Just Keep Running with Evan Blakeney

Twenty-three miles into twenty-six point two, my left knee was hurting so bad I knew I had to stop. This is my first marathon recap. I went into the Maine Marathon with a public goal of sub 4:30, a year of training built around attacking my weak links, and a fueling plan I trusted. For 23 miles it all worked. Then it didn't. We go through the whole race, start to finish: taper paranoia, a chaotic night before, the pacer who was "behind schedule" when I thought I was way ahead, t...

Does too much sodium hurt carb absorption? Are runners overdoing electrolytes? I went looking for the research on how much sodium runners need per hour and whether stacking drink mixes, gels, and salt tabs is helping or hurting your fueling. I was all set to record an episode telling you that too much salt could be wrecking your fueling. Then I went looking for the studies, and they didn't say what I thought they would. Sodium is actually part of how your body absorbs carbs. The...

Do you actually need a 20 mile long run before your first marathon? Where did that number even come from, and what happens if you skip it on purpose? I ran a 2:21 half marathon in March. On October 4th I’m running my first full marathon at the Maine Marathon, and I’m saying my goal out loud so I can’t quietly move it later: under 4 hours and 30 minutes. That’s about 30 minutes faster than what my half predicts, because a marathon is not two half marathons stacked together. This ...

Stefan Heisler is one of my best friends from college, and he is the reason I run at all. A year ago he sent me a text about how running fits nicely around work and kids. That text ended with me standing on a mountain in New Hampshire wondering what I had agreed to. This episode is his story. Two miles off the couch, a triathlon leg he was terrified of, a half marathon he had to walk in, a 3:30 marathon, and then 100 miles at the Tahoe Rim Trail. We talk about what he actually did to t...

Nita Sweeney started running at 49, and it started with sixty seconds of jogging in a hidden ravine with her dog. She was severely depressed, out of shape, and convinced her neighbors would laugh at her. She's now a marathoner, an ultra runner, and the author of Depression Hates a Moving Target. We go all the way back: an Ohio farm childhood, a father who measured everything, a law career that eventually broke her, and the year she couldn't work at all. Then the Facebook post from a high scho...