Off-the-Record: Wait, You Ran THAT Boston Marathon?

Summary

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Podcast Summary: What Next: TBD | Tech, Power, and the Future

Episode: Off-the-Record: Wait, You Ran THAT Boston Marathon?
Host: Lizzie O’Leary
Guest: Rob Gunther
Date: July 24, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this off-the-record Slate Plus edition, host Lizzie O’Leary and producer Rob Gunther shift focus from the week's turbulent news cycle to personal stories about running: their backgrounds, favorite places to run in New York City, generational changes in the sport, and the current phenomenon of increasingly fast teenage runners. Their candid, nostalgic, and often humorous conversation connects running culture to broader themes like competition, community, and aging.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting Aside the News—A Personal Pivot

• The hosts decide to "go off the record" and let listeners into how the team thinks about news and life outside current headline stress.
  • Major news of the week is briefly noted before launching into the running conversation:
    • "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went to Capitol Hill to demand an enhanced budget for the war in Iran..."
    • "Elon Musk freaking out about Christopher Nolan's latest epic..."
    • "Oil prices jump dramatically..."
      (00:03)

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2. Running Backgrounds and Personal Stories

• Rob’s Origin Story:

  • Rob started running after his dad and aunt signed up for a marathon; he did it "out of spite" after others doubted him, and it became a transformative part of his life. (01:33)
    • Quote: “I did it sort of like, you know, out of spite. And it just propelled me into the next stage of my life.” (Rob, 01:33)
  • He has run 16 or 17 marathons since 2007. (01:19)

• Lizzie’s Track & Boston Marathon Anecdote:

  • Lizzie ran collegiate track (not at a high level), and recalls a teammate running the Boston Marathon “out of spite with no preparation.” (02:06)

• Rob’s Boston Marathon Bombing Experience:

  • He ran Boston the year of the bombing and finished about 20 minutes before the explosions.
    • Quote: "I ran. I beat the bombs that year. That the bombs went off by, like, 20 minutes. It was a crazy experience." (Rob, 02:10)
    • His mother recognized the sound immediately as a bomb, but Rob at first dismissed her concerns.
      • Quote: “My mom immediately was like, that's a bomb. We gotta get outta here. And I'm just like, mom, that's not a bomb. You're embarrassing me.” (Rob, 02:28)
    • The family quickly left the city before lockdowns began. (02:48-03:00)

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3. Running Community & Movement in NYC

• Where They Run:

  • Lizzie: Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Describes herself as a “hobbler” due to past injuries from competitive running. (03:03)
  • Rob: Astoria Park, Queens. Admits running is harder as he ages, tries for a weekly 5-mile run when not training for marathons. (03:20)
    • Quote: “I still try to get out minimum once a week to do a five mile run when I'm not training for marathons." (Rob, 03:20)

• Running Clubs and Inclusive Movement:

  • Lizzie participates in a club for middle-aged women—more of a “movement thing”—with members up to 79 years old. Focus is on joy, being outside, and communal exercise rather than competition.
    • Quote: “The whole point is to just be like outside having fun like our children do and have that kind of joyous movement.” (Lizzie, 03:37)

• Strength Training & Aging:

  • Both discuss needing to supplement running with strength training after age 40.
    • Lizzie remarks on being “yelled at by a large man” as motivation for lifting weights post-50. (04:19)
    • Rob highlights the value of HIIT (high-intensity interval training) classes for strength and cardio maintenance. (04:05)

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4. Trackflation: The Teenage Running Boom

• Discussion pivots to a Wired article by Brendan Kerner on “trackflation”—the emergence of exceptionally fast teen runners.
  • More kids (and their parents) are choosing track over expensive, pressure-filled team sports, leading to a generation of ultra-competitive, fast youth runners.
  • Quote: “A lot of people chose to have their kids run track because regular team sports are too competitive... But... all of that pressure... is not just gonna go away… So I think a lot of what you're seeing is a lot of competitive kids that normally would have played a team sport in a different era, they're now going to track, and they're just getting insanely competitive with each other. And you see that competition amplified via social media.” (Rob, 05:03)
• The hosts reflect on how social media may be amplifying competition among kids, mirroring changes in sports culture overall.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I've run, I believe 16 or 17 [marathons].” (Rob, 01:19)
• “You have a running background as well.” (Rob, 00:59)
• “Oh, my God. There was a guy... who ran the Boston Marathon out of spite with no preparation.” (Lizzie, 02:06)
• “I still try to get out minimum once a week to do a five mile run when I'm not training for marathons." (Rob, 03:20)
• “The whole point is to just be like outside having fun like our children do and have that kind of joyous movement.” (Lizzie, 03:37)
• “Once I turn 40, I really found out that you need to have [strength training].” (Rob, 04:09)
• “[Track is] now where all the competitive kids go, and they're just getting insanely competitive with each other. And you see that competition amplified via social media.” (Rob, 05:03)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:03–00:53: Intro, running backgrounds, what drew them to the sport
• 01:19–02:48: Marathon stories, Boston bombing firsthand account
• 03:03–04:19: Running in New York, physical changes, the meaning of running clubs
• 04:19–05:03: Strength training and aging, the role of fitness classes
• 05:03–05:51: Trackflation and the competitive landscape for teen runners

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Tone & Style

The conversation is candid, humorous, and lightly self-deprecating, capturing the camaraderie of friends discussing a shared fixation. The hosts weave personal anecdotes with trends in youth sports, offering insight both through lived experience and observation of broader social shifts.

