Morgan McDonald on His Early Start In Sport to His Four NCAA Titles At Wisconsin
"Those races are weird now that I look back at them. Pretty much I feel like I entered the most intense flow state where my memories of them – I'm not going to say that they weren't painful but I was just so accepting that they were going to be painful. I was willing to do whatever it took. I knew I was good enough to compete. I wasn't going to let anyone beat me I suppose. Closing in 52 was a product of that. If you would've asked me, I wouldn't say that I'm going to be able to close in a 52 but it was just on that day, that's what I had to do to win. That's kind of how it played out. It was kind of an interesting chess battle between me and Grant. We're actually very similar runners if you think about it. We're both very strength-oriented with big kicks essentially, who can do well in the mile up to the 10K or whatever. (Coach Mick Byrne) called how that race would go pretty well. It had been an interesting battle between us with who had the lead at the bell in a few of the races leading up to that. That had kind of decided some of the races during indoors. I think that's more important indoors to have an early lead but I felt that Grant wanted to have the lead at the bell going into that outdoor 5K. If you watch the video, he really did. We jostled over that. Mick said that's what's going to happen and so sit on his shoulder. In the final 200, I go to his outside shoulder on the turn. I don't really know why I was there but Mick told me to do that, so I did it. It just felt right. Coming down that last 100, I had an extra gear. That was exactly how Mick said I should play it. It turned out so perfect." Morgan McDonald, now a professional runner for Under Armour, joins the podcast to take us from his early running days on a club team in Australia to what ultimately led to his success as a Wisconsin Badger. In his senior year, McDonald won the 2018 NCAA cross country title, 2019 NCAA indoor 3,000m and 5,000m title and then took the NCAA outdoor 5,000m crown in one of the best duels we've seen in recent years. McDonald owns personal bests of 3:54 for the mile and 13:15 for 5,000 meters. He represented Australia at the 2017 and 2019 world championships in the 5,000 meters. Follow Morgan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morganmcdonald__ ▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag ▶ Connect with Chris via Email: chris@citiusmag.com | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez
29 Huhti 20201h 6min
Chris Solinsky 10 Years After His 10,000m American Record (26:59) + Revisiting His Entire Career
"For me, my passion is still within running. It’s now all on, and I mean this wholeheartedly, getting the kids that I work with to experience excitement levels like that night, going under 13, winning the NCAA title or competing for a U.S. title or Olympic team. Those are the types of things that really motivate me now. It’s seeing that excitement level in the kids that I work with now. If I talk about that 10K that night or that day, it’s more anecdotal. It’s more of what I learned and what I went through." Chris Solinsky joins the show as we approach the 10-year anniversary of his 10,000-meter American record run at the 2010 Payton Jordan Invitational, where he became the first non-African to break 27 minutes for the distance. It was his debut at the distance and he managed to break Meb Keflezighi's previous record by 14 seconds. It's one of the best races to re-watch. In this episode, we'll go through that race in detail but start in his hometown of Junction City, Wisconsin. Even as a high schooler in Stevens Point, he was building an engine within and started garnering that reputation as one of the hardest-working grinders in the sport. We'll also touch on: - His recruitment and why Wisconsin initially was the last place that he wanted to attend. - How the University of Colorado missed out on Chris Solinsky… - His training philosophy and taking pieces of influence from coach Jerry Schumacher - The first sub-four mile on Wisconsin soil and the friendly rivalry with Matt Tegenkamp - Turing professional and betting on himself by choosing Nike - Advice for those who have that option and go through the process - What he believes is the best race of his career… - Having a hot hand during a season and breaking 13 minutes for 5,000m three times in one season - Clarifying his dog's role in his hamstring injury - The marathon attempt that never happened and giving it one more shot in 2014 - 2021 comeback odds and more… Related links: 2010 Payton Jordan finish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rkvd5dfwMQ Podcast with Ryan Fenton on calling Solinsky's race: http://citiusmag.com/citius-mag-podcast-ryan-fenton-flotrack/ Sports Illustrated profile: https://www.si.com/more-sports/2010/06/23/chris-solinsky ▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag ▶ Connect with Chris via Email: chris@citiusmag.com | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez
14 Huhti 20201h 23min
Mike Wardian On How He Won the Quarantine Backyard Ultra Marathon After 63 Hours and 262 Miles
"There’s something inherently interesting about people going out to seek out what their limits are. The format is interesting too because you don’t really know if the race is going to end in one day, two days or six days. It ends when the last person either can’t go forward or isn’t allowed to go forward. That’s something I hope people would find interesting and maybe it brings more eyeballs on what we’re doing or inspires them to do it on their own." Mike Wardian joins the podcast less than 12 hours after winning the Quarantine Backyard Ultra Marathon. The race featured more than 2,000 runners from more than 50 countries competing over Zoom. How’d it work? Each competitor had to complete a 4.167-mile loop every hour - starting exactly on the hour and it goes on until there’s just one person remaining. The race started on Saturday morning and on Monday, Radek Brunner of the Czech Republic and Mike Wardian of Arlington, Virginia were locked in a duel. There were two different approaches on display. Mike was running loops around his block. Brunner was running on a treadmill in his home. At 11 p.m. on Monday night, Lap 63 begins. Wardian takes off for his loop. Brunner stands by the treadmill but doesn’t move for about 90 seconds. It looked like he was doing something on his iPad. According to the rules, you have to be in your starting corral (so for Brunner that was his treadmill) and you have to start on the hour (and it appears that he did not). Race organizers from Personal Peak made the decision to disqualify him and then Wardian kicked it in for a 31:05 final lap - his fastest of the whole race. The decision was not without controversy and uproar on social media. "Radek Brunner failed to leave the corral when the bell rang," Personal Peak said in a Facebook post. "This is what makes the backyard format so heart-wrenching. The bell doesn't care. The bell just rings. It is we who care. It is we who do not wish it to end. But it never ends well. It may only end gracefully." I caught up with Mike on Tuesday morning to get his side of things, hear more about his strategy and how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted his own plans for 2020. Read my brief recap and a transcript of the interview on Sports Illustrated: https://www.si.com/edge/2020/04/07/quarantine-backyard-ultra-marathon-winner-mike-wardian-radek-brunner-disqualified More information on the race and its origins by Sports Illustrated's Jessica Smetana: https://www.si.com/more-sports/2020/04/03/quarantine-backyard-ultra-marathon-virtual-race-coronavirus-pandemic Follow Mike on Strava: https://www.strava.com/pros/1108954 ▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag ▶ Connect with Chris via Email: chris@citiusmag.com | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez
7 Huhti 202033min
Keith and Kevin Hanson on 20 Years of Advancing American Distance Running
Sat down with Keith and Kevin Hanson while in Atlanta to discuss the history of the Hansons-Brooks Original Distance Project as it celebrates 20 years of advancing U.S. distance running. We start by going back to the brothers’ roots in Michigan and the state of the sport in America before helping improve it. The Hansons made an emphasis on group training, which stood out to them from studying Ethiopians, Kenyans and Japanese. It started off as a $250,000 investment in a team that helped provide housing, health insurance, travel and equipment for a few runners but later blossomed with a partnership with Brooks. In 2008, they put Brian Sell on the U.S. Olympic Marathon team. They also helped develop and guide Des Linden into a two-time Olympian and Boston Marathon champion. In this episode, they’ll share some of the behind-the-scenes stories of those breakout moments in their history. Also, what’s it like for them to take on the challenge of rebuilding the likes of Dathan Ritzenhein or bringing Natosha Rogers into an Olympic team contender for 2021. ▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag ▶ Connect with Chris via Email: chris@citiusmag.com | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez
6 Huhti 20201h 1min
9-5ers & Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifiers: Matt McDonald, Alyssa Bloomquist, Ann Mazur, Duriel Hardy
