Show Notes
All-time best lineups, exclusive news, and Paula Radcliffe herself on Marathon Talk? We couldn't start 2025 any better, could we… Paula Radcliffe MBE is our very first guest on the show, talking to us ahead of her majestic marathon return! She's taking on Tokyo and Boston, the latter of which has a stacked elite field… or so we thought, til London unveiled their roster. Get the jump on two of the most anticipated races in a generation, with one of the most iconic runners of a generation, on episode 61 of Marathon Talk. In this episode of Marathon Talk: 0:00 - We kick off the first show of the year checking in on Deena's discipline, and set our goals for the year ahead
12:45 - Boston and London have released their incredibly competitive elite fields, so we sift through the contenders who might take victory in these stellar fields
33:50 - Marathon icon and former World Record Holder Paula Radcliffe MBE is our very special guest, sharing the first steps on her marathon return, Six Star ambitions, and what she's looking forward to most about taking on Boston & Tokyo
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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
This past weekend, the 2026 TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS took place, and we have all the news from a big weekend of racing. There have also been some pretty seismic events in the world of long-distance running in the past fortnight, so we'll be taking a look at them too, plus we're joined by US TV personality Matt James, live from Sydney, to hear more about his marathon journey. On this episode of Marathon Talk: 00:00 - Intro 00:51 - Martin and Deena talk about UTMB and more 05:52 - Yomif Kejelcha breaks the Half Marathon World Record in Buenos Aires 07:53 - Sabastian Sawe pulls out of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 10:35 - A review of TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS with David Macnamara from Abbott World Marathon Majors in Sydney 25:48 - Marathon Talk meets Matt James 54:06 - Wrapping up Links & References: Abbott World Marathon Majors Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok Marathon Talk Facebook | Instagram | TikTok Martin Yelling | Instagram Deena Kastor | Instagram Matt James | Instagram
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