Ep. 209 - He Trained For a Half Marathon at 10 - Then Became a 2X 800m National Champ

One hundredth of a second. That was the difference between Caleb Winders winning and going home wondering what he could have done differently.

A few weeks later, he ran 1:46.85.

The Bloomington North senior has spent the last few years quietly building himself into one of the best 800-meter runners in the country. Now headed to UNC, Winders has combined raw speed with a blue-collar approach to training, racing, and getting better every day.

In 2026, he repeated as Indiana 800m state champion and broke the state record with a 1:46.85. He won New Balance Nationals Indoor and Outdoor, adding two more national titles to his résumé. He also helped Bloomington North win its fourth Indiana 4x800-meter state championship.

But the numbers only tell half the story.

This season also brought Winders his biggest setback. A hamstring injury hit during the postseason, forcing him to balance his own goals with his responsibility to his team. It was a reminder that even when everything is moving forward, running can still ask you to slow down.

In this conversation, we get into what it actually feels like to run 1:46, the mental battle of the 800, the race he lost by a hundredth, and the day-to-day grind behind the performances. We talk about pressure, confidence, pain, consistency, and why Winders still seems to care most about one simple thing: beating the people next to him and having fun doing it.

Now, the high school chapter is over. Chapel Hill is next.

Tap into the Caleb Winders Special.

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