Back of the Pack Podcast

Kyle Walker
  • 4.9 (54)
  • Running
  • Updated Weekly

Lace up your sneakers, grab your favorite headband, and toe the starting line! The signal has fired and the “Back of the Pack Podcast” is up and running! Are you a fan of running 5k’s just because the finisher medal looks cool? You are not alone there! Join the show that is all about the race swag and running on a Saturday morning to get the most out of your race registration. We will talk about local races in the Kansas City area. We will give you a heads up if you’re wanting to go farther outside the area to run the big races. Host Kyle Walker has fourteen full marathons, over eighty half marathons, and hundreds of 5k’s and 10k's. Take it from us, you are among friends here if you’ve gotten to the finish line to find all the bananas gone!

  1. 17h ago

    Rocket City: Ready for Launch!

    This week on The Back of the Pack Podcast, Eric Fritz and Rhonda Hayden return to the show as we officially begin the countdown to December’s Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, Alabama. With race weekend now just a couple of months away, registrations are climbing, the course is locked in, volunteers are being recruited, and preparations are underway for what could become the biggest Rocket City Marathon weekend yet. We get an inside look at an expanded expo featuring new Rocket City merchandise, Podcast Alley, interactive vendors, and even a little vendor bingo before turning our attention to what runners can expect on race morning. Eric and Rhonda explain the unique setup of the full marathon and back-half marathon, the warm indoor staging area at the Von Braun Center, pacer groups, and an important change coming to the early-start program after this year. We also spend plenty of time talking about the back of the pack, including how Rocket City handles sweepers, course support, and the runners who may need a little extra time and encouragement to reach that finish line. Then we get to the fun stuff: medals, shirts, Hat Trick swag, finisher gifts, and plans to make the indoor finish at the Von Braun Center even more memorable for the marathon’s 50th anniversary. There is also some major news for the event with PNC Bank joining as title sponsor, plus a look at how race weekend will once again support the pediatric department at Huntsville Hospital, this year helping toward a pediatric-specific ambulance. From running through Huntsville’s Christmas-lit Tinsel Trail to the growing Back of the Pack team making the trip south, this episode is our final big preview before we finally meet Eric and Rhonda in person and launch into Rocket City race weekend.

    Rocket City: Ready for Launch!

  2. 4d ago

    Nobody Tells You This: Fitness Isn’t Linear

    We’re kicking off our October Second Wind series, Nobody Tells You This, with one of the most frustrating truths in running: fitness does not improve in a perfectly straight line. We talk about why one bad run, ugly race, or sluggish week does not automatically mean all our training has disappeared, because fitness and that day’s performance are not the same thing. We break down the other pieces that can affect what shows up on race day, including fatigue, sleep, weather, stress, nutrition, travel, course conditions, and plain old day-to-day variation. We also look at why training can temporarily hide the fitness we are building, how plateaus can still contain real progress, and why improvement sometimes shows up as better recovery, stronger finishes, smarter fueling, or easier effort instead of another PR. Of course, modern runners have watches, apps, readiness scores, VO₂ max estimates, heart-rate data, and enough numbers to turn every morning into a tiny performance review, so we talk about using that information for trends without letting it run the whole show. We dig into the danger of panic training, the fear that a few missed workouts erase months of work, and why training plans should be treated as maps we can adapt rather than contracts we must obey perfectly. Most importantly, we make the case for zooming out, judging progress over weeks and months instead of one miserable Tuesday, and remembering that race results are snapshots rather than report cards on our entire running lives. Fitness isn’t a staircase, it’s a messy trend, and sometimes the progress is happening long before the clock finally shows it.

