House of Maher – “NYC Marathon Recap with Mom & Dad Maher!”

Podcast: House of Maher
Host: Wave Originals
Date: November 4, 2025
Guests: Ilona Maher, Olivia Maher, Adriana “Dre Baby” Maher, Meenaka Mar (Mother), Michael Mar (Father)
Summary by ChatGPT

Episode Overview

This heartfelt, raucous, and cozy episode of House of Maher centers on the recent NYC Marathon, run by Olivia (“Girl Dinner” creator), and reflects on family rituals, body image, and Maher family dynamics. With Olympic rugby star Ilona, advocate Adriana, and Mom and Dad Maher joining for a roundtable, listeners get an inside look into the bonds and banter that define the Maher sisters — served alongside marathon stories, childhood memories, and life lessons from their parents.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

I. Marathon Recap: Inside Olivia’s NYC Marathon

Starting at [03:20]

• Olivia’s NYC Marathon Experience

  • Olivia announces triumphantly: “I just won the New York City Marathon.” ([03:22], Olivia, tongue-in-cheek)
  • Actual result: finished in 5 hours 17 minutes—a personal victory ([03:31], family celebration).
  • Jumped into the episode straight from the marathon, still running on adrenaline.
  • First marathon, fueled by high energy at the start line: “My adrenaline was cranking so hard, I’m pretty sure I levitated over that entire thing.” ([04:15], Olivia)

• Race Details: Nutrition & Strategy

  • Olivia took a gel every ~40 minutes, used salt tablets: “Just keep your salts cranking…you don’t want to cramp up.” ([07:45], Olivia)
  • Didn’t stop running (besides quick hugs!).
  • “I am violently chafing on my butt cheeks.” ([09:09], Olivia — honest about marathon pain)
  • “I never want to see a carb again… shoveling pancakes and french fries… I just felt thickums, hefty like the earth’s gravity was working with me.” ([10:19], Olivia)
  • Halloween happened during carbo load; she costumed as Zara Larson and struggled with body confidence but “once she put that wig on, she was a different woman.” ([11:50], Ilona)

• Best/Worst Moments

  • Best mile: “Probably 1 and 2 where I was just cooking.” ([26:48], Olivia)
  • Worst mile: “The Bronx. I was fighting demons…up at the Bronx.” ([27:01], Olivia)
  • Best gel flavor: “I like the mango ones…the honey-based ones with fruit punch.” ([27:16], Olivia)

• On Family Support:

  • The Mahers (and friends) showed up at mile 16, the “Maybelline Mile.”
  • “I gotta look athletic. Come on, Liv, pick up those knees, let’s go.” ([38:08], Olivia)

• Signs and NYC Energy

  • Favorite sign: “You run better than our government.” / “If you can run here, you can run anywhere.” ([28:01], Olivia)
  • Olivia loved cheers from strangers: “Psychological boost…someone goes, ‘Yeah, Olivia!’…You have to snap up, put a smile on.” ([23:29], Olivia)
  • Admits there was confusion with “Ilona” signs, as both sisters have similar names! ([08:15], Olivia/Adriana)
  • Did the race mostly without music: “I actually was listening to the city mostly…letting it fuel me.” ([21:51], Olivia)

II. Training, Health, and Real Talk About Marathoning

Starting at [16:57]

• Training was a huge time commitment: “It takes many hours to run that many hours in training…I did make it my job.” ([17:04], Olivia)
• Discussion: Are marathon runners healthier? Cites Perplexity AI: Marathons improve cardiovascular health but carry risk of injuries/overtraining. ([17:47], Adriana/Olivia)
• “You never actually run a full 26 miles in your training. Max you go is 20. To not risk injuries.” ([18:05], Olivia)
• “My knees…putting a lot on them with every step…they’re throbbing as we speak.” ([18:29], Olivia)
• Comparing Rugby and Marathons: “She ran for five hours plus straight.” ([29:52], Adriana)
  “Was somebody tackling her while she did it?” ([29:56], Ilona, rugby flex)
  “My demons, my booty cheeks.” ([29:58], Olivia — comedic candor)

III. The Maher Family Way: Rituals, Dinners, & Parenting Philosophy

Starting at [35:08]

-Family Dinners: A Maher Staple ([44:55])

• “Every night we did a family dinner…Had to sit at the table doing homework.”

