The Drop

Our Chicago weekend was full of fun and friends and family, from our epic shakeout run with New Balance to Thomas's finish at the Chicago Marathon. We had an incredible time meeting so many of you, cheering you on during the race, witnessing Conner Mantz break the American record, and taking in the sights and sounds of the city. Not sure how we feel about Chicago Italian beef though. We'll just stick with the dogs.

Running NYC Marathon? Join the very unnoficial 4-hour pace group: https://forms.gle/XdGYJAQaipeoB6NNA

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Thomas chats with Chris Marroquin, Director of Player Rehabilitation for the Baltimore Ravens about what it's like to work with professional athletes, staying healthy while playing sports, his background as a physical therapist, his running journey, and much more.

Well folks, were so busy climbing the mountain that we forgot we made it to episode 400. So while we didn't bust out the balloons, we almost broke out a Ouija board and said Bloody Mary three times just to see what would happen. We also mansplain Taylor Swift's artistic direction before deep dishing on Chicago Marathon weekend and Thomas's fueling plan for the race. If you are in Chicago, come out to our shakeout run on Saturday morning, hope to see you there!

All the details for the Chicago Shakeout Run: https://believeintherun.com/event/chicago-marathon/2025-10...

Taylor packed his bags and headed out to the Mammoth Trailfest in Mammoth Lake, California (sponsored by Craft) for the weekend. Get his recap of one of the most fun events in trail running today.Read his recap: https://believeintherun.com/mammoth-trailfest/

Big things are coming as we head to Chicago next weekend, so we got you covered on that end. We also discuss Meg's infatuation with baby quails, running etiquette on multiple flybys, our training for the New York Marathon and JFK 50 Mile, and our somewhat delayed reactions to the Berlin Marathon. Finally, we cover the Hoka Mach X 3, which sees an improved upper over last year's version.

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Taylor chats with Mary Denholm, a pro ultrarunner and Craft athlete.

Follow Mary on Instagram: @eatrunandbemary

The gang came back to Baltimore while Thomas went to China. From Guangzhou to Hong Kong, we dive deep into all his culinary and running adventures, including a behind the scenes visit to a manufacturing facility for Mount to Coast and many other brands. We also do shots of Kweichoi Moutai out of respect.

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MAURTEN

Get 15% off by using code Believe15!*

We use Maurten gels for all our races and some of the most elite athletes in the world rely on their...

Taylor chats with Adidas Terrex Athlete Eli Hemming.

Follow Eli on Instagram: @eli_hemming

We traveled a day ahead and a week in time to experience the 2025 World Athletics Championship in Tokyo. From the 100 meter finals to the world record in the pole vault to the men's and women's marathons on a hot and humid morning, we witnessed greatness across the board. We did our best to assimilate and only made a few blunders along the way (that we're aware of, anyway). We may not have come back with any Labubus, but we brought home plenty of amazing memories. Thanks to Asics and thanks to Tokyo for being so awesome, we won't forget...

Taylor interviews Kyle Siegel, founder of Raide - a performance based apparel and equipment company focused in the trail space.

Check out their products and learn more about the company here: https://raideresearch.com/

Stuck with cacti and debating the merits of art school and She's All That, that's where we're at. We make sure you're covered with all the unnecessary info before diving into the Nike Vomero Premium, the third release in the Vomero line for 2025, featuring a 55 mm (!) stack height for the dual-Air Zoom midsole.

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MAURTEN

Get 15% off by using code Believe15!* We use Maurten gels for all our races and some of the most elite athletes in the world rely on their bicarb system for...

Robbe sits down for a chat with Mario Fraioli, running coach and author of The Morning Shakeout newsletter on Substack, to talk about daily journaling, how running changes as we get older, showing up when you don't feel like it, music, culture, and much more.

Subscribe to The Morning Shakeout: https://substack.com/@mariofraioli

Check out his website: https://mariofraioli.com/

Thomas and Karl are back in the U S of A where the salt mounds of South Baltimore are a close second to the snowy peaks of Mont Blanc. We hear all about their remaining adventures, including a seasick paragliding adventure and watching the finish of the greatest trail race on the planet. We also cover some of the Adidas Chasing 100 event and the wonderful world of piglet racing.

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MAURTEN

Get 20% off for one week only by using code Believe20! We use Maurten gels...

Thomas chat with Tatum Brandt, founder and creative director of Brandt Creative Co., a design studio specializing in branding and web development for fitness, wellness, and sports businesses.

The Dirt Division is in Chamonix for UTMB, so the crew is coming to you live from their little chalet. The gang recaps their time so far, including the ETC race which Thomas and Karl participated in. Taylor also recaps his experience racing Leadville 100.

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LMNT

We're in the full swing of marathon training, so get your 1,000 mg of sodium plus other key electrolytes that will restore balance to your life after any hard effort. You'll also get an 8-count LMNT Sample Pack with any...

Taylor sits down with Abby Hall, Adidas Terrex Athlete, straight off her win at Western States.

