Show Notes
This is our annual book episode! Angie and Trevor discuss the books they enjoyed in 2025– top picks for both fiction and nonfiction.
Links Mentioned in This Episode
Run Coaching. Work with an expert MTA Running Coach.
MetPro.co -See what it’s like working with your own metabolic coach.
Altra Running -Altra shoes are designed to fit the natural shape of feet with room for your toes, for comfort, balance, and strength. So you can focus on what really matters: Getting out there!
AG1 Next Gen has new flavors: Citrus, Tropical, and Berry. Get a free Welcome Kit with your first order which includes AG1 Travel Packs, a shaker bottle, metal canister, and a bottle of AG Vitamin D3+K2.
IQBAR brain and body-boosting bars, hydration mixes, and mushroom coffees. Their Ultimate Sampler Pack includes all three! Get 20% off plus FREE shipping. Just text “MTA” to 64000.
The Book Episode: Our Top Reads in 2025
Angie got through a total of 241 books in 2025. (95 fiction and 146 nonfiction)(audio = 144, hardcopy = 94, ebook = 3).
Authors We Interviewed on the Podcast
Here are the books we featured on the podcast this year. See links to the author interviews.
Think Like a Runner by Jeff Horowitz
How to Run the Perfect Race by Matt Fitzgerald
The Norwegian Method by Brad Culp
The Explorer’s Gene by Alex Hutchinson
Ballistic by Henry Abbott
Extreme Balance by Joe DeSena
The Runaway Housewives of the Appalachian Trail by Kitty Robinson
Fuel for Thought by Renee McGregor
Don’t Call it a Comeback by Keira D’Amato
Lootie’s World Run by Marie Leautey
The Running Ground by Nicolas Thompson
Angie’s Top 10 Non-Fiction Reads:
The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr
Memoir is one of my favorite genres and this book takes a peak behind the scenes on writing an engaging memoir. In fact, Mary Karr weaves in so many personal anecdotes that it doesn’t feel like a how-to book at all. Some of the core principles she talks about have to do with dealing with the truth as you remember it, turning vulnerability into art, and finding your unique story. Everyone from the casual reader to someone who wants to write a memoir will enjoy this book.
Awake by Jen Hatmaker
I’ve followed Jen Hatmaker on Instagram for a number of years and she has a very funny and relatable way of sharing her life. Her latest book is a memoir and talks about the dissolution of her 25 year marriage and how she had to come awake to many important areas in her life as a result.
Bad Therapy- Why The Kids Aren’t Growing Up by Abigail Shrier
The author is an investigative journalist who argues that aspects of the mental health industry is harming American children by over-diagnosing and over-treating normal struggles. It’s important to get children the mental health help that they need but Shrier warns that normal developmental challenges and emotions are sometimes mislabeled as mental disorders which can lead children to adopt an “illness identity.”
It Didn’t Start With You -How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle by Mark Wolynn
This book talks about how trauma and epigenetic are linked. Trauma can change how our genes work and influence stress responses, health, and mood and these alterations can be passed down to future generations, which can help explain intergenerational trauma. This was a very eye opening book and helpful for anyone processing struggles linked to family history.
The Marvelous Pigness of Pigs by Joel Salatin
Since reading Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, I’ve been working on getting the meat our family eats from ethically sustainable sources. Joel Salatin, owner and operator of Polyface Farms, makes the case for how farming and ranching practices need to change (for the good of the environment, the animals, the farmer, and society in general).
Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy
This is a book that was first published back in 2009 and was updated in 2020. It has been used by many professional athletes and high achie
More from Marathon Training Academy
In this episode we play an interview we did with actor Sean Astin. Sean has completed 13 marathons and the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. He’s a great storyteller and very open about his struggles as a runner.
In this episode, we speak with ultra-runner Careth Arnold about her meteoric rise in the ultra-running world, her racing highlights, and the deep connection between faith and endurance.
In this episode we speak with Brad Stulberg author of the book, ‘The Way of Excellence: A Guide to True Greatness and Deep Satisfaction in a Chaotic World‘.
In this episode Coach Angie answers a question sent in by a listener from Ontario, Canada, who had a disappointing marathon due to severe cramping. What went wrong and how does one process a disappointing race?
In this episode we speak with Rafael Hidalgo who shares how endurance running can rewire your brain and transform your life. Rafael, who completed the 110 mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in 2023, believes the race’s most meaningful story lies not at the front of the pack, but at the back—and deserves to be told. He unpacks this philosophy in his book, The Pain Cave: Start With Where, Not With Why.