Today is Monday, July 28, 2025 and on this day in 1928, the Olympic Games in Amsterdam began. These were the third and final for Finnish legend Paavo Nurmi.

In this episode, we will discuss Nurmi's first two Olympic appearances and the 9 medals he won between them; learn about his fellow Finn, sometimes teammate, and frequent rival, Ville Ritola; and hear how Nurmi's final Olympic races played out.

This episode was edited and produced by my good friend and confidant, Rob Garcia. Check out his podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rob on the Run on Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or on Instagram as @robontherunpod.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, and share, then connect with me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram as well at @running_up_that_hillary⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or check out my website at runningupthathillary.com.

Bibliography:

• ⁠https://web.archive.org/web/20161020185226/http://www.urheilumuseo.fi/portals/47/paavonurmi2010/olympics.htm⁠

• ⁠https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031200/https://www.urheilumuseo.fi/Kieliversiot/The-Sports-Museum-of-Finland/Information/Exhibitions/Paavo-Nurmis-home⁠

• ⁠https://www.olympics.com/en/athletes/paavo-nurmi⁠

• ⁠https://kansallisbiografia.fi/kansallisbiografia/henkilo/1786⁠

• ⁠https://web.archive.org/web/20171201033437/https://www.urheilumuseo.fi/portals/47/PaavoNurmi2010/olympics2.htm⁠

• ⁠https://web.archive.org/web/20161020185514/http://www.urheilumuseo.fi/portals/47/paavonurmi2010/life.htm⁠

• ⁠https://web.archive.org/web/20200417040924/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/nu/paavo-nurmi-1.html⁠

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paavo-Nurmi

Today is Sunday, July 27, 2025 and on this day in 1952, Czechoslovakian runner Emil Zátopek became the first and only athlete in history to win the 5,000m, 10,000m, and marathon within one Olympic Games. In this episode we'll hear about Zátopek's first Olympic appearance 4 years earlier, discuss how his 1952 triumphs played out at the Olympics in Helsinki, and learn who also won gold just 10 minutes after Zátopek, cementing them both in the history books.

This episode was edited and produced by my good friend and confidant, Rob Garcia. Check out his podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rob on the Run on Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or on Instagram as @robontherunpod.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, and share, then connect with me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram as well at @running_up_that_hillary⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or check out my website at runningupthathillary.com.

Bibliography:

• ⁠https://www.on.com/en-gb/stories/the-legend-of-emil-zatopek-favoring-friendship-over-medals⁠

• ⁠https://jerusalem.czechcentres.cz/en/program/zatopkuv-beh-v-jeruzaleme⁠

• ⁠https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/a775206/emil-zatopek-the-man-who-changed-running/⁠

• ⁠https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emil-Zatopek⁠

• ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Z%C3%A1topek⁠

• ⁠https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2020/03/13/dana-zatopkova-double-olympic-javelin-champion-whose-love-affair/⁠

• ⁠https://web.archive.org/web/20200417172915/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1952/ATH/mens-marathon.html⁠

• ⁠https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/jun/22/50-olympic-stunning-moments-emil-zatopek⁠

• ⁠https://web.archive.org/web/20200417050738/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/za/emil-zatopek-1.html⁠

Today is Saturday, July 26, 2025 and on this day in 1913, legendary Canadian marathoner Gerard Cote was born in a small town outside of Montreal, Quebec.

In this episode, we will hear about Cote's humble beginnings, discuss some of the 264 races he ran during his 20-year career - including 4 Boston Marathon wins - and learn about the one course record he purposely refused to beat.

It's #SaltySaturday, which means that today's episode is sponsored by SaltStick. Their Fast Chews are, hands down, my favorite way to consume electrolytes mid-run.

At the time when this airs, I'll be about 8 miles into my Saturday long run and on my 2nd or 3rd packet of FastChews! Listeners of the pod can also save 20% off of your entire SaltStick purchase by using ⁠⁠⁠this link⁠⁠⁠.

This episode was edited and produced by my good friend and confidant, Rob Garcia. Check out his podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Rob on the Run on Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠, or on Instagram as @robontherunpod.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, and share, then connect with me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram as well at @running_up_that_hillary⁠⁠⁠⁠, or check out my website at runningupthathillary.com.