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Summary

This episode of “What Next: TBD” offers a relatable, insider’s view of running—from enduring marathons and brushes with historical moments, to adapting training with age and reflecting on the changing culture of youth sports. The hosts' narratives underscore how running (and movement more generally) underpins community and continuity, even amid news-cycle chaos and shifting generational norms.

Transcript

[A]

Happy Friday. Slate stars. This is the time when we go off the record. Just for you, our Slate plus friends and neighbors. And this week was a ride. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went to Capitol Hill to demand an enhanced budget for the war in Iran. We watched the world's richest man have a meltdown about a movie. Elon Musk freaking out about Christopher Nolan's latest epic, the Odyssey. And we are also seeing oil prices jump dramatically once again after the hoot. These took credit for attacks on tankers in the Red Sea. But we're gonna set all that aside today, because today is the day when we go off the record, kind of inside the demented minds of the people who make this show and how we think about the news and our world. And today I have Rob Gunther. We're here to talk about running. Hello, Rob.

[B]

Hello, Lizzie.

[A]

Tell me about your running background and why we're gonna talk about running today. Yes.

[B]

So we're gonna talk about running because there's a couple of different running inspired stories that have been in the news. You and I were both chatting on Slack, as we normally do, and we sort of came to these articles together, and it sort of just clicked. Like, why don't we talk about this? I've been a runner since about 2007. You have a running background as well.

[A]

Okay. How many marathons have you run?

[B]

I've run, I believe 16 or 17.

[A]

That's psychotic.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah, it is.

[A]

Like, what. What do you have left to do? Like, is there a marathon that is in your mind? Like, I want to go run the original marathon.

[B]

Yeah. You know, I got into running because my dad and my aunt signed up to run a marathon. I was in zero running shape. I never ran. This is like, the year after I graduated college. And I kind of said, yeah, I could do that, too, and everybody laughed at me. And I did it sort of like, you know, out of spite. And it just propelled me into the next stage of my, like, life. I've sort of have never stopped, so.

[A]

Oh, my God. There was a guy. So I ran track in college. Not well, small Division 3 school, but there was a guy on my track team who ran the Boston Marathon out of spite with no preparation.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Boston's like, a hard one.

[B]

I mean, he was on my.

[A]

He was on my track team. But have you done Boston?

[B]

I've done Boston. I ran. I beat the bombs that year. That the bombs went off by, like, 20 minutes. It was a crazy. A crazy experience. I finished running the race, and, you know, when you finish running they corral you this long slow march. You're trying to like jostle past everybody to meet. And my parents were with me, my wife Joanna was there, and we were probably about like two or three blocks away from the finish line at that point when the bomb went off. And my mom immediately was like, that's a bomb. We gotta get outta here. And I'm just like, you know, probably being an annoying son, but I'm like, mom, that's not a bomb. You're embarrassing me. To me it sounded like when you're in New York City and a giant truck flies down a side street and like goes over a bump and crashes down very hard.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

But as soon as like, you know, like wildfire had spread, obviously it was a bomb. And we just like high tailed it to our hotel and immediately drove out of the city before, you know, they locked down.

[A]

So you just got the hell out of there.

[B]

Yep, just got out. Wow, Crazy time.

[A]

Okay, so let's talk about running where we live. I live in Brooklyn. I live very close to Prospect Park. That is my spot. And I would not say I run so much anymore. I sort of like hobble because I think I damaged my body when I was a competitive runner. You live in Queens, where do you run?

[B]

Yeah, I live in, I live right close to Astoria Park. I have to admit that, you know, I'm getting up in years two and running doesn't feel always as great as it used to. But I still try to get out minimum once a week to do a five mile run when I'm not training for marathons.

[A]

Wow, okay, that's really impressive. I run like I'm in a run club. I can admit it. It's actually, it's not just a run club. It's like a movement thing, mostly for middle aged women though. We have one woman in the club who's 79. We walk, we run, we do workouts in the park. It's all outside. The whole point is to just be like outside having fun like our children do in and have that kind of joyous movement. Kind of awesome.

[B]

No, it's. I mean, I feel you. Like. I still love to be moving. You know what's really supplemented my running lately? I just do fitness classes, like hit classes. I get the cardio, I get a little strength training, which I never used to do, but once I turn 40, I really found out that you need to have it.

[A]

So yeah, I am trying. I am 50 and turning 50 was a big like, oh God, I have to lift weights. And so now I do now. A large man, like, yells at me and tells me what to do. And I find it very motivating. I want to talk about these two stories. So there is this one story from Brendan Kerner over at Wired. It is about trackflation, like the idea that teenagers are becoming insanely fast. So the writer of this piece, Brendan Kerner, first noticed kids becoming unbelievably fast watching his own son's track meet. But this is happening all across the country, across genders, age groups, et cetera. What is going on here? Why are kids so fast?

[B]

You know, I got a few different points of view reading this story. The first one that struck out to me because I'm a parent of three kids who play sports, play competitive sports. And a lot of people chose to have their kids run track because regular team sports are too competitive. There's too much pressure. They're too expensive. And so they think, you know what? Let's go to track. They're no pressure, exactly. But I think when you put all of that pressure into a different area, it's like, it's not just gonna go away and conform to what you think it's gonna conform to. So I think a lot of what you're seeing is a lot of competitive kids that normally would have played a team sport in a different era, they're now going to track, and they're just getting insanely competitive with each other. And you see that competition amplified via social media.

[A]

That's it for now. And if you want to hear the rest of this episode, the way to do it is to subscribe to Slate+ unlock Slate+ now by going to slate.com whatnextplus.