Who didn't..she started doing 3 workouts a week and 100+ mile weeks even though it seemed like what she was doing before was already a bit much. But of course her stress fracture came from the fall on the trail and her stressful life of traveling, Covid, high level training and neurotic mind didn't play a part at all. Her 2:25 of Berlin will remain her PB and it was a fluke, calling it here. Sucks for her but I'm sure a dozen videos with clickbaity titles will generate some lovely income.
Potentially a loss of "pro" status will be worse for her than missing out on Chicago. She'll go back to "elite" runner now. Until she falls further back. As you say, she ain't hitting the highs of Berlin again
It’s not like there’s a “pro” register and she announces losing pro status. She’ll claim pro runner even though YouTube pays the bills
Phily Bowden goes home DEVASTATED pulls out of Chicago with an injury, who saw that coming?!
Who didn't..she started doing 3 workouts a week and 100+ mile weeks even though it seemed like what she was doing before was already a bit much. But of course her stress fracture came from the fall on the trail and her stressful life of traveling, Covid, high level training and neurotic mind didn't play a part at all. Her 2:25 of Berlin will remain her PB and it was a fluke, calling it here. Sucks for her but I'm sure a dozen videos with clickbaity titles will generate some lovely income.
It'd be a big coincidence if it weren't connected to the fall on the trail. But for anyone actually taking care of themselves, I'd bet the fall would've been minor damage quickly healed. Whatever damage it did, her body had no spare resources to repair it.
I'll never understand the mindset runners have of hitting a momentous PR and then drastically changing their training. She wasn't exactly coasting during her training that resulted in a 2:25. So maybe try similar training again and see if you can execute it better? But nooo, it's ALWAYS "ok I'm going to update paces AND add volume AND I found some new non-running thing to implement AND I'm going to mix in new workouts that target my weaknesses" etc.
It's such a blessing to find training that yields a big PR. And then people just throw it away. Must add more!! One training cycle at this volume is the most I could ever have benefitted from it! I couldn't possibly have gotten fitter by staying at this volume for another cycle!
There's no magic rule that a certain volume of training is effective for only one 20 week training cycle. You can do the same training cycle again, for a total of 40 weeks, and continue to see improvements. Just update the paces as you get fitter.
Look, she should definitely be aiming for at least 100-120mpw as a long-term goal. And to get there, she'd have to be bumping up the volume. So I'm not saying to be conservative to a stupid degree. I'd bump volume slightly even if I thought the same volume would continue to yield improvements. But in her rush to qualify for the Olympics, she added too much too soon. She might have gotten away with it, but she didn't. She should've seen LA 2028 as a bonus and set her sights on 2032. Other women have already paved the way to being competitive at that age.
Who didn't..she started doing 3 workouts a week and 100+ mile weeks even though it seemed like what she was doing before was already a bit much. But of course her stress fracture came from the fall on the trail and her stressful life of traveling, Covid, high level training and neurotic mind didn't play a part at all. Her 2:25 of Berlin will remain her PB and it was a fluke, calling it here. Sucks for her but I'm sure a dozen videos with clickbaity titles will generate some lovely income.
It'd be a big coincidence if it weren't connected to the fall on the trail. But for anyone actually taking care of themselves, I'd bet the fall would've been minor damage quickly healed. Whatever damage it did, her body had no spare resources to repair it.
I'll never understand the mindset runners have of hitting a momentous PR and then drastically changing their training. She wasn't exactly coasting during her training that resulted in a 2:25. So maybe try similar training again and see if you can execute it better? But nooo, it's ALWAYS "ok I'm going to update paces AND add volume AND I found some new non-running thing to implement AND I'm going to mix in new workouts that target my weaknesses" etc.
It's such a blessing to find training that yields a big PR. And then people just throw it away. Must add more!! One training cycle at this volume is the most I could ever have benefitted from it! I couldn't possibly have gotten fitter by staying at this volume for another cycle!
There's no magic rule that a certain volume of training is effective for only one 20 week training cycle. You can do the same training cycle again, for a total of 40 weeks, and continue to see improvements. Just update the paces as you get fitter.
Look, she should definitely be aiming for at least 100-120mpw as a long-term goal. And to get there, she'd have to be bumping up the volume. So I'm not saying to be conservative to a stupid degree. I'd bump volume slightly even if I thought the same volume would continue to yield improvements. But in her rush to qualify for the Olympics, she added too much too soon. She might have gotten away with it, but she didn't. She should've seen LA 2028 as a bonus and set her sights on 2032. Other women have already paved the way to being competitive at that age.
Set her sights in 2032? She's 30 years old! She'll be 37 in 2032.
