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Kristian sits down with Lars Dewall, a middle school teacher and former Nordic skier who ran a 2:22 debut marathon on a three week build and has since worked his way down to a 2:12:13 personal best at the Berlin Marathon.

Lars shares how a Minnesota ski racer turned runner fits two runs a day around a full teaching job, from a 5:30 am shake out to afternoon sessions after school. He explains how his Nordic background shapes his training, why he keeps easy days really easy, and how he ramped up to 135+ mile weeks. We also get an honest look at Berlin as part of Puma Project 3, where he set a PB by 18 seconds but had to let go of his sub 2:10 goal mid race, plus a deep dive into his double threshold sessions and strength routine.

In this episode:

- Balancing a full time teaching job with a 2:12 marathon

- A normal training day, from a 5:30 am run to afternoon miles

- How Nordic skiing built his aerobic engine

- Running 2:22 in his debut marathon with only three weeks of notice

- Why he keeps easy days really, really easy

- Going from 2:22 to 2:14 at CIM to 2:12 at Boston

- Berlin with Puma Project 3 and letting go of a sub 2:10 goal mid race

- Double threshold sessions and treadmill workouts

- Why he started strength training after college

- Peak mileage of 135+ miles a week

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and why this conversation stood out

01:58 Looking back at 225 episodes

03:07 The friendships behind the podcast and a word on Saysky

04:51 Welcome to Lars

06:26 How he balances teaching and running

07:01 A normal training day

09:11 Minnesota and Nordic skiing

13:23 Moving to San Diego and running with Lane Zero

18:12 The 2:22 debut at Grandma's on three weeks of notice

23:12 Ramping up mileage fast after moving to San Diego

26:39 Keeping easy days really easy

28:29 Training by hours, not miles

33:06 Choosing running over a promising ski career

36:11 From CIM to Boston: how he got to 2:12

41:11 Puma Project 3 and the Berlin build

43:15 Berlin: dropping off the sub 2:10 pack and still running a PB

44:22 Why the sub 2:10 barrier is still the goal

48:10 What he'd change after Berlin

56:32 Threshold sessions on the treadmill and roads

58:31 Double threshold in the Berlin build

59:21 Why he started strength training after college

1:04:22 Peak mileage: 135+ miles a week

1:14:01 Testing at Puma HQ in Boston

1:15:50 What's next after Berlin

1:17:20 Closing thoughts and a thank you to Lars

Lars on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dewalllars/

Start your free Musicbed trial: https://fm.pxf.io/kristianwarwick

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

Follow my training journey on Instagram: @warwick.runs

Music from Musicbed: MB01XPYH8ZYENVAMB0133EV2TCQFZY