Ryan Burrell: 2:53 Marathon Debut, Houston 2026, Cramping Miles 23–25, and What's Next

Ryan Burrell ran 2:53:01 in his very first marathon at the 2026 Houston Marathon — one of the fastest marathon debuts in the Dallas running community in recent memory.-------------------------Sponsor: Rise Racing Co., Get 10% off, use code DFW, Register for the Panther City Ultra in Fort Worth,50k, 25k, 10k and 5k​April 4th, 2026Marion Sansom Park2501 Roberts Cut Off Rd,Fort Worth, TX 76114---------------------------But the story behind that time is what makes this episode unmissable. Ryan was a 4:23 miler in high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana — a state qualifier who burned out from overtraining without an aerobic base. He walked away from running for years. Then he moved to Dallas in 2021, got reinspired, linked up with coach Matt and the Sloth Running Club, and quietly built himself into one of the most exciting distance runners in DFW.In this episode, Chris Detzel sits down with Ryan to talk about:- His high school track career — 4:23 mile, state finalist, 4x800 relay- How overtraining without easy running derailed his college career  - The 4+ year running gap and what finally brought him back- Getting connected with DFW's run club scene (ZFT, Sloth RC, Velvet Hammer 5K)- Training for Houston — long runs, aerobic base building, and race strategy- The brutal final miles: cramping and stopping three times between miles 23–25- Crossing the finish line in 2:53:01 and what's next (Boston qualifier? You decide)If you're a runner in Dallas-Fort Worth, training for your first marathon, chasing a sub-3, or just love a great comeback story — this one's for you.🎙️ DFW Running Talk | Hosted by Chris Detzel📬 Newsletter: dfwrunningtalk.substack.com🏃 Community: DFW Running Group (11,000+ members on Facebook)Keywords: marathon debut, Houston Marathon 2026, Dallas running, DFW running, sub-3 marathon, marathon training, running comeback, Sloth Running Club, first marathon, running podcast