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I believe that there are a few things that will help us lead a better life. One is to focus on having both a healthy mind and body. To achieve this, I try to read a good number of books and run several marathons each year.
Since I began writing blog posts in 2011, I have focused primarily on books and races as my main topics. More recently, I have converted some of these posts into narrated podcasts that can be easily enjoyed while running.
Episode 74: Book – Chris Zehetleitner, Runhundred
8th of December · 7 Minutes
The oldest 100-mile foot race takes place annually in California and is called Western States Endurance Run. The author has been selected to run even though he felt majorly unprepared for it. This makes for a compelling story about suffering and meaning.
ListenEpisode 73: Book – David Epstein, Range
7th of December · 33 Minutes
Epstein shows us how people with a wide range of interests and curiosity who find a profession matching their skillsets perfectly will produce better results and move humankind forward by citing many studies and telling entertaining anecdotes.
ListenEpisode 72: Book – Michael Easter, The Comfort Crisis
30th of November · 32 Minutes
Former Men’s Health author goes on a month-long trip to remote Alaska in order to find out why all of the comforts of modern life are in fact making us miserable. He returns and consults a huge amount of experts and studies to make a tight case for it.
ListenEpisode 71: What’s It Like to Donate Blood?
28th of November · 17 Minutes
An irrational fear of needles puncturing my skin has previously held me back from doing this small service to humankind. Now I have overcome it and am here to tell the story! Maybe it will motivate you to give blood, too?
ListenEpisode 70: New York City Marathon 2023: The Marathon of Marathons in the City of Cities
22nd of November · 63 Minutes
When you talk about marathon running, everyone asks “have you done New York?” But why should you? And is it better than Boston? This episode answers it all.
ListenEpisode 69: Book – Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
9th of October · 6 Minutes
Rarely does a book grab the attention of and inspire millions of people like this one has. Phrases like “Don’t panic!” or the frequent use of the number 42 are in the vocabulary of a certain large subset of humans. But what made the book successful?
ListenEpisode 68: Book – Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk
9th of October · 24 Minutes
One of the most accomplished, controversial, and interesting people who are currently alive on this planet. A biography written by one of the best biographers of the recent years. A recipe for success.
ListenEpisode 67: Erfurt & Kassel’s Double Marathon Weekend: A Runner’s Perspective
9th of October · 29 Minutes
It’s not often you get the chance to run two marathon races on two consecutive days. So when that happens, you need to grab it. But does the body agree to this seemingly stupid idea? Won’t the legs blow up and everything fall apart?
ListenEpisode 66: Book – Dr. Caroline Leaf, How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess
21st of September · 27 Minutes
This book feels like marketing for app subscriptions & Brain-ee dolls, yet offers unique parenting advice. What are those insights beyond 'spend more time with your kids'?
ListenEpisode 65: The Best Beginner’s GPS Sports Watch: COROS PACE 3 Review
20th of September · 10 Minutes
With the COROS PACE 3, the popular PACE 2 just got an update. What’s new, and is it worth getting it? How about comparable models from other brands, does it hold up?
ListenEpisode 64: Book – Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga, The Courage to Be Disliked
11th of September · 23 Minutes
Authors Kishimi and Koga use the ancient Greek dialogue form to explain Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler’s ideas on ‘individual psychology’, bridging cultures and time. Some radical ideas question the way we think and bring ideas of empowerment forward.
ListenEpisode 63: 2nd Place at a Hilly Half Marathon: Blankeneser Heldenlauf DERBE Edition
4th of September · 24 Minutes
An incredible result at a tough race. Listen to how I prepared, what I’ve learned, and most of all, how the race played out. It has been nailbitingly exciting to go through all the ups and downs before ending on a spectacular high. Running rules!
ListenEpisode 62: Book – Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness
31st of August · 28 Minutes
A Harvard professor of psychology explains in a funny and entertaining way how much we get wrong when we imagine our future emotional states. You have to derive your own conclusions from this, but it raises a lot of awareness for our weird brains.
ListenEpisode 61: Book – Jack Daniels, Daniels’ Running Formula
29th of August · 20 Minutes
One of the most well known books about running training. The author is a highly educated and successful running coach with a number-focused approach and lots of interesting and proven ideas to further the fitness levels of a huge variety of athletes.
