CITIUS MAG Podcast with Chris Chavez

“The difference between confidence and arrogance is evidence. Boston gave me the ability to train like a 2:04 guy without it being irrational. That's the greatest thing this race could have done for me.”My guest for today's episode is Charles Hicks: the 24-year-old Nike athlete, Stanford alum and former NCAA Cross Country Champion who just ran 2:04:35 at the 2026 Boston Marathon. That's the second-fastest marathon ever run by an American and it's only his second marathon. He did the entire build on simulated altitude — not a single breath of real mountain air outside of a layover in Denver — which may make him the fastest sea-level-trained marathoner in history.Charles turned to the marathon two years ago, not at his own suggestion but at coach Jerry Schumacher's. He ran 13:09 for 5K in his first year as a pro, looked too comfortable in his long runs, and Jerry pulled him aside and said: I think this is the event. What followed was a nine-month racing gap, the Cherry Blossom 10-miler that validated everything, a 2:09 New York debut without a watch where he negative-split the course, and then Boston.In this conversation, Charles breaks down the full arc of how we got here — his COVID-era decision to just run 12 miles every single day in the Florida heat, his framework for thinking about volume as a decade-long project, the Nike prototype shoe, the famous heart rate mystery on Strava, and what it actually felt like to see 2:03 on the homestretch when he'd gone in thinking 2:06 would be a phenomenal day.He also tells us whether the track door is shut, what he thinks about Chicago versus New York for this fall, and what the difference is between confidence and arrogance.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Charles Hicks | @_charleshicksProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSXENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.WAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.OLIPOP: Raspberry Sherbet is a limited-edition, nostalgic new flavor that blends tangy raspberry with creamy vanilla. Every can of Olipop contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠

“No clocks on the course. I had average pace and current pace on my watch, nothing else. I popped into the finishing stadium and I thought the clock said 2:09. Then two seconds later I realized it said 2:05. I was like: what is going on today?”My guest for today's episode is Vincent Mauri. You're probably wondering: Who?! Well, we'll answer that question in the next hour.On Sunday morning in Toledo, Ohio, the 24-year-old biomedical engineering graduate and shoe store employee from Youngstown ran 2:05:53 in his marathon debut. He has no agent. No sponsor. There's no half marathon results on his resume. No coach. His last tracked competitive result was a 5K at the ACC Championships in 2025 where he got lapped by Ethan Strand and Gary Martin. And the race he ran on Sunday only existed because the one he originally signed up for got canceled three days out.Vinny trained himself, entirely, averaging 110 miles a week, two big sessions, a long Sunday run and a double threshold Tuesday, a lot of work on treadmills at Planet Fitness through a brutal Ohio winter and doing almost all of it in non-super shoes. He built his training philosophy from fragments of five different college coaches, leaned heavily on weight training and fueling discipline that had broken him in college.On race day, ran a race with no clocks, no pace group, no rabbit, and no idea he was running 2:05 until the finishing stadium clock told him so. Vinny walks through the entire arc from his time at Arizona State and Notre Dame, the coaching changes, the injuries, the post-college reset at the shoe store, the training block that nobody was watching, and the race itself.We also get into the immediate aftermath with people online trying to process this in real time, him reaching out to USADA himself and what he thinks he actually needs to take this from a stunning debut to a sustainable elite career.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Vincent Mauri | @vinny.mauriProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSXENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.WAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.OLIPOP: Raspberry Sherbet is a limited-edition, nostalgic new flavor that blends tangy raspberry with creamy vanilla. Every can of Olipop contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠

In an emergency episode of the CITIUS MAG Podcast, Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia react to one of the most historic moments in distance running: Sabastian Sawe becoming the first athlete to officially break two hours in the marathon in a record-eligible race, running 1:59:30 at the London Marathon.They break down how it happened: highlighting the blistering negative split, the late-race surge, and the role of Yomif Kejelcha pushing the pace in his debut. The conversation explores every factor behind the performance: race tactics, depth of field, super shoe innovation, fueling, weather, and the psychological barrier finally falling.What does this mean for the future of the marathon? How repeatable is sub-2? And how do we process this?____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

“Once you become a champion instead of a medalist, it shifts something. I used to think a medal was the best thing ever. Now I'd probably be a little disappointed with just a medal. That's a blessing and a curse.”My guest for today's episode is Georgia Hunter Bell. In March, at the World Indoor Championships in Torun, Georgia won gold in the 1500m, completing a remarkable arc from Olympic bronze in Paris in 2024 to World Indoor silver in Tokyo in 2025 to world champion this spring. She did it as part of one of the most extraordinary 28-minute stretches in British athletics history, with Keely Hodgkinson and Molly Caudery becoming world champions in the same session.Georgia only went fully professional in April 2024. Before that she was working a corporate job that was about to transfer her to Sydney. In the two years since, she has put together three World Championship podiums, has run personal bests across the 800m and 1500m, and built one of the more unusual training models in elite middle-distance running while still averaging about 30 miles a week, doing long bike rides instead of second runs, and apparently ending most track sessions on the ground.In this conversation, caught from the middle of April camp in South Africa, Georgia walks through the full arc of what it took to go from bronze to silver to gold, the European Indoor heartbreak in 2025 that set up Torun, what she learned from last year's Tokyo World Championships and what she felt crossing the finish line as world champion.We also get into the outdoor season ahead with Commonwealth Games and European Championships on home soil, the 1500m European record. I also get into the awkward and wonderful question of whether she wants to be in Keely's 800m world record race and her own self-belief in attaining that. Plus, where the world indoor title sits in the athletics title pyramid.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Georgia Hunter Bell | @georgiahunterbellProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSXENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.WAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠

“I tangoed way too much in the first half and didn't have enough left to do it again when it counted. The marathoner who dances smart wins. I danced too early.”My guest for today's episode is Rory Linkletter: a Canadian Olympian, co-host of the Out and Back Podcast, and one of the most analytically sharp pro voices in the sport right now. At the 2026 Boston Marathon, he ran 2:06:04 for 14th place overall and the second-fastest marathon in Canadian history. He came in with the best build of his career — two sub-60-minute halves, workouts that never said no — and went out with the lead pack convinced that anything was possible. Then the bill came due.In this conversation, Rory walks us through the moment the race turned, the internal negotiation of the final nine miles, the hamstring that seized on Boylston, and what he took from watching Clayton Young and Ryan Ford fly past him on Commonwealth Avenue. But we also get Rory in full pundit mode: how to actually read the Boston results in the context of 2028, why he thinks Zouhair Talbi was operating on a different level than everyone around him, his declaration that John Korir is the best in the world right now, his take on the Scott Fauble super shoe debate, the Emma Bates sponsorship controversy, and why he thinks the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials will be the craziest in modern history.He also previews Ottawa in five weeks, where he goes in with a simple mandate: run less with the heart, more with the head.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Rory Linkletter | @rory_linkletterProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSXENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.WAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠

