Office Hours: Coach Juli Benson On Two Decades Of Working With Runners Of All Levels + U.S. Greats Like Jenny Simpson And Nikki Hiltz

Office Hours: Coach Juli Benson On Two Decades Of Working With Runners Of All Levels + U.S. Greats Like Jenny Simpson And Nikki Hiltz

“I also learned that I just love working with athletes who truly have that passion about seeing how good they can be. The outcome isn't as important to me as I thought. It's just, ‘Let's go see how good we can be and see where that lands us...’ Stepping away from college and taking this really windy journey to where I am now, I've been able to work with all different levels of athletes and it's been equally rewarding to those who run their first mile without stopping all the way to the world stage. It's been a non-conventional path, but I've been loving it.”

My guest for today’s episode is someone who’s seen—and shaped—American middle-distance running from just about every angle. Juli Benson was a 1996 Olympian in the 1500 meters, a world-class competitor in her own right, and now she’s one of the most respected coaches in the sport.

Over the past two decades, Juli’s coaching journey has taken her from college programs like Georgetown, Air Force, and Penn to working with World Champions, Olympians, and emerging pros. She coached Jenny Simpson to her gold medal at the 2011 World Championships. She guided Kevin Sullivan back to the global stage. And today, she’s the coach behind Nikki Hiltz, helping them chase a 2028 Olympic dream of their own.

In this episode, we get into it all:

– What makes Nikki tick and how their partnership is evolving

– The differences between coaching NCAA athletes vs. pros

– How Juli learned to balance intensity with recovery—the hard way

– Her reflections on being a woman in the coaching world before there were many to look up to

– And what it’s like now to see coaches like Shalane Flanagan, Diljeet Taylor, and Laurie Henes rise to national prominence

We also talk about Juli’s time at Air Force, the unique challenges of coaching across every level of the sport, and what it’s meant to mentor everyone from Olympic finalists to first-time runners.

This is a conversation about resilience, evolution, and quiet excellence—and it’s one of my favorite coaching deep-dives we’ve done yet.

Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram

Guest: Juli Benson | julibensontraining.com

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Dana Giordano on Discovering A Five-Pound Tumor At 14, Fundraising $10K for Kids With Cancer

Dana Giordano on Discovering A Five-Pound Tumor At 14, Fundraising $10K for Kids With Cancer

Dana Giordano, a former All-American at Dartmouth and full-time employee/runner for Reebok, joins the show to give more insight into her inspiring story ahead of her run at the Falmouth Road Race on Sunday. In 2008, doctors discovered a 5-pound malignant ovarian teratoma which needed to be removed from her ovaries. She underwent surgery and made a full recovery before joining her high school track team in New Jersey and eventually developing into a star distance runner for Dartmouth. 10 years later, Dana is coming off a season in which she dropped her 1,500 meter personal best to 4:08 and made the 1,500 meter final at the U.S. Outdoor Championships. We recap some of her season and untraditional path back to the professional ranks. After a short break from training, Dana will be running the Falmouth Road Race on Sunday but has set the goal of raising $10,000 for Boston Children's Hospital. We're almost there! Less than $1,500 to go! It is her way of giving back to the hospital that cared for her. We talked about her background and story. If it inspired or moved you, please consider donating. The links to her fundraising page and story can be found below. Boston Children's Donating Campaign: http://fundraise.childrenshospital.org/site/TR?px=1283925&fr_id=1770&pg=personal Her full story: http://citiusmag.com/dana-giordano-boston-childrens-hospital-falmouth-fundraiser/ If you enjoy this podcast, check out the other shows on the CITIUS MAG Podcast Network including the 1609 Podcast, Price of a Mile, Running Things Considered and more. Long live CITIUS MAG. If you want the site and podcast to continue going strong, please consider pledging any dollar amount monthly to show your love and support for what we do. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Your help will feed the bloggers. Visit Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG today.

14 Elo 201849min

Courtney Frerichs On Breaking the Steeplechase American Record, 8:55 Goals, Finding Her Speed

Courtney Frerichs On Breaking the Steeplechase American Record, 8:55 Goals, Finding Her Speed

Courtney Frerichs of the Bowerman Track Club joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast just days after setting the American record in the steeplechase at the Monaco Diamond League meet. She ran 9:00.85 to break Emma Coburn's previous American record of 9:02.58. Frerichs was second in the race behind Kenya's Beatrice Chepkoech, who broke Ruth Jebet's world record of 8:52.78 by eight seconds with a 8:44.32 victory.  Frerichs is now the sixth-fastest woman of all-time in the steeplechase and she's not done yet. She shares some insight into her lofty goals for the Brussels Diamond League and the next two years of her career. We've transcribed some of the best excerpts of the podcast and you can read them on CITIUSMAG.com. You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also now on Stitcher and now Google Play! If you enjoy this podcast, check out the other shows on the CITIUS MAG Podcast Network including the 1609 Podcast, Price of a Mile, Running Things Considered and more. Long live CITIUS MAG. If you want the site and podcast to continue going strong, please consider pledging any dollar amount monthly to show your love and support for what we do. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Your help will feed the bloggers. Visit Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG today.

