The Build: Bandit Running Co-Founder & CEO Nick West

Earlier this month, Clemson’s athletic department announced the decision to cut the men’s track and field and cross country programs after the 2020-21 academic year. Athletic director Dan Radakovich said it came as a measure that will save $2 million per year and would help other Olympic sports on campus survive. The men’s track and field/cross-country team features 51 athletes and has produced 22 Olympians and 16 NCAA titles since it was first offered up in 1953. One of the most outspoken athletes in the fight to save the team has been high jumper Anthony Hamilton Jr. He might have the biggest following with more than 81K Instagram followers and 112.9K TikTok followers thanks to his insanely cool basketball dunks that have been featured on ESPN, House of Highlights, World Star Hip Hop and other mainstream sports social channels. We spoke on Monday to discuss his reaction to the program getting cut, what conversations have taken place with members of the athletic department and more. We posted a video of his on the CITIUS MAG Instagram page a few days ago about how he started off playing basketball at the University of LaVerne, caught the attention of the track coach there, got involved with the sport and then jumped on an opportunity (see what I did there) to attend Clemson. It’s a cool story but one that gets lost if the men’s track and field program doesn’t exist and that’s what might happen. Sign the Petition to Save Clemson Track Follow Anthony on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube FULL SHOW NOTES ON CITIUSMAG.COM Catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! Support us by picking up some CITIUS MAG merch!

24 Marras 202054min

“I knew what it felt like to be an elite runner and then being a spectator trying to get into shape. That’s really tough to do: creating a routine and breaking through those barriers at first before it becomes routine. I just gained a whole different perspective about running. I think where I’m at now I just feel so much gratitude and appreciation because I’ve seen every spectrum of running in my life and I’m appreciative and thankful for where it is now.” We might be a little late to the game in getting Keira D'Amato on the podcast because she's been on a tear in 2020. She finished 15th at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2:34:24. In June, she lowered her 5,000m personal best to 15:04 with a time trial on the track. In July, she won the MVMT Race Series in Boston with a 32:33.44 for the 10,000 meters. Most recently, she won the Michigan Pro Ekiden Half Marathon and the Sugar Run 5K over some fields with strong competition. So how she is doing this at 36? She is also a mother and a full-time realtor. We unpack it all by starting with her "decade of hobby jogging" before getting into serious training under coach Scott Raczko (who also used to coach Alan Webb). She shares a bit of his coaching practice and philosophy + why it works for her. She walks us through this year's races and why things have been going so well. Plus, Keira touches on vocalizing her goal of possibly breaking Janet Bawcom's 10-mile American record at the Updawg 10-Miler before shifting back into marathon focus for The Marathon Project. Follow Keira on Instagram. Episode photography by Kevin Morris. FULL SHOW NOTES ON CITIUSMAG.COM Catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! Sponsorships for the CITIUS MAG Podcast remain open just in time for the holiday season. If you’re interested in supporting this show, hit me up chris@citiusmag.com to get the word out about your brand, product or event. I’m all ears. Support CITIUS MAG & pick up some merch on CITIUSMAG.com or Venmo us: @CITIUSMAG ▶ 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