“I had every excuse in the book. The perfect narrative to show up and have fun and chalk it all up to injury and sponsor change. But there was this constant question: how can I be true to myself and respectful of the fitness I've gained?”My guest for today's episode is Clayton Young. He's back after the 2026 Boston Marathon, which was his tenth marathon and this his tenth appearance on this podcast. He ran 2:05:41 for 11th place in the fastest and deepest field the race has ever seen. That time makes him one of the five fastest American men in marathon history on all courses.What makes this performance worth a full conversation is everything that went into it. Clayton came into Boston off a foot and ankle injury that kept him cross training for sixteen weeks. He switched sponsors to Brooks, he had ten weeks of actual running, and he made the decision, consciously and explicitly, to compete — not to show up and let the circumstances be the excuse, but to play to win. The result was a two-and-a-half-minute PR and a Wellesley College high-five moment that went viral.In this conversation, we go deep on the psychology of that decision, the Coach Ed Eyestone mantra of “fresh, flow, fearless, and faith,” the intel Clayton gathered from Rory Linkletter the night before that told him exactly how the race was going to go, the power data that said he was 1-2% less powerful than the year prior, and what it felt like to relive Chicago 2023 while dueling Ryan Ford in the closing miles of Boston.We also get into the top 10 streak that Boston broke, what Clayton thinks about his spot in the American marathon pecking order heading toward LA 2028, and the sunglasses saga involving my own pair of shades.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Clayton Young | @_clayton_young_Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSOLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia hop on the mics for a bonus edition of This Week In Track & Field to preview the London Marathon this Sunday. Chris and Preet break down all the biggest names and storylines to watch for in London and share some of their race day insights and predictions. ____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

“Dathan said: you didn't run it perfectly, but the way you competed tells us your ceiling might be much higher than we even thought when we recruited you.”My guest for today's episode is Ryan Ford: a member of the On Athletics Club roads squad who just ran 2:05:46 at the 2026 Boston Marathon, finishing among the top Americans in one of the fastest and deepest fields the race has ever seen. Twelve months ago, Ryan ran 2:08:00 at Boston in 2025 in what was his breakthrough performance, the race that landed him his On sponsorship and got him training under Dathan Ritzenhein and Laura Thweatt. He came back to the same city, the same course, and went two and a half minutes faster.What makes Ryan's story compelling beyond the result is the trajectory. He was a 14:07 5K runner out of college at UT Martin, transferred to Iowa State, chopped 30 seconds off that in a COVID extra year, joined Zap Fitness, paced Clayton Young to a 2:08 in Chicago before he'd even debuted in the marathon himself, and has been on a straight upward line ever since.In this conversation, we talk about the training block that built this performance — the aggressive long runs with Joe Klecker on the dirt roads of Boulder, the Scottsdale camp that reset the build, and the race plan Dathan drew up for a day everyone knew was going to be fast.Ryan also walks us through the key tactical moments on the course and shares what Dathan told him after the race about just how high his ceiling might actually be.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Ryan Ford | @ryanford_chevyProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSXENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.WAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠

“When I crossed the line and saw 2:24, I was actually in shock that I'd still managed a PR given how bad I felt. David [Roche] looked at my GPS file and said being able to bring yourself back from those depths is a sign of a real marathoner.”My guest for today's episode is Amanda Vestri. We just had the Brooks pro marathoner on a few weeks ago and talked about how she is one of the most exciting young American marathoners in the sport right now. Now, in just her second marathon, she finished 15th overall at the 2026 Boston Marathon in 2:24:49. She PR'd by nearly a minute from her debut in New York last November. She is coached by David and Megan Roche and by her own admission is only just getting started.In this conversation, Amanda is refreshingly honest about a race that was both a personal best and a disappointment. She says the downhill-specific preparation was lacking and explains exactly what she plans to do differently in her next shot. We talk about what it was like to run alongside Jess McClain and Susanna Sullivan in the early miles and the deeply emotional moment of watching Jess close on the big screen at mile 23 while Amanda herself was hurting badly. David Roche wrote after the race that Amanda is made of different stuff and that when it happens, every young runner is going to think about running like her. This conversation goes a long way toward explaining why he believes that.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Amanda Vestri | @a_vestriProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSXENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.WAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠

“You can't just say from nowhere that you're going to podium. My bib number was 15, which means there were 14 faster than me on paper. What you can do is read your body during the race. In Boston this year, once it started unfolding, I just knew everything was clicking.”My guest for today's episode is Zouhair Talbi. This is his second time on the show this year. We had him on in January after his victory at the Houston Marathon in 2:05.On Monday at the Boston Marathon, he finished fifth overall in 2:03:45, became the top American in the race, and broke Ryan Hall's American course record that had stood since 2011. He did it in regular prescription glasses, after back-to-back marathon blocks with barely ten days off between each, and after a training build that included a half marathon PR at the NYC Half while still in the middle of a full training load.Zouhair was born in Morocco and grew up there before coming to the United States, where he now trains in Colorado Springs with coach Scott Simmons. CITIUS MAG first covered him at the Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier in February 2021, and this performance at Boston was a long time in the making.In this conversation, he takes us inside the lead pack on race day, explains what it felt like to run next to John Korir and read the field in real time, and shares his honest thinking about what it will take to go from 2:03 to being a genuine contender at the 2028 U.S. Olympic Trials and beyond. He also speaks directly and thoughtfully about what it means to represent the United States, and what he wants his son — born here, growing up here — to see when he watches his father compete.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Zouhair Talbi | @zouhairathleProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSXENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.WAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠

“The biggest takeaway after writing the book was: I really believed in myself this whole time. For a long time, I thought of Ryan as a hero of my story. But I realized I'm actually the hero of my own story. I hope everyone feels that way.”My guest for today's episode is Sara Hall — a 2:20 marathoner, the former American record holder in the half marathon, and the runner-up at the 2020 London Marathon, which remains the best performance by an American woman in that race since Deena Kastor's win in 2006. She has been competing at the highest level of the sport for more than two decades, and somehow, at 43, she is running more marathons than ever.Sara just ran the Boston Marathon in 2:31:55 — her fifth marathon in six months — and one day after crossing that finish line, her debut memoir hit shelves. It's called For the Love of the Grind, published by St. Martin's Press. If you're expecting a highlight reel of an athlete's greatest moments, you're going to be surprised. Sara goes into the doubt, the disordered eating, the ego, the psychedelics, the cost of ambition on the people she loves most, and what it actually took to keep believing in herself through two decades of professional running — through missed Olympic teams, the adjustment to the wave of super shoes hitting the sport and long injury stretches.The book opens with London 2020 — 21 loops outside Buckingham Palace, alone in the wind and rain, thinking about dropping out — and it uses that moment as a lens for everything that came before it and everything that followed. It is honest in ways that will catch you off guard and it makes the case that longevity in this sport is not just a physical story. It is a mental, emotional, and spiritual one, too.In this conversation, we talk about the writing process — her goals when she set out to do it, the imposter syndrome, and the decision to publish the book while she's still competing rather than waiting for the career to be over. We get into her six-marathon stretch, what went so wrong in Boston after 16 miles of feeling great, and what it meant to watch her daughter Hana cross that same finish line on the same day.____________Buy “For the Love of the Grind: A Memoir” here.Find Sara's upcoming book events here.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠Guest: Sara Hall | @sarahall3Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow.⁠ ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.⁠OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ ⁠Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

