COFFEE CLUB: a running podcast about nothing · Morgan McDonald

JOE KLECKER'S MARATHON DEBUT: 120+ Mile Weeks, Fueling 175g/hour, & the new "OAC Roads" Team

·58 min·3 clips
Joe trained at 120 to 125 miles a week after coming from track mileage that rarely passed 110.
1. Coffee Club episode 204 focuses on Joseph Klefka’s New York City Marathon debut and the build around it. 2. Hosts Oli Morgan and George Beamish introduce Joe Klefka as a seven-time Coffee Club guest and a soon-to-be marathon runner. 3. The episode asks how Joe’s road transition, fueling, and course study are setting up his first marathon in New York. 4. Joe says his last 12 weeks have been "real, real quiet" because he is tapering after a long block. 5. He jokes about mafia ties, the "Godfather," and pizza while explaining why New York appealed to him. 6. Joe says he has watched "The Godfather" about 15 times and used pizza as his pre-race meal and course-preview fuel in New York. 7. He says the spring racing season gave him experience, even when some races felt solid but not fully at his target level. 8. Joe says Dathan told him those races would teach him a lot, good or bad. 9. He describes the final 14 to 16 weeks as a training block built specifically toward New York. 10. Joe says his marathon training feels natural because long runs, fartleks, and road workouts suit him better than track sessions. 11. He contrasts that with track VO2 work and 200-meter reps, which he says feel more punishing than a 25-mile long run. 12. Joe says his mileage has moved from roughly 110 on the track to 120 to 125 miles most weeks in this build. 13. He says the higher mileage initially sounded intimidating after a sickness break, but it has felt manageable. 14. Joe says Laura joined the team to help build out OAC Roads for athletes focused on road racing and marathon development. 15. He says Ryan Ford joined after running his first Chicago Marathon in 2:09 and that another athlete will be added soon. 16. Joe says the road group needs separate scheduling from the track group because road sessions and recovery demands are different. 17. He says his race plan for New York is to avoid staring at the watch and instead use effort, course segments, and the other runners around him. 18. Joe says he will key off the American field, including runners like Hillary, Bia, and Patrick Dever, while aiming to be the top American. 19. The episode has a conversational, energetic format with training talk, course nerdiness, and jokes about the Verrazzano bridge, the cannon, and alarm clocks. 20. Listeners who like marathon training, road racing strategy, and OAC updates will likely enjoy this episode, while listeners who want a tightly edited race recap may skip it.
Listen to the show on