Grab a cod fillet bar, it's time to get some gainz. This week on The Drop, we recap Robbe's breathing struggles at the Leadville 100 as he helped crew Taylor, leader of the Dirt Division. We also recap Meg's latest Move Her Mind stop, before discussing The New York Times article every long distance runner is talking about. Eventually, we discuss a trio of shoes: the featherweight Asics Metaspeed Ray, the Under Armour Velociti Elite 3, and the Norda 001A.

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We're in the full swing...

We sat down with Ben Rosario to talk all things The Marathon Project—but first, we trace his journey through the sport. From his early running days to launching Big River Running Co. in college, moving to Flagstaff to found NAZ Elite, Ben’s path has been a fun journey to follow. Now, he’s reviving The Marathon Project in a bold, reimagined way, and Meg will be one of the 1000 amateurs toeing the line of the Gold Wave. If you’re interested in running The Marathon Project, you can get more information and apply here: https://www.themarathonproject.com/

Robbe is currently losing his lungs in Colorado as he gets ready to help Taylor run the Leadville 100, but we got this podcast recorded before he self-destructed. I mean, we kind of self-destructed by diving into things we know nothing about, like carnival games at the doctor's office, WNBA, and declaring the day after the Super Bowl an official federal holiday. Enjoy your day off, you're welcome. Oh yeah, we also talk about two shoes that dropped out of nowhere, the all-new Asics Sonicblast and Megablast.

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Fresh off his win in the 1500 at Hayward Field for the US Champs, Under Armour elite Jonah Koech joins us in studio to talk about that race, the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo, and his mindset during running. Also, he's lived in Baltimore for three years and hasn't had crabs or gone to an Orioles game so we need to fix that ASAP.

Watch his race: https://youtu.be/dWnr_7vdQVk?si=nbI36ADoNehCScmu

From swim stories to ostrich racing to figure out if we're Team Shelby, the stars aligned this week to bring you the best running content second to the National Championships. We also recap Summer GRIT and this past weekend's ice cream party before diving in the New Balance Fresh Foam More v6 and a little bit of Puma Velocity Nitro 4.
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Thomas is mixing and matching flavors, Robbe is tapped into the Mango Chili, but whatever you go with, just know you're getting 1,000 mg of sodium plus other key electrolytes that...

Taylor sits down with Josh Rosenthal, founder of Borderlands, a trail runner's hub that centers on community. We talk about his small-town roots, entrepreneurial spirit, and how running has hooked him like nothing else. Listen to his story and everything he's involved with in the trail running space.
Check out Borderlands: https://www.instagram.com/runborderlands/

We were all surprised to learn that Monterey Jack cheese came from Monterey, but we weren't surprised by Meg churning out some fast miles at the Wharf to Wharf 6-miler in Santa Cruz. We recap her West Coast journey as well as Thomas and Robbe's trip to Brooklyn (just a couple days after the launch of the On Cloudsurfer Max). Also, Summer GRIT just wrapped up and we had some incredibly performances to highlight (including one woman who has racked up 160,000 feet of elevation gain in one month). Lastly, we highlight the Nike Structure 26 and Norda 008, two shoes that...

Running is firing on all cylinders right now, which means that run culture is a multi-facted ecosystem revolving around branding, fashion, and personal style. Today on the podcast, Robbe chats with our run culture editor Alfredo Mejia, who joins him from Berlin to talk about the most exciting stuff happening in run culture, including everything he saw at Paris Fashion Week last month.
Make sure you read all of Alfredo's stories at believeintherun.com, and follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alfredo.mejiaa/

Robbe is manifesting true Florida Man energy this week so Karl takes his place in front of the camera. Topics this episode include our fall race plans, beer floats, the final TransRockies Run, and more Summer GRIT updates. We also take a look at the Puma Velocity Nitro 4, the new lightweight daily trainer from Puma that is pretty versatile by all accounts.

Join the boys this Sunday, July 27 in Brooklyn for "Coffee & Chill" and sample a pair of the New Balance Rebel v5.

RSVP here: https://bit.ly/4o0Yop3

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From Swiss underdogs to global heatseeker, On has won softly over the past decade with its unique approach to footwear design and performance. This week, Robbe chats with Ed Coyon, Global Head of Product for the brand, to talk about On's approach to running, design, production, and the all-new Cloudsurfer Max.
The On Cloudsurfer Max is available now for $180: https://www.on.com/

Throw on your sweaty headphones and tune in for this week's episode of The Drop, featuring an elevator pitch for America's hottest new airline: Weight & See. We also hear about Thomas's trip to the Bahamas and Meg's behind-the-scenes look at the Brooks HQ out in Seattle. Then there's Robbe, who was just sifting through trash in Baltimore. Finally, we cover the Adidas Adizero Prime X 3 Strung, a super trainer sporting a 50 mm stack height in the heel.