Chris Chavez is back from Boston and joins Preet Majithia to break down one of the most historic days in Boston Marathon history with near-perfect racing conditions, a course record, five men under 2:04, and a dominant back-to-back title defense. But first, the guys knock out a loaded week of track results before getting to the marathon.On the sprint side: Noah Lyles opens in 19.91, Elaine Thompson-Herah returns to the 100 with a 10.92 in her first race at the distance in nearly two years, Michael Norman makes his comeback, and Gabby Thomas heads to Ethiopia chasing sub-11 in a headwind.In the NCAA, Simeon Birnbaum breaks the collegiate 1500m record at Hayward Field with a 3:31, and Jane Hedengren breaks the outdoor 5000m record at Bryan Clay with a 14:50.World Athletics rejected 11 applications for transfers of allegiance, including Roje Stona, Jaydon Hibbert, Brigid Kosgei, and Favour Ofili, all linked to Turkey's pay-for-play recruitment scheme.On the Boston Marathon: John Korir runs 2:01:52 for a course record, negative splitting with a 60:02 second half. Alphonce Felix Simbu out-sprints Benson Kipruto on Boylston for second. Zouhair Talbi runs 2:03:45, the fastest ever by an American citizen on any course, with Charles Hicks running 2:04:35 in just his second marathon. We explain the record confusion. On the women's side, Sharon Lokedi defends her Boston title, running a 14:48 split from 35K to 40K to put the race away — a segment faster than her own 5K track PB. Jess McClain is top American again, this time covering moves instead of waiting to pick off the dead. And the Americans had their best collective day in recent memory, with Annie Frisbie, Carrie Ellwood, Elena Hayday, Kodi Kleven, and Amanda Vestri all posting big personal bests.We also debut our way too early U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Power Rankings.You can read our Boston Marathon recap here.____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow.⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.⁠⁠⁠⁠OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

"The fact that I let myself just enjoy that last year — I think that was my biggest takeaway. It's one of the most lucid, last 200-meter memories of a race that I've ever had."My guests for today's episode are Jess McClain and Kenny Krotzer, recorded live at the Brooks Hyperion House in Boston ahead of the 2026 Boston Marathon. Jess was the top American at Boston last year and is back to chase a podium finish in a field she believes Americans can land on. Kenny is a senior innovation footwear developer at Brooks with over a decade at the company and five years focused entirely on racing product — and, as it turns out, a Stanford classmate of Jess's.The centerpiece of the conversation is the Brooks Hyperion Elite 6 and Kenny pulls back the curtain on what's driving the current super shoe arms race. He talks about the relentless pace of foam development, what's changed across the last three iterations of the Hyperion Elite, and what Brooks has on the drawing board for 2027, 2028, and beyond.The conversation also covers Jess's build into this Boston, which followed a similar structure to last year. She talks about what happened in Atlanta (going off course in a race she was about to win), how she processed it in about a day, and why the fourth-place finishes of the last couple of years have actually sharpened her conviction rather than shaken it.On goals: Jess is direct. She wants to make the 2028 Olympic team, and working back from there means podiums at world majors and taking the first American spot. She's not writing her goals on her mirror. She's just training toward them with a consistency that has made her one of the more reliable and beloved figures on the American marathon scene.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez

Chris and Preet Majithia break down the biggest stories from the first full weekend of the 2026 outdoor season and then preview the 2026 Boston Marathon.Discussed in this episode:– Gout Gout runs 19.67 in the 200m — is it legit?– The wind theory explained– Cam Myers goes sub-3:30 to announce himself as a global 1500m force– Jess Hull's controversial 1500m disqualification and defiant 5000m win– Crippa and Demise close historic splits at the Paris Marathon– Paris Marathon bans single-use cups and bottles — good idea or race disruptor?– Jakob Ingebrigtsen to miss the early Diamond League season– Kip Keino Classic preview: Wanyonyi moves up to the 1500m– World Athletics announces standalone World Marathon Championships in 2030– Boston Marathon preview: Lokedi, Korir, and the Americans to watch____________Mentioned in this episode:⁠Brooks Hyperion House: Boston Marathon - Schedule of events⁠____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow.⁠⁠⁠ ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.⁠⁠⁠OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

“The fact that I'm getting to the starting line totally healthy is the biggest win in my eyes. As I said before for New York, I was not healthy going into that race. I had been dealing with so many things that were physically hurting me in runs and workouts. So the fact that I'm still enjoying training up to this point has been a huge win. If I can compete for a top three American finish in this field, I'll be very happy with that.”My guest for today's episode is Amanda Vestri. This is a really exciting moment in her career because we're catching her right at the beginning of a very promising transition to the marathon. We previously had her on the podcast after she was taking to the half marathon so we have a good amount to catch up on.Last fall, she made her debut at the New York City Marathon and ran 2:25 for ninth place. It was a performance that, on paper, was impressive. But when you understand the full context, it becomes even more so. She tells us that she went into that race undercooked, dealing with lingering injuries, and still found a way to grind through the final miles and come away with a result that showed she belongs at this level.Now ahead of Boston: She's healthy, she's stronger, and she's training with a new level of intention under coach David Roche. You'll get some specifics on the training and coaching switch. We're talking 200+ grams of carbs on long runs, dialing in recovery, and learning how to actually finish workouts feeling strong instead of just surviving them.There's also been a shift in environment by moving to Florida to be closer to family, leaning on that support system, and building a routine that allows her to handle the demands of marathon training while still enjoying the process.Amanda is someone who has always raced with a lot of heart, but now she's learning how to pair that with patience, discipline, and a longer-term view of what her marathon career can become. She's building in the marathon with intention.In this episode, we talk about her New York debut, what's changed in this build, the role of fueling and recovery, and what success looks like heading into Boston, where her goal isn't just a time, but to compete, race smarter, and see how far she can go when everything finally clicks.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Amanda Vestri | @a_vestriProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia break down one of the first weekends of the early 2026 outdoor season.Discussed in this episode:– Intro: Magic Boost at the Florida Relays– Sha'Carri Richardson wins the Stawell Gift and goes viral– The “fastest woman alive” discourse explained– Collen Kebinatshipi runs 9.89 in the 100m twice– Max Thomas runs 9.90 at the Florida Relays– Kishane Thompson's world 150m best in Miramar– Jane Hedengren breaks the collegiate 10,000m record in her debut– Parker Valby vs. Jane Hedengren: the comparison debate– Agnes Ngetich's 28:58 and the gap at the top of the women's 10K– Jimmy Gressier smashes the European 5km record in Lille– Nadia Battocletti misses the European 10km record by one second– Noah Lyles and Junelle Bromfield's wedding____________Mentioned in this episode:Brooks Hyperion House: Boston Marathon - Schedule of events____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow.⁠⁠ ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.⁠⁠OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

“I'm just a regular guy who has put years and years of work in and it finally paid off… If you keep working at it, the sky is the limit. I only ran 30:50 for the 10K in college and now I'm running 2:09 for the marathon. If you like people who put their nose to the grindstone and don't quit on their dreams, then I'm probably the guy to root for.”My guest for today's episode is Turner Wiley. If you're looking for one of the most relatable stories in American marathoning right now, he might be it. Turner didn't come through the sport the traditional way. No NCAA titles, no national team buzz. He was a Division II runner at Seattle Pacific who never qualified for nationals. He was the kind of athlete most people assume fades out of the sport after college. But he didn't. He kept showing up, kept building, and kept believing that the marathon might eventually unlock something bigger.Fast forward a few years and he's now a 2:09 marathoner, the runner-up at last December's Marathon Project, and a Brooks sponsored athlete heading into Boston — all while working a full-time job at Seattle Children's Hospital and raising a newborn at home.Turner is the guy waking up at 5 a.m. to get his first run in before work. He's logging 130–140 mile weeks, mostly solo, pushing a stroller on second runs, and stacking years of consistent, unflashy training until it finally clicked.In this conversation, we talk about that slow burn of development — from blowing up in his debut marathon in Paris, grinding through the club system in Seattle, to breaking through with a 2:09 at The Marathon Project. We get into what it looks like to chase elite performance without making running your entire identity, how fatherhood has reshaped his perspective, and why he genuinely believes his best racing might still be ahead of him.This is the next episode in a series of interviews that we're doing with Brooks marathoners in the lead-up to the Boston Marathon. Stay tuned as we announce our schedule of events with Brooks out of the Hyperion House. We'll have a shakeout run on Saturday morning at 8 a.m., a live chat with Jess McClain, and more.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Turner Wiley | @turner_wiley93Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠

