The Drop

The Megs ran the Falmouth Road Race with Asics while Thomas tapped into his culinary side with some hot dog ramen (sounds delicious). We also dive into the Nike Pegasus Plus 2, which features an all new Air Zoom unit in the forefoot.

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LAGOON PILLOWS
Sleep is training. Lagoon Pillow is built around your sleep position and preferences — so you wake up recovered and ready to run. We use them every night and you should too. Find your perfect pillow at lagoonsleep.com/believe

Taylor and Alex dig into multiple topics this week including their personal tendencies when it comes to Strava, thoughts on E-bikes, and wrap up with a conversation about the new Mount to Coast M1.
Guest: Jared Smith is Hoka's Senior Product Line Manager. He and Taylor talk about his history with Hoka, the current "technical" terrain lineup that includes the upcoming Tecton X 4, plus insight about the return of the Evo Speedgoat and more.
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Näak Nutrition: The Drop Listeners can get 15% off any Näak products by using code BITR15. Näak is a nutrition brand the leverages natural ingredients and research backed formulas to help athletes perform. They have a host of products like gels, drink, mixes, broths, bars, and recovery fuel. Their highest performance Boost line doubles down on the carbs for high-performance fuel that's also gut-friendly. Go to http://naak.com to explore and purchase.

We don't have a shoe to highlight this week, so we thought we'd give you our picks for the most overrated and underrated running shoes of 2026 (so far). Meg also gives her top 5 picks for race day shoes, which may surprise you. We also discuss the latest blood doping scandal in running and Thomas proposes a novel idea to catch them if you can. Plus- shout-out to It's-It ice cream sandwiches for giving Thomas core childhood memories.

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LMNT
Fall marathon training is in full swing, which means you need more salt than you think you do. Crisp and refreshing, all LMNT flavors deliver 1000 mg sodium, 200 mg potassium, and 60 mg magnesium. And if you're an insider, you can get the limited-edition Pink Lemonade or Lemonade Iced Tea. Get your free 8-count LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase: https://drinklmnt.com/thedrop

SWIFTWICK
Your feet are sweating with all those workouts, so treat them with the best pair of socks for training and race day. We use Swiftwick for all our races, which keep us cool and blister free. Pick up your pair and save 15% off your first purchase with code BELIEVE15: https://swiftwick.com/collections/believe

Long time trail reviewer, Sam Edgin, joins Alex and Taylor this week to talk about his experience at The Beast of Big Creek with Merrell...after they talk about coffee that is. Sam gives insight on the event, beta on an upcoming 2027 Merrell trail shoe, and much more.Näak Nutrition: The Drop Listeners can get 15% off any Näak products by using code BITR15. Näak is a nutrition brand the leverages natural ingredients and research backed formulas to help athletes perform. They have a host of products like gels, drink, mixes, broths, bars, and recovery fuel. Their highest performance Boost line doubles down on the carbs for high-performance fuel that's also gut-friendly. Go to http://naak.com to explore and purchase.Lagoon: Sleep is one of the most underrated training components. We've been fans of Lagoon for years and use their custom pillows nightly to support a great night of sleep and, of course, our running. Go to http://lagoonsleep.com/believe to take a quick quiz to find the best pillow for you. Get 15% off your purchase by using code BELIEVE

Turns out that Thomas doesn't like ranch dressing, which would get you excommunicated from Guy Fieri's cruise line in a matter of minutes. No worries, you can head over to Estes Park and hang with him and Taylor as they take on the trails in the upcoming Hoka Tecton X 4, improved in all the right places over the last version. Congrats again to all our Summer GRIT participants, and to the winner Connor Bessell who racked up a marathon a day!

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

LAGOON PILLOWS
Sleep is training. Lagoon Pillow is built around your sleep position and preferences — so you wake up recovered and ready to run. We use them every night and you should too. Find your perfect pillow at lagoonsleep.com/believe