What does it take to believe you can run a sub-two-hour marathon? Bestselling author Brad Stulberg (The Way of Excellence, Master of Change, The Practice of Groundedness) joins Michael Doyle, Alex Cyr and Katelyn Tocci to talk about the running mindset.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS:
Marathon Handbook listeners get 15% off their entire order when shopping CEP Running online through November 15! Shop CEP Running or enter code LRL-NYC-15 at checkout.
Offer ends November 16, 2026, at 3:00AM EST. Limit one use per customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts.

This episode is presented by Momentous. Use promo code MARATHON for up to 35% off your first order: https://⁠livemomentous.com

Brad's work:
https://www.bradstulberg.com/
https://www.instagram.com/bradstulberg/

Join our Chicago Shakeout Run on 10th Oct: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2002027257420

Tickets for our live show, MILE ZERO presented by Zappos: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/marathon-handbook-live-mile-zero-presented-by-zappos-chicago-2026-tickets-2001880670976

Join Marathon Handbook's RunClub for access to our members-only podcast, training plans, community rooms, merch and more: https://marathonhandbook.com/runclub

Shop Marathon Handbook Merch: https://store.marathonhandbook.com

Send us a question:
https://marathonhandbook.com/podcast/

Join our newsletter:
https://marathonhandbook.com/newsletter/

The Nike Alphafly 4 is here, the first update to the franchise in two years and eight months, and we have had our hands on it since November. Michael Doyle and Alex Cyr go through the full spec sheet, every change from the Alphafly 3, and whether Nike has done enough to stay competitive at the top of the super shoe market.

The Alphafly 4 retails for $275, which is $10 below what the Alphafly 3 launched at. Stack height is 39mm in the heel and 31mm in the forefoot, an 8mm drop, and it weighs 7.33 ounces in a men's size 10, with Nike rating it for roughly 300 miles. The carbon plate is wider, the Zoom Air units are 30 percent lighter, and the foam carries a new name, Zoom XLT.

That weight is where the conversation gets interesting. The Adidas Adizero Pro Evo 3 weighs 4.3 ounces, and most of the current super shoe field sits under seven. We talk through whether the Alphafly 4 can be taken seriously at the front of a race, or whether Nike has built it for everyone else and is holding its real answer back for a shoe reported to be called the Apex.

Along the way: every prototype sighting from Conner Mantz in Chicago to Jacob Kiplimo in London, a power ranking of the super shoe market as it stands, the cost per mile math that makes the Alphafly 4 look like a bargain, a round of over/unders on what the shoe does this fall, and whether either of us would actually race in it.

CHAPTERS

(00:00) It's Alphafly 4 Day
(02:03) First Impressions Holding the Shoe
(05:45) What Nike Changed Underfoot
(07:55) The Spec Sheet: $275 and 39mm
(10:10) Rated for 300 Miles
(11:41) Zoom XLT and the Pebax Reveal
(12:31) The Weight Problem
(14:18) How It Stacks Up Against Its Rivals
(15:37) Why the Alphafly 3 Was a Gold Mine
(18:30) They Finally Fixed the Squeak
(20:05) Where We Spotted the Prototypes
(22:00) Every Podium It Has Already Won
(23:04) The Sifan Hassan Mystery
(23:57) The Zero Drop Prototype
(25:51) Power Ranking the Elite Super Shoes
(29:29) Where the Alphafly 4 Slots In
(32:04) 92 Cents a Mile vs $6 a Mile
(34:30) Hot Take: Best Seller in Six Months
(36:22) The Apex, Nike's Real Answer
(41:41) Over/Unders and Bold Predictions
(46:57) Is Nike Done?
(51:28) Would We Race In It?
(55:40) Coming Next: Brett Schoolmeester

Our full review is coming once test pairs arrive. Next week we talk to Brett Schoolmeester, Nike's vice president of innovation.

Watch this episode on YouTube: [CHANNEL LINK]
Newsletter: [NEWSLETTER LINK]

This week Michael, Katelyn, and Alex tackle a stacked mailbag of listener questions covering the toughest parts of marathon training: the ones that aren't about splits and mileage. From surviving a brutal race-day side stitch to managing pre-race anxiety to figuring out whether to trust your heart rate or your gut, this episode digs into the mental side of the sport as much as the physical.

RPE Chart:
https://marathonhandbook.com/rate-of-perceived-exertion/

Side Stitch Article:
https://marathonhandbook.com/side-stitch-wont-go-away/

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS:
Lagoon pillows help us sleep better, so we run better. Want to try? You can save 15% with code MARATHON. Go to https://LagoonSleep.com/marathonhandbook and take the 2-minute sleep quiz to find your match.