It's taken me too long to release this episode but about a month ago, I hosted a live panel at the Atlanta Track Club's marathon weekend experience that lined up with the 2020 U.S. Olympic marathon Trials. I sat down and talked with Matt McDonald, Alyssa Bloomquist, Ann Mazur and Duriel Hardy about how they manage to balance their full workload and sometimes classes with training at a high level. The COVID-19 pandemic definitely has lots of us working from home and thrown us out of our routine but I hope that this episode brings you a little bit of inspiration into understanding the importance of balance in work, life and running for when things do go back to normal and that no dream is too big to chase. Hailey Middlebrook of Runners World did a fantastic job profiling each of these guests in the leadup to Atlanta. You can find all of her stories below and their result: Matt McDonald, Ph.D. student in chemical engineering at Georgia Tech (2:12:19 for 10th place) – https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a29578084/matt-mcdonald-olympic-trials-qualifier/ Duriel Hardy, Pediatric Neurology Fellow/MD at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (2:26:41 for 119th place) – https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a30286103/duriel-hardy-olympic-marathon-trials-qualifier/ Alyssa Bloomquist, Speech-Language Pathologist at Greenville County Schools - Stone Academy (2:45:20 for 129th place) - https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a29814117/alyssa-bloomquist-olympic-marathon-trials-qualifier/ Ann Mazur, Founder/owner of Runners Love Yoga & teaches Running for Fitness and Yoga at the University of Virginia (2:51:53 for 260th place) - https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a30459353/ann-mazur-2020-olympic-trials-qualifier/ This episode was brought to you by the newest podcast in the CITIUS MAG family - Track and Field History with Jesse Squire. Get all the information about the show here: http://citiusmag.com/track-and-field-history-podcast-introduction/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/track-and-field-history-with-jesse-squire
4 Huhti 202044min
Tokyo Olympics Postponed + What It Means Going Forward
Chris Chavez and Matt Meyer get together over Skype to recap the biggest news of March. As races are canceled or postponed, the Olympics were the last major domino to fall. On March 24, the decision was officially made by the International Olympic Committee and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to move the Summer Games to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. We react to the news, explain why it was the best decision and break down what it means for the sport of track and field ahead. Plus, we share what's the biggest thing that we were looking forward to in the lost 2020 outdoor track and field campaign. ▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag ✩ Connect with Chris via Email: chris@citiusmag.com | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez ✩ Connect with Matt on Instagram: Instagram.com/matthewlukemeyer
28 Maalis 202040min
Running Is Not Canceled – Processing Coronavirus' Impact on The Sport
Chris Chavez and Ryan Welsh sit down (maybe six-feet apart) to discuss the impact coronavirus has taken on the world, sports and running. Topics discussed include: Running in uncertain times, listening and heeding the advice of experts, Boston and London Marathon postponed, should the Olympics and trials get cancelled or postponed and more. ▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag ✩ Connect with Chris via Email: chris@citiusmag.com | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez
21 Maalis 20201h 2min
Aliphine Tuliamuk On Living Out Her American Dream, Winning the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials
The sports world has stopped but the world could use the positivity of Aliphine Tuliamuk. At the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, Tuliamuk made her first U.S. Olympic team by winning in 2:27:23. On this show, we'll discuss how the race was the culmination of her American dream and why she is very appreciative of the opportunity to represent the United States – a place that has given her so many opportunities in her life. We talk about how she developed the self-belief that she could win the race and much more. Support for this episode comes from Stryd. They’re helping ensure that you nail the perfect pacing strategy so you can keep a consistent effort in challenging conditions - all in real-time. I’m digging all the data that it’s collecting and you’ll see a bunch of people wearing them on their shoes at the US Olympic Marathon Trials. Learn more by visiting STRYD.COM/CITIUS ▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag ✩ Connect with Chris via Email: chris@citiusmag.com | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez
13 Maalis 20201h 6min
