We’re excited to share Mark Marzen’s story with yall. Mark has been Jon’s running coach for almost two years. His story is inspiring, choosing running, learning to coach, and slowly improving to become a fast mountain ultra runner.

Check out https://www.golden-endurance.com/ for coaching and PT.

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Ready for a true glow-up story from mid-pack grit to mastery? We sit down with coach and ultrarunner Mark Marzen to trace how a messy early chapter—late nights, little structure—gave way to a decade of deliberate training, smarter fueling, and better movement that culminated in a 100-mile finish in 15 hours and change. That milestone isn’t just a time; it’s proof that consistency, context, and community can transform a life one season at a time.

Mark rewinds to the days before GPS watches and Strava, when finding trails meant mailing lists and mentors. He shares the hard lessons from his first 50 and 100—blisters, IT band blowups, and midnight hallucinations—and how those setbacks shaped his coaching philosophy: the best plan accounts for your whole life, not just your splits.

As a coach with Golden Endurance, Mark supports athletes across the spectrum, from brand-new 5K hopefuls to podium chasers. We break down how to choose a coach you click with, why communication is the true training multiplier, and where tools like AI fall short without human context. You’ll hear candid talk about burnout, post-race blues, and the mindset shift from chasing highs to building a long-term identity as a runner. Plus, a recovery ritual we fully endorse: donut week.

If you’re navigating winter motivation, planning your next ultra, or debating whether coaching is worth it, this conversation offers practical guidance and grounded inspiration. Subscribe, share with a running friend, and leave a quick rating to help more athletes find the show. What’s the next brick you’ll lay this season?

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at podcast@runningwithproblems.run.

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.

We're so excited to share this interview with Camille Herron with you! Camille was open and honest exploring her history, neurodiversity, and advocacy in ultra running. We hope you enjoy!

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Start with the headlines—world records, world titles, six-day brilliance—and you might miss the real story: how Camille Herron rebuilt elite performance by honoring her body, her brain, and her boundaries. We sit down with Camille for a candid conversation that moves from Oklahoma wheat fields to global podiums, and into the often-invisible realities of neurodiversity in endurance sport.

Camille unpacks the science behind her durability, from high-frequency doubles that protect bone health to the squat rack that finally fixed a stubborn hamstring chain. She shares how targeted bloodwork revealed high iron during perimenopause—fatigue that felt like anemia but wasn’t—and the protocol changes that brought her energy back. Those hard-won lessons translate into clear, actionable insights for runners navigating injury cycles, hormonal shifts, and the pressure to do “more” when smart adaptation does better.

We also go deep on advocacy. After an adult diagnosis of autism and ADHD, Camille asked for a simple accommodation at a 24-hour world championship: a quieter, non-enclosed aid space. The system wasn’t ready. She chose not to race without assurances and, in doing so, modeled what many athletes need to see—boundaries as performance tools, not a lack of toughness. We talk about practical steps race directors can take, from disability categories and transparent aid-station info to designated sensory-friendly areas that help neurodivergent runners compete at their best.

Along the way, Camille reflects on the professionalization of ultrarunning, the reality of online bullying, and how to protect integrity when attention turns messy. The throughline is powerful: excellence grows when we make room for difference. If you care about inclusive races, smart training, and sustaining a career you can be proud of, this one will stay with you.

If this conversation resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more runners find the show.

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at podcast@runningwithproblems.run.

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.

Join us as we discuss the life and adventures of Epic Bill Bradley, an incredible story of perseverance and pushing ones limits. Epic Bill has done some of the hardest adventures on this planet, including a triple Ironman, quad Badwater, and so much more. We only scratch the surface of Bill's stories. Hope you enjoy!

You can find Bill's film (referenced in the pod) on Apple TV and Amazon Prime. We recommend a watch. Enjoy!

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Start with a slow jog through Boulder—flat miles, farm-stand honey, and training chatter—then pivot into a full-on masterclass in grit with Epic Bill Bradley. Bill built a $10M video business, went bankrupt, lost his identity, woke up at 3 a.m. with poison oak, and ran a 50 miler to feel human again. That decision launches a story that fuses ultrarunning, cold-water swimming, and entrepreneurship into one relentless throughline: choose hard things on purpose.

We go deep on Badwater’s furnace—real heat management, tarmac radiation, crew strategy, and the dangers of overhydration. Then we flip to Arrowhead’s brutal cold: negative thirty-five nights, frozen hands in “California gloves,” empty checkpoints in the dark, and the stubborn pride of showing up again and again. Bill’s attempts stack into a philosophy: if it can’t kill you, it’ll bore me. Under the bravado lives a practical ethic—boredom breeds depression, challenge restores meaning.

Bill draws sharp parallels between building companies and running ultras: uncertain timelines, lonely stretches, and the discipline to keep moving when the finish line disappears. His English Channel quests read like a survival manual—boat pilots, tide windows, seasickness, and the harsh moment a “four miles to go” sign becomes “seven” after a storm pushes him off the point. We unpack gear evolution, blister triage, trench foot swelling, and how twenty minutes of motion can make pain manageable. The Grand Canyon septuple crossing, done only because someone else did six, underscores a simple loop: set the goal, stretch it, learn, repeat.

What’s next for Bill? A six-minute mile after 25 years, an eye on 200 milers, a Santa Barbara Channel swim, and another shot at the English Channel with smarter tactics. It’s raw, funny, and deeply useful—whether you’re chasing a PR, a start-up milestone, or the courage to take a dream off the shelf. If you’re ready to rethink your limits, press play, then share the hardest thing you’re willing to attempt this year. And if the conversation moves you, subscribe, leave a review, and pass it to a friend who needs a push.

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at podcast@runningwithproblems.run.

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.