18 Marras 202055min

“I think people need to remember that the presidency doesn’t solve all of our problems. If you want to continue to be engaged in the political process, find your local city council member and figure out if you’re not happy with what they’re doing, elect someone else or you can run yourself. I’m now at the point where I’ve got several friends who are in elected offices in California, which is very cool. Get involved in your state races, your city races, your county races. Those are also avenues that are going to have a tremendous impact on your life and if you’re not happy about the way things are going, not just in the White House but at every other level, get involved.” CITIUS MAG contributor Kevin Liao joins the podcast to share what his experience was like on the presidential campaign trail for the past two years. Kevin is wrapping up his time as Joe Biden's communications director in Nevada. Prior to that, he served as Elizabeth Warren's communications director in California and then as her Iowa press secretary. Kevin and I worked alongside each other briefly at Flotrack and then teamed up for the launch of CITIUS MAG in 2017. I've covered numerous races and track meets alongside him but never really dove into his professional life in politics. We talk about how that started, how it coincided with his own running. Totally understand if you've had your fill of politics talk after Election Day and the whirlwind that followed. Feel free to come back to this episode whenever you want. If you've followed CITIUS MAG in the past few years and seen some of our recent posts on social media, you might know that we're OK with veering into politics. The line between sports, politics or activism does not exist for me but I understand that not everyone feels this way. I've also shared some of my personal views on social media. So if you choose to skip this episode, that's OK. We hope to have you back when we continue with more chats with athletes, coaches and anyone notable in the sport. Follow Kevin on Twitter. FULL SHOW NOTES ON CITIUSMAG.COM Catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! Sponsorships for the CITIUS MAG Podcast remain open just in time for the holiday season. If you’re interested in supporting this show, hit me up chris@citiusmag.com to get the word out about your brand, product or event. I’m all ears.

13 Marras 202043min

“I think a big reason why I went for a good beer mile time was because of that first Flotrack championship. I remember streaming it live and thinking ‘They’re running a 5-flat beer mile. This is fast.’ But, at the same time thinking, ‘These guys don’t have as good of a PR as me in the mile so why can’t I run that sort of time? I can do that.’" Chris Robertson is the second-fastest beer miler in history and the American record holder in the event with his 4:37 personal best. The only person faster than him is world record holder and Canada’s own Corey Bellemore who has run 4:34. Listener’s discretion is advised: There’s obviously lots of beer talk on this episode. We wanted to make it clear that we’re not encouraging irresponsible or dangerous behavior or drinking. That’s obviously the case if you’re not 21 years old or legal drinking age. Chris is a professional at it so some of what you might hear comes from his experience getting to that level. In this episode, I got a chance to sit down with him while I spent a few weeks in Chicago. We talk about how he got so fast at this, we’ll dive into some of the history and evolution since the first sub-five minute beer mile was run in 2014, how fast he thinks the limit can be and more. Chris has also run 10:18 for the beer two-mile, which is just a disgusting performance so we talk about that and his hopes as the new owner of BeerMile.com Subscribe to the Beer Mile Media YouTube channel. Follow Chris Robertson on Instagram. Episode photography by Ryan Gooding Photography. FULL SHOW NOTES ON CITIUSMAG.COM Catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! Sponsorships for the CITIUS MAG Podcast remain open just in time for the holiday season. If you’re interested in supporting this show, hit me up chris@citiusmag.com to get the word out about your brand, product or event. I’m all ears. In the meantime, check out More Than Running with Dana Giordano. It's one of our most popular shows on the CITIUS MAG Podcast Network. Dana Giordano, a pro runner for the Boston Athletic Association, interviews inspirational women from all walks of life who are working hard to promote the sport as industry leaders. They can be athletes, coaches, entrepreneurs, activists. Dana is going to get the scoop behind some really awesome success stories .Season 2 is underway. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify now. A full list of Season 1 episodes can be found on CITIUS MAG.

