#200 How The Marathon Podcast became an international running podcast

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Kristian marks 200 episodes of the Marathon Podcast with a special solo retrospective, looking back at how a random, impulsive decision to hit record turned into one of the fastest growing running podcasts in the world.

Kristian shares the honest, unfiltered story behind the podcast, from four daily streams in the early days to thousands today, the guests and moments that changed everything, and the lessons he's learned along the way. He gets candid about the challenges of publishing three episodes a week, the pressure of building a public platform, and a stressful season that's left him feeling a bit burnt out.

The episode closes with a big personal announcement: Kristian is signing up for the Lake Placid Ironman with his brother in law.

In this episode:

- Why he started the podcast and the podcast that inspired him

- His nerve wracking first interview and first professional guest

- The slow, humbling early growth (from 4 streams a day to thousands)

- The guests and moments that changed the podcast's trajectory

- The challenge of getting more female runners on the show

- How the podcast has shaped his identity, for better and worse

- Being honest about burnout and a stressful season of life

- The Marathon Podcast Sponsorship and the Puma partnership

- Answering listener questions from 200 episodes

- The big announcement: signing up for Ironman Lake Placid

Content note: this episode includes an honest discussion of stress and burnout. Please take care while listening.

Timestamps

00:00 200 episodes and why this one is different

02:37 Looking back at spring 2025 and the podcasts that inspired him

06:19 The random, impulsive decision to start recording

09:16 Feeling embarrassed to share it at first

11:09 His first ever guest and first interview

13:38 The first professional runner on the podcast

16:04 How nerves and small numbers didn't stop him

17:49 Highlights: the guests and moments that meant the most

23:51 The Boston shakeout and building a real community

25:49 A turning point: the episode with Tracksmith's founder

29:12 Highlights continued: Jimmy, Felicia, and unexpected breakout episodes

32:04 How the podcast has changed his life and identity

38:32 Why it took 17 episodes to get a female runner on

41:37 Balancing the podcast with an unpredictable day job

44:01 The humbling early numbers, from 4 streams to thousands

49:19 What he's most proud of: platforming everyday runners

53:47 The Marathon Podcast Sponsorship and the Puma partnership

55:54 The downsides of building a public platform

1:00:49 Being honest about burnout and a hard season lately

1:10:48 Answering listener questions from 200 episodes

1:17:25 The big announcement: signing up for Ironman Lake Placid

1:22:05 Closing thoughts and thank you

Start your free Musicbed trial: https://fm.pxf.io/kristianwarwick

Full episodes + the Boston 2025 documentary: https://www.youtube.com/@Warwickruns

Follow my training journey on Instagram: @warwick.runs

Music from Musicbed: MB01XPYH8ZYENVAMB0133EV2TCQFZY