• “That’s when we had conversations…that’s when we talked to each other. I’m on a first name basis with most of my daughter’s friends.” ([45:16], Michael/Father)

• Encouragement of team spirit and banter: “You gotta learn how to take up space at the table… workshop stuff with each other, bomb a couple jokes, learn from it.” ([47:26], Adriana/Olivia)

• Body Positivity & Raising Confident Women

  • Mom Meenaka on breaking cycles:
    “I still remember being a size 10 and an aunt of mine patted my belly and said, ‘You got a little belly there, don’t you?’…I did not want to pass that on to any one of you guys.” ([42:29], Meenaka)
  • “It’s what we’re learning constantly: the love for your body continues to change.” ([44:17], Ilona)
  • “Menopause…a whole new chapter in a woman’s life where you have absolutely no control…you guys have done a great job supporting me.” ([44:21], Meenaka)
  • Adriana as the “body image sheriff”: “Adriana especially is very good at keeping me in line and making me toe the line of self appreciation.” ([43:26], Meenaka)

• Sports and Gender

  • Dad Michael: “For young women, participating in sports helped them in so many other social endeavors and gave them confidence…Olivia volunteered to be a soccer goalie…All three of you were softball pitchers…You learn to take the heat.” ([40:29], Michael)

IV. Childhood, Personality, and Sibling Shenanigans

Starting at [59:06]

• Sister Superlatives: A “Settle It” Game
  • Bossiest: “Olivia” (unanimous)
    “Are you bossy or are you the boss?” ([59:27], Mother/Ilona/Adriana)
  • Messiest: “Ilona.” “You can’t walk in her room without tripping over something.” ([60:06], Mother)
  • Night owl: “Adriana.”
  • First to cry: “Olivia.”

-Who is the Funniest?

• Family refuses to settle this:
  “You’re all funny in different ways…funny in media is different than funny across the dinner table…humor takes intelligence.” ([64:49], Michael)

• “You’re going to come to me on the day of my NYC Marathon and tell me how John is the funniest?” ([65:51], Olivia)

• Siblings as Adults vs. Kids

  • Olivia always the leader, “quintessential oldest child” ([53:44], Meenaka)
  • Ilona was shy and introverted as a child: “If anybody had said Ilona’s gonna be a very famous, outgoing person, that’s not what would have been predicted…You were an extrovert who was shy.” ([54:03], Michael)
  • Adriana: “You were the one who wanted to be anywhere else…now, as a homebody, you’re the one who most enjoys being at home.” ([57:27], Michael)

V. Parenting Insights & Marriage Wisdom from Mom & Dad Maher

Starting at [67:00]

• On Marriage (32 Years):

  • “No unilateral decisions…we agreed we’re going to talk about things in advance, make rules together.” ([67:30], Michael)
  • “Your relationship has to be strong and good…with kids being nurtured immediately after…Now that you guys are gone, we’re here. We’re stuck with each other…Thank God, we like each other.” ([68:12], Mother/Father)

• Parenting Advice

  • “Raise kids with praise, but honesty…It’s just a balance of being as honest as you can. The secret is to try.” ([48:18], Michael)
  • “My advice: love your partner first. I always thought it was really important you guys would feel comfortable coming to me with any question.” ([48:12]/[49:04], Meenaka)
  • On open communication: “You guys were the happy recipients of many a lecture… I think the communication was always there.” ([49:36], Meenaka)
  • “It was never a don’t do this. Like, don’t do drugs, don’t drink. It was: you can do it, but you gotta be smart about it.” ([49:48], Ilona)

VI. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Right through delusion, all things are possible.” ([37:31], Olivia)
• “My adrenaline was cranking so hard, I’m pretty sure I levitated over that entire thing.” ([04:15], Olivia)
• “Leave nothing in the tank.” ([31:29], Ilona’s marathon/rugby mantra)
• “Adriana especially is very good at keeping me in line and making me toe the line of self appreciation.” ([43:26], Meenaka)
• “Raising kids is the most amazing thing…I would have a crapload of money…but I would be so much poorer. I mean, our life is so rich because of you three.” ([68:59], Michael)
• “A house divided cannot stand.” ([68:09], Olivia quoting Abraham Lincoln, jokingly)
• “What comes around goes around. For every reaction, there’s an equal and opposite.” ([44:46], Meenaka on family support flipping as children age)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:20] — Olivia announces marathon finish & start of the recap
• [07:45] — Marathon nutrition, support, and city energy
• [16:57] — Touching grass: balancing marathon training, health
• [23:29] — City crowds, signs, the psychological boost
• [35:08] — Parents join: nerves, family perspectives on marathon
• [40:29] — Parenting philosophy: sports, confidence, daughters
• [42:29] — Body image stories & lessons from Mom
• [44:55] — The importance of family dinners and rituals
• [59:06] — Sisterly superlatives game
• [67:00] — Marriage insights and parenting advice

Tone & Atmosphere

The episode is intimate, irreverent, and supportive — full of genuine affection, teasing, and sharing of wisdom. The sisters’ banter brings both humor and vulnerability, while Mom and Dad offer grounded, heartfelt parenting philosophy.

In Summary

The “NYC Marathon Recap with Mom & Dad Maher” episode is a celebration of both personal accomplishment and the messy, loving collaboration that is family. Olivia’s marathon story anchors a discussion that roams from sports to confidence, body image to parenting, with the Maher household’s rowdy table-talk always at the center. It’s a fun, real, and uplifting look at what it means to be a Maher—and why there’s no place like home.