If Life is a Marathon, Here Are the Rules!


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Hey guys this is Trevor and I’m currently in Switzerland for the Jungfrau Marathon -which is a brutal but absolutely gorgeous race in the Swiss Alps.

This episode is going to be a bit unusual. You will hear a recording of a motivational talk I gave, to a group of non-runners, about what running marathons has taught me about life.

In the quick tip segment Coach Angie explains how to successfully taper for a race, because many runners go through “taper madness”. Enjoy!

If Life is a Marathon, Here Are the Rules!

I first gave this talk to a local Rotary Club luncheon when I lived in South East Missouri. The recording you will hear on this podcast episode is from the second time I gave the talk -which was to a group of young men between the ages of 16-21. It was recorded in 2016. I used to go every Tuesday night and hang out with these guys and speak to them.

You can tell by my presentation that I was trying to entertain and inspire, not necessarily inspiring them to be runners, although I did take some of them out running from time to time but to inspire them to live life more intentionally and fully. Below are the powerpoint slides that go with the talk.

New York City Marathon has over 50,000 runners and 2 million spectators

Should have worn his Nip Guards®!

Non-runners find it funny that this is a real product.

If you google “runner’s trots” you can find this photo. What’s happening below the waist is not pretty. Click here to see the full version. Yikes!

marathon sign #1

marathon sign #2

marathon sign #3

marathon sign #4

marathon sign #5

marathon sign #6

We interviewed Rhonda on the MTA podcast here

His shirt says, “50, Fat, Diabetic, Ahead of You”

We featured Derek’s story here

Harriet died in 2017 at the age of 94. She was a cancer survivor who started running marathons at age 76 and ran the fastest time for a woman over 90

Matt is the author of the book The Long Run

#Truth!

Angie at her 50 mile ultramarathon. She recapped the race here

If you think running a marathon is tough, remember there are people who do this!

We had Dr. Noakes on the on the podcast back in 2016.

The “finishing kick” shows that we don’t run our muscles to fatigue. Our body reserves energy though our brain tells us that we are too depleted to go on.

Holding down the floor after the New Orleans Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon

My audience. I had the privilege of speaking to a group of young men between the ages of 16-24 every Tuesday night. That’s me in the center (with glasses).

Thank you for listening!



Also Mentioned in This Episode

RX Bar -a protein bar made with 100% whole ingredients. Angie loves the chocolate coconut flavor. For 25% off your first order, visit RXBAR.com/MTA and enter promo code MTA at checkout.

Healthiq.com -Marathon Training Academy is sponsored by *Health IQ*, an insurance company that helps health conscious people get special rates on life insurance. Go to healthiq.com/mta to support the show and learn more.

The Jungfrau Marathon -I am currently in Switzerland and just completed this epic mountain marathon. Race recap coming soon!

13 Responses to If Life is a Marathon, Here Are the Rules!

  1. Lothar Bodingbauer September 13, 2018 at 3:19 am #

    This is a great talk. I really enjoyed it. Much to think about and laugh as well. Thanks.

    • Trevor Spencer September 13, 2018 at 2:17 pm #

      Thanks for the feedback!

  2. Sudhir Kesharwani September 18, 2018 at 12:20 am #

    Great episode Trevor, i had been an avid listener to your podcast since 2015, never missed an episode.

    You have made my marathon experience far better then it was 🙂

    • Trevor Spencer September 29, 2018 at 12:50 pm #

      Thanks for being a long time listener!

  3. Janet Munro October 21, 2018 at 4:12 pm #

    Thanks, Trevor. I really enjoyed this episode. I hope you don’t mind I am using a couple of your ideas for my message to my Year 12 Valedictory class tomorrow, as well as some of my own experiences from training and running my first marathon at Loch Ness (Angie was way ahead of me!). Your message about not comparing yourself to others is so important – for us runners and for young people in general. Self improvement is a wonderful thing and you don’t get it by diminishing others or thinking you are not good enough.

    • Trevor Spencer October 21, 2018 at 7:27 pm #

      Hi Janet, thanks for the feedback! Feel free to use whatever you want from my talk. Like the wise man said, “there is nothing new under the sun”. Good luck on your speech.

  4. Jennifer Harper October 23, 2018 at 6:49 am #

    Hey! I’ve been listening to your podcast for a few months now and I love it, I’ve shared certain episodes with my running buddies and it’s been super helpful! This episode in particular will be helpful in my new running group I started through my church. Each week we have a discussion of the different parallels between training our bodies physically for a race and our spiritual journey through this thing called LIFE! Soooo many comparisons and similarities, And something only runners understand…..it’s so much more than excercise.
    Anyway, I loved the talk and many of your points and I’ll be working some of them into our lessons! And I’ll totally give you credit 😉
    Thanks again, you and Angie are awesome!!!

  5. Trevor Spencer October 28, 2018 at 1:12 pm #

    Hi Jennifer thanks for the feedback. So cool to hear that you lead a running group at your church. Keep up the good work!

  6. Bethany March 23, 2019 at 9:24 am #

    I really enjoyed this podcast. I’m a single teacher and foster/adoptive mom of little ones. I’m in a time of life where running is more sporadic and therefore physically more challenging than it used to be for me, but this was such a good reminder that the lessons I learned while doing my first marathons can still carry on today in this long off-season, and can also go forward into the days when I am able to run marathons again.

  7. Trevor Spencer March 25, 2019 at 5:06 pm #

    Thanks for the comment Bethany. I’m sure you will get back to marathoning when life allows for it. Best!

  8. Peter Chee May 11, 2019 at 2:04 pm #

    I just listened to your podcast and then came to look at your slides! Great job Trevor, I’m sure you inspired the boys you presented to!

  9. Bhasker Sharma July 11, 2020 at 11:26 am #

    Hi Trevor – I live in Bangalore and have been enjoying listening to you and Angie for over 2 years now. Among the various running podcasts that I have checked out this is the most informative and most fun listening to whether out on the road or trail or during stretching or strengthening workouts. I went back and listened to this episode again and thoroughly enjoyed it. I plan to use some of the information in a session on life lessons from running that I plan to conduct for my organisation at the end of July (2020). Would it be possible to get a soft copy of the slides in ppt format- would be great if I can borrow some of the images. Will ofcourse give full credit to you.

    • Trevor Spencer July 14, 2020 at 7:45 pm #

      Glad you enjoy the podcast! Yes, feel free to use these photos. They are essentially my ppt. slides.

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