9 Marras 20201h 19min

"We wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to get better. I don’t have the pressure to get into a marathon build-up or if the Olympics were happening. I wanted to come out of this better. A big part of that for me was maybe taking it a little easier with the mileage and intensity and focusing back to strengthening up my leg. I lost a lot of muscle – not just in my ankle and those tendons but throughout that left leg. It’s been a long process and I think I certainly underestimated how difficult it would be. It’s been two years since I was operated on but I feel like I’m finally getting back to my old self and getting some good push-off in my left leg. There was certainly a big hitch in my stride at the trials. I really wasn’t getting a lot of push there. It was just setting down and pivoting. My right leg was doing a lot of the work. I can certainly say that I’ve made some big improvements mechanically with that." It’s been eight months since Galen Rupp won the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on Feb. 29. In that span of time, he says he has not run a single step with another person. He’s still been training but he’s been grinding solo. That all changed on Friday when Eugene Marathon organizers put together the Row River Half Marathon. It was Rupp, Suguru Osako (his former Oregon Project teammate) and Patrick Tiernan. Many thought that Rupp could take a crack at Ryan Hall’s American record of 59:43 could be in jeopardy but Rupp finished the race in 60:22. His PR is still 59:47 from Prague in 2018. However, he walked away from Friday with the new American record in the 10-mile since he split 45:53 and Greg Meyer had run 46:13 in 1983. Osako finished behind him in 61:15. In order for the record to count, I believe you need three finishers so Pat Tiernan, who paced for a bit, took third in 66:42. Support for this episode comes from Bakline Running. We're excited to partner with this Brooklyn-based company that's making active lifestyle and streetwear-inspired apparel. I'm racing a mile in their performance singlet soon but their hits are their shirts, graphic tees and designs with inspiring mantras like "Me vs Me"; "Nothing But Miles"; "The Future Is Female Runners" and more. Check them out at https://www.bakline.nyc/ and use code CITIUS for 15% off at checkout. FULL SHOW NOTES AND INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT ON CITIUSMAG.COM Episode photo provided by Jon Marx/Eugene Marathon ▶ 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

30 Loka 202015min

"I was a competitive snowboarder but seeing what I'm doing in running right now is above and beyond what I thought I was doing in that sport. Finding a sport this late in life and seeing that constant progression, which is what I lost in snowboarding, I hit this point where I don't want to hit jumps anymore. I just want to have fun on the mountains. You stop seeing yourself become better at a point. You're not learning new tricks. You're skiing and snowboarding on the same trails. With running, I'm continuing to get faster and PR in different events and progress. I mostly get messages from friends saying, 'I can't believe how fast you've gotten' or 'What kind of running shoes should I buy?' or even 'Hey! You've really inspired me to sign up for a race.' It's pretty cool, especially to have people who I looked up to for so many years to reach out to me and ask for my advice on running." If you enjoyed last week’s motivational episode with Pat Jeffers about his marathon progression after some time away from the sport, I offer up another inspirational story but this time it’s someone who found the sport much later in life. Brian is a super nice guy who I met in Boulder a few months ago. He’s a member of the Tinman Track Club and he’s run 2:30:14 for the marathon. He ran his first marathon in 3:18 just four years ago. His background doesn’t have much running. He was a snowboarder growing up and then really partied in college. He decided to make a change in his life when he stepped on the scale and wasn’t happy with where he was at. It led him to boxing, which then led him to running following an injury. It’s all interesting to me and I think you’ll enjoy it as well. Follow Brian on Instagram at @schroy. More info on Haymaker Harriers – a new community run club. All proceeds are tax-deductible and go towards the fight against cancer. 5K Virtual Turkey Trot to raise money for cancer. Support for this episode comes from Bakline Running. We're excited to partner with this Brooklyn-based company that's making active lifestyle and streetwear-inspired apparel. I'm racing a mile in their performance singlet soon but their hits are their shirts, graphic tees and designs with inspiring mantras like "Me vs Me"; "Nothing But Miles"; "The Future Is Female Runners" and more. Check them out at https://www.bakline.nyc/ and use code CITIUS for 15% off at checkout. FULL SHOW NOTES ON CITIUSMAG.COM Catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify!

