Sara is back on Runners of HOU, and we’ve got a lot to talk about.
First up: the Berlin Marathon. Sara and her friend Whitney crossed the finish line together in 4:33:03 after a training cycle that didn’t exactly go according to plan. She shares why Berlin lived up to the hype, what surprised her on the course, and why this race meant so much more than a finish time.
We also catch up on my ongoing struggles training for CIM, the increasingly competitive Boston Marathon qualifying standards, and some of the biggest running stories to come out of Berlin — including an influencer caught cheating and the women’s champion who finished with a ruptured Achilles.
Then we’re getting into running hot takes. Are influencers making the sport too expensive? Does every marathon need to be a PR attempt? Is one marathon a year enough? And when is it okay to stop during a race?
We wrap up with an honest conversation about something we’re both navigating in our 40s: accepting that our bodies, our paces, and our relationships with running are changing.
In this episode (approximate timestamps):
00:00 — Welcome back, Sara! Berlin Marathon recap
04:30 — Running for Heaven’s 27 and honoring her dad
09:00 — Berlin crowds, race-day logistics, and surprises
25:00 — My CIM training struggles and learning to adjust expectations
47:30 — The Berlin Marathon cheating controversy
54:00 — Boston qualifying: Has it gotten too difficult?
1:01:00 — Tigest Assefa and the finish-at-all-costs mentality
1:17:00 — Running hot takes: PRs, influencers, marathon training, and more
1:38:00 — Aging, body image, and changing our relationships with running
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These are our opinions. You are absolutely allowed to disagree. In fact, we hope you do.
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