Hey gang,
Michael here. We have a little something extra for you on this Friday afternoon before our usual “Top 5” breakdown of the week that was in running (which we’ll push out tonight):
🎧Our newest podcast, Winners👍& Losers👎
John Lofranco, a well-respected distance running coach, joins me to break down each major running event, and discuss who won and lost the most, from all sorts of different vantage points well beyond merely who broke the tape.
We did a test episode after the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, and I’ve decided to push it out into the world before that experience fades into the rearview. John and I had a lot of fun talking about the race’s storylines, as there was so much at stake this year. It’s sure to produce many polarizing opinions, which is what we’re looking for. Case in point: my first “winner” of the race wasn’t a runner, and sorta hijacked the whole event… Can you guess what I’m referring to?
You can take a listen above. If you’re a running nerd, you’ll perhaps enjoy this discussion.
We’re also in the process of getting all our podcasts onto the usual suspects (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc.). We have our mothership pod, The XC Podcast, on Apple and Spotify now, so please subscribe:
Next up:🗽New York!
John and I will also being breaking down who “wins” and “loses” at this weekend’s New York City Marathon, so keep an eye out for that on Sunday!
We’re going to do this pod for every major running event. You can expect we’ll tackle all the Marathon Majors, big international championships, some of the national championships in both the U.S. and Canada, any big track and cross-country meets, and no doubt we’ll have to fire up the pod a few times next summer during the Tokyo Olympics. I think we’ll also tackle a few key ultras as well. And, of course, if Kipchoge (or someone else?) does another crazy one-off experiment like the 1:59 Challenge.
Please keep in mind: The idea is not to hurt anyone’s feelings (when we say “loser,” we mean it in the sense that the athlete lost something, and not that they are a loser). Instead, we hope to trigger some legit conversation, treating running like we would any of the major team sports. “Winners and losers” analysis is common after a big game or political debate, so we’re bringing it to running.
And, of course, if you’ve got a take on anything we say, please do let us know. It’s as easy as replying to this email! (I get them, I read them all, and I reply to each of you; 🙌 to all of you whom have emailed me thus far).
And be sure to follow us:
Have a great weekend everyone!
Our new podcast: Winners👍& Losers👎