    Nobody Tells You This: Fitness Isn’t Linear

  3. Sep 28

    The Runner’s Sick-Day Decision

    This week on The Back of the Pack Podcast, we start with a few updates from around the World Marathon Majors before getting to the race that was supposed to happen but never did. Kyle was scheduled to run the St. Joseph Half Marathon, but cold and flu symptoms made the decision for him and resulted in the dreaded DNS: Did Not Start. That missed start line becomes the jumping-off point for an honest conversation about one of the questions runners are notoriously bad at answering: When are you actually too sick to run? We break down the difference between a mild cold and a more systemic illness, the familiar “neck check,” and the symptoms that should make you seriously reconsider lacing up at all. We also look at why an easy jog and racing a half marathon are two completely different demands on a body already trying to recover. Then we get into the runner bargaining process, from “it’s probably allergies” all the way to “but I already paid for the race,” plus the part we sometimes forget: showing up sick can affect everyone packed into the corral with us. Kyle also talks about easing back into running after illness and why one missed week or one missed race is far better than turning a short sickness into a much longer problem. Sometimes the smartest running decision is the one where the shoes stay in the closet, the race bib stays unused, and the chicken noodle soup gets the start instead.

    The Runner’s Sick-Day Decision

  4. Sep 25

    Ultra Curious: Pick Your Poison

    In this week’s Second Wind, we wrap up The Ultra Curious by finally asking the question all this September learning has been building toward: if we’re actually going to try an ultramarathon, how do we choose the right one? We look at why distance alone tells us almost nothing about the true difficulty of an ultra, and why terrain, elevation, course format, weather, cutoffs, and aid-station support can completely change the experience. We break down the jump from marathon to 50K, 50 miles, 100K, and beyond, while making the case that a first ultra does not need to be a sufferfest just to “count.” From crushed gravel and rail trails to technical mountain courses, we talk about choosing terrain we can actually train for and why course-specific preparation matters so much. We also dig into loop courses, out-and-backs, point-to-point events, timed races, cutoff rules, required gear, weather, and the kind of race support that can make a first ultra much more manageable. Just as important, we ask whether the race actually excites us, because training is a whole lot easier when the challenge means something beyond simply sounding impressive. Along the way, we lay out the red flags and green flags to watch for before hitting REGISTER and remind ourselves that success can mean learning, adapting, finishing healthy, or even discovering that ultrarunning simply isn’t our thing. After a month of learning the culture, understanding the game, rethinking our pacing, and figuring out how to choose the challenge, The Ultra Curious comes to a close with one final idea: pick the race that fits the runner we are today, then go find out what lies beyond 26.2.

    Ultra Curious: Pick Your Poison

  5. Sep 21

    The Curious Case of a Bad Race Weekend

    This week on The Back of the Pack Podcast, we are recapping a two-race weekend with the Kansas City Zoo Run 4 Miler and the Woodstock 10K. The Zoo Run brought nearly 90-degree heat, narrow zoo paths, plenty of congestion, and a unique course through one of Kansas City’s most recognizable attractions. The next morning, Woodstock delivered cooler temperatures but a 68-degree dew point and 93% humidity, proving once again that “cooler” does not always mean “comfortable.” Both races were well organized, both had plenty to like, and both left Kyle disappointed with his own performance. So after the race reviews, we turn toward something every runner eventually has to deal with: what happens when an entire race weekend just doesn’t go the way you expected? We look at the difference between excuses and legitimate factors, the things runners can actually control, and why one or two bad races do not automatically mean your training, fitness, or entire running existence has gone off a cliff. We also talk about the temptation to overreact, why more training is not always the answer, and how recovery, hydration, nutrition, pacing, and consistency can all become part of the investigation. Sometimes the most useful thing a bad race can do is make us curious enough to figure out what happened, make a small adjustment, and see what the next start line has to say.

    The Curious Case of a Bad Race Weekend

  6. Sep 18

    Ultra Curious: Slow Down Go Farther

    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 world: sometimes the smartest way to go farther is to slow down sooner. We explore why ultra pacing is less about chasing a specific number on the watch and more about managing an “effort budget” that has to last for hours. From power hiking hills to resisting the urge to chase other runners, we look at how restraint early can preserve the legs, stomach, hydration, and mental energy we will desperately want later. We also break down why walking while we still feel good can be a strategy instead of a surrender, and why the run-everything mentality can become a liability once the distance stretches past the marathon. Fueling plays a huge role too, because if we are moving too hard to comfortably eat, drink, and digest, then our pace may be working against the very system keeping us in the race. We dig into the trap of trying to “bank time,” the difference between building a smart cutoff cushion and burning ourselves up early, and why efficient aid-station stops matter just as much as what happens between them. Along the way, we introduce a simple three-phase approach for managing an ultra: Protect. Maintain. Spend. The goal is not to crawl through the entire day, but to move fast enough to make progress and slow enough to remain sustainable. Because in ultrarunning, patience, restraint, fueling, walking, and problem-solving are not signs that the race is going badly, they are part of the performance itself.

