Best Running Podcasts – What to Listen to on Your Long Run This Weekend – runnersworld.com

Running podcasts have proliferated in recent years, giving runners more options than ever for listening while doing their workout. But the choices can feel overwhelming. To save you some time, Runner’s World editors are sharing some of our favorite recent episodes from a range of hosts and athletes.

They’re accessible via the episode links below, on the Spotify players on this page, or you can download them through podcasting platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher. (We’ve provided some direct links to those platforms so you can go right to your favorite podcast player.)

Molly Seidel on Running On Om (1 hour, 26 minutes)

Molly Seidel, who was a national champion in high school and won four NCAA titles, now runs professionally for Saucony and keeps up an entertaining . But in this episode of Running On Om, Seidel reveals some of the challenges she’s encountered, including struggling with depression and an eating disorder.

Though it’s difficult to hear about Seidel’s issues, it’s worth hearing what she’s learned from them and the changes she’s made to protect her physical and mental health. Seidel will be running her first marathon later this month at the Olympic Marathon Trials. Thanks in part to this episode, she’ll have a lot of people pulling for her.

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Rosalie Fish and Jordan Marie Daniel on Only A Game (13 minutes of a 48-minute episode)

Only A Game on NPR is a weekly show covering a wide range of sports and issues in sports. Last month, the show featured Indigenous runners Rosalie Fish and Jordan Marie Daniel. Daniel earned attention when she ran last year’s Boston Marathon with a red handprint across her face and MMIW written on her body, in honor of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

After learning of Daniel’s story, Fish, who was in high school at the time, was inspired to do the same. This segment (part of a longer episode, the rest of which does not pertain to running) brings their stories and voices together.

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David Roche on DNF (23 minutes)

DNF is an excellent new podcast from Trail Runner Magazine, hosted by Zoë Rom. In running, those three letters stand for “did not finish,” and the podcast looks at people’s lowest moments, in and out of running, and how they’ve rebounded from them to achieve their greatest victories.

In this recent episode, David Roche described leaving what he thought was his dream job as a lawyer and gradually becoming a full-time running coach. The episode includes a lot of life lessons and inspiration and is a good listen if you’re in the market for a pep talk.

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Fernando Cabada on The Morning Shakeout (1 hour, 39 minutes)

This episode of Mario Fraioli’s The Morning Shakeout, featuring Fernando Cabada, is mind-blowing. He has displayed flashes of brilliance in his professional running career, but few people know of his backstory.

Cabada was born to teen parents and his father was abusive and a heroin addict. Running offered Cabada a better life and a college education, and while he had quite a bit of success, he also struggled with injuries, periods of self sabotage, and depression. In the episode, Cabada owns up to his mistakes, talks about stopping the cycle of abuse, and discusses how he’s moving forward.

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Mirna Valerio on Working (49 minutes)

On this episode of Slate’s Working podcast, Mirna Valerio describes what it’s like to be paid to be a runner even though she’s not elite. Since her story went viral, thanks in part to this article on Runner’s World, Valerio has begun to build a career out of encouraging inclusivity in running by making race appearances, public speaking, and hosting her . Valerio talks about some of the uncertainty and challenges that come with making a living in a non-traditional manner, as well as the opportunities that it affords her.

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Sid Howard on Chill Track Friday (1 hour, 10 minutes)

Sid Howard, 80, is a New York City running legend who, by his count, holds five world age-group records and 11 or 12 American age-group records. This episode of the Chill Track Friday podcast, hosted by Ann Restak and Ali Brohi, is a few months old and contains a little New York-centric content that isn’t relevant to the majority of us, but it’s worth it to hear Howard talk about his life, his running career, and what he’s learned along the way.

Howard, who has never missed the 5th Avenue Mile and found out the hard way that the marathon is not his best distance, asserts that “there is no runner that has common sense.” His explanation of that might make you laugh.