Jacob Riley Explains How He Ran the Race of His Life to Make the Olympics + His Remarkable Comeback Story
Jacob Riley joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast to share how he managed to make his first Olympic team after a 2:10:02 personal best to finish second at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Jake wrote on Twitter, "Been saving end of segment things so I can savor this feeling longer. Yesterday was watching the race coverage, today was finishing my log. Final entry isn’t twitter appropriate, but I got to write “I’m an Olympian”. The way I felt writing that I’ll remember forever." What's the not-Twitter appropriate version and what's the training log say? Jake put us in his shoes for the race and recounts what we likely missed from the broadcast since he had to work his way to catch the leaders. More in this episode on: - Snatching the American flag with 600 meters remaining in the race and instant regret - Getting in the right mindset for the race and how it compared to Chicago - Looking back at his approach to racing as an All-American at Stanford - What he learned from his five years with the Hansons-Brooks team - Needing a change in scenery as life gets tough and going through a divorce - Undergoing surgery on his Achilles and then finding the hope in recovery - The return to racing and what led to the Chicago breakthrough - Turning down a shoe contract to be able to run in the Chonky Bois (Nike AlphaFly Next%) - Why we were dumb to overlook him before the trials? - A quick explanation of his neckbeard in college 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
6 Mars 20201h 17min
Coach Lee Troop Gives The Scoop On How Jake Riley Became An Olympian
Team Boulder's Lee Troop joins the show to share how Jake Riley went from an Achilles injury that nearly ended his career to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials runner-up and headed to the Olympics. Riley ran 2:13 for his first marathon in 2014 and then finished 15th at the 2016 trials. He also went on to finish 12th at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore. but then his career got rocky. He went through a divorce, moved from Michigan to Colorado to pursue his mechanical engineering masters and then joined Troop's training. An Achilles injury was later diagnosed as Haglund's syndrome and he had to undergo surgery. Troop shares the process of how they worked back to the starting line and then what ultimately led to his major breakout of a 2:10:36 in Chicago last fall. Among the key pieces of insight shared by Troop are the pre-race talks that he shared with Riley and race plans in both Chicago and Atlanta. We also share how Riley developed the "No more next times" mantra, the decision to wear the AlphaFly shoes 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
5 Mars 202047min
Recapping the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Madness - What a Race!
Chris Chavez and Matthew Luke Meyer unpack all of the madness from the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta. Galen Rupp took the win on the men's side by pulling away after 21 miles to win his second consecutive U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials title in 2:09:20. Jacob Riley ran the race of his life and pulled one of the ballsiest moves by snatching a tiny American flag with less than half a mile to go. Abdi Abdirahman hung on for the third spot and qualified for his fifth Olympic team at the age of 43. Aliphine Tuliamuk won the women's race after surging ahead at Mile 20 to win in 2:27:23 and head to her first Olympics. Molly Seidel, who had not run a marathon in her career but was an accomplished cross country and 10,000m star at Notre Dame, was the runner-up in 2:27:31. She will also head to her first Summer Games. Sally Kipyego returns to the Olympics as a mother for the first time. In 2012, she won an Olympic silver medal in the 10,000m while representing Kenya. We recap the races, break down the biggest surprises, why we overlooked the people who ended up on the team and where we go from here. Also, the Chonky Bois were out in full force. 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
4 Mars 20201h 12min
Olympic Marathon Trials Pre-Race: Meeting Random Hometown Heroes (Live from the Brooks Hyperion House)