Olympics was always a pipe dream, but looks good for YouTube. That’s all her ‘Olympic dream’ is about; the click-bait titles, the ‘I’m a pro taking a big swing’ narrative, and all that associated rubbish is purely for YouTube. She must surely know she’s not going to the Olympics, and never was, so what else can it be for? Seth did the same when talking about the OTQ - the Stans lapped it up, but he must surely have known it was never going to happen, especially with his training.
Feel for Philly, having had a number of stress issues they are a right pain. Timing is awful.
The area injured seems connected to the fall but you have to question the physio advice. A diagnosis earlier might not have kept her on for Chicago, but could've seem off a full fracture.
Probably time for a change back to what she was comfortable with once recovered. Berlin was no fluke, like some have tried to say here. You don't fluke that time, it takes a lot of work.
I find it weird that she was still posting shorts hyping up her entry into Chicago 3 days ago, when she must have known at that point that she would have to withdraw.
Anyway I wonder if she will take this opportunity to fully reset and return to training in England where she can get some consistent training in without the distraction of altitude, humidity and trail runs up mountains as preparation for a flat road marathon. Somehow I doubt it.
Yup. Gotta milk that content. Why be honest in real time.
Sidenote: her cats must hate her/them. I feel bad for them. My cat is annoyed when I'm away for one day (and have my mum come over as cuddle time substitute), I don't wanna know how those two cats feel being abandoned for weeks on end. Even my sister's cat who couldn't care less about her gets upset when she's gone for 3-4 days. Weeks? Forget it. You don't do that to an animal you love. Hope they piss on the floor when they get back:)
In all seriousness, hope her stress fracture heals quickly..what a nightmare.
I’m a vegetarian myself, so I’m not criticizing their dietary choices. But many vegans seem to think that as long as you eat plant-based food, you can eat anything you want. Then you end up snacking on donuts, bagels, and veggie burgers all day, because your main meals don’t provide enough protein to keep you full for the next three or four hours. So you start reaching for treats just to get by.
I’m a vegetarian myself, so I’m not criticizing their dietary choices. But many vegans seem to think that as long as you eat plant-based food, you can eat anything you want. Then you end up snacking on donuts, bagels, and veggie burgers all day, because your main meals don’t provide enough protein to keep you full for the next three or four hours. So you start reaching for treats just to get by.
I know someone who ballooned in weight very quickly after turning vegan because they realised that Pringles were vegan and were getting through tube after tube to stave off the hunger.
Feel for Philly, having had a number of stress issues they are a right pain. Timing is awful.
The area injured seems connected to the fall but you have to question the physio advice. A diagnosis earlier might not have kept her on for Chicago, but could've seem off a full fracture.
Probably time for a change back to what she was comfortable with once recovered. Berlin was no fluke, like some have tried to say here. You don't fluke that time, it takes a lot of work.
I agree that it wasn't a fluke in the sense that she obviously did put in the work to run 2:25:47, but in running that time everything went perfectly for her. In her marathon 9 months before Berlin 2024 she ran a 2:29:14 (Houston 2024) and 7 months afterwards she ran a 2:30:28 (London 2025). She has never run under 2:29 except for Berlin. Given it was assumed she was on an upwards trajectory after Berlin 2024, something doesn't add up. Simply stacking training would normally lead to at least some improvement, and it isn't like she is running hilly, tough marathons.
If I were her (or her coach), I would strip everything back to basics. Forget altitude or heat training - that is the icing on top but she isn't currently managing to fully bake the cake. Give me 12 months of 160km/100 mile weeks with 2 sessions and a hard long run most weeks. Forget training with the likes of Rory Linkletter. He is so far beyond her capabilities and he needs to push the envelope in ways Phily shouldn't need to at this stage.
I will continue to be critical of her videos (unless they change), but ultimately I would like to see her succeed and make the Olympics, as that is her goal. It is frustrating as a viewer as while the goal will be tough, it does seem possible.
I’m a vegetarian myself, so I’m not criticizing their dietary choices. But many vegans seem to think that as long as you eat plant-based food, you can eat anything you want. Then you end up snacking on donuts, bagels, and veggie burgers all day, because your main meals don’t provide enough protein to keep you full for the next three or four hours. So you start reaching for treats just to get by.
I know someone who ballooned in weight very quickly after turning vegan because they realised that Pringles were vegan and were getting through tube after tube to stave off the hunger.
That’s exactly why every vegan should make sure they’re getting 30–40 grams of protein with each meal — because going hungry isn’t a sustainable option in the long run, and you can’t keep snacking on sugar and carb bombs between meals all the time, even though runners do need their carbs.
What's going on with eggboi? Saw he bombed a 100-miler attempt and just checked out his channel, the daily vlog has not been daily for several months now. Is the end near? Or is the GREAT REBIRTH about to happen.
Seth finished 2nd in the Pikes Peak Ascent a couple of weeks ago.
The only time I ever developed a belly was when I was deep in RED-S. It was strange to me, however apparently it's pretty common. Wonder if he's got something like that going
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