Bibliography:

• ⁠https://library.olympics.com/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/38981/the-olympic-marathon-david-e-martin-roger-w-h-gynn?_lg=en-GB⁠

• ⁠https://www.baa.org/sites/default/files/2025-06/BostonMarathonHistoricalResults.pdf⁠

• ⁠https://kids.kiddle.co/G%C3%A9rard_C%C3%B4t%C3%A9⁠

• ⁠https://runningmagazine.ca/uncategorized/feature-gerard-cote-canadas-greatest-boston-marathoner/⁠

• ⁠https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/66003⁠

• https://olympic.ca/team-canada/gerard-cote/

Today is Friday, July 25, 2025 and on this day in 1908, Wyndham Halswelle was the only man to run the Olympic 400m final; this remains the ONLY walkover in Olympic history.

In this episode, we will hear about the controversial events during the initial final, and learn why the other competitors refused to show up for the re-race.

This episode was edited and produced by my good friend and confidant, Rob Garcia. Check out his podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rob on the Run on Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or on Instagram as @robontherunpod.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, and share, then connect with me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram as well at @running_up_that_hillary⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or check out my website at runningupthathillary.com.

Bibliography:

• ⁠https://www.olympics.com/en/news/halswelle-wins-controversial-400m-gold⁠

• ⁠https://worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxiii-olympic-games-7153115/results/men/400-metres/heats/result⁠

• ⁠https://web.archive.org/web/20130116164837/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1908/1908.pdf#page=84⁠

• ⁠https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69104⁠

• ⁠https://web.archive.org/web/20061017210926/http://users.skynet.be/hermandw/olymp/spathm4.html#1908⁠

• https://www.olympedia.org/results/56313

Today is Thursday, July 24th, 2025 and on this day in 1908, 55 men ran the Olympic marathon, which was the first ever to measure 26.2 miles.

In today's episode, we'll discuss how exactly the race organizers settled on that seemingly random distance, hear about the controversial first place finish that ended in a DQ, and learn what odd assortments of refreshments were available at marathon aid stations in the early 20th century.

This episode was edited and produced by my good friend and confidant, Rob Garcia. Check out his podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rob on the Run on Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or on Instagram as @robontherunpod.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, and share, then connect with me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram as well at @running_up_that_hillary⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or check out my website at runningupthathillary.com.

Bibliography:

• https://web.archive.org/web/20130116164837/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1908/1908.pdf#page=84
• https://www.olympedia.org/results/56369
• https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/london-1908-a-short-notice-replacement-for-rome
• https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/images/olympics/records/previews/mepo2-1156-route-of-marathon-1908.jpg
• https://www.olympics.com/en/olympic-games/london-1908/results/athletics/marathon-men

Today is Tuesday, July 22, 2025, and on this day in 1952, Malvin "Marvelous Mal" Whitfield won his second consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 800 metres.

In this episode, we'll hear about Whitfield's time as a Tuskegee Airman who saw combat in both World War 2 and the Korean War, how he earned his 5 medals across 2 Olympic games (becoming the first active duty military servicemember to do so in US history), and the ways he gave back to the community in the decades following his retirement.

It's Tattoosday, which means that this episode is sponsored by MyRaceTatts, the awesome temporary tattoos with motivational phrases that I love to wear during races. Listeners of Today in Running History can get 15% of your purchase with ⁠this link⁠, or by using my code "HILLARY" at checkout.

This episode was edited and produced by my good friend and confidant, Rob Garcia. Check out his podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Rob on the Run on Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠, or on Instagram as @robontherunpod.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, and share, then connect with me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram as well at @running_up_that_hillary⁠⁠⁠⁠, or check out my website at runningupthathillary.com.

Bibliography:

• https://usopm.org/mal-whitfield/
• https://web.archive.org/web/20111004212958/http://www.whitfieldfoundation.org/about/index3.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20181003052718/http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=181
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/olympian-and-tuskegee-airman-who-survived-segregation-and-combat-is-buried-at-arlington/2016/06/08/33070662-2d93-11e6-9b37-42985f6a265c_story.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20101019085202/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15469
• https://web.archive.org/web/20151120061426/http://www.teamusa.org/News/2015/November/19/Three-Time-Olympic-Track-Champion-Mal-Whitfield-Dies-At-91
• https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/mal-marvelous-mal-whitfield
• https://lagoldeneagles.com/honors/hall-of-fame/mal-whitfield/87
• https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/whitfield-malvin-greston