ListenEpisode 60: Book – Greg McKeown, Effortless
3rd of August · 16 Minutes
The ”Essentialism” follow-up called “Effortless” advocates working smarter, prioritizing, and recovering adequately. Reading, learning, teaching all have high returns. Removing decisions and taking the direct route towards our goals helps.
ListenEpisode 59: Book – Kevin Kelly, Excellent Advice for Living
7th of July · 10 Minutes
Kevin Kelly, the WIRED magazine co-founder and longtime executive editor, put his two most popular blog posts into a small book full of byte-sized advice, ranging from short and sweet to funny to helpful and thought-provoking.
ListenEpisode 58: Lavaredo Ultra Trail 120K Race Report: As Beautiful As It Is Difficult
5th of July · 88 Minutes
This 120 kilometer foot race through the Dolomite mountains in Italy took everything I had in me. Find out why.
ListenEpisode 57: Book – Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
20th of June · 21 Minutes
A difficult one. Although it was hugely successful, I can’t find many positives about this self-indulgent autobiographical narration which shows no regard for the humans around the author. It made me want to learn more about classic philosophy, though.
Listen20th of June · 20 Minutes
What is optimism and why is it more crucial then ever today? This episode explores the big picture.
ListenEpisode 55: Book – Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson, Illuminatus! Leviathan
19th of June · 16 Minutes
After lots of build-up in the first and second book, this one promises a showdown. But the Zombie Nazis appear to be hallucinations in the end. And the sea monster Leviathan doesn’t do much except fall in love with the protagonist’s AI. Not worth it.
ListenEpisode 54: Book – Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson, Illuminatus! The Golden Apple
1st of June · 17 Minutes
As the second book of the trilogy, it doesn’t do much to further the storyline if you could even call it that. It reads like an LSD trip the authors had and that’s maybe even true. There are some slight hints at a sort of showdown coming up in next book.
ListenEpisode 53: Personal Running Coach: Is it Worth Starting Your Running Training with One?
9th of May · 27 Minutes
What to look for in a personal running coach, how to put training suggestions into context, compare the time-tested vs the modern approaches and have fun experimenting!
ListenEpisode 52: Book – Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson, Illuminatus! The Eye in the Pyramid
3rd of May · 25 Minutes
A highly confusing book. Combining politics, satire, science fiction, conspiracy theories, and a detective novel, you still never completely understand what’s going on. It is challenging your perception of reality and has rightfully become a cult classic.
ListenEpisode 51: What’s It like to Run the Boston Marathon?
30th of April · 45 Minutes
Listen to a runner’s detailed account of what it’s like to run the Boston Marathon: From the start line excitement to the Wellesley Scream Tunnel to the challenging Heartbreak Hills, and the finish line euphoria. Tips for runners included.
ListenEpisode 50: Book – Tim Urban – What’s Our Problem
11th of April · 46 Minutes
Author Tim Urban, who runs the popular comic blog “Wait But Why” has published a book about our current societal problems which took him six years to write, because the world changed so much during that time. An important read for everyone.
ListenEpisode 49: Book – Atul Gawande, The Checklist Manifesto
3rd of April · 11 Minutes
Complex tasks increase the likelihood of critical mistakes. Checklists are the remedy. 'The Checklist Manifesto' chronicles the journey of introducing checklists into critical fields, like medicine, to reduce errors and enhance communication.
ListenEpisode 48: Book – Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks
24th of March · 28 Minutes
This is a book that urges readers to be intentional about how they use their limited time on Earth, focusing on what truly matters to them and finding fulfillment in the time they have, rather than chasing endless productivity and success.
ListenEpisode 47: Book – Cal Newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You
21st of February · 18 Minutes
Don't follow your passion, it often leads to disappointment. Instead, master a valuable skill for more control. Successful people have a mission based on experience and knowledge. Deliberate practice and skill development create more opportunities.
ListenEpisode 46: Book – Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
20th of February · 27 Minutes
It’s a concise book of the self-help category, full with little bits of advice on how to view and interpret our current individual situations within modern society. With its profanity, it drives home its many actionable points in an easy-going way.
