Top 5 Podcast Episodes of 2024

‍The Full Circle Podcast officially launched in January 2024.  While our blog has been going strong with weekly articles for almost a decade now, media preferences have shifted over the last several years, and we recognized that it was time to publish our content in more than one medium.

We published an introductory episode and then followed it up with 67 full episodes over the course of 2024.  Some of the episodes really resonated with listeners, so we decided to recap the Top 5 Podcast Episodes of the year.

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#1 - How to Train for a Sprint Triathlon

The number one podcast episode of the year was - BY FAR - Episode 034: How to Train for a Sprint Triathlon.  This episode has more than twice the number of downloads of any other episode that we’ve produced this year.

As the episode’s title indicates, this episode dives into the details of how to get started with training for a Sprint Triathlon.  At face value, triathlon can definitely be an intimidating sport, especially for those who are new to it and/or for those who haven’t ever embarked on a journey to train for an endurance event before.  However, as this episode details, getting involved with triathlon and multisport doesn’t have to be a scary proposition.  By giving yourself enough time to prepare, thoughtfully considering each stage and element of the race, and being consistent in training, anyone can be prepared to tackle a Sprint Triathlon.

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#2 - Don’t Pull Up on Your Bicycle Pedals

We knew that producing an episode about not pulling up on bicycle pedals would likely catch people’s attention because “Push down, pull up” is such common advice doled out to cyclists, both by coaches and fellow cyclists alike.  So, we are not surprised that Episode 019: Don’t Pull Up on Your Bicycle Pedals was our second most popular podcast episode this year.

Unfortunately, “Push down, pull up” is poor advice.  This episode dives into why, and provides alternative ways to approach pedaling mechanics that will serve cyclists and multisport athletes well.

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#3 - How Much Does it Cost to Train for a Marathon?

We produced a series of four episodes that dove into the financial cost of training for four of the most common long-course endurance events: a marathon, a half marathon, an IRONMAN, and an IRONMAN 70.3.  Episode 045: How Much Does it Cost to Train for a Marathon? was our most popular of these four episodes, and it was our third most popular episode of the entire year.

When asked the question “How much does it cost to train for a marathon?”, most athletes probably can’t give an accurate answer.  This is most likely because they do not know how much it costs, even if they’ve trained for one.  Or, they might be afraid to face how much it actually costs.  However, hiding from this reality isn’t going to ever do anyone any good, and the financial cost of training for a marathon is something that all athletes should be aware of if they set their sights on one so they can make the best choices possible for themselves over the course of their training journey.  This episode dives into all of the costs associated with training for a marathon, from race registration, to gear, to fueling and hydration, and more.  

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#4 - Are Morning or Evening Workouts Better?

Is it best to complete workouts in the morning or in the evening?  This is a question that has been asked (and debated!) by athletes and coaches alike as long as we’ve been involved with endurance sports.

Episode 035: Are Morning or Evening Workouts Better? explores our observations about which time of day is best for workouts gleaned from working with athletes for more than a decade.  While it’s indisputable that everyone has a slightly different circadian clock (and therefore some people are wired as morning “larks” while others are wired as night “owls”), there is a consistent trend that we’ve observed that indicates which time of day might be best for athletes to complete workouts at.

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#5 - Now Impacts Later

Rounding out the Top 5 Podcast Episodes of 2024 is our second-ever episode!  Episode 002: Now Impacts Later explains how what training we do in the present impacts what we will be able to do training-wise in the future.  It’s not uncommon for athletes to focus on what they are doing (or not doing) now and to lose sight of how profoundly these decisions impact their training as a whole over the long-term.  The impacts that these choices have can be either positive or negative, so it’s important for athletes to consider the future even as they navigate their day-to-day choices about workouts.

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The Bottom Line

Is there a topic you would like us to cover on The Full Circle Podcast in 2025? Send us an email at Hello@FullCircleEndurance.com to share your suggestions! Sharing the podcast and any episodes that resonate with you helps us accomplish our mission of getting good information to more endurance athletes (plus the podcast player algorithms really take sharing and episode downloads into account when they recommend episodes to potential new listeners). Thank you for listening, and we look forward to producing new and interesting episodes throughout the coming year!