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  • Nobody Tells You This: Your Best Race Might Not Be Your Fastest

    Nobody Tells You This: Your Best Race Might Not Be Your Fastest
    2026/10/16
    This week on The Back of the Pack Podcast: Second Wind, we continue our Nobody Tells You This series with a lesson runners usually discover only after enough finish lines: our fastest race and our best race are not always the same thing. We dig into why finish time tells only part of the story and why smart pacing, adapting to conditions, overcoming problems, fueling well, and simply executing the day we were given can sometimes matter more than a PR. From brutal weather and difficult courses to comeback races and days when Plan A disappears almost immediately, a slower clock can still represent some of our strongest racing. We also talk about the races where we help another runner, support a meaningful cause, return from injury, or simply allow ourselves to enjoy the experience instead of staring at our watch for every mile. Sometimes the races that stay with us forever are not the ones sitting at the top of the spreadsheet, but the ones filled with people, places, challenges, and moments that a finishing time could never measure. We break down the difference between performance races, training races, experience races, comeback races, and support races, because knowing why we are standing at the start line keeps us from grading the wrong exam afterward. The clock absolutely still matters when time is the goal, but it is only one definition of success, and we can be disappointed with a result while still being proud of how we raced. Fast is great, PRs are great, but the best race is ultimately the one that succeeds at what that particular race was supposed to be.
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    1 時間 3 分
  • The Miles That Didn’t Matter

    The Miles That Didn’t Matter
    2026/10/12
    This week on The Back of the Pack Podcast, we are catching up on a busy couple of weeks with the Oktoberfest 10K, the Run for Paws 5K, and a very different kind of endurance adventure at the Octoginta Bike Ride. Kyle starts by wrapping up the Heartland 30K Series with one of his strongest 10K performances in quite a while, finishing Oktoberfest with his fourth-fastest 10K time ever and, more importantly, a run that simply felt good. From there, it is on to the Run for Paws 5K, where a race that looked small on paper suddenly exploded in participation and Kyle decided to see just how close he could get to the very optimistic 5K prediction his Garmin had handed him. Then Sunday takes us to Lawrence for Octoginta, where the original goal of completing a metric century quickly starts unraveling thanks to limited bike training, a poorly fitted borrowed bike, heat, wind, and an upcoming marathon that made pushing too far a questionable idea. But the day takes an unexpected turn when Kyle comes across an older cyclist who crashes hard on a steep hill and needs help getting back on his feet, getting his bike working again, and eventually finding his way back toward the finish. What follows becomes less about mileage and more about what it actually means to help someone when doing the right thing changes your own plans. Kyle reflects on the frustration that briefly crept in, the realization that kindness loses something when it comes with resentment, and why sometimes the race you thought you were there to complete is not actually the most important thing happening that day. We close by looking ahead to a huge hometown weekend at the Garmin Kansas City Marathon, where the podcast will be at the expo and Kyle will take on a very different responsibility as the official marathon sweeper.
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    53 分
  • Nobody Tells You This: Race Day Starts Days Before

    Nobody Tells You This: Race Day Starts Days Before
    2026/10/09
    In this week’s Second Wind, we continue our Nobody Tells You This series with a lesson every runner eventually learns: the race may officially begin at the starting line, but our race-day experience starts several days earlier. We talk about why the final 48 to 72 hours are not the time to squeeze in more fitness, but instead to protect the training we have already built through recovery, preparation, and a little good old-fashioned restraint. From banking sleep and staying consistently hydrated to eating familiar foods and avoiding the legendary pre-race carb-loading feast that leaves our stomach waving a white flag, the boring decisions really do matter. We dig into the golden rule of nothing new on race weekend, including shoes, socks, nutrition, hydration products, and whatever miracle concoction somebody with impressive calves is handing out at the expo. Traveling adds another layer, so we also talk about expo fatigue, sightseeing, long drives and flights, unfamiliar hotel rooms, and why a destination race can accidentally turn into a ten-mile walking tour before we ever reach the start line. Race-morning logistics matter too, from knowing where to park and when to leave to charging the watch, laying out our gear, planning breakfast, and developing a bathroom strategy before 300 other runners have the exact same idea. We also tackle pacing, race goals, nerves, and the importance of making those decisions before adrenaline, a pace sign, or somebody dressed as Batman convinces us to throw months of planning out the window. Training gets us physically ready, but preparation gives that fitness a chance to show up, because the race begins at the gun while race day starts days before.
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    1 時間 4 分
  • Rocket City: Ready for Launch!

    Rocket City: Ready for Launch!
    2026/10/05
    This week on The Back of the Pack Podcast, Eric Fritz and Rhonda Hayden return to the show as we officially begin the countdown to December’s Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, Alabama. With race weekend now just a couple of months away, registrations are climbing, the course is locked in, volunteers are being recruited, and preparations are underway for what could become the biggest Rocket City Marathon weekend yet. We get an inside look at an expanded expo featuring new Rocket City merchandise, Podcast Alley, interactive vendors, and even a little vendor bingo before turning our attention to what runners can expect on race morning. Eric and Rhonda explain the unique setup of the full marathon and back-half marathon, the warm indoor staging area at the Von Braun Center, pacer groups, and an important change coming to the early-start program after this year. We also spend plenty of time talking about the back of the pack, including how Rocket City handles sweepers, course support, and the runners who may need a little extra time and encouragement to reach that finish line. Then we get to the fun stuff: medals, shirts, Hat Trick swag, finisher gifts, and plans to make the indoor finish at the Von Braun Center even more memorable for the marathon’s 50th anniversary. There is also some major news for the event with PNC Bank joining as title sponsor, plus a look at how race weekend will once again support the pediatric department at Huntsville Hospital, this year helping toward a pediatric-specific ambulance. From running through Huntsville’s Christmas-lit Tinsel Trail to the growing Back of the Pack team making the trip south, this episode is our final big preview before we finally meet Eric and Rhonda in person and launch into Rocket City race weekend.
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    49 分
  • Nobody Tells You This: Fitness Isn’t Linear

