He Lives in the Highest City in the U.S. Now He's a Sub-Elite Marathoner | Christopher Brenk

The Marathon Podcast is now proudly sponsored by Saysky Copenhagen. Use code TMP15 for 15% off at saysky.com. Get 20% off a Strava annual subscription with code KRISTIAN Save on FlexBeam using code WARWICKRUNS or this link: https://rechargehealthas.sjv.io/55GAPb Kristian sits down with Christopher Brenk, a Puma Project 3 athlete heading into the Berlin Marathon off the back of a 2:17 personal best in Eugene, for a genuinely unique running story: from Division 3 college racing to training at altitude in the highest city in the United States. Christopher shares how a spontaneous application with his college teammate turned into a Puma Project 3 selection, and what it's meant to suddenly have shoes, gear, and a community built around his marathon racing for the first time. He walks through his path from a small Division 3 program at St. Olaf, through years spent in Sitka, Alaska and Utah, to now living and training in Laramie, Wyoming, the highest elevation D1 city in the country. The conversation covers what it's actually like adapting to serious altitude training, how he thinks about carb intake and race nutrition heading into Berlin, and the strange in between space of running elite times without seeing himself as a professional. In this episode: Getting selected for Puma Project 3 alongside a college teammate Having shoes, gear, and a community for the first time A Division 3 college running background and an unconventional path Years spent living in Sitka, Alaska and Utah before Wyoming Moving to the highest elevation city in the US for altitude training What it's actually like adapting to serious altitude Balancing running with a full time job at the university registrar Race nutrition strategy and carb intake heading into Berlin Chasing a new personal best at the Berlin Marathon Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and introducing Christopher Brenk 01:00 Announcing the podcast's sponsorship with Saysky Copenhagen 02:13 Kristian's own training week update 08:26 Welcome to Christopher and a wifi mishap 10:08 How it felt to get selected for Puma Project 3 14:04 Running a 2:17 marathon while not seeing himself as a pro 19:12 A Division 3 college running background 19:59 Years spent in Sitka, Alaska before Wyoming 20:00 Moving to Laramie for altitude training and his girlfriend's masters program 52:15 Living and training in the highest city in the US 53:39 Adjusting workouts to account for the altitude 57:07 Whether the altitude benefits are finally paying off 1:16:46 Race nutrition strategy and carb intake for Berlin 1:19:02 Closing thoughts and good luck in Berlin Christopher on Instagram:   / christopher_brenk   Start your free Musicbed trial: https://fm.pxf.io/kristianwarwick Full episodes + the Boston 2025 documentary:    / @warwickruns   Follow my training journey on Instagram: @warwick.runs Music from Musicbed: MB01XPYH8ZYENVAMB0133EV2TCQFZY