Chris Chavez and Ryan Welsh post up at the Brooks Hyperion House at Switchyards in downtown Atlanta to test out a new podcast concept – talking to strangers to get to know their running story. For this first episode, we sat down and got to meet some of Brooks' Hometown Heroes. They're sub-elite runners who hold full-time jobs and still manage to find the time to run fast. You'll be surprised at who we meet. We knew nothing about these people beforehand. It was blind speed dating of sorts. Garrett Heath of the Brooks Beasts (27-minute mark) happened to be working at the lounge and so we got his thoughts on being in town for the trials, what it's like to compete for an Olympic team spot and some of his own predictions for the race. Teresa McWalters (41-minute mark) is a four-time U.S. Olympic trials qualifier with a newfound perspective on running after an injury in this buildup. Kelly Calway (51-minute mark) is a U.S. Army officer who ran at NC State. She is a combat veteran with two deployments under her belt. Because of her work and service for this country, running has taken place in a wide variety of places. Elizabeth Gregory and Holly Clarke (1 hour, 8-minute mark) share their experience as teammates on the Impala Racing Team, who qualified together. ▶ 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
28 Feb 20201h 46min
Bernard Lagat Can't Be Counted Out, On His Upbringing in Kenya and Recent Return
Bernard Lagat was the subject of a Sports Illustrated story that I wrote this week titled: "Before Attempt at History, Bernard Lagat Returned to His Roots in Kenya." The story shares how Lagat returned home to Kenya to train for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, where he will be vying to make his sixth Olympic team at age 45. He holds a marathon personal best of 2:12:10 from last year's Gold Coast Marathon and enters as one of the most intriguing dark horses in the men's elite race. The story and conversation also examine how Lagat has made himself one of the faces of American distance running when it's less than 20 years since he made the allegiance switch from Kenya. He's the second-fastest 1,500 meter runner in history and owns two Olympic medals from his time competing as a Kenyan. He switched in 2004. What was the reaction by Kenyans? How was he received by Americans? And what was the importance and role of immigrants in the revitalization of U.S. distance running? More also on: Growing up in a family with 12 siblings, his first running shoes, when he first returned to Kenya in 2007, training with Eliud Kipchoge, AlphaFlys and shoe technology and much more. Read the story on SI here: https://www.si.com/olympics/2020/02/25/bernard-lagat-us-olympic-marathon-trials 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 ATL LIVE SHOWS INFO FRIDAY - 9 a.m. Guests: Keith and Kevin Hanson Where: Switchyards Downtown - 151 Ted Turner Dr NW, Atlanta, GA 30303 We'll discuss their influential work with elite U.S. distance runners and their team over the past 20 years. FRIDAY - 11:15 a.m. Guests: Matt McDonald, Alyssa Bloomquist, Ann Mazur and Duriel Hardy Where: America’s Marathon Weekend Experience - Georgia World Congress Center, Hall A3 We'll meet these 9-5'ers and talk about how they have found ways to run fast while being full time workers and students. All CITIUS MAG in Atlanta information here: http://citiusmag.com/2020-us-olympic-marathon-trials-events-schedule/ ▶ 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
26 Feb 202053min
The Best of February 2020: Predicting the Most Unpredictable Race | 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Preview
Chris Chavez and Matthew Luke Meyer reunite to recap all of the biggest storylines and news in the sport. On this episode, we discuss: The Chonky Bois (Nike AlphaFly Next%) were deemed legal by World Athletics and will be on the starting line of the U.S. Olympic marathon trials. What do we make of the rules and is there a stigma attached to those athletes who wear them? Oregon announces the new Hayward Field will honor former track and field legends Steve Prefontaine, Raevyn Rogers, Ashton Eaton and Otis Davis but who else should have a floor named after them? We need more women! Tyreek Hill has no shot of making the U.S. Olympic team and it was a silly Super Bowl media week storyline Mondo Duplantis is breaking the pole vault world record with ease and now there’s a movie in the works on him Buy or sell: Nike unveils the new Team USA uniforms for the 2020 Olympics Running through results: Millrose Games | Ajee Wilson is the gold medal favorite, Donovan Brazier is going to be a problem, Justyn Knight didn’t take a subway for coronavirus concern, Elle Purrier has a tough decision with the 1,500m and 5,000m for outdoors Galen Rupp proved he is back with his 61-minute win at the Sprouts Mesa Half Marathon. The beef between Lopez Lomong and Paul Chelimo through memes, explained U.S. Indoor Track and Field Championships meh after World Indoors was canceled but Bowerman Track Club has a great showing Joshua Cheptegai ran a solo 12:51 world record for the 5K on the roads in Monaco More world records fall with Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh clocking a 64:31 at the RAK Half to take 20 seconds off the half marathon world record. - 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials complete prediction and why it’s so damn hard to make our picks but we do. BONUS: A call with Amy Hastings Cragg to explain why she pulled out of the trials and what her race plan would've been 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 Podcast episode cover photo by Kevin Morris: https://www.instagram.com/kevmofoto/ ▶ 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