28 Loka 20201h 9min

“It was a really fun experiment because I don’t think anyone thought that I could have done it...In the beginning, I couldn’t maintain under 5:20 pace for four miles so I’m so far away from this thing. But, the training became reckless in a sort of fun way. When you have a goal that’s unrealistic, you sort of just have to throw yourself at it. There’s no time to think or build up slowly. One of my biggest strengths as a runner is that I’ve been fairly durable – knock on every piece of wood around me – so I knew I could probably click off some 100-mile weeks. I could probably double as often as I had time to. It progressed pretty well. The workouts started going a little bit better. I ran a half marathon in October just under 5:20 pace. So I went from not being able to maintain seven-minute pace in March to running a 5K in June at 5:25 pace to a half marathon in October at 5:20 pace. So I was getting closer. I was getting to this point where no one would really think someone who runs a 60:50 half marathon would ever have a chance to double that but the progression was really exciting for me. I knew that wherever I landed at the end of that journey, that it would have been a hell of a ride either way." Pat Jeffers captivated me on Instagram in his pursuit of an Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier last year. He used #OTQorHospital to document his training. But what made the whole journey special is that in March 2019, he could barely hold a sub-7 minute per mile pace while he was running with a team in the Speed Project. Once he got re-motivated with running, he started making some major leaps in training. This goal was a longshot and his training was all geared for that type of marathon pace even though he’d suffer through it. Spoiler Alert: He didn’t achieve the goal but did end up running 2:26, which is very impressive. What you’ll hear in our conversation is more about the lessons learned in the process and why it’s OK to take those shots and set those goals. He’s running a marathon in November and raising money for SisterSong: The National Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. Enter Pat's prediction contest by donating any dollar amount to his GoFundMe campaign here: https://gf.me/u/y35icx (Sister Song is an organization fighting to eradicate reproductive oppression for Indigenous, African American, Asian and Pacific Islander, Arab and Middle Eastern, Latinx, and queer women and trans people) If you predict Pat's time and come the closest to his result, he will send you a one of one of piece of running memorabilia - the only one that exists. Worth it. Support for this episode comes from Bakline Running. We're excited to partner with this Brooklyn-based company that's making active lifestyle and streetwear-inspired apparel. I'm racing a mile in their performance singlet soon but their hits are their shirts, graphic tees and designs with inspiring mantras like "Me vs Me"; "Nothing But Miles"; "The Future Is Female Runners" and more. Check them out at https://www.bakline.nyc/ and use code CITIUS for 15% off at checkout. FULL SHOW NOTES ON CITIUSMAG.COM

20 Loka 20201h

"This is a pretty huge East African community. A lot of these Africans don’t play basketball or football so this is their way of getting that opportunity at that highest level...I feel like one of the reasons they were able to bring back outdoor track was that they knew the amount of damage this would cause. But still, we need indoors as well because we want to be equal.” Obsa Ali is the 2018 NCAA outdoor steeplechase champion out of the University of Minnesota. I wanted to get him on the show because last Friday, the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents voted to approve a resolution to eliminate the men's indoor track and field, men's tennis and men's gymnastics teams at the end of the 2020-21 school year. A revised proposal that was submitted on Friday removed men's outdoor track and field from the cuts that were first announced in September. The university said the athletic department was facing a projected revenue loss of approximately $75 million and what do these three cuts end up saving? An approximate $1.6 million dollars, which alums and others have already been able to fundraise independently in an effort to save the track team. Obsa was in the room when the decision was made so I wanted to get his account of that day, his feelings and where the fight goes from here. Follow Obsa on Instagram. Keep up with the latest from Save Minnesota Track. Sports Illustrated recap of Friday's Board of Regents meeting. Episode Artwork Photo by Al Lacey for Youth Runner Magazine. Support for this episode comes from Bakline Running. We're excited to partner with this Brooklyn-based company that's making active lifestyle and streetwear-inspired apparel. I'm racing a mile in their performance singlet soon but their hits are their shirts, graphic tees and designs with inspiring mantras like "Me vs Me"; "Nothing But Miles"; "The Future Is Female Runners" and more. Check them out at https://www.bakline.nyc/ and use code CITIUS for 15% off at checkout. Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG Newsletter for all sorts of analysis and commentary on everything happening in the sport: https://citiusmag.substack.com/ FULL SHOW NOTES ON CITIUSMAG.COM Catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify!

13 Loka 202037min