This podcast is sponsored by Charm City Run. Learn more and shop at www.charmcityrun.com!

Running coach, exercise scientist, and McMillan Running founder Greg McMillan joins Nicky to talk about one of the trickiest parts of marathon training: the taper. Drawing from his book Surviving the Marathon Freakout, Greg explains why he prefers to call it “peaking” and shares six guidelines for arriving at the starting line feeling rested, confident, and ready to race.

They discuss how much to reduce mileage, why you should keep some intensity in your training, and how to manage the mental spiral that often comes before race day. Greg also shares his approach to pacing, fueling, and creating a race-day thinking strategy, along with how understanding your runner type can change the way you train.

Plus, they get into aging as a runner, finding joy in the sport, practical race-weekend planning, and what to do after crossing the finish line.

Learn more about Greg's coaching, training plans, and running calculator at McMillan Running.

Support our sponsors:

⁠Charm City Run⁠ is a local running store serving the Maryland and Delaware running community with shoes, apparel, and gear, and you can shop online from anywhere; use code NICKY10 for a discount on select purchases.

This podcast is sponsored by Charm City Run. Learn more and shop at www.charmcityrun.com!

NCAA champion, coach, and former elite sprinter Angelique Cunningham joins Nicky to talk about confidence, negative self-talk, trusting your training, and learning to get out of your own way.

Angelique shares how she went from struggling through her freshman year at Baylor to becoming a national champion, why confidence is a decision, and what running can teach us about moving through the good days and the bad ones.

Support our sponsors:

⁠Charm City Run⁠ is a local running store serving the Maryland and Delaware running community with shoes, apparel, and gear, and you can shop online from anywhere; use code NICKY10 for a discount on select purchases.

This podcast is sponsored by Charm City Run. Learn more and shop at www.charmcityrun.com!

Claire Forsyth didn’t grow up as a runner. In fact, she wasn’t particularly sporty at all. Now she’s running 100-mile ultramarathons, taking on back-to-back endurance challenges, and finding out just how much farther she can go.

Claire joins Nicky to talk about her path from half marathons to the trails, what drew her to ultrarunning, and why she prefers the adventure of long distances over chasing faster times. She shares what her DNFs taught her, what it takes to keep moving when everything hurts, the surprising party atmosphere at the back of the pack, and why preparing for 100 miles involves a lot more than just running.

They also talk about training solo, balancing running with work and family, finding confidence through doing hard things, and how running has pushed Claire to take on challenges outside the sport too.

Support our sponsors:

⁠Charm City Run⁠ is a local running store serving the Maryland and Delaware running community with shoes, apparel, and gear, and you can shop online from anywhere; use code NICKY10 for a discount on select purchases.