreams.
🎙 To...
In this special instant reactions episode, Marathon Handbook’s Editor-in-Chief Michael Doyle and News Editor Jessy Carveth break down all the drama from the 2025 London Marathon just hours after the race wrapped.
From Tigst Assefa’s women’s-only world record to Eliud Kipchoge’s twilight career run, plus shocking moments like Sebastian Sawe’s controversial race-winning move — we dive into all the elite races, surprises, disappointmen...
The 2025 London Marathon is here, and we’ve got your ultimate preview: elite race insights, logistics, history, and how to watch. Then, in a breaking second segment, we unpack Nike’s stunning new Breaking4 project—Faith Kipyegon’s quest to become the first woman to run a sub-4 minute mile. All the context, science, and bold predictions are here from Michael Doyle and Alex Cyr.
This episode is brought to you by the Wahoo KICKR RUN.
🔗...
Editors Alex Cyr, Michael Doyle and Katelyn Tocci host an instant reaction episode, live from near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. They break down the phenomenal elite races, as well as Katelyn's experience running the marathon.
Watch a replay of our Watch-Along Live Stream of the Boston Marathon:
https://youtube.com/live/y5enYRMrI1U
⏱️ Timestamps & Chapters
00:00 – Welcome to Boston!
Michael, Kately...
We’re back with a full preview of the 2025 Boston Marathon! Michael Doyle, Alex Cyr, and Katelyn Tocci break down everything you need to know heading into race weekend:
- Start times and how to watch
- Elite field preview + American hopefuls
- Katelyn’s emotional story about her first Boston Marathon in 2003
- Course breakdown + pacing strategy
- Alex’s weather forecast + key advice
- Live show details (Saturday night!)
- Predictions: who’s winning...
Mailbag time! In this spring edition, we dig into your listener questions covering all things running—from training tweaks to shoe reviews, marathon pacing, gels, treadmill strategies, and a deep dive into that eternal mystery: what are speed goggles?
Plus, Michael shares coaching tips for kids’ running programs, Caitlin gives sunscreen recs for Honolulu, and Alex bravely admits to lazy calves. We’ve got something for every runner—w...
IMPORTANT NEWS:
🎉 We're hosting a LIVE PODCAST EVENT, happening Boston Marathon weekend, Saturday, April 19th, 2025, from 5:30PM to 7:30 PM. at Trident Booksellers on Newbury Street. There will be free food, drinks and exclusive gear giveaways! Tickets are free, but very limited, so RSVP now with this link:
https://forms.gle/zSrSDAjbSP3Gqqir7
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In this jam-packed episode of the Marathon Handboo...
On today's episode, Alex, Katelyn and Michael debate about what the single biggest milestone is in all of running.
First, Alex argues that it has to be the sub four minute mile, including the prospect that the barrier could conceivably be broken by a woman in the near future.
Then, Katelyn stumps for the Boston Marathon qualifier (or BQ) as the single most significant milestone in all of running, as it's...
Join us for an in-depth analysis of the 2025 Barkley Marathons, one of the most brutal and mysterious ultramarathons on the planet. In this episode, we break down exactly what happened in this year’s race — from the start line in Frozen Head State Park to the final taps of "Taps" for runners who didn’t finish.
🔥 What We'll Cover:
- Who toed the line in the 2025 Barkley Marathons
- How far each runner got — loop-by-loop...
Our editors Michael Doyle, Katelyn Tocci and Alex Cyr dig into everything you need to know about the Barkley Marathons, the most mysterious, alluring and difficult race in the world. They go into the history of this 100-mile running race, its long list of eccentricities, how to get into the Barkley, and what the heck happened this year on the course, with no finishers.
Follow our live updates of the 2025 Barkley Marathons:...
We dream of the perfect race day, but let’s be honest—things can (and often do) go wrong at retty much any running event distance, from the 5K to ultramarathon distances. On today's podcast, we'll delve into the top 10 hiccups that can wreck your race.
From blown-up pacing to blister meltdowns, weather surprises fueling nightmares, to the dreaded running side stitch, we’re getting into everything that could go wr...
Alex, Katelyn and Michael were live onstage at the Boston Run Show. They discuss the biggest running trends in 2025 and beyond: Are we really experiencing a running boom, and will it last? Are the World Marathon Majors making a mistake by expanding, and which events will be added next? Why is "running the new dating app"? And what do Nike's curious new set of running shoe patents suggest about the future of super sho...
Alex, Katelyn and Michael try something a little different in this week's podcast. They compete in a "race draft," similar to a sports fantasy draft, but with running events. They each have to build the perfect calendar year of running events, by picking one of the following: an ultra/trail event, a marathon, a half, a 10K, a 5K, a "wild card" race, and an event to they'd like to spectate as a fan. If ...
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