James Milner on His NYC Marathon Debut, Liverpool’s Workouts & the Premier League’s Fittest Players

From LetsRun.com's Track Talk: The Home of Running and Track and Field LetsRun.com

James Milner, the Premier League's all-time appearance record holder with 658 games, joins Jonathan Gault ahead of his marathon debut at the TCS New York City Marathon. Milner details his transition from footballer to distance runner, revealing he used AI to build his training plan and topped out at 32 kilometers in preparation.

The conversation dives into the fitness culture at Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp, including the famous lactate threshold test Milner never lost. He also opens up about a knee operation two years ago that left him unable to lift his foot for six months, an injury that makes simply finishing the marathon meaningful. Milner is running for the James Milner Foundation, which has raised over £1.3 million for causes including NSPCC and Help for Heroes.

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LINKS

Video of talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UrnjHEA3sU

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro
01:52 Marathon Training and Preparation
04:20 Race Strategy and the Knee Injury That Almost Ended It All
05:45 Milner's Athletics Background
07:37 The Fittest Players in Football
09:08 Inside Liverpool's Pre-Season and the Famous Lactate Test
11:54 Staying Fit as an Aging Footballer
13:15 Fueling in Football vs. Marathon Running
16:44 Life After Football and the NYC Marathon
18:12 The James Milner Foundation
19:31 Man City vs. Brighton Prediction
21:36 Outro

CONTACT

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ABOUT THE LETSRUN.COM PODCAST

Since 2000, LetsRun.com has been the independent home of elite running. Described by the New York Times as the "influential website that serves as something of a superego for American running," the podcast is the weekly deep dive into the world of track and field and elite distance running.

The show is hosted by LetsRun.com co-founders Weldon Johnson, a 2-time Team USA member, and Robert Johnson, a former Cornell coach who helped pace the marathon world record, along with award-winning senior writer Jonathan Gault. Together they move beyond PR headlines to provide insider reporting and unfiltered debate serious fans rely on.