The Bathroom Break | Vol 3 (For Dale!)
Take a seat, we have a newsletter name!
Fletch here, checking in for volume 3 (for Dale).
The newsletter has a name! Thank you to everyone who suggested a name. We received far more suggestions than anticipated (almost 50). It made the job of choosing a name difficult but we had a lot of fun discussing and debating. There may be a small debate still on who came up with the name "The Bathroom Break". We are sorry that it didn't come down to a Instagram vote in the end as we got pretty busy around the Chicago Marathon. But if you want to hear how we did decide be sure to check out the end of episode 262 where we talked about it with a PodFam OG, Maurice the Marathon Panda.
Let’s fill The Bathroom Break with stories from our PodFam. Please reach out to us with ideas as we want to hear from you!!!
Upcoming LIVE Recording this Sunday!
Who's running the New England Half Marathon in Concord, New Hampshire this weekend? We will be there just outside the finish line but this time it's a little different. We will be recording a LIVE Stream not just to our YouTube page, but Millennium Running's Facebook page! If you're at the race and see us don't be shy. Walk right up to the podcast tent and pull up a chair, tell us how your race went and be part of the stream. For those of you who can't make it be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel HERE. We may even have a camera setup on the finish line for you to catch your friends who are running.
SIX STAR ERIKA'S CHICAGO MARATHON
I was lucky enough to corner Erika 1:1 to get her insights about Chicago. Erika, Tara, & Jen made their way to Chicago in hopes of connecting with PodFam, not to mention running a marathon :-). The ladies were happy to add Letty to their hotel as a late addition. They did not disappoint having met up with PodFam and new friends Maurice, Sammi, Anna & Dylan, Carey, Bridget, Kelly, Riley, and Michael & Kristin. Others were there but their paths never crossed with Randi, Dan, Hillary, Andrejs, Sarah, and many others in Chicago.
This was Erika’s 5th time running the Chicago Marathon so I was talking to an expert :-). The day was hot for all and it affected everyone in different ways. Erika went into to the start with one of her goals to possibly PR. The heat forced her to pivot from a planned pace to more of a party pace starting at the 6th mile. After mile 6, she decided to better soak in what the city had to offer with the views, the cheering spectators, and the funny signs! “I Am Holding a Sign” was one of her favorites - lol.
Erika noticed that the group of runners she was with wilted rather early and witnessed many folks walking earlier than normal. Her legs were tired having taken many steps the day before while walking through Chi-Town. It’s tough juggling the travel and desire to sightsee prior to a Marathon as many want to stay off their feet the day before. We all want to feel the buzz of the city and one hardly feels that sitting still. Erika said she was so proud of Tara and Jen for completing the marathon in these tough conditions. Jen actually set a PR so congrats to her for battling through the elements.
Erika is already looking at the calendar for next year’s 49th Chicago Marathon and then the significant 50th in 2028. Any PodFam want to join her?
EPISODE SPOTLIGHTS
A fun couple of weeks have passed by in the heart of our fall race season. We ended September bringing in our new friend Nick Davis. Nick shared his backstory of performing in multiple stage productions since his grade school years. Nick’s a professional dancer, fitness trainer, and has the distinction of being on the reality show “Trainer Games.” He ran his first marathon at the 2026 Boston Marathon with his father! Nick’s dad was running his 41st Boston Marathon in 2026 and we probably should have had him join Nick for this fun conversation.
Ep 259 - LIVE from Clarence DeMar Bib Pick Up Part 2
We started October with a final Clarence DeMar episode where many guests appeared during the live show. Peter (The first Clarence DeMar Race Director), Zach, Garrett, Paul, Jamie, Tim, and Yuki all shared fun stories. Tim’s story was especially touching with the presentation of a t-shirt to Yuki which has a significant backstory (Full 6 minute clip below). Best to listen to this one to capture everyone’s tales.
Ep 260 - Letty Lundquist | Marathon Journal
Then, a podcast favorite, Jaye Duncan, co-hosted with Eric in the pre & post shows with returning guest Letty Lundquist. Letty is featured in this month’s POD FAM SHOUT OUT where you can read the latest from her below. For newer listeners of the pod, you should check out Letty's first appearance on the pod a few years ago on episode 95.
We also welcomed a windy city visitor to the pod when Carey Pinkowski joined us to discuss the Chicago Marathon. Carey is the Race Director for the Chicago Marathon now in its 48th year. Carey shared stories behind the scenes of planning, setting up, and carrying out a successful, large scale race. The Chicago Marathon now has over 50,000 runners. Carey is our newest PodFam VIP who has an honorary street named after him with “Carey Pinkowski Drive”. If you watched the TV broadcast out of Chicago on race day morning, Carey was their first guest starting at 6 am.
Thank you to the entire Chicago Marathon team, especially Holly and Alex for the opportunity to have Carey on the podcast.
Ep 262 (AKA 26.2) - PodFam Recap of their 2026 Chicago Marathon Journeys
Eric, Erika, Tara, Maurice, and Randi all gathered for a discussion about their Chicago Marathon weekend. There are so many fun facts shared about everybody’s trip that you’ll want to listen to this one without me boring you with words. Spend an hour to catch up with the awesome crosstalk between this group.
POD FAM SHOUT OUT - LETTY LUNDQUIST
Letty Lundquist is staying very active with her podcast, writing in her “Marathon Journal”, and looking into a possible family move to Australia. Letty always wanted to be a journalist. She moved around when she was young speaking both German and Spanish. When she came to the US, she thought her English wasn’t cut out to become a journalist. But, fast forward through law school and now she is very comfortable with her English. So, she has launched marathonjournal.com where she is applying her writing passion about the sport she loves … running! So, congrats to Letty for persevering and following a dream of hers to write. She is well deserving of this newsletters Pod Fam Shout Out!!! Congrats Letty!
MONDAY NIGHT MEDIA MINUTE
Did you see last weeks BLOG all about the Girls on the Run Sneaker Soiree? We recap our experience at the event, what we learned and what we could potentially do in the future at more events like the Sneaker Soiree.
TILL NEXT TIME
We packed a lot of info into Vol 3 (For Dale) The Bathroom Break Newsletter. We hope everyone is enjoying this. Please share your comments and ideas with us. If your ideas stick, you might even get a call from me thus revealing who Fletch LaRue is! Soon we'll have newsletter giveaways to share too, maybe even by vol. 4. The hope is in 2026 we can do a newsletter giveaway every month. All you have to do is subscribe and you're entered to win every time. Stay tuned for more fun from Eric & Erika coming up on the pod in the next two weeks. Till then, wishing you miles of smiles!
- Fletch LaRue
Thank you to our Newsletter sponsor, DJ Darren Roy! If you want to sponsor the newsletter or the pod reach out to us on Instagram or our email [email protected]
