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FRC Freedom Running Club (FRC) provides personalized, evidence-based coaching for runners of all levels.

Our mission is to empower athletes to safely achieve their goals through proven, customized training.

Good luck to everyone taking on the Chicago Marathon! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️💨26.2 miles through one of the greatest cities in the worl...
10/10/2026

Good luck to everyone taking on the Chicago Marathon! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️💨

26.2 miles through one of the greatest cities in the world and one of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors. 🌎🏅

Trust your training. Stick to your plan. Take in the crowds. Soak up every mile and most importantly, enjoy the experience!

You’ve worked too hard and come too far not to have some fun out there. 🔥

Whether you’re chasing a PR, your first marathon or simply looking to experience Chicago, go make some memories!

🎉 GOOD LUCK, RUNNERS! 🎉



but make it from FRC
Good luck to everyone taking on the Chicago Marathon! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️🔥

From all of us at Freedom Running Club, we’re cheering you on as you take on 26.2 miles through the streets of Chicago and one of the world’s greatest marathons! 🌎🏅

Trust the training. Trust the plan. Trust yourself.

Whether you’re chasing a PR, running your first marathon or simply soaking in the experience, you’ve earned the right to be out there.

Take in the crowds. Enjoy the energy. Make some memories. And when it gets tough, remember just how much work went into getting you to that starting line.

Go have a great race, Chicago! 🎉

Good luck, runners! 👊

Freedom Running Club
Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.

10/09/2026

🏙️ Road to PB&J/Chicago Marathon Day 37 – Race Morning in Chicago

RACE MORNING IS HERE! 🏙️🏃‍♂️🏁

Now it’s time to put all that preparation to work. Here’s what to expect when getting to the Chicago Marathon start:

🚆 Public transportation

Chicago’s trains and buses will be running normally, making public transportation an easy way to get to the race.

Just make sure you get off at the stop for your assigned wave. Getting off at the wrong stop can mean unnecessary extra walking before the race!

🛂 Security

Last year, security entry was very quick and it’s a short walk from the train stations.

One important reminder: don’t fill your water bottles before going through security. You’ll likely have to dump the water out.

You can refill them after security, and you can technically have your powders already in the bottles as long as there is no liquid. Personally, I’d just wait and add everything after you get through security to keep things simple.

Once you’re through security, you’ll have access to:

🎒 Gear check
🏃 Your wave area
🚻 Bathrooms

Use these in whatever order works best for your race-morning routine.

⏰ Don’t be late for your wave!

You need to be in your assigned wave area by the required time. If you’re late, you may be moved to the back of your wave or even the front of the next wave.

There’s no reason to add that stress to race morning, so give yourself plenty of time to get there, get through security and settle in.

You’ve made it to Chicago. You’ve done the training. You’ve made the plan.

Now go have a GREAT RACE! 🔥🏃‍♂️🏁

👉 Training Gaps Assessment: https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a

📧 FRC Performance Forum: [email protected]

“Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.”

📸 IG/Facebook: freedom running club
🎥 TikTok/YouTube:
🏃 Strava: Freedom Running Club

10/08/2026

🏙️ Road to PB&J/Chicago Marathon Day 36 – The Day Before the Race

The day before the Chicago Marathon is here! 🏙️🏃‍♂️

The biggest recommendation? Keep it simple.

😴 Sleep in as long as you reasonably can before whatever shakeout, walk or routine you normally do the day before a race. This is likely going to be the best rest you get during race weekend, so take advantage of it!

🍳 After that, get a good, high-carb breakfast to continue topping off your stores.

🚆 Then, if practical, take the route you’ll use tomorrow morning.

Know exactly:
✅ Where you’ll walk
✅ Which train or transportation you’ll take
✅ Where you need to go
✅ What the security entrance looks like

You don’t need to turn this into a sightseeing adventure. If you’re staying farther away and can’t reasonably walk the entire route, at least go to the security entrance where you’ll be entering the park so you know what to expect tomorrow morning.

Then get back to your hotel or wherever you’re staying.

🍝 Eat lunch
😴 Take as much of a nap as you can
🍚 Get your high-carb dinner in
🛏️ Get to bed as early as possible

And then...