    Ultra Curious: Slow Down Go Farther

  7. Sep 14

    Old Pali Panic and Plaza Tradition

    This week on The Back of the Pack Podcast, we are back to a more normal race-review rhythm after Sydney, with one race from Hawaii, one race from Kansas City, and one very big milestone to unpack. First up is the Old Pali Road 5K on Oahu, a race that sounded like a fun Hawaiian bonus run until calendar chaos, time-zone weirdness, and a surprise 6:30 a.m. start turned it into a scramble before the first step. Kyle arrived late, missed the official start, chased the course on his own, climbed nearly 700 feet in the first half, passed 30 people, and still managed to leave with a race shirt, because sometimes the real finisher medal is the cotton-poly blend you negotiate for afterward. Then it is back home for the 2026 Plaza 10K, a long-running Kansas City fall tradition and the first race in the Heartland 30K series. This year’s Plaza 10K brought a new course because of the Kansas City streetcar expansion, which meant a different route, fewer favorite downhills, but still a well-run event, a strong turnout, a sharp medal, good crowd support, and a perfectly timed start. The bigger story, though, is that the Plaza 10K marked Kyle’s 400th race, giving us a chance to look at the numbers behind the madness: 188 5Ks, 68 10Ks, 95 half marathons, 17 full marathons, and 2,893 raced! We break down what those numbers actually mean, including how 5Ks make up nearly half of the starts while half marathons carry the biggest share of the mileage. To close things out, Kyle talks about what that much running can do for the body, from cardiovascular fitness and blood pressure to bones, muscles, tendons, mobility, brain health, durability, body awareness, and the not-so-glamorous but very necessary art of recovery.

    Old Pali Panic and Plaza Tradition

  8. Sep 11

    Ultra Curious: Same Runner, Different Game

    In this week’s Second Wind, we continue The Ultra Curious by asking what really changes when everyday road runners start looking beyond 26.2 miles and toward the ultramarathon world. We break down why a 50K is more than simply “a marathon plus five miles,” and how pace, terrain, elevation, and time on feet can completely change the way we approach the day. We talk about learning to view walking as strategy instead of failure, loosening our obsession with mile splits, and understanding that sustainable effort matters far more than chasing traditional road-race pace. We also dive into the very different world of ultra aid stations, fueling, hydration, gear, and the danger of getting a little too comfortable when the aid station starts looking more like a neighborhood cookout than a quick water stop. Cutoff times, changing weather, trail surfaces, and even something as simple as knowing what to carry can suddenly become major pieces of the race-day puzzle. The mental side changes too, because ultrarunning can mean riding several emotional highs and lows while learning not to make permanent decisions during temporary bad patches. The good news is that we are not starting from scratch, because everything we have learned through 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons, and marathons still gives us a strong endurance foundation to build from. We’re still road runners at heart, but as we dip our toes into this new world, we’re learning one thing very quickly: same runner, different game.

    Ultra Curious: Same Runner, Different Game
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4.9
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About

Lace up your sneakers, grab your favorite headband, and toe the starting line! The signal has fired and the “Back of the Pack Podcast” is up and running! Are you a fan of running 5k’s just because the finisher medal looks cool? You are not alone there! Join the show that is all about the race swag and running on a Saturday morning to get the most out of your race registration. We will talk about local races in the Kansas City area. We will give you a heads up if you’re wanting to go farther outside the area to run the big races. Host Kyle Walker has fourteen full marathons, over eighty half marathons, and hundreds of 5k’s and 10k's. Take it from us, you are among friends here if you’ve gotten to the finish line to find all the bananas gone!

Information

  • Creator
    Kyle Walker
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    314
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright The Back of the Pack Podcast
  • Show Website
    Back of the Pack Podcast

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