Peak week is the most demanding part of any training cycle — but how much mileage is enough, should you race, and how do you recover properly?

In this episode, we dive into peak week mindset (00:00 ), share our most inspiring runners including Courtney Dauwalter and Cam Levins (02:00 ), compare old-school training intensity with modern approaches (08:30 ), and break down ultra vs. marathon peak week mileage (14:15 ). We talk about structuring peak week around intensity vs. volume (19:25 ), the debate on racing during peak week (25:10 ), racing strategy and whether to go all out or tempo it (31:40 ), and why practice races matter for strategy and logistics (35:00 ). We also cover running tech, recovery lessons (37:20 ), avoiding peak week burnout with sleep and nutrition tips (40:00 ), the importance of avoiding common mistakes like “licensing” (47:15 ), plus gear news with the ASICS MegaBlast & SonicBlast review (51:00 ), our new “7 Runners You Meet on the Sidewalk” reel (53:20 ), and a Couch to 5K video for beginner runners (55:00 ).

This episode is sponsored by Skratch Labs. For a free starter pack (just pay for the shipping!) go to the link below and enter the promo code:

MARATHONBUNDLE

https://www.skratchlabs.com/products/hydration-bundle?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Marathon-Handbook&utm_campaign=August&utm_term=hydration-bundle&utm_content=2025-5

📩 Questions about training, race previews, or to send us your hot takes? Email us at podcast@marathonhandbook.com.

🎤 Leave us a voice memo for our mailbag episodes: marathonhandbook.com/podcast

📸 Instagram: @marathon.handbook

📘 Facebook: @marathonhandbook

📰 Join 265,000+ runners getting our daily newsletter: marathonhandbook.com/newsletter

👍 Like, subscribe, and drop your questions in the comments.

🎧 Audio version available wherever you get podcasts + watch the video version on Spotify.

📺 Subscribe on YouTube for weekly running deep dives.