#208 Denmark's Fastest Marathoner: Jacob Simonsen's 2:07 Breakthrough

<p>Get 20% off a Strava annual subscription with code KRISTIAN</p><p><br></p><p>Save on FlexBeam using code WARWICKRUNS or this link: https://rechargehealthas.sjv.io/55GAPb</p><p><br></p><p>Kristian sits down with Jacob Simonsen, the Danish national record holder in the marathon with a 2:07 personal best, for a deep dive into smart training, missing the Olympics by one minute, and bouncing back to break a national record weeks later.</p><p><br></p><p>Jacob shares how becoming a father changed his approach to training, treating running more like a job while also learning to reschedule sessions instead of pushing through fatigue. He walks through the years long climb from his marathon debut to a 2:07, the heartbreak of narrowly missing direct Olympic qualification, and how he turned that disappointment into a national record breaking performance in Berlin weeks later. The conversation goes deep into his actual training: double threshold sessions, weekly mileage around 190k, and why building a strong aerobic base matters at every distance. He closes with his goal of breaking the one hour half marathon barrier at the World Championships in Copenhagen.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode:</p><p>- Balancing elite training with being a parent</p><p>- How having kids changed his mentality around training</p><p>- The years long climb to a 2:07 marathon personal best</p><p>- Narrowly missing direct Olympic qualification by one minute</p><p>- Turning disappointment into a national record in Berlin</p><p>- A full breakdown of his double threshold training sessions</p><p>- Why aerobic training matters at every distance, not just the marathon</p><p>- Recovering from a stress reaction and learning to manage recovery</p><p>- Bouncing back from a bike accident ahead of the World Championships</p><p>- His goal: breaking the one hour half marathon barrier in Copenhagen</p><p><br></p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 A preview: learning to run faster without training harder</p><p>00:52 Welcome and introducing Jacob Simonsen</p><p>01:53 Kristian&#39;s own week of feeling under the weather</p><p>03:46 Jumping into the conversation with Jacob</p><p>04:11 Balancing elite training with being a parent</p><p>05:35 How becoming a dad changed his training mentality</p><p>19:30 What his coach and team have brought to his career</p><p>27:17 Respect for the marathon distance after his debut</p><p>28:00 Finally cracking the code on handling more volume</p><p>29:03 Chasing direct Olympic qualification and coming up short</p><p>31:32 The disappointment of missing the cut by one minute</p><p>32:23 Turning that setback into a national record in Berlin</p><p>46:59 Increasing mileage safely and staying strong enough to handle it</p><p>48:53 Learning when to push through and when to back off</p><p>51:22 Building mileage and finding his current training ceiling</p><p>54:42 The philosophy behind double threshold training</p><p>58:40 Why aerobic training matters at every distance</p><p>59:36 A full breakdown of his current training week</p><p>1:00:35 What his double threshold sessions actually look like</p><p>2:03:24 The importance of high volume in a marathon block</p><p>2:13:49 His next goal: breaking sub one hour in the half marathon</p><p>2:14:41 Closing thoughts and good luck in Copenhagen</p><p><br></p><p>Jacob on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacobssimonsen/</p><p><br></p><p>Start your free Musicbed trial: https://fm.pxf.io/kristianwarwick</p><p><br></p><p>Full episodes + the Boston 2025 documentary: https://www.youtube.com/@Warwickruns</p><p>Follow my training journey on Instagram: @warwick.runs</p><p>Music from Musicbed: MB01XPYH8ZYENVAMB0133EV2TCQFZY</p>