ListenEpisode 45: Book – Daniel Priestley, Scorecard Marketing
3rd of February · 14 Minutes
Learn how collecting data is crucial for sales success. Use an online Scorecard, a fun quiz, to gather information about interested customers non-intrusively. Target those customers in order to get cost-effective marketing results.
ListenEpisode 44: Book – Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way of Being
2nd of February · 20 Minutes
With aesthetically pleasing outer form, the content is thinly spread out over 400 pages and superficial/obvious at times. It’s lacking humor, but there are valuable insights and it makes you think. The book is worth reading for creative individuals.
ListenEpisode 43: Book – Al Ries, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
24th of January · 14 Minutes
This book tried to find unchanging laws of marketing, but it has failed and possibly not even worked during the period of its publication in 1993. Many of the laws have been proven incorrect and certain examples like Microsoft’s certain doom are laughable
ListenEpisode 42: Book – Ryan Holiday, Trust Me, I’m Lying
23rd of January · 16 Minutes
Ryan Holiday explains how entities abuse the news cycle by inserting false info disguised as facts. He details it from personal knowledge as an online marketer.
ListenEpisode 41: What I Have Planned For 2023 (Including a Fall of 2022 Recap)
13th of January · 28 Minutes
The year is over, a new one lies ahead. Time to reflect, analyze, improve, set goals and plans in motion. It’s my favorite time of the year and a little breather in between all the daily action.
ListenEpisode 40: Book – Christopher McDougall & Eric Orton, Born to Run 2
8th of January · 18 Minutes
The author focuses on training methods for minimalist runners. It includes interesting info and anecdotes from the first book, but could have been a blog post.
ListenEpisode 39: Book – David Goggins, Never Finished
23rd of December, 2022 · 18 Minutes
David Goggins, widely considered the toughest person alive, delves into his psychology in his second book. He discusses his ultra running roots, including the Leadville 100 and Moab 240, and emphasizes humility and service.
ListenEpisode 38: Book – Napoleon Hill, Think And Grow Rich
19th of December, 2022 · 27 Minutes
This book from 1937 is partly historical document, partly a self-help business book. It revolves around building a positive mindset for achieving success, here defined simply as getting rich through values such as desire, persistence, and determination.
ListenEpisode 37: Book – Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
25th of November, 2022 · 35 Minutes
The business book to rule all business books: published in 1989, it popularized terms and phrases such as synergy, thinking win-win, being proactive, or paradigm shifts. The twist is that the focus is divided between business and family life.
ListenEpisode 36: Book – Ross Edgley, The World’s Fittest Book
7th of November, 2022 · 14 Minutes
Ross Edgley is looking like one of the fittest people on the planet and that’s not a mask. From world records to traveling the world to researching what the world has to offer, this guy explains physical fitness well.
ListenEpisode 35: Questioning Everything at Templiers 104k Endurance Trail Festival
1st of November, 2022 · 33 Minutes
When something you automatically do makes you wonder why exactly that is the case, it can be a strong signal to do some more thinking about it. Maybe you’re on the right track, maybe not. Only one way to find out: go ahead and try.
ListenEpisode 34: Book – David Kushner, Masters of Doom
24th of October, 2022 · 6 Minutes
John Romero and John Carmack created the video games Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake together. It made them millions and left a huge cultural footprint. The two and their small team were hugely driven and passionate.
ListenEpisode 33: Summer 2022, Reflection → Courage, Recap and Outlook
18th of October, 2022 · 28 Minutes
This episode details my journey through summer of 2022, including updates on all the goals I set for myself, the rituals and intents I had built, the side projects I started, the new habit tracking, and also a lookout for the upcoming quarter.
ListenEpisode 32: Book – Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens
14th of October, 2022 · 47 Minutes
This book tells you everything you need to know about humankind’s evolutionary success. It’s not pretty and will mess with your worldview, but in a good way. It’s time to get realistic and understand how we arrived at this point in order to improve.
ListenEpisode 31: Going into Round Two: Cologne Marathon Sub-3
10th of October, 2022 · 21 Minutes
One of the most difficult challenges for an amateur runner is to break three hours in a marathon race. I came close once and decided to try again. This is the story of my second attempt, this time at Cologne Marathon.
