Jared Ward On His 2:11:44 At The Berlin Marathon While Battling Women's WR Holder Tigist Assefa + Why The Olympic Trials Should Start Earlier

“After Berlin, I came home thinking I have a chance to make this team. I’m a stats guy, I’m a realist, it’s not this astronomically high chance — but I have a chance again… I have some of the best training partners in the nation and I have the pieces I think that I need now. So it's a fun opportunity.”

My guest for today’s episode is 2016 U.S. Olympian Jared Ward, who just ran 2:11:44 at the Berlin Marathon. It’s been a while since Jared joined us on the show but he’s back to recap that race and how he somehow ended up in a tight battle with Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, who ended up breaking the women’s world record in 2:11:53. He also shares some of his thoughts on training partners Conner Mantz and Clayton Young’s big performances in Chicago. Plus, Ward gives us an update regarding some discussion about the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.

Last week, several of the top U.S. marathoners met with USATF CEO Max Siegel and other members of USATF’s team to discuss the noon start time for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando. A letter was sent to the national office on Sept. 15 and was signed by 84 athletes. Jared was among the athletes spearheading the conversation to voice concern over the midday heat in Orlando.

You can read the full letter here: https://citiusmag.com/articles/us-olympic-trials-marathoners-max-siegel-trials-start-time

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠

Guest: Jared Ward | @jwardy21 on Instagram

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

🍊 OLIPOP is a prebiotic soda with only 2-5g of sugar that is actually good for your gut health. – and it's delicious. Use code CITIUS25 for 25% off non-subscription orders. ⁠Learn more at https://DrinkOlipop.com (click the link or use our promotional code for the discount)⁠

👟 BANDIT RUNNING is a performance and lifestyle running apparel brand founded by members of the NYC Running Community in 2020. What started as socks and accessories has grown into a full-fledged apparel assortment. Check them out here: ⁠https://banditrunning.com/⁠

GET 15% OFF YOUR ORDERS AT BANDITRUNNING.COM THROUGH OCT. 31

📊 VDOT is offering 20% off their coaching subscription using the code citiusmag. Download V.O2 in the app stores or visit ⁠⁠vdoto2.com⁠⁠ to start your 30-day free trial. Athletes without a coach can use the same code and try out their fully automated VDOT Adaptive Trainer and sync to an Apple Watch, COROS or Garmin. Leverage the world-famous VDOT formulas and take your running to the next level with V.O2

HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

💻 ⁠Visit CITIUSMAG.com | Our brand-new website hosts tons more podcasts, articles, videos and more. Track and field storytelling all in one place⁠.

🎙️ ⁠Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts⁠.

💵 ⁠Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG⁠ or ⁠Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG⁠

🎥 ⁠Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel