Office Hours: Peninsula Distance Club’s Dena Evans On 25 Years Of Excellence In Coaching + Developing Talent And U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifiers

Office Hours: Peninsula Distance Club’s Dena Evans On 25 Years Of Excellence In Coaching + Developing Talent And U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifiers

“One of the things we talk about on our team is if everyone is giving 51% or more and never taking more than 49%, your ecosystem is always going to be in balance. But if everyone isn’t willing to give more than 49% and they’re always taking more than 51%, then the ecosystem is never going to be in balance. We just try to keep an environment where people are waiting for other people to go to the bathroom, giving each other rides, taking turns at the lead, doing the little things.

My guest for today's episode is coach Dena Evans of the Peninsula Distance Club, one of the most experienced, influential, and quietly impactful leaders in American distance running. What happened at CIM just doesn't come out of nowhere. It was the product of more than 25 years of coaching spent moving between youth athletes, post-collegiates, pros, and learning how to build something that lasts.

Along the way, Coach Evans has worn just about every different hat that this sport has to offer. She was the women's head coach for Team USA at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, she’s served on nearly a dozen international team staffs over the past two decades, and she currently sits on the USATF Women's Long Distance Running Committee after years of leadership across track and across country. At the center of all of it is the Peninsula Distance Club, a post-collegiate team that she founded in 2007 – and that she still leads today.

It's a grassroots operation built on belief, patience, and also community, so if you're feeling generous, you can support them at the link here. Before PDC, Coach Evans was at Stanford from 1999 to 2005, where she led the Cardinal to a national cross country title and was named the NCAA Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2003. During that time, she coached many of the athletes that you've heard on this show or seen us cover.

In this conversation, we trace the long arc from that quiet moment at CIM to the very beginning where she was growing up in multiple sports, the influence of coaches like Vin Lananna and coach Frank Gagliano, and what she's learned by spending so much time with athletes in the often overlooked post-collegiate phase.

Coach Evans has seen the sport from nearly every angle. She's built her career patiently, deliberately, and with deep care.

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Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠

Guest: Dena Evans | @dizneena on Instagram

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr on Instagram⁠⁠⁠

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Gut reactions to Team USA 2017 vs. Team USA 2016 (ft. Kevin Liao)

Gut reactions to Team USA 2017 vs. Team USA 2016 (ft. Kevin Liao)

Kevin Liao and Chris Chavez share their initial thoughts on how Team USA looks on paper compared to last year's Olympic team and how the new squad may fare at the upcoming IAAF World Championships in London. Some of the topics discussed include... Thoughts on how a non-Olympic year, yields a changing-of-the-guard in certain events while others still have some veteran presence. Fred Kerley vs. Wayde Van Niekerk talk Paul Chelimo's solo 13:08 The return of Aries Merritt The women's 400m hurdles is a must-watch event at-last And much more... Subscribe on iTunes and leave a five-star review. This episode was dedicated in memory of Tyrone McGraw, who passed away after a battle with cancer.

27 Kesä 20171h 1min

Sheila Reid on her comeback from injury, Athletics Canada, Tinder and more

Sheila Reid on her comeback from injury, Athletics Canada, Tinder and more

Canadian Olympian and OTC Elite middle distance runner Sheila Reid joins the Citius Mag Podcast after hitting the world championship qualifying standard with her 4:07.07 victory at the USATF Middle Distance Classic. Reid ran at the same meet last year but then felt a twinge in her leg. Reid explains how it became a strain and bursitis that derailed her Olympic dreams of competing in Rio de Janeiro. Reid seriously considered leaving the sport but shares how she made the decision to continue through the 2020 Olympic cycle. Reid also shares her thoughts on the emergence of distance running in Canada, what her training situation is like with OTC and her cautious approach to 2017. Come for the training insight but stay for the Tinder talk as Reid also delves into some of the messages shoe gets and sends on the popular dating apps. The Citius Mag Podcast is available on iTunes so subscribe, leave a five-star review and then subscribe on your friend's phone.

23 Touko 201737min

Becky Wade joins Citius Mag, shares stories from her travels around the world and more

Becky Wade joins Citius Mag, shares stories from her travels around the world and more

Olympic Trials qualifier, world traveler and published author Becky Wade has joined the Citius Mag staff as a regular contributor. Wade's name first popped to many when she clocked a 2:30 at the 2013 CIM Marathon and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials. She has most recently garnered attention as the author of Run the World: My 3,500-Mile Journey Through Running Cultures Around the Globe (HarperCollins, 2016), where she chronicles her one-year research of running cultures outside of the U.S. as part of her Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. The grant is awarded to 40 graduating seniors each year. Beck was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and currently lives in Boulder, Colorado. She attended Rice University and earned All-American honors on the track while studying history, psychology and sociology. Her success on the track continued as a professional when she qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 3,000m steeplechase, the 10,000 meters and the marathon. At the moment, she's in between marathons. She took third at the Houston Marathon earlier in the year and plans to run a fall marathon. She could also use the space on Citius Mag to chronicle her training. Fun fact about Becky: She is one of four Wade twins. She has a twin brother as well as an older brother and sister who are also twins and a grade older. We're super excited to bring Becky onboard. She's got some great ideas for fun content, which is what we're all about. She can hit on anything from tips for traveling runners, insight into the life of a professional runner and many stories that were left on the cutting room floor from her book. Nicole Bush and Jeanne Mack will be writing more for the site this summer and they could possibly team up for their own podcast. For now, take a listen to Becky's chat with Chris Chavez on the Citius Mag Podcast about her world travels and hopes for the site. The podcast is also available on iTunes. Subscribe and leave a five-star review.