ListenEpisode 30: Book – Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People
1st of October, 2022 · 19 Minutes
Written in 1936, this is the comprehensive guide to learning to behave in a way that makes other people respond more positively towards you. Yes, some people will make us angry, but showing that anger makes it worse, always. Bad title, great message.
ListenEpisode 29: Book – Derek Sivers, How to Live
5th of September, 2022 · 17 Minutes
This book is filled to the rim with smart ideas. There is a lot of deep inspiration for your own way of living and prioritizing things in these short chapters.
ListenEpisode 28: Book – Derek Sivers, Anything You Want
24th of August, 2022 · 8 Minutes
What is the common purpose of every company every founded? Provide people with some kind of value. Give them what they want or need. If that should change, the company must, too. You company is a playground, it can be made into anything you want it to be.
ListenEpisode 27: New York City: Manhattan Perimeter Ultramarathon
17th of August, 2022 · 24 Minutes
I went to New York City and one of the things I did while there was to run the whole perimeter of Manhattan. 55 kilometers or 34 miles in the sun showed me a lot of different things most tourists probably won’t get to see of the city.
ListenEpisode 26: Book – Richard P. Feynman, “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”
26th of July, 2022 · 8 Minutes
Nobel Prize winning physicist Feynman has lived are highly interesting and entertaining life. He saw opportunities for exploration and improvement and also just mischief everywhere and used them.
ListenEpisode 25: Fastest Known Time for Peter Huggett on Fehmarnumrundung
21st of July, 2022 · 22 Minutes
At age 75, just recently, my beloved father-in-law died. I ran a 75 kilometer ultra marathon to remember him and say goodbye.
ListenEpisode 24: Spring is Over, Summer is Here: Season Recap and Outlook
12th of July, 2022 · 23 Minutes
A lot has happened, sometimes to the point of overwhelm. But I’m working on it and here’s what I have learned regarding keeping all these habits, challenges, rituals, intents, goals, and of course, the Theme of the Season.
ListenEpisode 23: Book – Nicolas Cole, The Art and Business of Online Writing
7th of July, 2022 · 22 Minutes
How to write articles which people want to click and then read until the end? There’s a science to it and Nicolas Cole has it figured out. The question is, should you always follow that advice?
ListenEpisode 22: Quantified Teesche – An Expedition into the World of Tracking a Life
29th of June, 2022 · 19 Minutes
How would you go about that and what can you learn from tracking your life? I dive into what’s currently possible and what might be interesting to do in the future.
ListenEpisode 21: Book – James Clear, Atomic Habits
15th of June, 2022 · 22 Minutes
Who doesn’t secretly want to be healthy, strong, disciplined, and therefore happy? James Clear explains the human behavioral science behind it very clearly!
ListenEpisode 20: Book – Ed Winters, This is Vegan Propaganda
29th of May, 2022 · 41 Minutes
Are you curious about the role nutrition plays in the whole of society? The consequences of our actions on our health, ethics, the climate crisis? There’s a simple solution to it, and Ed Winters explains it all.
ListenEpisode 19: For the Record: Training for and Trying a Sub-3 Hour Marathon
17th of May, 2022 · 66 Minutes
Some people think that running is just the same every time. That’s not true, there’s lot of variation possibilities to it, for example, you can do speed training and go for a Sub-3 hour marathon. What that’s like, I’ll tell you in this episode.
ListenEpisode 18: Grüner Ring 200: Organizing and Supporting a 200 Kilometer Running Race
16th of May, 2022 · 35 Minutes
It’s a humongous task to run for 200 kilometers straight. But organizing an event of this sort also requires quite some effort. Here you can find out how something like this can go down and what’s it like to witness it first hand.
ListenEpisode 17: Book – Ward Farnsworth, The Practicing Stoic
13th of May, 2022 · 26 Minutes
A practical philosophy which has stood the test of time for well over 2000 years now, is Stoicism. In this book, all it’s helpful pieces of wisdom are neatly sorted by topic and explained in an easy way.
ListenEpisode 16: Book – Eric Jorgenson, The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
12th of May, 2022 · 16 Minutes
A collection of the words of advice and wisdom which successful investor Naval Ravikant has put out into the world. There are a few gems in here!