"I missed out on keeping my top ten at a World Major streak when I ran New York. That was my biggest regret: walking away having lost the streak. I want to get back into that rythmn of being in the top ten. I'd love to find myself with 5K or 8K to go feeling like I'm still competing for one of the top spots." My guest for today's episode is Susanna Sullivan. She's one of the most consistent marathoners in the United States and someone who's coming into Boston with good momentum from 2025.Her last year was anchored by a fourth-place finish in Tokyo, which was a breakthrough on the world stage. She executed, competed, but didn't fully believe she was in the race for a medal until later on.Now she heads into Boston with what she describes as her first truly intentional build for this course. She's focused on hills, especially the downhills, and tailored specifically to the demands of racing Boston. Add in a 1:08 half marathon PR earlier this year, and it's clear the fitness is there.In this episode, we talk about that Tokyo breakthrough, the mindset shift that's followed, what she learned from a demanding 2025 season, and why this Boston build feels different.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Susanna Sullivan | @susannasullivan4Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

“I want everyone I coach to run super fast, but when I really think about their races, I'm thinking more about what I want them to experience when they're racing. I feel like that's still got to be the same for me too. When I have those experiences that are good and I know what running can be, the times and places take care of themselves.”CJ Albertson is back on the show. Regular listeners know that he's always one of the most fascinating, unconventional, and honest voices in American marathoning.We last had him on the podcast in 2024. He's a 2:08 marathoner, a World Championships team member last year, always captivated us because he does things his own way – whether that's leading major marathons from the gun, stacking up race after race, or embracing a style of training that looks somewhat different from almost anyone else at his level.Right now, what's most interesting about him is trying to understand what's happening under the surface.Because coming into this Boston Marathon build, CJ has been dealing with something he's spent years trying to figure out: a physiological disconnect where his body just isn't responding the way it should. He believes it's chronically low and inverted cortisol levels so his energy systems aren't firing properly. Right now, he's been balancing the reality of trying to train and race at a world-class level while feeling like your body is operating at half capacity.By his own admission, his workouts often look average compared to those of other elite runners. But when it comes time to race 26.2 miles, he finds a way to compete and extract the absolute most out of whatever fitness he has on the day.In this conversation, we go deep into that — what it feels like when your body won't respond, how he's working with Brooks to better understand his physiology, and why he's choosing not to force things as he looks toward the long game of 2028.We also talk Boston and what six appearances on the course have taught him, how he's adjusting his approach this year, and why success might have less to do with the clock and more to do with actually enjoying the race again.This is the first in a series of interviews that we're doing with Brooks marathoners in the leadup to the Boston Marathon. Stay tuned as we announce our schedule of events with Brooks out of the Hyperion House. We'll have a shakeout run on Saturday morning at 8 a.m., a live chat with Jess McClain and more.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: CJ Albertson | @cjalbertson Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

A relatively quiet weekend in track, though there's still plenty to dig into with Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber, and Preet Majithia.In this week's episode:- Preet's pandemic-era haircut savings- McKirdy MicrOTQ recap: Kyle paced Thomas Knobbs to a 2:09.24 — the fourth-fastest Canadian of all time — then helped the women's qualifying group- The race start had a fascinating start: single-file starts, chip timing- 14 men and 11 women earn Olympic Trials qualifying standards- Sound Running 10K- The 2027 Beijing 10K standard: Why World Athletics still hasn't announced it?- Maurie Plant Meet: Lachlan Kennedy beats Gout Gout again- Claudia Hollingsworth beats world indoor champ Georgia Hunter Bell in the women's 1500 — Is this the year she announces herself?- Cameron Myers runs 3:30 and wins by a lot — why wasn't he at World Indoors?- Embrace debate: of Hollingsworth, Gout Gout, and Myers: Who has the best shot at Olympic gold in Brisbane?- The Pure Athletics vs. Star Athletics tension is real and it's good for the sport- Josh Kerr and Project 222: 3:42 mile world record attempt at the London Diamond League on July 18th- What happens if Cole Hocker breaks the record two weeks earlier at Pre-Classic?- Albert Korir gets a five-year doping ban, Patrick Dever moves to the podium- Conner Mantz scratches from the Boston Marathon- Why Kyle is most impressed by Clayton Young's altitude long run- Cynthia Erivo will run the London Marathon after performing two shows of a one-woman Dracula the day before- Harry Styles marathon watch- Marileidy Paulino runs 2:04 in the 800, Dalilah Muhammad is very much not retired- What's coming on the podcast feed____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠ + Kyle Merber | ⁠@kylemerber⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow.⁠ ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.⁠OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ ⁠Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

“This sport is built around big moments and I believe we can create one of those in July. This is one of the hardest world records in track and field and I'm not scared to say that I'm going after it. I can't guarantee that I'm going to get it, but I'm going to do every single thing in my power. I have a great team of people around me and an amazing coaching staff that I think we're going to get damn close if we don't get it.”My guest for today's episode is Josh Kerr: world champion, Olympic medalist, two-time world indoor gold medalist at 3000m. He's now announcing the news that on July 18th at the London Diamond League, he'll be taking aim at one of the sport's most iconic marks: Hicham El Guerrouj's 3:43.13 mile world record, which has stood since 1999.He and Brooks are calling the shot publicly with Project 222, with the goal of running the mile in 222 seconds. If you know Josh Kerr, that shouldn't surprise you. He's never been shy about big ambitions, he's coming off another global title indoors, and he says he feels healthy, sharp and ready. He's built this season around one clear target, giving one of track's oldest and most revered records the full respect it deserves. That means we have a specific date, a home crowd in London, a custom built one-off spike, multiple speed suit prototypes, and a full team effort aimed at running faster than anyone ever has over the mile.In this conversation, Josh talks about why now is the right time for this attempt, what makes the mile world record so difficult to chase, how his training has evolved under coach Danny Mackey, and why he believes this attempt deserves a lot of publicity in the lead-up.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Josh Kerr | @joshhkerrProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. ⁠When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber, and Preet Majithia reunite to break down the biggest storylines from the World Indoor Championships in Poland. Preet joins fresh off the ground (and freshly sick) after going solo on three daily pods from the venue.In this week's episode:- Intro: Preet's field report from Poland (gingerbread review included)- The Atlanta saga resolved: World Athletics approves a 7-woman U.S. team for World Road Running Championships- London Marathon's plan to go to 100,000 finishers — bold move or marathon chaos?- Biggest winner: Keely Hodgkinson's Super Sunday — 800m gold + historic 4x400 split- Is Keely the face of track and field right now?- Audrey Werro: the most underrated performance of the weekend- Zaynab Dosso & Georgia Hunter-Bell: two more big winners on the women's side- Men's 800m: Cooper Lutkenhaus goes undefeated and earns the world's attention- Men's 3K: Josh Kerr out-maneuvers Cole Hocker, celebrates accordingly- The Cole Hocker tactics debate- Men's 1500m: Mariano Garcia pulls off the surprise of the championships- Jordan Anthony wins 60m gold — and why the Anthony vs. Lyles rivalry needs to happen- Jess Hull appreciation: 13 global championships and counting+ More____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠@preet_athletics⁠ + Kyle Merber | @kylemerberProduced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSWAHOO: With the Wahoo KICKR RUN, you can simulate the exact Boston or London Marathon course right in your own home. You can also use the run free mode, which uses sensors to automatically match the belt speed to your stride. No buttons, no interruptions, no breaking your flow. When you use code CITIUS at checkout, you'll also get a free KICKR Headwind Smart Fan. Check it out today at wahoofitness.com.XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.⁠OLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠⁠

Preet Majithia dives into the final day of action at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland.Some of the biggest moments from day 3 include:- 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus won his first World medal like a true pro, covering every move just right in the final of the World Indoor 800m to hold the lead and claim gold in 1:44.24. He became the youngest World Indoor champion in history.- Keely Hodgkinson continued her unstoppable run through the competition to kick off 2026 with her first World Indoor title in the 800m, blasting a wire-to-wire 1:55.30 to blow away the field and set a championship record.- Mariano García flexed his range and his lethal finishing speed to hold off World outdoor champ Isaac Nader and claim the victory in 3:39.63.- Georgia Hunter Bell didn't let a hot early pace faze her, as she turned her rival into a de facto rabbit and smoothly reeled her in to claim World Indoor 1500m gold in a speedy 3:58.53.- Devynne Charlton showed she's truly the master of the 60m hurdles, winning her third straight World Indoor title and equaling her own world record of 7.65.+ More____________Host: Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSOLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

Preet Majithia breaks down the biggest moments and surprises from day two at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland.A couple of today's highlights include:- After getting beaten by Cole Hocker in his first race of the season at the Millrose Games two mile, Josh Kerr has the last laugh by outkicking Hocker and the field to win his third global title and second in the 3000m, running 7:35.56 ahead of Hocker's 7:35.70.- Nadia Battocletti finally got her golden moment in the 3000m, as the Italian used a 28.54 final lap to outkick Jessica Hull with Battocletti claiming her fourth global medal in 8:57.64.- Khaleb McRae led for about 390 meters of the 400m final, but it wasn't quite enough to hold off the late charge of Christopher Morales Williams, who closed best to win in a championship-record of 44.76.- Lurdes Gloria Manuel had only won one 400m so far in 2026 heading into this weekend, but she clocked three straight indoor PBs in the three rounds of racing and won her first global title in 50.76.+ More____________Host: Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSOLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

Preet Majithia unpacks the first day of action at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships live from Poland, where we saw fireworks in the men's 60m, a tactical affair in both the men's and women's 1500m, and an exciting first round of the 800m early this morning.Some of today's highlights include: - Jordan Anthony's Team USA debut is a smashing success, as the 21-year-old defeats a stacked field to win the 60m final in a world-leading 6.41, also equal to #4 all-time.- Eloisa Coiro leads all qualifiers to tomorrow's semi-final in the women's 800m with 1:59.87. World record holder Keely Hodgkinson auto qualifies easily with a 2:00.32.- On the men's side, Eliott Crestan leads all qualifiers to tomorrow's 800m semi-final with 1:45.51.- Americans Gracie Morris and Nikki Hiltz both qualify to the 1500m final, running 4:12.57 and 4:16.32 respectively.- As for the men, Mariano García leads all qualifiers to the final with 3:38.19 and American Nathan Green auto qualifies with 3:40.97.+ More____________Host: Preet Majithia | ⁠@preet_athletics⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSOLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

“No one's going to hustle or care as much as you do, and no one's going to understand you as well as you do. Being able to present the best picture in front of a brand and understand what they value has been really rewarding."My guest for today's episode is a good friend of CITIUS MAG and one of the most thoughtful, transparent, and compelling figures in American marathoning. I'm talking about Clayton Young. He joins us with some major news ahead of the spring marathon season. After seven years with ASICS, Clayton is officially entering a new chapter as a Brooks athlete heading into the 2026 Boston Marathon.This wasn't some quick, easy switch; this was months of conversations, lab testing, contract negotiations, and one of the biggest decisions of his professional career. He did it all while representing himself while coming back from a serious ankle injury and trying to get ready for Boston on a compressed build.If you've listened to his previous appearances on this show, you know that Clayton is absolutely no stranger to betting on himself in every possible way as an athlete, as his own agent, as a creator, and as someone still chasing the biggest goals of his career.He talks about why Brooks felt right, what he learned through the self-representation process, and how performance remains the center of every decision that he makes. We also get into the injury that derailed nearly five months of training, the breakthrough that got him running pain-free again, and how he's approaching Boston with a mix of curiosity, realism, and the same competitive fire that made him one of the top American marathoners in the world. He's still pushing forward even when things aren't necessarily going according to plan.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Clayton Young | @_clayton_young_Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSOLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

⁠The World Athletics Indoor Championships descend on Toruń, Poland this weekend. Here's your event-by-event preview via Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia.- Men's 60m: Defending champion Jeremiah Azu faces the deepest field in recent memory, led by American Jordan Anthony (world list leader, 6.43) and Jamaica's Kishane Thompson (6.46).- Women's 60m: Julien Alfred vs. Zaynab Dosso, both at 6.99 and both in career form. Alfred seeks history as a two-time world indoor champion; Dosso has silver and bronze but never gold.- Men's 60m hurdles: A three-way tie at 7.37 between Poland's unbeaten home favorite Jakub Szymański and Americans Dylan Beard and Trey Cunningham, with three-time defending champion Grant Holloway absent for the first time in years.- Women's 60m hurdles: Devynne Charlton can become the first woman to win three consecutive world indoor titles in the event, having won in Glasgow and Nanjing. Swiss world champion Ditaji Kambundji has been just 0.01 behind her twice this season.- Men's 400m: Two of the three fastest short-track 400m runners ever, Khaleb McRae (world record pending, 44.52) and Christopher Morales Williams (44.49 all-time best, unratified), meet in a new split-final format using only lanes 3 to 6.- Women's 400m: Several top seeds are absent, opening the door wide for Norway's Henriette Jæger and the Netherlands' Lieke Klaver, who beat Jæger at last year's European Indoors.- Men's 800m: Belgium's Eliott Crestan enters as the top seed chasing history, but American teenager Cooper Lutkenhaus, just 17, set a world U20 short-track record of 1:44.03 last month and could become the youngest men's 800m medalist in World Indoor Championships history.- Women's 800m: Keely Hodgkinson is the story of the meet. The British Olympic champion broke a 24-year-old world record last month, running 1:54.87 on the very day she was born. Three injuries have kept her from the World Indoors. She finally arrives healthy and dangerous.- Men's 1500m: World champion Isaac Nader looks to finally convert after two consecutive fourth-place finishes, chasing Portugal's first title here since 2001. Dutch 800m specialist Sam Chapple brings a dangerous finishing kick.- Women's 1500m: Georgia Hunter Bell leads a deep field stacked against Ethiopia's three-athlete squad, with Nikki Hiltz's big kick a wildcard in the final lap.- Men's 3000m: The entire Paris Olympic 1500m podium, Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr, and Yared Nuguse, races together, making this arguably the meet's marquee event.- Women's 3000m: Freweyni Hailu is chasing a third straight world indoor distance title, representing a broader Ethiopian dynasty that has won 10 of the last 12 world indoor 3000m crowns.____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | @preet_athleticsProduced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSOLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber unpack all of the action from this weekend.We're talking about a nineteen-year-old freshman from BYU who just walked into the NCAA Indoor Championships and dismantled the field in not one but two distance events. A triple crown is complete for Habtom Samuel. A DQ controversy that had coaches filing protests and athletes biting their tongues. Sprint performances so fast they're rewriting the record books — again. And a 28-year-old Ethiopian woman who showed up to her first-ever marathon and basically said, ‘yeah, this is fine, I'll take second all-time.' Oh, and New York City threw the biggest half marathon in American history, and we somehow need to talk about Grant Fisher's debut...which, depending on who you ask, was either a totally reasonable first step or terrible.In this week's episode:– Intro & headlines– Habtom Samuel's triple crown is complete: men's 5,000m– DQ controversy: men's 3,000m– Jane Hedengren makes history: 3K & 5K double– Carter Cutting seizes the moment: men's mile– Back-to-back for Wilma Nielsen: women's mile– Chepngetich's redemption arc & Arkansas 1-2– Record night in the sprints: three collegiate records fall– Fotyen Tesfay: second-fastest women's marathon ever, on debut– NYC Half recap– Grant Fisher's NYC Half debut: hot takes and cooler heads– The Adeajah Hodge doping suspension explained____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Kyle Merber | ⁠⁠⁠@kylemerber⁠⁠⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSOLIPOP: Olipop's Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about! Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

