The TCS Sydney Marathon took place this past weekend, and we have all the news from a momentous day in marathon running as Sydney arrived as an Abbott World Marathon Major!

Joining Martin on this week's show, we have Abbott World Marathon Majors Chief Operating Officer Danny Coyle, who was on the ground, in the shadow of the Opera House, to give us his thoughts on both the race day, the city, and also the performances of Sifan Hassan, Eliud Kiphcoge, and the winner of the men's elite race, Hailemaryam Kiros.

We're also joined by Simon Bolton, who is now a Seven Star athlete, who will give us his participants perspective of the race and we're also very pleased to welcome Michelle Weltman MBE, head of disability at London Marathon Events, who also joins us from Sydney, to talk to us about wheelchair racing, her thoughts on Sydney, the current series championship and some wider commentary on where wheelchair racing can go in the future.

We've got a jam-packed show for you, and we hope you enjoy it.

‍In this episode of Marathon Talk:

0:00 - Martin and Danny discuss the 2025 TCS Sydney Marathon.

15:48 - Simon Bolton joins us to give the runners' perspective of the race, fresh from collecting his Seventh Abbott World Marathon Majors star.

22:44 - Michelle Weltman MBE is our guest as we get an update on the current state of play in the wheelchair championship, along with much more insight about the sport as it looks to grow alongside the new Major races.

41:06 - A small preview of what we have lined up for our next show, where Deena will hopefully join us from Tokyo at the World Athletics Championships.

‍Links & references‍
‍

Abbott World Marathon Majors
https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/

https://www.instagram.com/wmmajors/‍

https://www.tiktok.com/@marathontalk

Martin Yelling
https://www.instagram.com/martinyelling/

Michelle Weltman
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-weltman-mbe-964911b0/

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

Who’s the host with the most, the quiz whiz, the mastermind with the mic? There’s only one way to find out…

This week’s very special Marathon Talk pits Martin and Deena against each other, with a trivial roundup of the running season’s greatest times!

We also cover all the latest from Sydney’s elite field announcements, the packed ballot for the London Marathon, and Tokyo’s international ambitions.

In this episode of Marathon Talk:

• 0:00 - We kick off with tales of Deena’s gigging adventures and Martin’s negotiation with injury

• 5:30 - The latest from the running world includes Sydney’s elite women’s field announcements, Faith Kipyegon’s Breaking4 attempt, and ballot news from London and Tokyo

• 18:00 - The main event: Martin and Deena face off in a battle of brains across 4 rounds of quizzing - play along at home and see if you can beat our hosts with the most

• 42:30 - Before we sign off for July, we look to our community for runners to join the Global Run Club challenge, and share your plans for getting the steps in this summer

Marathon Talk is proudly powered by Abbott World Marathon Majors, who create, build and support opportunities for all to discover the power of the marathon community. Learn more at https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/

Abbott World Marathon Majors

https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/

https://www.instagram.com/wmmajors/

Martin Yelling

https://www.instagram.com/martinyelling/

Deena Kastor

https://www.instagram.com/deena8050/