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