The Marathon Podcast#224 Charlie Sweeney: The Fastest American in Berlin Marathon History & Why He Almost Quit in 2024
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Kristian brings you a bonus episode just hours after recording, sitting down with Charlie Sweeney, who became the fastest American in Berlin Marathon history with a 2:09:33, for a conversation Kristian says he's never been more excited to share.
Charlie walks through his path from a disappointing Olympic Trials experience, where he arrived under fueled and banged up after failing to properly recover from the high of qualifying, to nearly stepping away from the sport entirely. He opens up candidly about the period that followed, working a normal job and running just a few easy miles a day, and how pacing his now partner Elise's workouts reignited his love for running and eventually led him back to racing marathons. The conversation covers his current training with coach David Roche, peaking around 150 miles a week, the uphill treadmill sessions that have become central to his build, and his approach to simulating race effort using a treadmill grade calculator.
In this episode:
- Becoming the fastest American in Berlin Marathon history
- A difficult Olympic Trials experience and the fallout that followed
- Nearly stepping away from running altogether
- How pacing his now partner Elise's workouts brought him back
- Returning to the marathon and rediscovering the love of the sport
- Training under coach David Roche and peaking at 150 miles a week
- The uphill treadmill sessions behind his breakthrough
- Using a treadmill grade calculator to simulate race effort
- Balancing elite training with a full time job at Coros
- What comes next as he looks to keep improving into his thirties
Timestamps
00:00 A preview: what a good day on the track looks like now
00:18 Welcome and introducing Charlie Sweeney
02:02 Kristian's own training update
04:23 Announcing the podcast's sponsorship with Saysky Copenhagen
05:16 Welcome to Charlie and why this episode means so much
11:38 Charlie's background and his job at Coros
20:55 Working at a running brand that takes hiring seriously
21:17 The Coros and treadmill integration, explained
45:24 Introducing Elise and her role in his coaching
46:42 Qualifying for the Olympic Trials on the first attempt
48:13 Riding the high of qualifying, then crashing afterward
50:01 A difficult Olympic Trials experience
50:36 Finding a new coach and stepping away from running
51:48 Pacing Elise's workouts and falling back in love with the sport
52:00 Deciding to return to the marathon
53:13 Training under coach David Roche and peaking at 150 miles a week
2:11:20 Building toward three races in one block, including Berlin
2:13:17 The uphill treadmill sessions behind his training
2:17:33 Using a treadmill grade calculator to simulate effort
2:23:48 Looking ahead to getting even better in his thirties
2:24:19 Closing thoughts and thank you to Charlie
Treadmill grade calculator: https://42.195km.net/e/treadsim/
The other episode mentioned, for more on Charlie's training: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qF8kurf3VzibAsJYWnmty?si=cdfb5255ec2d4d3b
Charlie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cls1423/
Start your free Musicbed trial: https://fm.pxf.io/kristianwarwick
Full episodes + the Boston 2025 documentary: https://www.youtube.com/@Warwickruns
Follow my training journey on Instagram: @warwick.runs
Music from Musicbed: MB01XPYH8ZYENVAMB0133EV2TCQFZY
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