The Strength Running Podcast · Jason Fitzgerald

How to Build Physiological Resilience in the Marathon with Coach John Davis, PhD

·1 hr 9 min·4 clips

Physiological resilience is the rate at which running economy, VO2 max, and threshold deteriorate over time.

Jason Fitzgerald frames the episode around marathon season and the races coming up in Philadelphia and New York City. He introduces John Davis as an author, elite running coach, former collegiate athlete, and biomechanics PhD. The conversation centers on a simple but stubborn question: why do runners fall apart late in the marathon? Fitzgerald brings up the familiar experience of hitting the wall and ties it to his own first marathon. Davis starts broad, then narrows in on the kind of fatigue that shows up at marathon effort. He describes marathon pace as high-end aerobic running, above LT1 and below steady-state max. From there, he explains that this zone is not the same as easy running because the fatigue mechanisms are different. That becomes the core idea of the episode. The discussion also connects resilience to the drop-off in several performance factors. Davis and Fitzgerald talk through the second threshold, VO2 max, and running economy as separate levers that may call for different training responses. Fitzgerald uses his own New York City Marathon experience to show what a serious fade can feel like. He says he probably did not fuel enough and did not hit that same level of collapse in later marathons once he managed his carbohydrate intake better. That personal example keeps the talk concrete. It turns physiology into a race-day problem instead of an abstract model. The episode does not stay in one lane for long. It keeps coming back to what actually helps a runner stay together for the full marathon. The tone stays coach-to-runner throughout. Fitzgerald asks like someone trying to get better, not like someone speaking from a distance. Davis answers in a way that assumes the listener wants usable training ideas, not a lecture. He keeps the language accessible while still using technical terms when they matter. The result is a discussion that treats fatigue as something to understand, not just suffer through. It leaves room for both the science and the plain frustration of marathon racing. Listeners get a clearer way to think about resilience before race day rather than only reacting after the breakdown starts. The episode is especially focused on why some runners hold together while others fade hard in the final miles. Because the frame is physiological, the conversation naturally lands on fueling as one of the levers that can change the outcome. Fitzgerald’s own example of better carbohydrate management shows how that idea plays out in real racing. The marathon comes across as a place where small decisions matter a lot. That includes how hard you race, how you fuel, and how well your training has prepared you for the stress of the day. Even when the talk gets technical, it stays tied to the practical question of what a runner should do differently. The emphasis is on understanding the fade well enough to avoid it. The episode feels like a serious coaching conversation that still sounds like runners talking to runners. It is analytical without losing the everyday feel of race week, long runs, and the memory of bad marathons. By the end, the listener has a sharper model for why the marathon can unravel and what resilience really means in that setting. The episode is less about inspiration than about making sense of a hard race in a more disciplined way.

As heard by us

A technical marathon conversation about why runners fade late and how resilience is built.

John Davis and Jason Fitzgerald use marathon season to frame a clear look at why runners fade late and what resilience means when the pace starts to bite.

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Why you'd press play

Learn why your marathon fade can hit hard around mile 21.

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