    Nobody Tells You This: Fitness Isn’t Linear
    2026/10/02
    We’re kicking off our October Second Wind series, Nobody Tells You This, with one of the most frustrating truths in running: fitness does not improve in a perfectly straight line. We talk about why one bad run, ugly race, or sluggish week does not automatically mean all our training has disappeared, because fitness and that day’s performance are not the same thing. We break down the other pieces that can affect what shows up on race day, including fatigue, sleep, weather, stress, nutrition, travel, course conditions, and plain old day-to-day variation. We also look at why training can temporarily hide the fitness we are building, how plateaus can still contain real progress, and why improvement sometimes shows up as better recovery, stronger finishes, smarter fueling, or easier effort instead of another PR. Of course, modern runners have watches, apps, readiness scores, VO₂ max estimates, heart-rate data, and enough numbers to turn every morning into a tiny performance review, so we talk about using that information for trends without letting it run the whole show. We dig into the danger of panic training, the fear that a few missed workouts erase months of work, and why training plans should be treated as maps we can adapt rather than contracts we must obey perfectly. Most importantly, we make the case for zooming out, judging progress over weeks and months instead of one miserable Tuesday, and remembering that race results are snapshots rather than report cards on our entire running lives. Fitness isn’t a staircase, it’s a messy trend, and sometimes the progress is happening long before the clock finally shows it.
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    52 分
  • The Runner’s Sick-Day Decision

    The Runner’s Sick-Day Decision
    2026/09/28
    This week on The Back of the Pack Podcast, we start with a few updates from around the World Marathon Majors before getting to the race that was supposed to happen but never did. Kyle was scheduled to run the St. Joseph Half Marathon, but cold and flu symptoms made the decision for him and resulted in the dreaded DNS: Did Not Start. That missed start line becomes the jumping-off point for an honest conversation about one of the questions runners are notoriously bad at answering: When are you actually too sick to run? We break down the difference between a mild cold and a more systemic illness, the familiar “neck check,” and the symptoms that should make you seriously reconsider lacing up at all. We also look at why an easy jog and racing a half marathon are two completely different demands on a body already trying to recover. Then we get into the runner bargaining process, from “it’s probably allergies” all the way to “but I already paid for the race,” plus the part we sometimes forget: showing up sick can affect everyone packed into the corral with us. Kyle also talks about easing back into running after illness and why one missed week or one missed race is far better than turning a short sickness into a much longer problem. Sometimes the smartest running decision is the one where the shoes stay in the closet, the race bib stays unused, and the chicken noodle soup gets the start instead.
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    39 分
  • Ultra Curious: Pick Your Poison

    Ultra Curious: Pick Your Poison
    2026/09/25
    In this week’s Second Wind, we wrap up The Ultra Curious by finally asking the question all this September learning has been building toward: if we’re actually going to try an ultramarathon, how do we choose the right one? We look at why distance alone tells us almost nothing about the true difficulty of an ultra, and why terrain, elevation, course format, weather, cutoffs, and aid-station support can completely change the experience. We break down the jump from marathon to 50K, 50 miles, 100K, and beyond, while making the case that a first ultra does not need to be a sufferfest just to “count.” From crushed gravel and rail trails to technical mountain courses, we talk about choosing terrain we can actually train for and why course-specific preparation matters so much. We also dig into loop courses, out-and-backs, point-to-point events, timed races, cutoff rules, required gear, weather, and the kind of race support that can make a first ultra much more manageable. Just as important, we ask whether the race actually excites us, because training is a whole lot easier when the challenge means something beyond simply sounding impressive. Along the way, we lay out the red flags and green flags to watch for before hitting REGISTER and remind ourselves that success can mean learning, adapting, finishing healthy, or even discovering that ultrarunning simply isn’t our thing. After a month of learning the culture, understanding the game, rethinking our pacing, and figuring out how to choose the challenge, The Ultra Curious comes to a close with one final idea: pick the race that fits the runner we are today, then go find out what lies beyond 26.2.
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    39 分
  • The Curious Case of a Bad Race Weekend

    The Curious Case of a Bad Race Weekend
    2026/09/21
    This week on The Back of the Pack Podcast, we are recapping a two-race weekend with the Kansas City Zoo Run 4 Miler and the Woodstock 10K. The Zoo Run brought nearly 90-degree heat, narrow zoo paths, plenty of congestion, and a unique course through one of Kansas City’s most recognizable attractions. The next morning, Woodstock delivered cooler temperatures but a 68-degree dew point and 93% humidity, proving once again that “cooler” does not always mean “comfortable.” Both races were well organized, both had plenty to like, and both left Kyle disappointed with his own performance. So after the race reviews, we turn toward something every runner eventually has to deal with: what happens when an entire race weekend just doesn’t go the way you expected? We look at the difference between excuses and legitimate factors, the things runners can actually control, and why one or two bad races do not automatically mean your training, fitness, or entire running existence has gone off a cliff. We also talk about the temptation to overreact, why more training is not always the answer, and how recovery, hydration, nutrition, pacing, and consistency can all become part of the investigation. Sometimes the most useful thing a bad race can do is make us curious enough to figure out what happened, make a small adjustment, and see what the next start line has to say.
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    36 分