RACE DAY IS TOMORROW! 🔥🏃‍♂️🏁

You’ve done the training. You’ve done the preparation. Now it’s time to get some rest and get ready to execute the plan.

👉 Training Gaps Assessment: https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a

📧 FRC Performance Forum: [email protected]

“Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.”

📸 IG/Facebook: freedom running club
🎥 TikTok/YouTube:
🏃 Strava: Freedom Running Club

10/07/2026

🏙️ Road to PB&J/Chicago Marathon Day 35 – Carb Loading Starts Before Race Day

When should you start carb loading for a marathon?

The science suggests you can see benefits from up to 3 days of carb loading before the race, so don’t wait until Saturday night to suddenly try to cram in a huge amount of carbohydrates. 🍝🏃‍♂️

And one of the easiest ways to make this work is to think beyond your meals.

Instead of trying to make every meal enormous, have easy carb-heavy snacks available throughout the day:

🥯 Mini bagels
🍌 Bananas
🍇 Dried fruit
🥣 Granola bars
🥨 Other easy-to-digest carb sources you already know work for you

Having these available makes it much easier to consistently get more carbohydrates in without feeling like you’re constantly eating giant meals.

You can even drink some of your carbohydrates. We’ve seen runners add things like maple syrup to their water bottles to increase their carbohydrate intake. Just make sure you’ve practiced whatever approach you use before race week!

This is also a good time to think about electrolytes and hydration. As carbohydrate intake increases, keeping up with fluids makes sense because carbohydrates are stored alongside water in the body.

So during these final few days:

🍚 Increase your carbohydrates
🥤 Stay on top of hydration
🧂 Keep electrolytes in the plan
🍌 Use easy snacks to fill the gaps
🚫 Don’t experiment with something completely new on race week

The goal isn’t to spend three days feeling stuffed. It’s to consistently build up your carbohydrate stores while keeping your stomach happy and your hydration on track.

Three days out, the marathon is getting VERY close! 🏙️🏃‍♂️

👉 Training Gaps Assessment: https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a

📧 FRC Performance Forum: [email protected]

“Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.”

📸 IG/Facebook: freedom running club
🎥 TikTok/YouTube:
🏃 Strava: Freedom Running Club

10/06/2026

🏙️ Road to PB&J/Chicago Marathon Day 34 – What to Do After the Race

You finished the Chicago Marathon. Now what? 🏃‍♂️🏙️

One of the great things about running Chicago is that you don’t have to immediately head home after the race. If you have a few extra days, there is A LOT to do!

🇮🇹 Italian-American Heritage Events

The day after the marathon, Monday, Oct. 12, Chicago’s Italian-American community will be celebrating with its annual Columbus Day festivities, including the parade starting around 12:30 PM. It’s a fun way to experience another part of Chicago after you’ve finished the race. 🇮🇹

🏒 Go See a Blackhawks Game

If you’re staying through Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Chicago Blackhawks have a home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. What better way to spend the evening after running a marathon than watching some hockey? 🏒

🍕 Explore Chicago’s Food Scene

Chicago is known for its food, and this is one area where I’m not going to give you a specific recommendation.

Why? Because everyone has different food preferences!

Whether you’re looking for pizza, Italian food, burgers, something more upscale or something completely different, Chicago has plenty of options. Go find something YOU want to try!

🏛️ See Some of the City

Depending on what you’re interested in, there are plenty of other things to check out:

🎨 Art Institute of Chicago
🌊 Navy Pier
🦖 Field Museum
🏙️ And plenty more throughout the city

Just remember that your legs have been through a marathon. 😂 You don’t have to turn your post-race sightseeing into another 20-mile day.

Chicago is a great marathon destination because you can make the trip about much more than just the race. Get the marathon done, recover, enjoy the city and make a vacation out of it!

👉 Training Gaps Assessment: https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a

📧 FRC Performance Forum: [email protected]

“Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.”

📸 IG/Facebook: freedom running club
🎥 TikTok/YouTube:
🏃 Strava: Freedom Running Club

10/05/2026

Before → With FRC: Bryanna Rivers 🏃‍♀️🎓

Bryanna Rivers was already one of the top young runners in Florida when she joined Freedom Running Club.