This week, Chris Chavez, Mac Fleet, and Kyle Merber break down the biggest highlights from the LA Marathon, Jacob Kiplimo's new half marathon world record, Fred Kerley's suspension, the most anticipated events at the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend, and lots more.Discussed in today's episode: - Nathan Martin closed out a heroic final sprint and big negative split to win the LA Marathon in 2:11:18, just 0.18 seconds ahead of runner-up Michael Kamau. He split 66:18-65:00 to reel in Kamau. - Jacob Kiplimo returned to the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon (the same course where he first made history in 2021) and broke the half marathon world record again with a 57:20 victory. He took 10 seconds off the previous record held by Yomif Kejelcha (57:30).- The AIU announced 2x Olympic medalist and 2022 World champion Fred Kerley received a two-year ban for whereabouts failures, sidelining him through August 2027. Results from Dec. 6, 2024 – Aug. 12, 2025 have been disqualified.- The most anticipated distance events at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend.+ More ____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Mac Fleet | @macfleet + Kyle Merber | ⁠⁠@kylemerber⁠⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSOLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors ⁠⁠⁠⁠at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

“I've gone into this year with less pressure on myself and have not been afraid to put myself in a vulnerable situation. I'm not afraid to lose anymore and I'm not scared to put myself in a situation to lose. I don't mind getting to the front of the race and pushing it or trying to control it so that it suits my needs a bit better than other people's. That's been the biggest change this year.”My guest for today's episode is Gracie Morris. If you watch the final 100 meters of the USATF Indoor Championships 1500m final, you know exactly why she's here. With 100 meters to go, Gracie was sitting in 4th place. A World Indoor team spot looked just out of reach, but when that inside rail opened up on the final turn, she didn't hesitate.She surged through on the inside, closed in 14.3 seconds for her final 100 meters, and crossed the finish line in 4:11 to claim second place and her first World Championships berth on the track. Nikki Hiltz won yet another U.S. title, so that's your team for this month's World Championships.What makes Gracie Morris's rise even more impressive is her trajectory. At TCU, she qualified for NCAAs twice but never made a final. Fast forward a year and she's a member of Puma Elite and has transformed into a dangerous miler in the United States. In 2025 alone, she won the Sir Walter Mile and the Fifth Avenue Mile. She also claimed the U.S. 2K cross country title and dropped her 1500m personal best from 4:08 to 4:04. This year, she's already run 4:02.In this conversation, we talk about that decisive final lap, the lessons she's learned about racing instincts, and the steady belief that got her through years of injuries in high school and college.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Gracie Morris | @ggraciemorrisProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSOLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia break down a chaotic weekend in American track and field headlined by a lead vehicle disaster at the USATF Half Marathon Championships and a slate of big results at the USATF Indoor Championships.Discussed:– The 2026 USATF Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta were thrown into chaos when a lead vehicle guided the top women off course in the final mile with Jess McClain holding a big lead at the time. Molly Born, who stayed on course, won in 69:43. McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat all filed appeals immediately after.– USATF's jury of appeals acknowledged the course was inadequately marked but said it had “no recourse within the rulebook” to alter the results, which was a ruling that drew widespread backlash. Atlanta Track Club CEO Rich Kenah took full responsibility.–  Because the race served as the selection event for the 2026 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, the wrong turn didn't just cost the leaders prize money but also potentially cost them spots on Team USA. The selection situation is a tangled mess with no clean fix under current rules.– Cole Hocker won the men's 3,000m in a blanket finish in 7:39.25. Young missed the World Indoor team by .01 to Yared Nuguse after drifting off the rail in the home straight.– Emily Mackay won the women's 3,000m in a five-second personal best of 8:30.01, outkicking Elle St. Pierre in the final stretch for her first US title.– Hocker and Yared Nuguse then faded to 5th and 4th in Sunday's 1500m, won by former UW teammates Nathan Green and Luke Houser.– 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus went 5-for-5 as a professional, winning the men's 800m in 1:46.68 with a tactically sharp performance.– Nikki Hiltz extended their US title streak to eight, winning the women's 1500m in 4:11.34.– Jordan Anthony won the men's 60m in 6.45, beating Trayvon Bromell and Noah Lyles.Plus: Tokyo Marathon recap, the Louis Hinchcliffe NCAA return and the Iowa State/Seth Clevenger doping investigation.____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSOLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors ⁠⁠⁠⁠at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

Chris Chavez, Mac Fleet, Preet Majithia, and Kyle Merber preview the top athletes and storylines to watch for in each track event at the 2026 USATF Indoor Championships this weekend.  The Championship will take place Saturday, February 28th to Sunday, March 1st at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in NYC .Time stamps:- Women's 3000m - 3:30- Men's 3000m - 9:35- Women's 60m hurdles - 19:00- Men's 60m hurdles - 21:36- Women's 800m - 24:22- Men's 800m - 30:14- Men's 400m - 39:08- Women's 1500m - 44:50 - Men's 1500m - 53:56 - Women's 60m - 1:00:40- Men's 60m - 1:03:19____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Kyle Merber | ⁠@kylemerber⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSUSATF: The USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships presented by Prevagen are back in New York City from February 28th to March 1st at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. This is where legends don't just race; they punch their ticket to the world stage. The pressure is real, the margins are razor thin, and every athlete is fighting for one thing: a spot on Team USATF at the World Indoor Championships. ⁠⁠⁠Grab your tickets now at USATF.org/tickets ⁠⁠⁠and experience track and field at its absolute loudest.OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors ⁠⁠⁠at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

