Marathon Talk

This past weekend, the 2026 TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS took place, and we have all the news from a big weekend of racing.
There have also been some pretty seismic events in the world of long-distance running in the past fortnight, so we'll be taking a look at them too, plus we're joined by US TV personality Matt James, live from Sydney, to hear more about his marathon journey.
On this episode of Marathon Talk:
00:00 - Intro
00:51 - Martin and Deena talk about UTMB and more
05:52 - Yomif Kejelcha breaks the Half Marathon World Record in Buenos Aires
07:53 - Sabastian Sawe pulls out of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
10:35 - A review of TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS with David Macnamara from Abbott World Marathon Majors in Sydney
25:48 - Marathon Talk meets Matt James
54:06 - Wrapping up
Links & References:
Abbott World Marathon Majors
Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Marathon Talk
Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Martin Yelling | Instagram
Deena Kastor | Instagram
Matt James | Instagram

As the 2026 Abbott World Marathon Majors season returns after its summer break, attention turns to the TCS Sydney Marathon.
Joining us on this week's show, we welcome a legend of Australian marathon running. Lisa Weightman is an Olympian, representing Australia at the Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo Games and has also competed at multiple World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
We've also got news from the European Championships in Birmingham, and Martin & Deena share stories from their recent trip to Boulder, Colorado. All this, and more, on the latest episode of Marathon Talk.
On this week's show:
00:00 - Intro
00:51 - Martin and Deena tell us about what they have been up to while we've been off
09:48 - European Championships
13:58 - A recap of the Abbott World Marathon Majors series so far
17:33 - TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS race preview
23:00 - Marathon Talk meets Lisa Weightman
57:34 - Wrapping up
Links & References:
Abbott World Marathon Majors
Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Marathon Talk
Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Martin Yelling | Instagram
Deena Kastor | Instagram
Lisa Weightman | Instagram

We're getting ready to take a short break for the summer, but as is now tradition, we're joined by David Macnamara from Abbott World Marathon Majors for our mid-season quiz.
Have Martin and Deena been paying attention over the last 12 months, and can they answer David's moderately difficult questions? 
Who will be this year's winner? Find out on the latest episode of Marathon Talk.
00:00 - Intro
08:48 - Round 1 | Tokyo
11:20 - Round 2 | Boston
15:31 - Round 3 | London
21:41 - Round 4 | Cape Town
24:33 - Round 5 | Sydney
29:34 - Round 6 | Berlin
34:25 - Round 7 | Chicago
40:05 - Round 8 | New York
Links & References:
Abbott World Marathon Majors
Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Marathon Talk
Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Martin Yelling | Instagram
Deena Kastor | Instagram

On this week's episode of Marathon Talk, we're joined by comedian Paul Tomkinson, who is here to tell us all about this new book, Running Through Sand, an ageing runner's tale of running the Marathon Des Sables, frequently described as the toughest marathon on earth.
We also have a quick roundup of everything happening in the marathon world, including big news from the TCS London Marathon.
Order Running Through Sand here.
On this episode of Marathon Talk:
00:00 - Intro
07:51 - The 2027 TCS London Marathon confirmed as a two-day event
15:41 - Comrades Marathon
18:43 - Update from the Tokyo Marathon
21:55 - Interview with Paul Tonkinson‍
Links & References:
Abbott World Marathon Majors
Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Marathon Talk
Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Martin Yelling | Instagram
Deena Kastor | Instagram
Paul Tonkinson | Instagram

On this week's show, we're joined by Clark Gardner, CEO of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. This week, Cape Town became the 8th Abbott World Marathon Major. Clark is here to give us the lowdown on the event that took place last month, the process of becoming a Major and to look back on the events of October last year, when Cape Town's dream hung in the balance.
Links & References:
Abbott World Marathon Majors
Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Marathon Talk
Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Martin Yelling | Instagram
Deena Kastor | Instagram