While at Wharton High School near Tampa, Bryanna had earned multiple regional championships and state medals, including as a freshman. But after that freshman season, the PRs stopped coming. Injuries became a constant issue, and she found herself stuck on a plateau.

When Bryanna joined FRC as a junior, the goal wasn’t simply to train harder. It was to safely improve her fitness, address the training gaps, and find a way to get her progressing again.

And she did exactly that.

During her two seasons with us, Bryanna returned to PRing and continued adding to her collection of state-level accomplishments.

🏃‍♀️ 800m: 2:16 → 2:10
🏃‍♀️ 1600m: 5:16 → 5:04
🏃‍♀️ 400m: 1:01.46 → 56.91

Her biggest breakthrough came at the Florida 4A State Championships, where she ran a 2:10 PR in the 800m while finishing state runner-up. 🥈

She also added more state medals during her two seasons with FRC and ultimately earned a full-ride scholarship to compete at Division I UMass Amherst! 🎓🔥

Bryanna’s story is a great reminder that a plateau doesn’t necessarily mean an athlete has reached their limit. Sometimes it means the training needs to change.

Finding the right balance between fitness development, intensity, recovery and injury prevention can give an athlete the opportunity to start progressing again.

Great job, Bryanna! We’re incredibly proud of everything you accomplished and excited to see what comes next at UMass Amherst! 🔥

Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.

Want to find your training gaps and see where you can improve?

👉 https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a

📧 Email [email protected] for more information about the FRC Performance Forum.

IG/Facebook: freedom running club
TikTok/YouTube:
Strava: Freedom Running Club

10/04/2026

🥪🏙️ Road to PB&J/Chicago Marathon Day 33 – Build Your Race Day Checklist Early

This is one subject I ALWAYS include in these race-week videos: create your pre-race checklist early! 📝🏃‍♂️

And with Chicago, this is even more important because most runners will be traveling to the race.

You want to know you have everything you need before you leave for Chicago, not the night before the marathon when you’re already stressed and trying to remember what you forgot.

I personally use the Notes app on my phone and create a race-day checklist. As I pack each item into my race bag, I check it off.

And I actually make the race bag itself the final item on my checklist. That way, I know everything I need is inside before I leave for the start line.

Think about everything you’ll need:

👟 Shoes
🧦 Socks
👕 Race outfit
🥤 Hydration
🍌 Fuel
🧂 Sodium
🧥 Extra throwaway layers
🎧 Headphones
⌚ Watch + charger
📱 Phone
🩹 Anything you personally need

The biggest benefit of doing this EARLY is that it gives you time to realize you’re missing something.

Forgot your favorite fuel? You still have time to buy it.

Need extra throwaway layers for the start? You have time to find them.

Something missing from your race-day setup? Fix it BEFORE race morning.

And once everything is checked off, you’ve removed one more thing from your mind.

That means less stress, better sleep and a much easier race morning.

Don’t wait until Saturday night to figure out what you need Sunday morning. Build the checklist now, check things off as you go and make your race bag the final box to check. ✅

👉 Training Gaps Assessment: https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a

📧 FRC Performance Forum: [email protected]

“Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.”

📸 IG/Facebook: freedom running club
🎥 TikTok/YouTube:
🏃 Strava: Freedom Running Club

FRC | Study Breakdown / Evidence Review What were marathoners actually fueling with during the Seville Marathon?We often...
10/03/2026

FRC | Study Breakdown / Evidence Review
What were marathoners actually fueling with during the Seville Marathon?
We often talk about carbohydrate, fluids, sodium and caffeine recommendations. But what happens when we look at what runners actually consumed during a marathon?
This study examined 160 runners from the 2022 Seville Marathon and compared their nutrition practices with finishing time.
-Carbohydrates: Runners averaged just 35 ± 17 g/hour, well below the 60–90 g/hour recommendations discussed in the paper. Carbohydrate intake showed the clearest relationship with performance, with runners in the study’s 30–60 g/hour category more likely to finish under 180 minutes.
-Fluids: Average intake was 466 ± 279 mL/hour, around the lower end of the guideline range. Interestingly, lower body-weight-relative fluid intake was associated with a greater likelihood of finishing under 180 minutes. That does not mean drinking less is better. It highlights why hydration needs to be individualized rather than using one number for everyone.
-Sodium: Average intake was 192 ± 150 mg/hour, below the 300–600 mg/hour guideline referenced in the paper. However, sodium intake was not significantly associated with finishing time.