ListenEpisode 15: Book – Rou Reynolds, A Treatise on Possibility
11th of May, 2022 · 25 Minutes
We have maneuvered ourselves into a socioeconomic cul-de-sac and are facing lots of existential problems. Human behavior needs to change for us to make it through the next few hundred years, and Rou Reynolds explains it well.
ListenEpisode 14: New Quarter, Theme, Goals, Intents! (Spring 2022)
10th of May, 2022 · 26 Minutes
The first quarter of 2022 is history. I had made a bunch of plans for it, so it’s time for a review, and an outlook about what’s coming in this next quarter.
ListenEpisode 13: Book – Hans Rosling, Factfulness
9th of May, 2022 · 22 Minutes
The world is not as bad as we think and it’s improving in many regards. Rosling helps us understand our own biases in order to make our worldview more facts-based and therefore improve our decision making.
ListenEpisode 12: Book – Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
5th of May, 2022 · 12 Minutes
A psychiatrist who has spend three years in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau as a Jewish prisoner writes about the mental state and the meaning of life derived from the suffering
ListenEpisode 11: Book – Mike Monteiro, Ruined by Design
2nd of May, 2022 · 11 Minutes
The type of work used to create this modern world is called design. Everything which is broken is because of bad and unethical design decisions. We’re all responsible and this book helps us realize that we need to step up and be the change.
ListenEpisode 10: Educational Project: How to Become a Better Manager
29th of April, 2022 · 28 Minutes
Learning how to become a better manager is an exercise in trial and error for most people. But there are shortcuts, for example the brilliant book “The Making of a Manager” by Julie Zhou. I tried to make it more accessible and documented the process.
ListenEpisode 9: Book – Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money
28th of April, 2022 · 15 Minutes
It doesn’t have to be super tough to reach wealth and happiness in life. Morgan Housel gives us a lot of guidance on how to behave in order to feel and be content with our financial situation.
ListenEpisode 8: Book – Patrick Lange, Becoming Ironman
27th of April, 2022 · 4 Minutes
One of the best triathletes in the world has written an autobiography. After watching his career from the outside, it’s quite interesting to learn how it felt from the inside, meaning from his own perspective.
ListenEpisode 7: Book – Jared Beasley, In Search of Al Howie
27th of April, 2022 · 3 Minutes
Al Howie was a truly exceptional human being in many regards. His stand-out ability was long distance running and he defied what most people would think is humanly possible. But his life was tragic.
ListenEpisode 6: Book – Robert B. Cialdini, Influence
26th of April, 2022 · 20 Minutes
A book which offers a lot of knowledge about how we make our day-to-day decisions. It’s helpful to understand and always remember its seven core principles: Reciprocity, Liking, Social Proof, Authority, Scarcity, Commitment/Consistency, and Unity.
ListenEpisode 5: Announcement – New Book Out, The Story of my EU Marathon Runs
25th of April, 2022 · 3 Minutes
That’s right, I wrote a book! It’s about the 28.5 official marathon races I did in all capital cities of the European Union. And you can read it for free, or buy it.
ListenEpisode 4: Book – Matze Hielscher, Die Schule meines Lebens
25th of April, 2022 · 17 Minutes
One of the most successful German podcast hosts, Matze Hielscher, has compiled the knowledge and wisdom his many guests have shared with him over the years. Why not profit from that?
ListenEpisode 3: Book – Vicki Robin, Your Money or Your Life
22nd of April, 2022 · 20 Minutes
Your money or your life? It doesn’t have to be either or, if you play it wisely and listen to what Vicki Robin can teach you. This is a book summary containing her most impactful truth-bombs.
ListenEpisode 2: My Intentions For 2022
20th of April, 2022 · 18 Minutes
What to do with the time given to us? For the last few years, I have been making and then even following concrete plans. These are my plans for 2022, especially the first quarter of it.
Listen20th of April, 2022 · 30 Minutes
What an unusual year. For me it contained lots of highs and lows, and in this episode I'm going through all of them with a special emphasis of all the marathons I ran.
ListenEpisode 0: Teesche Podcast Trailer
11th of April, 2022 · 2 Minutes
I’ve started a podcast for everyone who wants to read my blog posts but can’t find the time for it. It’s about cultivating a healthy mind in a healthy body. Enjoy!
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