27 Heinä 20181h 17min

Stephanie Bruce on Patience with Breakthroughs, Young Jeezy, Coming Back From Pregnancy + More

Stephanie Bruce on Patience with Breakthroughs, Young Jeezy, Coming Back From Pregnancy + More

Several CITIUS MAG Podcast listeners have requested an episode with Stephanie Bruce and we finally made it happen! Steph is on a roll this summer with a third place finish at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships 10,000 meters, which she then followed up with a win at the AJC Peach Tree 10K (U.S. 10K Championships). That win marked her first U.S. national title and a personal best (32:21) by more than 30 seconds. We caught up with Stephanie before the end of her summer racing season to discuss how she managed to bottle up her fitness and disappointment from the London Marathon in April and turn it into a breakthrough at 34 years old. A win in Atlanta in 2018 is good but one in 2020 when the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials roll into town would be even better. We discussed the outlook of the women's marathoning scene and her approach to such a deep era in the sport. Stephanie is also a mother to two boys. She's been very open on social media about how she manages to be a good mom and professional runner. We discuss her road back into competitive running post-pregnancy with some advice for other women. Plus listener questions and a new addition to the famous final three questions. It's now the Famous Final Four! All that and more on the latest episode of THE CITIUS MAG Podcast. You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also now on Stitcher and now Google Play! If you enjoy this podcast, check out the other shows on the CITIUS MAG Podcast Network including the 1609 Podcast, Price of a Mile, Running Things Considered and more. Long live CITIUS MAG. If you want the site and podcast to continue going strong, please consider pledging any dollar amount monthly to show your love and support for what we do. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Your help will feed the bloggers. Visit Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG today.

25 Heinä 201859min

The Big Meet Pod - Monaco DL with special guest Chris Chavez

The Big Meet Pod - Monaco DL with special guest Chris Chavez

Ryan Sterner and Chris Chavez go over the Monaco Diamond League meet, which they have dubbed the biggest meet of the year. That makes this the Biggest Meet Pod. World Records, American Records, Meet Records galore, this is one you don't want to miss.

21 Heinä 201837min

Shelby Houlihan On Developing Her Lethal Kick, Record Chasing, French Bread, Harry Potter and More

Shelby Houlihan On Developing Her Lethal Kick, Record Chasing, French Bread, Harry Potter and More

Shelby Houlihan joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast fresh off her 3:57.34 win in the Lausanne Diamond League 1,500 meters. She is now the fourth-fastest American woman of all-time at the distance. In that race, she beat a few global championship medalists at the distance including Laura Muir, Caster Semenya and Sifan Hassan. Shelby pulled off the win with a 14-second final 100 meters that was more than a second faster than anyone else in the field. Oh, we haven't even mentioned that this is all after she won the 1,500 meters and the 5,000 meters at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Shelby is on a tear. We discuss how she developed this incredible kick, the importance of strength work, being patient in training and much more. Fun topics include: The origins of French Bread Friday, why she doesn't plan on changing her Twitter handle, ranking the Harry Potter moves and much more including a BIG SCOOP that she has never told anyone before. Plus: Listener questions submitted on Instagram. All that and more on the latest episode of THE CITIUS MAG Podcast. You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also now on Stitcher and now Google Play! If you enjoy this podcast, check out the other shows on the CITIUS MAG Podcast Network including the 1609 Podcast, Price of a Mile, Running Things Considered and more. Long live CITIUS MAG. If you want the site and podcast to continue going strong, please consider pledging any dollar amount monthly to show your love and support for what we do. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Your help will feed the bloggers. Visit Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG today.

12 Heinä 20181h 5min

Jim Walmsley on Winning Western States, the Coconino Cowboys, Future Plans

Jim Walmsley on Winning Western States, the Coconino Cowboys, Future Plans

Jim Walmsley joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast with Chris Chavez and Stephen Kersh to talk about his big win at the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. He shares a little bit of background into how he found ultra running and was introduced into the sport, what makes for a good ultra runner, preparing your mindset for a grueling race and enjoying the process. Jim had two previous close calls for the win at Western States, In 2016, he aggressively chased the course record in his first time out on the course but made one bad turn that cost him the W. In 2017, he was a DNF after 90 miles due to heat exhaustion and struggles to keep fluids down. 2018 was his crowning moment. Stephen was on-hand to watch the race and chronicled its beauty for CITIUS MAG. You can check out his piece here: http://citiusmag.com/western-states-100/ Jim talks about his training for Western States, the feeling walking away and plans for the future. Jim is thinking about chasing an Olympic Trials Qualifier for 2020 and delves into how he could go about it. Listener questions! Submissions include: 'What does he like about Strava?' 'How many showers a week does he take?' and much more... You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also now on Stitcher and now Google Play! If you enjoy this podcast, check out the other shows on the CITIUS MAG Podcast Network including the 1609 Podcast, Price of a Mile, Running Things Considered and more. Long live CITIUS MAG. If you want the site and podcast to continue going strong, please consider pledging any dollar amount monthly to show your love and support for what we do. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Your help will feed the bloggers. Visit Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG today.

6 Heinä 20181h 33min

Lausanne DL - The Big Meet Pod

Lausanne DL - The Big Meet Pod

It's a big day for the Americans in the field. Noah Lyle's runs 19.69. Shelby Houlihan runs 3:57. Stephen and Ryan give their hairbrained opinions about it.

5 Heinä 201830min

Meeting in Paris DL - The Big Meet Pod

Meeting in Paris DL - The Big Meet Pod

Meeting in Paris DL - The Big Meet Pod by CITIUS MAG

30 Kesä 201836min

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