Story Time with David Katz (Owner, Finish Line Road Race Technicians)

In this week's episode the guys have on the one and only David Katz! The founder and owner of Finish Line Road Race Technicians, David is one of the world's foremost experts on the technical side of road racing. He has not just measured marathon courses and served as an official for world-class events such as the Olympic Trials, Olympic Games, and Eliud Kipchoge's Breaking 2, but also helped to create modern road race standards by serving on the original AAU Standards Committee in the early days of our sport and currently upholds those standards by serving as the chairperson of the Road Running Technical Council (among other roles in the sport at both the national and international levels).

David has been around the sport of road racing since its infancy--and one might even say he, alongside road racing titan Ted Corbitt, played a role in birthing the sport in its modern form--and he pulls from his deep well of knowledge to regale us with stories from re-measuring the New York City Marathon course after Alberto Salazar's 1981 World Best (with an asterisk . . . ) to how the Museum of Tomorrow ended up on the marathon course at the Rio Olympics. The self-proclaimed "poster child for running nerds," David didn't disappoint, explaining the "why" behind all his hard work and meticulous attention to detail in words so profound that Tony declares they should be "the oath" for people who work in  operations at marathons.

If you have ever wanted to know what goes into designing the course for an Olympic Marathon, the difference between the "shortest possible route" on the course and the "prudent route," or just want a deep history lesson on the history and standards of the sport of road running delivered in a charming and non-nonsense New York accent, this episode is a must-listen! And for those who stick around long enough at the episode's end, there's a special Easter egg where you'll learn that David's taste in bikes matches Tony's taste in cars.

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Thanks to David Katz for being such an interesting and insightful guest, and thanks as always to all of our loyal Early Risers for listening. Time to get some rest, and we'll catch you bright and early on the next episode of Early Call Time!

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