meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Run to the Top Podcast | The Ultimate Guide to Running

From 4:30 to sub-3 Hour Marathon: Former RC Athlete Jonathan Tolksdorf Shares his Top Lessons for Marathon Success

Run to the Top Podcast | The Ultimate Guide to Running

RunnersConnect: Coaching Community, Running Experts, Inspiring Runners, No Fluff Blog

Run, Sports, Runners, Health, Fitness, Marathons, Training, Running, Health & Fitness, Runningpodcast, Marathon

4.6931 Ratings

🗓️ 10 July 2024

⏱️ 55 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jonathan’s Tolksdorf is a true RC success story. He took up running with no sports background and through a combination of hard work and learning from his mistakes, has lowered his marathon PB to 2:52 while running 169 marathons since his first in 2000. He was one of the first RC athletes back in 2012 and joined us from his hometown of Lahti Finland to share the lessons that helped him to take over an hour and a half off of his marathon time.

Jonathan reached out to us about sharing his running story and after reading about his experience in the sport, we knew this would be a great conversation. He is somebody with a genuine passion for the sport and a willingness to learn. Today, he shares the lessons that have been the most important to his improvement.

During the show, you’ll hear from Jonathan about his training including:

  • How more structured training with RC helped him to run his first sub-3 marathon
  • Why flexibility is important in your training
  • Why it can be detrimental to put too much pressure on your workouts
  • Ways you can improve your taper strategy to feel good on race day
  • How to find purpose in your running

What makes this story so relatable is that Jonathan has many of the same goals and has made so many of the same mistakes as just about any new marathoner. He has some great insights for other runners and I’m excited to share them with you.

Connect, Comment, Community

This week’s show brought to you by:

MetPro

Using Metabolic Profiling, MetPro’s team of experts analyzes your metabolism and provides an individualized approach to obtaining your goals.

Your MetPro coach then works with you to consistently make adjustments based on your metabolic data as well as how your plan fits your lifestyle.

MetPro’s coaches are not only educated experts in their field, but they’re empathetic that people have demanding schedules and often stressful lives. They will work one-on-one with you to identify the best nutrition and fitness strategy that is going to work for your personal goals and lifestyle needs.

Get a complimentary Metabolic Profiling assessment and a 30-minute consultation with a MetPro expert at metpro.co/rttt

Dri Seats

If you’re tired of sweaty, smelly and stained seats after your runs then you have to check out the car seat covers made specifically for runners from driseats.

DriSeats waterproof seat covers are designed specifically for runners. Unlike towels, they are 100% waterproof and easily fit over your entire seat so you don’t have any missed spots.

Plus, they are super easy to slide over your seat so it’s ready in seconds and they are machine washable so they are easy to clean and be ready for your next run.

You can head to driseats.com and use code RC20 to get 20% off first order

AG 1

Ask yourself - do you get enough green veggies each day?

I'll admit, I don't. It's tough to fit all of those greens in with an active and busy lifestyle.

But getting in your fruits + veggies is SO crucial as a distance runner for recovery, digestion, and optimal performance.

That's where Athletic Greens is a gamechanger. One scoop has 75 bioavailable vitamins, minerals, and whole food-sourced ingredients including a multivitamin, multimineral, probiotic, green superfood blend, and more.

That means fewer stomach issues, more focus and energy throughout the day (because the workday matters just as much as the morning run), and overall ... just feeling healthier.

Look, if you're struggling to get those fruits + veggies in - or if you keep buying them but they always go bad in the fridge - Athletic Greens will make getting those micronutrients simple and delicious.

Get 5 BONUS travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D when you order at drinkag1.com/RTTT. Get yours now!

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

When I started running it was really just for the fun of it it still is but for many years I didn't really develop in terms of of progressing better times because I didn't train properly.

0:15.1

It was just regular running.

0:16.5

It wasn't training in the way that I have now learned from Runners Connect.

0:20.4

But at some point I thought, kind of out of of curiosity it would be cool to see what proper training brings

0:26.9

kind of the idea that if you do it the right way then you will progress without doing anything really special or heroic or something

0:35.7

that just super humans can do.

0:38.9

Today's guest on the show is a true RC success story.

0:43.7

Jonathan Tolksdorf ran a 4.30 in his first marathon

0:47.2

and joined us as an athlete all the way from Finland in 2012

0:50.2

with a 316 pier to his name. He went on to run his first sub-3 marathon

0:55.0

in Boston qualifier one year later in 2013

0:58.0

and now has a 252 personal best

1:00.0

that he credits to start a more serious training

1:02.0

with Runners Connect.

1:04.0

Part of what I loved about this interview was how humble Jonathan is about his success.

1:08.0

He's run 169 marathons.

1:11.0

You heard that right, 169, and over 10 of them in under three hours but he was

1:16.6

almost nonchalant in describing some pretty tough interval sessions and how he

1:20.8

focuses on things every runner can implement,

1:23.0

like building flexibility into your training

1:25.0

and taking your recovery days easy.

1:27.0

We went on to talk about how his training has changed

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from RunnersConnect: Coaching Community, Running Experts, Inspiring Runners, No Fluff Blog, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of RunnersConnect: Coaching Community, Running Experts, Inspiring Runners, No Fluff Blog and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.