How To Avoid a Race DNF (and the One Instance When You Perhaps Should)

On this week's pod, Alex, Katelyn and Michael begin with Alex's latest YouTube video, in which he goes Strava segment hunting in front of Drake's $100 million mansion. Then, they briefly break down the just-announced 2024 New York City Marathon elite fields, with a surprising number of Olympic marathoners on the list.

And then, they dive deep into the big topic of the day (inspired by the Paris Olympic marathons to some degree). Whether your running a local 5K, a track race, a mid-season half marathon or a big goal race like the Boston Marathon or New York, every race has its dark moments. So in this pod, we'll go deep on the dreaded DNF (Did Not Finish).

We cover:

• What does the DNF mean in the context of running and racing
• Recent cases of DNFs in the Olympics (Eliud Kipchoge, Fiona O'Keeffe)
• When to Consider a DNF (spoiler: almost never)
• When not to DNF (spoiler: almost always)
• Strategies and prevention tips to avoid a DNF
• Katelyn, Alex, and Michael share their own experiences with DNF, plus lessons learned and advice for listeners

Watch Alex's video on taking down the "Cruising by Drake's Crib" Strava segment:
https://youtu.be/xX0jHA53slk

Watch a full video version of this podcast on our YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/Nih6qNESz44

Our free marathon training plans:
https://marathonhandbook.com/trainingplans/marathon-training-plans/

Hosts: Katelyn Tocci, Michael Doyle

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