16 Touko 201731min

Dr. Michael Joyner on Breaking2 and the sub-two hour marathon chances explained

Dr. Michael Joyner on Breaking2 and the sub-two hour marathon chances explained

Dr. Michael Joyner, a physiologist & expert in human performance at the Mayo Clinic, once published a paper noting that might be physiologically possible for an ideal human runner to run a marathon in under two hours and possibly 1:58. He's been getting calls all week about the sub-two hour marathon attempt that will be staged by Nike but we were able to catch him in between clinical work to pick his brain about the attempt. Joyner gives the Nike attempt a 10% to 15% chance of breaking two hours and he explains why. It's just a little short episode to wet the beak before the Breakin2 attempt. We'll have a full interview with Nike Oregon Track Club 1,500m specialist Pat Casey in the next few days.

2 Touko 201717min

John Nunn on race walking, earning respect, Russian doping and growing the sport

John Nunn on race walking, earning respect, Russian doping and growing the sport

The race walk isn't the sexiest part of track and field and Olympian John Nunn acknowledges that. For this week's Citius Mag Podcast, the three-time U.S. Olympian joined the show to spread some knowledge on how does someone go from running into walking, and the perception of doing so. Nunn touches on more topics like the loneliness of the race walker, Russian doping, free Olympic team spots and much more. There is a fantastic story about how he became friends with English Gardner and earned the respect of his USATF teammates. Check out the latest episode of the Citius Mag Podcast on Soundcloud. Subscribe on iTunes and leave a five-star review

25 Huhti 201747min

Mary Wittenberg & Toni Reavis - The future of the sport Tracksmith panel

Mary Wittenberg & Toni Reavis - The future of the sport Tracksmith panel

On Friday evening, I was invited to be part of Tracksmith's panel discussing the future of the sport with Mary Wittenberg and Toni Reavis. It was moderated by Tracksmith's Matt Taylor Mary's got some interesting projects about the launch with Virgin Sport after a remarkable career with New York Road Runners. She discusses some of what she's been working on as well as her experience from the race management and development side of things. Toni's voice has been heard on countless marathon broadcasts and he can recite running history like no other. I'm there as the resident millennial and to shed some wisdom on the media side of things and where we see things going. Give the panel a listen and if you're in Boston, be sure to check out Tracksmith's new TrackHouse location at 285 Newbury St.. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Recommend it to a friend. Take their phone and leave a five-star review:

16 Huhti 20171h 5min

Jamil Coury, Mike Wardian on running the Barkley Marathons, 2017's epic ending

Jamil Coury, Mike Wardian on running the Barkley Marathons, 2017's epic ending

One of the biggest stories in running this week was Gary Robbins' near-miss at the 2017 Barkley Marathons, where he finished six seconds over the 60-hour cut-off time. It was later revealed that his finish may not have counted, if he had run under the time limit since he veered off the course and missed about two miles. Check out #BM100 on Twitter to see just how much people love this unique race. If you haven't watched the documentary on Netflix, please do so. A 100-mile race is crazy enough but there's many elements that make the Barkley Marathons special. John Kelly who finished with about 30 minutes to spare on Monday was just the 15th finisher in the race's history. Ultra runners Jamil Coury and Mike Wardian are good friends of the site and so we reached out to them to share their experience from the Barkley Marathons and their take on the finish. Jamil fell short of completing the Fun Run, which consists of three loops of the course. Mike was done by the first day. Mike is also best known for completing the seven marathons on seven continents in seven days earlier in the year. Subscribe on iTunes and leave a five-star review. Also: We will be at the 2017 Boston Marathon next weekend so let us know if you're interested in sponsoring the show. We will have several episodes live from Beantown. Email us at citiusmag@gmail.com

7 Huhti 201747min

Pat McGregor on coaching Karisa Nelson/Samford, Nick Saban and Riley Masters

Pat McGregor on coaching Karisa Nelson/Samford, Nick Saban and Riley Masters

Fresh off coaching Karisa Nelson to an NCAA indoor mile title, Samford distance coach Pat McGregor joins the Citius Mag Podcast with Chris Chavez and Paul Snyder to discuss what it's like coaching at 26 years old. McGregor grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and then went on to run at the University of Texas under coach John Hayes. He enjoyed a short stint as a professional runner with the New Jersey-New York Track Club under coach Frank Gagliano. He credits Hayes and Gagliano for some of his coaching style. He also shares his favorite Gags memory on the show. While on the subject of coaches, McGregor shares his love for Alabama football coach Nick Saban. McGregor takes us through his career path toward coaching, what he does on a daily basis and what he told Nelson before her race. All that and more in the latest episode of the Citius Mag Podcast. You can listen on Soundcloud or subscribe on iTunes. This episode of the Citius Mag podcast was brought to you by ShoeKicker.com. If you're looking for your next pair of running shoes and want to save time on looking for the best deal, visit ShoeKicker.com. They find the best deal for that pair of shoes that you're looking for.

24 Maalis 201747min

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