The Athletic writer and author Liam Tharme joins the show to unpack the biggest shift in modern distance running: the rise of “super shoes.”Tharme's new book, Super Shoes: How Advanced Technology Revolutionized Running, traces how Nike's Vaporfly (and the carbon-plated, high-stack foam revolution that followed) helped trigger an avalanche of fast times and world records across the roads and track. In this conversation, Liam shares how his own running background fueled his curiosity, what he learned reporting the inside story of Breaking2, and why the technology boom has sparked debates around fairness, access, and sporting integrity.We dig into the science behind the gains, the key researchers who helped validate them, the brand arms race between Nike, Adidas, Puma, ASICS, Hoka, New Balance and On, and the tricky new reality super shoes introduce: when performance leaps can be explained by tech, it can get harder to interpret everything else we see on race day.In this episode, we cover:- How the Vaporfly changed running in 2016 and why the record books haven't looked the same since- The origins of carbon plates + advanced foams, and what the research actually says- Breaking2's behind-the-scenes decisions and the people who made it possible- The “shoe doping” debate, fairness, and how accessibility has evolved- The current footwear landscape and who's winning the innovation race now- The next frontier: personalization, super-responders, and what “the perfect shoe” could meanSuper Shoes is available now here.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Liam Tharme | @liamtharmeProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSUSATF: The USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships presented by Prevagen are back in New York City from February 28th to March 1st at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. This is where legends don't just race; they punch their ticket to the world stage. The pressure is real, the margins are razor thin, and every athlete is fighting for one thing: a spot on Team USATF at the World Indoor Championships. Grab your tickets now at USATF.org/tickets and experience track and field at its absolute loudest.OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

“Track running has really exploded recently in America. Everyone's running super fast times. Even in the half marathon, people have dipped under 60 [minutes] this year. I think the same thing could happen in the marathon... I certainly think that American marathoners can be competitive on the global stage.”Our guest today is Ethan Shuley. If you didn't know his name a few weeks ago, you weren't alone. But after what he just did in Japan, the entire American distance running community is paying attention.At the Osaka Marathon, Ethan ran 2:07:14 and finished 14th overall to become the 7th-fastest American marathoner ever on a record-eligible course. No sponsorship. No professional team. No long résumé of NCAA accolades. Just a runner who, until recently, was training largely on his own while living in Tokyo and going to film school. And that's what makes this story so remarkable.Ethan's path to 2:07 doesn't follow the traditional pipeline. After a promising high school career, injuries derailed his time at BYU, where he raced just once before stepping away from competitive running altogether. For a stretch, running meant little more than a few casual miles a week. Then came a move to Japan, an interest in trails and ultras, and a gradual realization that (almost accidentally) he was getting very fit again.From there, the progression was steady and stunning: a sub-15:00 5K for the first time in his life, a 2:20 marathon in Nara, then 2:18, 2:11, a 63-minute half, a 1:01 in Osaka and finally, the breakthrough that changed everything.What began as an unsponsored, self-coached experiment has become one of the most unlikely rises in American marathoning. Ethan Shuley went from unknown to the all-time list overnight and suddenly finds himself very much in the conversation heading into the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.In this episode, we get into the unconventional journey, the training he built largely outside the traditional system, how stacking consistent high-mileage weeks unlocked a new level, and what it actually feels like to go from anonymous to historic in a single race.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Ethan Shuley | @ethanshuleyProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSUSATF: The USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships presented by Prevagen are back in New York City from February 28th to March 1st at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. This is where legends don't just race; they punch their ticket to the world stage. The pressure is real, the margins are razor thin, and every athlete is fighting for one thing: a spot on Team USATF at the World Indoor Championships. Grab your tickets now at USATF.org/tickets and experience track and field at its absolute loudest.OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia break down a packed week of results from Levin, Toruń, Castellón, Boston, and more. Plus, a final look back at the Winter Olympics and a preview of what's ahead.– Keely Hodgkinson's world record at Levin is still reverberating. It's time to retire the “What about Athing Mu…” narrative.– Georgia Hunter-Bell ran 4:00 flat again at Levin but was left disappointed after a chaotic pacing situation.– The DQ heard ‘round the world: Theppiso Masalela of Botswana was disqualified from the 1500m in Toruń for an unsportsmanlike conduct gesture — a gun motion pointed at Azzedine Habz at the finish line.– A potential Nader vs. Hocker showdown at World Indoors.– Mondo Duplantis cleared 6.06m and debuted his new single “Feelin' Myself” performed live.– European distance runners have closed the gap on East Africans in road racing, at least in the 10K.– Oregon's DMR drama.– Parker Wolfe ran 12:59 for his first-ever sub-13 minute 5000m.– A light USA Indoors and Tokyo Marathon preview.– Bonus: Final Winter Olympics wrap.____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSUSATF: The USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships presented by Prevagen are back in New York City from February 28th to March 1st at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. This is where legends don't just race; they punch their ticket to the world stage. The pressure is real, the margins are razor thin, and every athlete is fighting for one thing: a spot on Team USATF at the World Indoor Championships. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Grab your tickets now at USATF.org/tickets ⁠⁠⁠⁠and experience track and field at its absolute loudest.OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors ⁠⁠⁠⁠at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

“[It's about] expecting each other to perform to a certain level, holding each other to a certain level, and just love. High expectations, high love — that's what coach always says. That's something we do a good job with. You can't have one without the other. Our team is definitely built on love and gratitude and we always push ourselves to be our best.” Riley Chamberlain joins us fresh off one of the biggest performances of the NCAA season.Just days ago in Boston, Riley ran 4:20.61 for the mile, breaking the NCAA record in a race that perfectly captured where collegiate women's distance running is right now—stacked fields, fearless pacing, and a generation that keeps pushing the event forward. But talk to Riley, and she'll be the first to tell you she's not interested in chasing times. With championship season around the corner, her focus has already shifted to racing, competing, and figuring out how to win when the pacers step off and it's just athletes battling athletes.In this conversation, we talk about the steady progression that led to this breakthrough, how cross country laid the strength foundation for her range from the 800m all the way to the 5K, and the training dynamic at BYU—where working alongside teammates like Jane Hedengren means getting pushed every single day. She reflects on the program's culture of what they call “high expectations, high love,” the lessons she's carried from past teammates, and the mindset shift from hoping she belonged at the top level to knowing she does.We also dig into the long view—how patience, development, and belief have shaped her career, why she sees championship racing as a completely different sport than time trials, and what she hopes to accomplish before closing out her collegiate chapter.Riley Chamberlain is now an NCAA record holder. But as you'll hear, she believes the most important races are still ahead.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavezGuest: Riley Chamberlain | @riley_chamberlain04Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSUSATF: The USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships presented by Prevagen are back in New York City from February 28th to March 1st at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. This is where legends don't just race; they punch their ticket to the world stage. The pressure is real, the margins are razor thin, and every athlete is fighting for one thing: a spot on Team USATF at the World Indoor Championships. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Grab your tickets now at USATF.org/tickets ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and experience track and field at its absolute loudest.OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia jump on the mics to react to 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson clocking a 1:54.87 in the indoor 800m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet in Liévin, France. The mark shattered Jolanda Ceplak's 1:55.82 (2002) record by 0.95 seconds. It's one of the largest world record improvements in the event's history.____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSUSATF: The USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships presented by Prevagen are back in New York City from February 28th to March 1st at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. This is where legends don't just race; they punch their ticket to the world stage. The pressure is real, the margins are razor thin, and every athlete is fighting for one thing: a spot on Team USATF at the World Indoor Championships. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Grab your tickets now at USATF.org/tickets ⁠⁠⁠⁠and experience track and field at its absolute loudest.OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors ⁠⁠⁠⁠at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber and Preet Majithia analyze yet another packed weekend of results including:– Cole Hocker ran 3:45.94 for the mile, an American Record and the No. 2 indoor mile ever, trailing only Jakob Ingebrigtsen's 3:45.14.– The 16-year-old phenom Sam Ruthe ran 3:52.46 in the same race.– 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus ran 1:44.03 indoors, setting a World U20 Indoor Record and moving to No. 6 all-time indoors.– Keely Hodgkinson opened her season with a1:56.3, the No. 3 indoor performance of all time. The world record is enjoying its final days.– Elle St. Pierre ran 4:17.83 for the mile at Boston University, the fastest women's mile in the world this year. Her 3:59.3 split at 1500m broke the American indoor record.– Love him or hate him but Marco Langon is becoming must-watch.– Weini Kelati ran 66:04 at the Barcelona Half Marathon, lowering her own American Record yet again.– Jordan Anthony clocked 6.43 in the 60m, tying him for 9th all-time indoors.– Khaleb McRae clocked 44.52 for 400m indoors, a time that: Equals Michael Norman's American record performance. Ranks 2nd-fastest ever run indoors. Could become the official world record...if ratified.– World 110m hurdles champion Cordell Tinch posted an 8.29m long jump PB at the Tyson Invitational.– Noah Lyles clocked 20.56 for 200m indoors at the Tyson Invitational, a personal best and his first indoor 200m race in five years. Says Fayetteville is one of his top 5 favorite crowds he ever raced in front of.– Elaine Thompson-Herah returned with 7.24s 60m.– USATF confirmed the 2026 Outdoor & Para National Championships will be held at Icahn Stadium in New York City.– Bonus: Random Winter Olympics talk.____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Kyle Merber | ⁠@kylemerber⁠Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSUSATF: The USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships presented by Prevagen are back in New York City from February 28th to March 1st at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. This is where legends don't just race; they punch their ticket to the world stage. The pressure is real, the margins are razor thin, and every athlete is fighting for one thing: a spot on Team USATF at the World Indoor Championships. ⁠⁠⁠Grab your tickets now at USATF.org/tickets ⁠⁠⁠and experience track and field at its absolute loudest.OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors ⁠⁠⁠at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

