Charlie Sweeney, 2:09 Marathoner | 484

About this episode

Charlie Sweeney was the first American across the line at the 2026 Berlin Marathon, running 2:09. Thomas and Meg talk with him about the race, switching coaches after Boston, his race-day fueling and his road from Maryland high school football to CU Boulder. He also works at COROS, so if you've ever DM'd them, you've probably talked to Charlie. Chapters 0:00 Intro 1:50 COROS athlete or COROS employee? 3:55 Charlie's dream COROS watch 5:50 Running COROS social media and answering your DMs 10:45 Growing up in Maryland 13:24 From football and basketball to running 20:41 College: Western Colorado and D2 All-American 24:15 Transferring to CU Boulder 26:54 The Boulder running community 31:59 The dream of a big sponsorship 33:54 Is Nike still the top deal? 37:27 Dating a Nike pro (and her prototypes) 41:50 Why the ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo 42:37 How many miles before racing in a super shoe 44:44 The Berlin build: a new coach after Boston 51:19 Race-day fueling: Maurten, SiS and sodium 53:21 Nomio 55:46 Berlin race day 58:34 The pace car playing '90s rock 62:45 Getting caught by Tigst Assefa's pack 68:34 What's next: Houston Half and a spring marathon