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This was a bucket list one, for sure. Thomas and Robbe's souls meet body as they chat with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service, as well as an ultrarunner and Speedland athlete. We dive into his recent finish at the Western States Endurance Run, what he listens to when he runs (Turnstile), as well as the release of his upcoming signature Speedland shoe, the GS:TMT.
Pre-order the Speedland GS:TMT: https://www.runspeedland.com/products/gs-tmt-copy
Listen to Death Cab For Cutie: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0YrtvWJMgSdVrk3SfNjTbx

We're in the swing of Summer GRIT, big things happened at the Prefontaine Classic, and we try and figure out if cloud seeding meatballs can solve world hunger. If so, why aren't we doing that? Also, Meg heads to Seattle where she's going to dig into some mysteries outside of running. Finally, we talk about both the Skechers Aero Tempo and Satisfy TheRocker, two shoes on vastly different sides of the running spectrum.

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LMNT

You already know that LMNT has been getting us through...

It's another episode with Taylor, head of the Dirt Division, and this time he goes deep with ultrarunner Seth Ruhling. As part of The North Face team, Seth took on Western States and pulled in a 6th-place finish. This interview took place before the race, so we talk about Seth's upbringing, his training, and obviously his favorite shoes for taking on long challenges.

Merry GRIT-MAS to all who celebrate, it's been good to get some miles with all of you this week. And what a week it was, as Thomas and Taylor and the Dirt Division headed to Western States, while Meg said oui to Paris for the Nike Breaking4 Project. History was made and we were honored to witness it. Watch the Breaking4 recap on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/bivyb7HoeRwSUPPORT OUR SPONSORSLMNT

You already know that LMNT has been getting us through Summer GRIT thanks to its blend of electrolytes and 1000 mg of sodium.

...

Thomas chats with Adam Gamble, founder of Nowhere Somewhere, a start-up run apparel brand featuring a range of t-shirts, hats, hoodies, and other apparel.

Check out Nowhere Somewhere: https://www.nowheresomewhere.run/

We recorded this on Monday, but right now Meg is in Paris reliving the excitement of seeing Nike's Breaking4 project with Faith Kipyegon. Thomas and Karl are at Western States, while Robbe is home with George, making margaritas with LMNT mango chili rims. We also recap our fun weekend with Mount to Coast and then talk about Meg's experience in the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5.

Check out all our Western States events: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLPvXYpslu0

Here's the study on hair and wind drag: https://www.theengineer.co...

Thomas sits down with Andrew Dutton, better known online as @ad___sneaks. Dutton is a middle-school teacher in Lehi, Utah, who has earned a devoted following on Instagram through his passion for sneaker photography. Dutton began snapping sneakers during the pandemic and has since evolved into a recognized visual storyteller.

All Thomas wants is a techno song with Gregorian chants, but instead we get Sabrina Carpenter. All Robbe wants is an ultramarathon with tranquilizer darts and Mario Kart red shells, but instead we have the Western States 100. All Meg wants is for all of this nonsense to end. Anyway, we talk about all of that, as well as an in-podcast Between 2 Shoes where we compare the Brooks Hyperion Max 3 and Mizuno Neo Vista 2.

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NEW FLAVOR ALERT! Squeeze the most out of summer with...

Dirt Division leader Taylor, and longtime BITR contributor, Alex, sit down with Adidas Terrex athlete, Dani Moreno. Dani comes by way of Mammoth Lakes, California but grew up in LA where life was much different. They talk about Dani's history with sport, her adventurous hiatus from running, and her aspirations as she comes back from injury which includes trail racing at the highest level of our sport and that hard fought OTQ.

Follow Dani on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dan_yell_a/

Let us all hold hands and gather in a circle as offer up a sacrifice to AI – but before we do, please turn your attention to The Drop, where everything is real and nothing is plagiarized, as evidenced by our conversations on shoes bought on the dark web, trying to figure out Mastercard naming strategies, and the real life questions that come with acquiring a pet dog. Plus, you'll get some authentic shoe talk when we dive into the one-two punch of the Asics Metaspeed Sky and Edge Tokyo.

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The...

Thomas traveled up the Spotify Studio in NYC where he sat down with Brendan Dunne from Complex. They chat about running culture, the crossover between performance and lifestyle shoes and dive into Brendan’s personal running.

Follow Brendan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brendandunne/?hl=en

Read his stories on Complex: https://www.complex.com/author/brendan-dunne

We've returned from our separate corners of the country and assemble to recap our individual weeks, including time spent in Colorado, Thomas's journey to the Spotify studios in NYC, and Meg's Minnesota sojourn. Plus, we talk about the Mount to Coast T1 and the very good update in the Mizuno Neo Vista 2.

Shop The Meg High Pony Hat ➡ https://shop.believeintherun.com/products/the-meg-fractel-x-believe-edition

Shop the Robbe Raccoon Legionnaire ➡ https://shop.believeintherun.com/products/fractel-x-believe-robbe-raccoon-signature-legionnaire

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Saturday, June 21 @ 8:00 a.m...

If you're listening to this episode, you know that running changes lives. If it's changed anyone's life, it's certainly done so for Terence Gerchberg, who used running to help dig him out of a deep pit of gambling addiction. Eventually, it brought him to where he is today as CEO of Back On My Feet, an organization that works with people experiencing homelessness or addiction, empowering them to achieve economic independence through running and community. We talk about his life from past until present (including his experience on the Amazing Race), how running has transformed his life, and how...