This week in track and field, Chris Chavez, Preet Majithia, and Kyle Merber unpack:– Femke Bol's highly anticipated 800m debut, which delivered a 1:59.07, which is the fastest debut in history and sparked debate about upside, expectations, and what her future beyond the 400 hurdles might look like.– The ripple effects of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke's move.– Georgia Hunter Bell's world-leading 1500m, one of the standout performances from a busy stretch of indoor meets and a sign of unfinished business ahead.– Cole Hocker's eye-opening 1000m, and what it suggests about his range.– A debate over announcing world-record attempts.– Jakob Ingebrigtsen's injury update, and what it could mean for his season trajectory and long-term planning.– Major changes to the world ranking system, including why fast times matter now more than ever — and how that shift could favor American athletes while discouraging head-to-head racing at major meets.____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Kyle Merber | @kylemerberProduced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSUSATF: The USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships presented by Prevagen are back in New York City from February 28th to March 1st at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. This is where legends don't just race; they punch their ticket to the world stage. The pressure is real, the margins are razor thin, and every athlete is fighting for one thing: a spot on Team USATF at the World Indoor Championships. ⁠⁠Grab your tickets now at USATF.org/tickets ⁠⁠and experience track and field at its absolute loudest.OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors ⁠⁠at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

“That year at Providence was really special with what we all went through together. It was such a fun year! We were all very solid and united together. It ended up in a perfect way being able to continue that training together.” - Alex Millard Kimberley May, Shannon Flockhart, and Alex Millard join us us fresh into the next chapter of their careers as members of Team New Balance Boston.All three join the team with deep NCAA pedigrees, international experience and very different paths that somehow converged at exactly the right moment. Kimberley May leaves college as one of the most accomplished 1500-meter runners in New Zealand history. Shannon Flockhart brings European championship medals and championship toughness. Alex Millard arrives fresh off world cross country relay experience and fresh off a year that included personal bests in the 1500m, mile and 5000m.In this conversation, they talk about what it actually feels like when the dream becomes real to signing pro contracts, navigating the transition from NIL relationships. We touch on their shared history as teammates at Providence and how that's made the leap into the professional ranks easier, what altitude training was like, and why being around a group that includes a world champion has raised everyone's standard.There's also plenty of joy in the year ahead with new routines. With 2026 ahead, all three are excited for what's next.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠Guests: Kimberley May | @kiimberleymay on Instagram + Alex Millard | @alexmillard on Instagram + Shannon Flockhart | @shannon_flockhart_ on Instagram Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr on Instagram⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSUSATF: The USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships presented by Prevagen are back in New York City from February 28th to March 1st at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. This is where legends don't just race; they punch their ticket to the world stage. The pressure is real, the margins are razor thin, and every athlete is fighting for one thing: a spot on Team USATF at the World Indoor Championships. Grab your tickets now at USATF.org/tickets and experience track and field at its absolute loudest.OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

This week in track and field, Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia unpack:– Jacob Kiplimo and the pace car controversy from his half marathon world record: Most people agree this wasn't a surprise, wasn't his fault, and still somehow exposed how odd World Athletics' rulebook really is.– Catching up on the 2026 Boston Marathon and London Marathon field announcements.– Sam Ruthe's 3:48 mile and why it's forcing fans to recalibrate what's possible at 16 + how that performance stacks up against Cooper Lutkenhaus' historic 800m run last year.– Femke Bol's upcoming 800-meter debut and why expectations range from sub-2 immediately to a low stakes launch.– Alysha Newman and Benard Kibet Koech were suspended by the AIU for anti-doping violations.____________Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠ Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSUSATF: The USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships presented by Prevagen are back in New York City from February 28th to March 1st at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. This is where legends don't just race; they punch their ticket to the world stage. The pressure is real, the margins are razor thin, and every athlete is fighting for one thing: a spot on Team USATF at the World Indoor Championships. ⁠Grab your tickets now at USATF.org/tickets ⁠and experience track and field at its absolute loudest.OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors ⁠at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

"It's nice to have a reset. I'm looking at these people and I have something to work up to now, versus being at the top of the NCAA and hoping you get it right on the day. Now, I have, 'I need to improve by ten seconds if I want to be up there at USAs.' That kind of excites me. It's a little scary, but it's mostly exciting."Margot Appleton is a Massachusetts native now running for the home team. She has joined Team New Balance Boston and is being coached by Mark Coogan.At Virginia, she was an NCAA finalist in the 1500, stepped up to finish fourth in the 5000 meters at nationals, and then this spring put together a breakout campaign that included a 4:05.68 1500 at Raleigh Relays—fourth-fastest in NCAA history at the time—an ACC title, and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships.Margot is comfortable moving between distances and continuing to sharpen herself against the very best in the country. And at just 23 years old, it still feels like she's learning how good she can be. She is coming off personal bests in the 3000m and the mile at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix and the Millrose Games. She was the second American and 6th overall in the Wanamaker mile.In this conversation, we talk about her decision to join the refreshed Team New Balance Boston squad, what clicked this past season, how she thinks about racing at championship meets, and what her goals are for 2026.____________Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠Guests: Margot Appleton | @margotappleton on InstagramProduced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr on Instagram⁠⁠⁠____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSUSATF: The USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships presented by Prevagen are back in New York City from February 28th to March 1st at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. This is where legends don't just race; they punch their ticket to the world stage. The pressure is real, the margins are razor thin, and every athlete is fighting for one thing: a spot on Team USATF at the World Indoor Championships. Grab your tickets now at USATF.org/tickets and experience track and field at its absolute loudest.OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop's Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop's flavors at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.