Inside the Penn State 800m System: Handal Roban on the 1:42 Breakthrough, Why He Stopped Chasing Times, and the Mantra Behind Every Race

Inside the Penn State 800m System: Handal Roban on the 1:42 Breakthrough, Why He Stopped Chasing Times, and the Mantra Behind Every Race

He bet his uncle he could beat him in a race, and that was the start of everything.


Handal Roban grew up in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines playing cricket before a single track meet at age fifteen changed his trajectory.

When the cricket team pushed him out, he didn't look back. Instead, he chased the guys who beat him—literally moving to Jamaica to train at Jamaica College High School, one of the most decorated prep programs in the Caribbean.


That decision, he says, taught him how to navigate being the underdog, how to thrive in discomfort, and how to carry the weight of a new culture in silence when no one could understand a word he said.


At Penn State, Roban has quietly built one of the most decorated careers in school history: two Big Ten Freshman of the Year awards; multiple All-American honors; a trip to the Paris Olympics at 21 years of age; and a 1:42.87 at the 2025 NACAC Championships that left him thinking the clock was broken. That time made him the second-fastest 800m runner in NCAA history. He still can't fully believe it.


But what defines Roban isn't the resume, it's the philosophy underneath it.


Stop chasing times. Find your mantra. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Don't respect your competitors so much that you forget to race them. And when the butterflies show up before the gun, don't fight them, channel them.


With one year of eligibility remaining and an NCAA title still on his list, Roban isn't close to done.


Tap into the Handal Roban Special.


If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it.

S H O W N O T E S


-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs


-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run


-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ


-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz


Behind the scenes of The Running Effect:


https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZ


LuminaryThreads: luminarythreads.shop


$20 off your next Attuned scan: https://attuned.health/discount/TRE20?ref=TRE20


Instagram: @handal.roban


X (Twitter): @imhandalroban


TikTok: @handal.rob

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(762)

"I Just Decided I Wasn't Going to Be Scared Anymore": Colin Sahlman on the Year He Won 3 NCAA Titles, Signing With Nike, and the Chase for Olympic Gold

"I Just Decided I Wasn't Going to Be Scared Anymore": Colin Sahlman on the Year He Won 3 NCAA Titles, Signing With Nike, and the Chase for Olympic Gold

Colin Sahlman finished 151st at NCAA cross country as a freshman. Four years later he left college with three national titles.Colin returns to the show for the first time since high school, now a Nike...

11 Sep 48min

America's Best Marathoner On High School Cross Country: Jess McClain's Four Nationals Appearances, Summer Heat Training, And Advice For Chasing A Golden Ticket

America's Best Marathoner On High School Cross Country: Jess McClain's Four Nationals Appearances, Summer Heat Training, And Advice For Chasing A Golden Ticket

Jess McClain almost skipped her first Foot Locker Nationals for a high school dance.Her coach talked her out of it, and she went on to become one of only 27 girls in the meet's history to make all fou...

9 Sep 45min

 Sleep Science for Runners: Todd Anderson on Sleep Debt, Mouth Taping, and Marathon Performance — Plus the CO2 Tolerance You Build While Asleep That Changes Performance

Sleep Science for Runners: Todd Anderson on Sleep Debt, Mouth Taping, and Marathon Performance — Plus the CO2 Tolerance You Build While Asleep That Changes Performance

You can't out-tough sleep.That's Todd Anderson's whole argument, and he makes it as a guy who tried. A walk-on fullback at Michigan State who signed with the Rams of the NFL in 2012, Todd spent a deca...

7 Sep 1h 4min

"I'd Spend A Million Dollars To Get Six Seconds Better At The 800": Riley Witt Of Bicarb 3.0 On Hot Baths That Rival Microdosed EPO, Threshold Reps At 4:00 Mile Pace & Other Science Truths

"I'd Spend A Million Dollars To Get Six Seconds Better At The 800": Riley Witt Of Bicarb 3.0 On Hot Baths That Rival Microdosed EPO, Threshold Reps At 4:00 Mile Pace & Other Science Truths

Riley Witt says a hot bath beats a microdose of EPO.That's where this one opens, and it doesn't slow down. Riley walks through passive heat training—45 minutes at 104 degrees, four or five times a wee...

3 Sep 1h 11min

"You Don't Go To New York For A PB, You Go There To Race": European 10,000m Champion Andreas Almgren On His Marathon Debut, 200k Weeks, 37K Long Runs, And The Workouts Behind His European Gold

"You Don't Go To New York For A PB, You Go There To Race": European 10,000m Champion Andreas Almgren On His Marathon Debut, 200k Weeks, 37K Long Runs, And The Workouts Behind His European Gold

Andreas Almgren just won European gold by lapping half the field—and six days later, he announced he's stepping up to 26.2 miles for the first time.In this episode, recorded mid-marathon-buildup with ...

1 Sep 52min

"Most Runners Train Too Hard": Marius Bakken, The Father Of Double Threshold, On What's Really Holding You Back, Advising The Ingebrigtsens, And The Golden Zone Behind The Norwegian Method

"Most Runners Train Too Hard": Marius Bakken, The Father Of Double Threshold, On What's Really Holding You Back, Advising The Ingebrigtsens, And The Golden Zone Behind The Norwegian Method

https://www.amazon.com/dp/8269471100Most runners aren't training too hard. They're spreading the hard work too thin.Marius Bakken has spent thirty years proving it. The Norwegian physician and two-tim...

30 Aug 46min

 Cory Leslie on Leaving Pro Coaching for Ole Miss: SEC Roster Limits, Why He Won't Buy Hired Guns From the Portal, and What He Tells Recruits Who Don't Have Olympic Dreams

Cory Leslie on Leaving Pro Coaching for Ole Miss: SEC Roster Limits, Why He Won't Buy Hired Guns From the Portal, and What He Tells Recruits Who Don't Have Olympic Dreams

He built a world-class pro group in Baltimore. Then he left it for a college roster of 30. Five years after his first appearance on the show, Cory Leslie returns as Ole Miss's new associate head cross...

28 Aug 48min

Coach Bennett on Why It’s Cool to Care, the Difference Between Confidence and Arrogance, Why He Never Wishes His Runners Good Luck, and Coaching Athletes to Not Need You

Coach Bennett on Why It’s Cool to Care, the Difference Between Confidence and Arrogance, Why He Never Wishes His Runners Good Luck, and Coaching Athletes to Not Need You

The most famous voice in running almost quit before he ever got fast. It took a bad workout (and a girlfriend on the verge of dumping him) to turn Chris Bennett into Coach B.Nike's Global Running Head...

26 Aug 1h 7min

Populært innen Sport

alt-fortalt
fastlegen
tv-2-b-laget
fotballpodden-2
ballspark
rss-gukild-johaug
tv-2-spiss-vinkel
viaplay-premier-league-pod
unitedno
rss-tv-2-snakk-sport-2
rss-aftenball
breaking-marathon-limits
liverpoolno-pausepraten
rabona
rotsekk-en-podcast-i-sort-hvitt
studio-a
fotballpreik
fantasyradet
lopeprat
rss-youll-never-talk-alone-2