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Kristian sits down with Christopher Brenk, a Puma Project 3 athlete heading into the Berlin Marathon off the back of a 2:17 personal best in Eugene, for a genuinely unique running story: from Division 3 college racing to training at altitude in the highest city in the United States.

Christopher shares how a spontaneous application with his college teammate turned into a Puma Project 3 selection, and what it's meant to suddenly have shoes, gear, and a community built around his marathon racing for the first time. He walks through his path from a small Division 3 program at St. Olaf, through years spent in Sitka, Alaska and Utah, to now living and training in Laramie, Wyoming, the highest elevation D1 city in the country. The conversation covers what it's actually like adapting to serious altitude training, how he thinks about carb intake and race nutrition heading into Berlin, and the strange in between space of running elite times without seeing himself as a professional.

In this episode:

- Getting selected for Puma Project 3 alongside a college teammate

- Having shoes, gear, and a community for the first time

- A Division 3 college running background and an unconventional path

- Years spent living in Sitka, Alaska and Utah before Wyoming

- Moving to the highest elevation city in the US for altitude training

- What it's actually like adapting to serious altitude

- Balancing running with a full time job at the university registrar

- Race nutrition strategy and carb intake heading into Berlin

- Chasing a new personal best at the Berlin Marathon

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and introducing Christopher Brenk

01:00 Announcing the podcast's sponsorship with Saysky Copenhagen

02:13 Kristian's own training week update

08:26 Welcome to Christopher and a wifi mishap

10:08 How it felt to get selected for Puma Project 3

14:04 Running a 2:17 marathon while not seeing himself as a pro

19:12 A Division 3 college running background

19:59 Years spent in Sitka, Alaska before Wyoming

20:00 Moving to Laramie for altitude training and his girlfriend's masters program

52:15 Living and training in the highest city in the US

53:39 Adjusting workouts to account for the altitude

57:07 Whether the altitude benefits are finally paying off

1:16:46 Race nutrition strategy and carb intake for Berlin

1:19:02 Closing thoughts and good luck in Berlin

Christopher on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher_brenk/

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Full episodes + the Boston 2025 documentary: https://www.youtube.com/@Warwickruns

Follow my training journey on Instagram: @warwick.runs

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