s5/e24 Breaking4, Boston Qualifying Changes, and the Big Business of Women’s Sports with Jonathan Levitt
The Running Explained PodcastShow Notes
This week, I'm joined by the one and only Jon Levitt, host of For the Long Run and Long Run Labs, endurance athlete, and resident expert in both running and running-adjacent banter.What starts as a lighthearted chat about favorite running shoes (RIP Pegasus 34), run fuel (blue raspberry forever), and dream races (Tokyo, anyone?) turns into a deeply thoughtful conversation about what it means to push yourself to the edge... and what happens when you go past it.We dive into:🎯 The anatomy of a moonshot: Was the Breaking4 Project to break 4 minutes in the mile by a woman a marketing stunt or a meaningful milestone?🧠 The shared psychology of suffering: Why elite runners and mid-packers alike know what it feels like to “bleed” in the third lap💥 What makes a mile so compelling (and painful) to run and watch🥵 Downhill marathons, Boston qualifiers, and the not-so-free speed myth💬 What we talk about when we talk about toughness, exclusivity, and why not every goal should be easyPlus: a very scientific game of “Strava Caption or Shenanigans,” Taylor Swift references, and a reminder that running a hard mile might just change your life.🧭 Resources & Links:Follow Jon on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/jwlevittListen to For the Long Run and Long Run Labshttps://shorturl.at/i7pRU
--
-- 🏃♀️ Running Explained is here to help you run smarter, get faster, and feel more confident in your training. From trusted education to real-world coaching support, we’ve got what you need: no fluff, no gimmicks, just evidence-based guidance that works. 🎙 Podcast & Blog: Free, accessible, no-BS running education 📨 The Weekly Stride: Your favorite running newsletter 📲 The Run Club App: Training plans + strength work in one place 📋 Downloadable Training Plans: Built for real life and real results 🏅 1:1 Coaching: Personalized guidance with expert support 🔗 Start here → runningexplained.com
Research & production assistance by Sophie van Leeuwen
More from The Running Explained Podcast
Pro marathoner Sara Hall joins Coach Nick and Coach Amanda one week after the Chicago Marathon to talk marathon recovery, motherhood, and her memoir, For the Love of the Grind.
Olympian Carrie Tollefson joins Coach Amanda and Coach Nick days after broadcasting the 2026 Chicago Marathon. Carrie made the 2004 Olympic team in the 1500m, won five NCAA titles at Villanova, and now runs her mouth more than her legs (her words) as a marathon broadcaster and host of the C Tolle Run podcast. In this episode, we cover: • What the Chicago Marathon looks like from the finish line broadcast position • Why Carrie ran three marathons just to commentate them better • The human stories behind Hawi Feysa, Clayton Young, and Vinny Mauri • How to handle negativity and why running needs a “positive thread” • What everyday runners can learn from pros (you deal with the same mile 21) • Running identity after competition, plus balancing career, kids, and 20-minute runs • Prize money, the running boom, and celebrity run clubs • Why success comes from finding your joy, not your finish time • The Secret Interview Questions (and a story her mom will not love)
How long should you rest after a marathon? Coach Amanda (fresh off her fall marathon) and Coach Nick cover marathon recovery from taper week to your first run back.
We did an old fashioned listener Q&A, and because you all sent in a stack of nutrition questions, we called in the big guns: sports dietitian Stevie Lyn Smith, RD, CSSD, back for round two. Coach Amanda and I cover the coaching side while Stevie brings the fueling science. We get into how many carbs per hour you actually need on long runs (and why the answer is a range, not a flex), how to juggle fast 5Ks, marathons, and heavy lifting by building training seasons, and how to keep burnout from wrecking your year. Amanda goes on a legendary rant about lottery FOMO. I explain resiliency data points and why belief beats hard work at your absolute peak. Then we help a first time Philly marathoner avoid the mile 20 wall, dig into the new ASH ferritin guidelines (and why ferritin alone does not tell the whole iron story), and answer the big one: can you safely cut weight before a marathon? Spoiler: Stevie said yes to cutting a bagel. That is it.
Coach Amanda and Coach Nick talk masters running with coach Kim Nedeau (Training Inclined) about how mileage, recovery, and strength work should change after 40, plus what the research really says about bone density, menopause, and weighted vests.