25 Feb 20202h 11min
Nick Willis' Key to Longevity, Olympic Medals and Remarkable Career Thus Far
Nick Willis sits down in New York City for a long-awaited conversation to look back at his remarkable career thus far. In this episode, we'll go through everything from growing up in Lower Hutt, New Zealand and his start in athletics with his brother, Steve, to his recent streak of 18 consecutive years of breaking four minutes for the mile. More in this episode: Nick's early interest in skateboarding and then finally turning the page to track and field Arriving at Michigan after the Alan Webb hype and the start of his relationship with coach Ron Warhurst His wife's development as a coach Breaking the New Zealand 1,500 meter record in 2005 and the start of his professional career Losing his passport and rookie mistakes of his first professional year Being a student of the sport even now by reading about track and field greats Get in Nick's shoes for the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympic 1,500-meter final Thoughts on Rashid Ramzi, Asbel Kiprop and competing against dirty athletes Drowning out the skepticism and dark cloud of the sport's problems of doping Theory of longevity (via Spikes Mag): Sleep, Patience and Having his family with him 2020 and how much longer he could keep going Lots of wisdom shared in this episode. Enjoy. Recommended reading: "Longevity" by Nick Willis | SPIKES Follow Nick on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willisnick/ ❤️ 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 Podcast episode cover photo by Kevin Morris: https://www.instagram.com/kevmofoto/ ▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag instagram.com/citiusmag facebook.com/citiusmag ✩ Connect with Chris Email: chris@citiusmag.com twitter.com/ChrisChavez instagram.com/chris_j_chavez
20 Feb 20201h 31min
Natosha Rogers Details The Rollercoaster Of Her Career Since 2012 & Why She's Back
Natosha Rogers won the NCAA 10,000 meters as a junior in 2012 and then finished second in the same event at the U.S. Olympic Trials. However, her 31:59 performance was just 14 seconds shy of meeting the Olympic standard to qualify for the Summer Games in London. She decided to leave behind running to study abroad and go about her senior year as a regular student. She took a break but returned and signed a professional contract in 2014 only to start to get injured. She had a rough time adjusting to life as a professional and dealing with injuries and moved back to Colorado under coach Steve Magness. Rogers stunned many with the success she found on the roads in 2017 and qualified for the 2018 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. The flu knocked her out of competing and then in a rush to return and make up for fitness, she injured her knee. Procedures and treatment went awry and the future of her running career was fading fast. It's hard to believe that someone who was working a desk job at a tech company until July 2019 has found a way to get back to the top level of U.S. distance running. Last month, she won the USATF Cross Country Championships in San Diego and is already competing indoors. The big focus is the 5,000 meters or 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in June. How did we get here? She details the rollercoaster ride. Recommended reading: In Her Return to Running, Natosha Rogers Finds Strength in Setbacks by Taylor Dutch for Runner's World https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a30756174/natosha-rogers-finds-strength-in-setbacks/ Follow Natosha on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natosha_rogers/ ❤️ 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 Podcast episode cover photo by Kevin Morris: https://www.instagram.com/kevmofoto/ ▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag instagram.com/citiusmag facebook.com/citiusmag ✩ Connect with Chris Email: chris@citiusmag.com twitter.com/ChrisChavez instagram.com/chris_j_chavez
13 Feb 202057min
