Friday, June 23rd, 2006.
It seems like every day we're bombarded with more and more ways in which to communicate. Information and media can be transmitted faster than ever, and the world as we know it is starting to shrink.
The area of media that might be growing the fastest is podcasting. A podcast is an audio file that can be downloaded and played back at the listener's convenience, either via a computer or on a portable device like an MP3 player or iPod.
What started as something people used to discuss personal interests and hobbies has become mainstream as many television networks and Web sites use podcasts to compliment their programming.
Despite its growth, it's still a media that belongs to the people who sit in front of their computers at home and record their shows.
That's how it works for Steve Walker. From his home in Oxford, Mass., the 44-year-old runner records and distributes his show Phedippidations ( www.steverunner.com ), which is the No. 1 sports-related podcast out of the 920 that have received votes on the Web site Podcast Alley.
The show took its name from the legend of Phedippides, a Greek soldier who history suggests ran a marathon to Athens (26 miles) to announce the victory of the Greek army over the Persians. After allegedly announcing, "Rejoice! We conquer!", he dropped dead but spawned a mythical distance that people still try and conquer some 2,500 years later, albeit with much better training.
A runner and a podcast fan, Walker recorded his first show last July and is currently putting the final touches on his 50th episode.
"I run long every weekend, and I started listening to podcasts," he said. "I have an MP3 player that can record, so I stuck a microphone on. I figured I'd do it for a couple of weeks and that would be it."
Walker, who was a radio DJ in college and then a professional sound engineer, is the host, writer, producer and engineer of his show. He recorded his first show, which lasted about 15 minutes, and decided he enjoyed it so much he wanted to keep recording. His weekly podcast is available on Fridays so runners can download it and listen on their weekend long runs.
Now his show runs between 45 and 60 minutes, and what makes the show unique is that he records a large segment of it while on the run. Between trying to catch his breath, Walker verbalizes the thoughts — rambling diatribes, as he calls them — in his head and later edits the audio for broadcast.
Every show has a main topic, and along with his running commentary he adds some in studio thoughts, then breaks it up with some music before reading listener e-mails or talking about various running events. Walker has turned his home office into a "podcast studio" and spends about 14 hours per week working on each show.
Since he trains alone — except for the occasional encounters with legend Bill Rodgers, who lives in the next town over — he enjoys the podcast because it's more conversational, a chance to share his corner of the world with the runners worldwide that e-mail him or leave him voicemails every week.
"This is the way to have friends across the world and train with somebody," he said. "I look silly talking to myself (on the road) every weekend, but now it feels less lonely."
With the help of some listeners and friends, Walker is launching the first Phedippidations Worldwide Half-marathon on Oct. 8. The idea is to get runners to cover 13.1 miles either in training or in a race, then put all of the times together in a friendly, global competition.
Walker himself has been a runner for seven years and has 13 marathons to his credit, including five Boston Marathons. With a personal-best time of 4 hours, 23 minutes, 6 seconds, he's like the people for which he creates the podcast — mid-packers with jobs (he's a network analyst) and family lives who love to run and have a passion for training and racing.
He hopes to run the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon next year, and his current goal is to break four hours, perhaps at the Marine Corps Marathon in October. Though he has run Boston as a guest of the Civil Air Patrol, which marshals the race, like many runners he dreams of running an actual qualifying time that would get him into the race instead.
Until then, he will hit the road five times a week, and share his thoughts, wit and wisdom with the world.
"I'm still in denial about the podcast," he said of its popularity. "I do it because I love to run. I'm a runner first, and I just happen to do an Internet radio show."
- Mike's Knapp's marathon diary will run every Friday leading up to the Oct.
22 race in Chicago. He can be reached at
mknapp@scn1.com