Orion is a personlized cooling sleep system. Right now, Orion is offering our listeners 15% off at orionsleep.com/marathon

Join Marathon Handbook's RunClub for access to our members-only podcast, training plans, community rooms, merch and more: https://marathonhandbook.com/runclub

Shop Marathon Handbook Merch: https://store.marathonhandbook.com

Send us a question:
https://marathonhandbook.com/podcast/

Join our newsletter:
https://marathonhandbook.com/newsletter/

Predicting your marathon race day pace is one of the trickiest parts of training: go out too conservative and you leave time on the table, go out too aggressive and you blow up in the last 10K. This week, Michael, Alex, and Katelyn break down how to use your lactate threshold pace to dial in a Boston Qualifying goal, plus answer listener questions on half marathon pacing, shoe rotation, bouncing back from injury, and more. We also get into the NFL's first-ever regular season game in Sydney and what it teaches runners about traveling to destination majors.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS:
This episode is presented by Momentous. Use promo code MARATHON for up to 35% off your first order: https://⁠livemomentous.com

Orion is a personlized cooling sleep system. Right now, Orion is offering our listeners 15% off at orionsleep.com/marathon

Join Marathon Handbook's RunClub for access to our members-only podcast, training plans, community rooms, merch and more: https://marathonhandbook.com/runclub

In this episode of The Marathon Handbook Podcast, hosts Michael Doyle, Alex Cyr, and Katelyn Tocci dig into a stacked listener mailbag covering threshold training vs. easy miles, whether soccer is wrecking a marathon build, the run-walk method debate, how many races is too many, when it's time to hire a coach, and the best shoes for ultrarunning. Also, an exclusive first look at Ultra's brand new Ultra Vanish Carbon 3. Plus, stories from their trip to the Sydney Marathon, including a surprise run-in with Olympic gold medalist Vivian Cheruiyot.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS:

Lagoon pillows help us sleep better, so we run better. Want to try? You can save 15% with code MARATHON. Go to https://LagoonSleep.com/marathonhandbook and take the 2-minute sleep quiz to find your match.

Right now, Orion is offering our listeners 15% off at orionsleep.com/marathon

Join Marathon Handbook's RunClub for access to our members-only podcast, training plans, community rooms, merch and more: https://marathonhandbook.com/runclub

Shop Marathon Handbook Merch: https://store.marathonhandbook.com

Send us a question:
https://marathonhandbook.com/podcast/

Join our newsletter:
https://marathonhandbook.com/newsletter/

Is the Sydney Marathon a fast course, or one that eats you alive? Fresh off the 2026 race, we make both cases, work out how to actually run a PB here, and settle whether the trip across the world is worth it.

Recorded within the hour, with Alex straight from the finish chute at the Opera House and Katelyn tracking her own athletes to two- and seven-minute PBs. Most of the episode is for anyone weighing this race: what those PBs say about how to run the course, why every major should copy the 6:45 a.m. start, the jet-lag protocol that worked, where Sydney lands in a power ranking of the majors for speed, and what race weekend in Sydney is actually like. And yes, the results: the men's course record fell by nearly a minute and a half with seven finishers inside the old mark, Peres Jepchirchir won again, and the shoe wars produced a surprise podium.

Our UTMB instant reaction drops Sunday afternoon ET, then it's Berlin in September, followed by live events in Chicago and New York this fall. Newsletter: https://marathonhandbook.com/newsletter

Our complete 2026 Sydney Marathon preview, reported from the ground in Sydney, plus the full interview with race director Wayne Larden (38:37). The course and how to race it, start times and how to watch, and the deepest elite field Australia has ever hosted.

Katelyn and Alex are in Sydney for race week, Michael joins from Toronto. They break down a men's race led by Sisay Lemma, world champion Alphonce Simbu, and defending champion Hailemaryam Kiros, with a debut from track star Hagos Gebrhiwet, and a women's race that looks like Peres Jepchirchir's to lose. Plus the Harbour Bridge climb, the drop bear conspiracy, and our winner predictions.

Then race director Wayne Larden on Sydney's second year as a World Marathon Major: the interactive race-day map, how to run the course smart (mind the hill at 41K), where to travel after the race, and why to enter the 2027 ballot.

We'll host a live watch-along on our YouTube channel during the race (4:30 p.m. ET Saturday) and drop an instant reaction episode after the finish. Newsletter: https://marathonhandbook.com/newsletter

We're breaking down one of the most-asked-about topics in marathon training: the peak week. Michael and Alex pull back the curtain on what their own peak weeks actually look like (down to the kilometer) and share what they've learned from years of racing (and from picking the brains of elite runners like Eliud Kipchoge and Casey Klinger) about how to build a peak block that makes you stronger, not broken.

Plus: the team splits up as Katelyn and Alex head to Sydney to cover the brand-new Sydney Marathon while UTMB unfolds in Chamonix, and a full fall racing calendar preview covering Berlin, Chicago, New York, and Valencia.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS:
This episode is presented by Momentous. Use promo code MARATHON for up to 35% off your first order: https://⁠livemomentous.com

Right now, Orion is offering our listeners 15% off at orionsleep.com/marathon

Join Marathon Handbook's RunClub for access to our members-only podcast, training plans, community rooms, merch and more: https://marathonhandbook.com/runclub

Shop Marathon Handbook Merch: https://store.marathonhandbook.com

Send us a question:
https://marathonhandbook.com/podcast/

Join our newsletter:
https://marathonhandbook.com/newsletter/