Show Notes
Our first episode back after our summer break, and we have a TCS Sydney Marathon Special! On this show, we'll have a preview of the elite field for the race and hear from Deena as she prepares for her first run in Australia in 20 years. We have a quick check-in with race director Wayne Larden, as Sydney prepares to welcome the Majors, and we're joined by UK based runner Simon Bolton who is heading to Sydney to collect his seventh AbbbottWMM finish. Our main guest is James Constantine, who is here to talk to us about all things running in Sydney, how the city and its runners are looking forward to the race, things to experience in the city, and for Deena, as she stays on a little longer in Australia, a few suggestions for things to do while she's Down Under. In this episode of Marathon Talk: 0:00 - We're back after our break with a TCS Sydney Marathon Special Preview 10:20 - TCS Sydney Marathon Race Director Wayne Larden joins us to give a quick update on how Sydney is prepared for the big race on August 31st 20:40 - As runners from around the world head to Sydney, we speak to local runner James Constantine to give us a background on running culture in the city, what the race means to the local community and he shares a few tips on the things to do in Sydney that visitors don't want to miss. 37:21 - In our Community Notes section, we hear from Simon Bolton as one of more than 3,000 Six Star finishers who are heading to Sydney to collect his seventh Abbott World Marathon Majors star. 41:35 - We have an update on our Global Run Club challenge as we head into the last few weeks of the competition. Episode highlights "When I think of the names and quality of the fields put together for this race, it's really going to be interesting to see how the hills become part of the racers' strategies; have they studied the course, have they figured out which hill do they make their move on? I'm fascinated to see how the course itself plays into those moves." - 08:19 - Deena Kastor "I'd be pretty confident right now that Eliud would be really enthusiastically telling the world how beautiful Sydney is, how friendly Australians are, what a great time he has had in Sydney, and what a great race and beautiful course it is." - 16:50 - Wayne Larden "The culture has certainly changed over the last few years, running has become this cool thing, and it's absolutely been exacerbated by social media, but also the communities and the run club culture has really developed over the last few years in Sydney. It's just a great place to be in Australia if you're a runner." - 22:32 - James Constantine "I'm more excited than you can imagine! I'm really looking forward to it. Getting on a plane to head to the other side of the world, I can't wait!" - 38:10 - Simon Bolton
More from Marathon Talk
In this week's episode, we have all the details from last weekend's Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Deena was on the ground, taking in the whole event, where we saw some incredible racing. And I spoke with the wonderful Emma Bates, who watched from a distance but was nonetheless enthralled by the highly competitive women's racing. Emma joins us to talk about Chicago, motherhood, and much more. On this episode of Marathon Talk: 00:00 - Intro 07:40 - Bank of America Chicago Marathon Review 20:04 - Deena speaks with Emma Bates 42:30 - Live from the finish line in Grant Park, Deena catches up with Abbott World Marathon Majors COO, Danny Coyle Links & References: Abbott World Marathon Majors Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok Marathon Talk Facebook | Instagram | TikTok Martin Yelling | Instagram Deena Kastor | Instagram Emma Bates | Instagram
In this week's episode, we look at what went down at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, as Tigst Assefa comes within seconds of an historic win, but has she sacrificed too much in pursuit of the record? And speaking of Berlin, our guest Sam Griffiths was in the German capital this weekend. The Brecon-based runner finished a very respectable 81st place on Sunday, but the story of how he got there is truly inspirational. We've also got a preview of next week's Bank of America Chicago Marathon. On this episode of Marathon Talk: 00:00 - Intro 04:42 - We review the 2026 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 20:03 - We meet Sam Griffiths, who ran a 2:20:26 in Berlin at the weekend, but whose story is so much more. 58:13 - We preview the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Links & References: Abbott World Marathon Majors | Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok Marathon Talk | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok Martin Yelling | Instagram Deena Kastor | Instagram Sam Griffiths | Instagram
With the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on the horizon, we met a man who is aiming to make it Seven-In-A-Row, the most dominant athlete in the world, a man with over 40 Abbott World Marathon Majors titles to his name, the Swiss Silver Bullet, Marcel Hug. And staying with wheelchair racing, we're joined by London Marathon's Head of Disability, Michelle Weltman, who has an update for us on how the season has gone as competition steps up with 3 races to go. On this episode of Marathon Talk: 00:00 - Intro 05:35 - Marathon Talk meets Marcel Hug 35:30 - Michelle Weltman from London Marathon Events joins us to give us an update on the elite wheelchair season. 51:30 - Preview of the 2026 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON Links & References: Abbott World Marathon Majors Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok Marathon Talk Facebook | Instagram | TikTok Martin Yelling | Instagram Deena Kastor | Instagram Marcel Hug | Instagram
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As the 2026 Abbott World Marathon Majors season returns after its summer break, attention turns to the TCS Sydney Marathon. Joining us on this week's show, we welcome a legend of Australian marathon running. Lisa Weightman is an Olympian, representing Australia at the Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo Games and has also competed at multiple World Championships and Commonwealth Games. We've also got news from the European Championships in Birmingham, and Martin & Deena share stories from their recent trip to Boulder, Colorado. All this, and more, on the latest episode of Marathon Talk. On this week's show: 00:00 - Intro 00:51 - Martin and Deena tell us about what they have been up to while we've been off 09:48 - European Championships 13:58 - A recap of the Abbott World Marathon Majors series so far 17:33 - TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS race preview 23:00 - Marathon Talk meets Lisa Weightman 57:34 - Wrapping up Links & References: Abbott World Marathon Majors Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok Marathon Talk Facebook | Instagram | TikTok Martin Yelling | Instagram Deena Kastor | Instagram Lisa Weightman | Instagram