The Back of the Pack Podcast

09/20/2026

Second race of the weekend done. The Woodstock 10k gets us a 10+ mile endurance training weekend in the books. Two days of sub par performances. Now to stare in the mirror and do some name calling! Well done to everyone running through the soup this morning!

09/19/2026

90 degree heat is not what we expect in mid-September! We still get our run on! The kczoorun is in the books! Spicy hot, but we got it done. For the Hornbills!

09/18/2026

Slow down to go farther? Yep. That’s the idea. 🏃‍♂️🐢

This week on Second Wind, we keep The Ultra Curious rolling with a look at why ultrarunning can completely flip our normal road-racing instincts upside down.

Why walk before we’re tired? Why stop obsessing over pace? Why can “banking time” early come back to bite us later? And why might the smartest race plan be to protect, maintain, then spend?

🎧 The Ultra Curious: Slow Down to Go Farther is available now on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and anywhere else you find your podcasts.

Come get ultra curious with us.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/tQRYWzK7EQ0?si=4mWKawuQx7c-sQFt

09/18/2026

In this week’s Second Wind, we continue The Ultra Curious by tackling one of the biggest mindset shifts road runners face when stepping into the ultramarathon

09/17/2026

Kyle Knows: Why Your Heart Rate Can Drift Up on a Long Run

You’re running the same pace. The effort feels mostly the same. But your heart rate keeps creeping higher.

That phenomenon is often called cardiovascular drift.

As a long run goes on, your body heats up, you lose fluid through sweat, and your heart has to work harder to keep blood moving where it needs to go. More blood gets sent toward the skin to help cool you, while your circulating blood volume can gradually decrease if you’re losing fluid.

So even if your pace stays steady, your heart may need to beat faster to maintain the same output.

A few things can make that drift more noticeable:

heat and humidity
dehydration
running longer than usual
accumulated fatigue
starting a little too hard
poor fueling

The big takeaway?

A rising heart rate does not automatically mean you suddenly got less fit halfway through the run.

Sometimes it simply means your body is doing more internal work to hold the same external pace.

That’s why on long, hot, or humid runs, it can make more sense to pay attention to effort instead of stubbornly forcing the same pace or heart-rate number all day.

Same pace. More work. Higher heart rate.

Kyle Knows... Now you do too!

09/17/2026

Could we not just turn this into an impromptu IRONMAN? I guess we'd need the bike wouldn't we? If you haven't seen the video coming out of the Racefaster Half Marathon in Paramus, NJ. Runners had to fight through flash floods during this rainy half. Now the race directors are BANNED from events for a year! I know Flying Pig had some flooding a few years ago, but nothing like this! Be honest. Who is going in the water to finish that race and who is heading for higher ground?!?!

09/16/2026

Kyle Knows is changing a little. 🌎

For a while now, our daily Kyle Knows posts have included a custom cartoon featuring Kyle, Barley, Hopps, Lou, Rufus, and most recently Yannida.

We love those little weirdos. We are not getting rid of them. 😄

But we’ve been paying more attention to the conversation around AI, data centers, and the energy required to power all of this technology. And there is a real environmental story there.

According to the International Energy Agency, data centers used about 415 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024, roughly 1.5% of global electricity consumption. By 2030, that number is projected to more than double to around 945 terawatt-hours, with AI expected to be the biggest driver of that growth.

AI-focused data centers can also be enormous. A hyperscale AI facility can draw 100 megawatts or more, roughly the annual electricity use of around 100,000 households at that scale.

So here at The Back of the Pack Podcast, we’re going to make one small change.

Kyle Knows is going mostly image-free.

The tips, facts, running wisdom, history, weird trivia, terrible jokes, and questionable advice will still show up every day. We’ll just lean more heavily into text-based posts instead of generating a brand-new AI cartoon every single day.

Barley, Hopps, Lou, Rufus, and Yannida are absolutely not retiring. They’ll still make appearances for special events, races, milestones, Medal Monday, and other moments when a graphic really adds something.

We’re not pretending this one little change saves the planet.

We just believe that if we can use technology a little more intentionally and still make something fun for our community, that seems like a pretty good direction to run.

Less generating. More intention. Same pack. Same fun.

And tomorrow?

We get right back to knowing things.

Kyle Knows... Now you do too!

09/16/2026

Who's a pretty girl then? The Medal release for the Rocket City Marathon is here and these babies look GOOD! You can still join all the action that will include these medals AND The Back of the Pack Podcast being filmed live and in person from the Expo! Come run with it, party with us, and earn some sweet medals with us! Join our team at registration and let's party it up in Huntsville!

09/15/2026

Ever notice that when we hit the track, we’re almost always turning left? 🏃‍♂️↩️

That’s not random.

Most tracks are run counterclockwise because that became the standard over time, helping keep races consistent for competition, records, and lane rules. Once the sport settled on that direction, everybody basically stuck with it.

So if you’ve ever wondered why we keep circling left over and over again…

It’s tradition.
It’s standard.
And apparently it’s just how runners roll. 😄

Lou may still be getting dizzy, but the rest of us will keep turning.

Counterclockwise = track life.

Kyle Knows... Now you do too!

09/15/2026

This is it. The Team's for the Good Life Halfsy are about to turn off. Last chance to join The Back of the Pack as a team member and get the benefits for it! Use the link below and join our team before it is too late! Then we will see you in November at the start line in Lincoln, NE! I hope you'll join us!

Join me at the Good Life Halfsy! Get Registered at https://www.goodlifehalfsy.com/