📚 Study: Nutritional Intake and Timing of Marathon Runners: Influence of Athlete’s Characteristics and Fueling Practices on Finishing Time
Published: March 16, 2025
Full text: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11911277/
PMCID: PMC11911277
🎥 Want the full breakdown? Watch the FRC | Study Breakdown / Evidence Reviewplaylist pinned to our profile for the complete breakdown of this study plus other research we’ve covered.
🔎 Training Gaps Assessment: https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a
Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.

10/02/2026

FRC | Study Breakdown / Evidence Review #19
Could broccoli sprouts change how we use lactate during exercise?
Glucosinolate-rich broccoli sprouts (GRS) have attracted attention because compounds derived from glucosinolates, including sulforaphane, may influence antioxidant defenses and exercise metabolism.
-Lower lactate: After the GRS condition, participants had significantly lower blood lactate during submaximal exercise. 
-Performance: Time to exhaustion during the post-test increased significantly in the GRS condition, while VO₂max did not significantly change.
-But here’s the interesting part: The researchers expected improved mitochondrial capacity might explain the lower lactate. However, mitochondrial respiration and citrate synthase activity did not significantly increase.
Instead, the authors proposed that GRS may have altered lactate metabolism, potentially increasing the conversion of lactate back to pyruvate. That pyruvate could then be available for oxidation in the mitochondria.
The authors also observed changes consistent with less reliance on glycogen, but this mechanism remains a hypothesis, not something this study definitively established.
GRS was also associated with lower markers of oxidative stress and substantially less time spent in the hypoglycemic range during the training week.
This was only 9 people and one 7-day intervention. The authors specifically called for additional research to determine the mechanisms behind these findings.
What it does provide is an interesting human trial showing that GRS supplementation was associated with lower lactate accumulation, improved time to exhaustion and changes in oxidative stress markers, while raising some fascinating questions about how lactate is being utilized.
📚 Study: Glucosinolate-rich broccoli sprouts protect against oxidative stress and improve adaptations to intense exercise training
Authors: M. Flockhart et al.
Published: September 3, 2023
Full text: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10493800/
PMC: PMC10493800

10/01/2026

🏙️ Road to PB&J/Chicago Marathon Day 32 – Where to Shakeout Run in Chicago

Looking for a place to get your Chicago Marathon shakeout run in? 🏃‍♂️🏙️

There is one location I really love, especially if you’re staying anywhere near Lake Michigan: the lakefront running path.

If you can see the lake, just head in that direction and you’ll find it! The path runs north and south along the lake, giving you plenty of options to get in a short shakeout while also taking in some incredible Chicago views. 🌊🏃‍♀️

Just be prepared to see A LOT of runners doing the exact same thing. 😂 It’s a very popular place to run, especially during marathon weekend, and it’s also a great way to see the city.

Another option is Millennium Park, home of the famous Chicago Bean and located right by the marathon’s start and finish area.

The downside? It’s not a particularly large area and there will be even MORE people around race weekend.

If you choose Millennium Park, expect your shakeout to be short, slow and crowded. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially if your goal is simply to get your legs moving and enjoy the atmosphere!

My preference is the lakefront path if you have access to it. Keep the shakeout easy, enjoy the scenery and remember: this run is about loosening up, not getting a workout in.

Chicago Marathon weekend is getting close! 🏙️🏃‍♂️

👉 Training Gaps Assessment: https://go.freedomrunningclub.com/apply-a

📧 FRC Performance Forum: [email protected]

“Empowering runners to safely achieve their goals with proven, customized methods.”

📸 IG/Facebook: freedom running club
🎥 TikTok/YouTube:
🏃 Strava: Freedom Running Club

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