Citius Mag Podcast

"When I started making senior teams, I thought, “I want to compete at all six championships.” I did that and then was like, “I want to make a final in all six championships.” I did that and then said, “I want to win a medal at all six championships” and I have done that. I've defended titles, I've broken records and championship records. The only thing that's really missing is the global title, which is very hard to get… But I'm going to keep trying and that's all I can do." Great Britain’s Laura Muir, the Olympic 1500m silver medalist and three-time 1500m world championship medalist, will return to the 116th Millrose Games at The Armory on Feb. 11 to defend her NYRR Wanamaker Mile title. In this conversation, Laura and I look back at her 2023 season – which was a bit turbulent at times since she parted ways with her longtime coach Andy Young, coached herself briefly and is now working with Steve Vernon. Despite the sudden changes, she still managed to run a season’s best of 3:55

"The U.S. has become my home because it's been over ten years since I moved there. That makes me feel really emotional. My heart is full. I'm so grateful to be able to represent the U.S., after all I've gained in living there: to my two sisters living there, my son being born in the U.S. – it's a family thing for me. So I'm running for the whole family now." With all the excitement leading into the Olympic Marathon Trials on February 3rd, it seems like a good time to reacquaint listeners with some of the top contenders. This week, Kyle Merber spoke with Betsy Saina, the former three-time NCAA champion from Iowa State and fifth place finisher in the 2016 Olympic 10,000m. In April 2021, Saina shifted her allegiance and is now eligible to represent the United States. Following her 2:21:40 finish at the Tokyo Marathon and a win at the Sydney Marathon on a hot day in September, where she ran 2:26:47, there is certainly a possibility of her being in Paris on the horizon. Host: Kyle Mer

"I gained a lot of experience being in different races with different strategies and race situations. Competing at the World Championships was amazing. Competing in the prelim and final were two very different races, both of which I hadn't experienced before. I learned a lot from that. I'm excited to have had that experience, especially going into this year as an Olympic year, with the Olympic aspirations that I have. I have a lot of confidence that I can compete with the best in the world." BYU’s Kenneth Rooks, the 2023 NCAA steeplechase champion and the U.S. champion, has decided to forego the remainder of his NCAA eligibility to turn professional and has signed a contract with Nike. He plans to stay in Utah under coach Ed Eyestone and will train alongside Conner Mantz and Clayton Young. Rooks was one of the NCAA’s breakout stars in 2023. He caught the attention of many with an 8:17.62 win over George Beamish and ‘22 U.S. champion Hillary Bor at the On Track Nights: Los Angeles meet in May

"If you have to flip a switch, it's too late. I've been locked in. We've been training and going at it and we’re focused on the process. The biggest thing for me is staying healthy and staying patient. You can't do anything out of the ordinary. You can't do something that you haven't practiced or do something extra. It's just another year. This is what we do every single year. It’s the top of the year – there’s newfound energy, newfound opportunity. But it’s the same level of consistency, the same level of intensity. We just continue to do what we do." 60m world record holder Christian Coleman will return to the Armory in New York City on Feb. 11th to go for his third consecutive victory in the men’s 60m at the Millrose Games. Coleman is coming off a 2023 season in which he matched the world’s fastest 100m time of the year with a 9.83s victory at the Xiamen Diamond League in China last August. He was the runner-up in the men’s 100m at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Cham

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,500 people who stay up-to-date with all the thrilling action and biggest stories in the world of track & field – delivered right to your inbox every Wednesday morning. Subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://thelapcount.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In this week's newsletter: – Beatrice Chebet’s year goes out with a BANG 

"But there are not a lot of Black cyclists that ride, obviously. Justin Williams' whole thing is about getting more Black people on bikes and just people on bikes in general. It was awesome because I've never met those guys before and they knew nothing about me and it was completely welcoming and friendly. It's a great community. Everyone wants to help out. Everyone wants to invite you to these social rides. You're not just addicted to riding but more being in a setting with those people." We all know Rai Benjamin from the many global medals, but this interview is not about any of that. This fall I saw that the Mt. Vernon native had taken up a new activity, one that is most usually reserved for retired distance runners like myself. We caught up last week because I was intrigued to hear more about how and why the American record holder at the 400m hurdles had become such a serious cyclist during the off-season. You can read the full interview from The Lap Count newsletter here: http

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 people who stay up-to-date with all the thrilling action and biggest stories in the world of track & field – delivered right to your inbox every Wednesday morning. Subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://thelapcount.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In this week's newsletter: – Kerr runs down a new half marathon PB

"It feels like a goal that’s within my grasp of achieving. Not only am I stronger and smarter than I was last year, but I feel like I've come a long way and will be able to attack this race with a lot more confidence to chase the world record. When I went (to Millrose) for the first time, I was just chasing the American record. So I feel like changing that mindset, just seeing how far I've come, it feels like a very real possibility at this point." U.S. outdoor mile record holder Yared Nuguse will return to the Armory Track and Field Center in New York City for the 116th Millrose Games to defend his men’s Wanamaker Mile title. Last year, Nuguse made his Millrose Games debut and won and set a U.S. indoor mile record of 3:47.38. He barely missed the world record of 3:47.01 set by Yomif Kejelcha in 2019. Nuguse put together a career year in 2023 with a 7:28.23 for 3000m indoors (American record); a personal best of 3:29.02 for 1500m (the fastest performance by an American-born runner); 3:43.97

“I think I have a good shot, but it's also very competitive and a lot deeper than people realize. This is probably a 20-person race. You only hear about maybe five or seven names, but it's a lot deeper than that.” CJ Albertson is back on the CITIUS MAG Podcast just days after running 2:11:08 at the Baja California Marathon in Mexico this past weekend. The thing is – it comes a week after he ran and won the California International Marathon in 2:11:09. With the performance in Mexico, he got under the 2:11:30 mark making him eligible for selection for the U.S. Olympic Team with a top-three finish at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Instead of having to worry about a time in Orlando, he now just needs to finish in the top three.  A reminder to the listeners trying to keep track of things – The U.S. currently has two spots guaranteed for Paris thanks to Conner Mantz and Clayton Young’s performances at the Chicago Marathon. The third spot will likely be unlocked in May based on World Athletics’ rankings.

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 people who stay up-to-date with all the thrilling action and biggest stories in the world of track & field – delivered right to your inbox every Wednesday morning. Subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://thelapcount.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In this week's newsletter: – Katelyn Tuohy turns professional ✍️ – Foot Locker is BACK 

"I approached that race with the mentality of just sticking my nose in it and trying to give it my all. I didn't have an idea of what place I wanted to be because that can add a bit of stress and anxiety on top of racing if you're set on getting a certain place. I just wanted to see what I could do, especially with being sick that week leading up to it." Notre Dame senior Olivia Markezich just ran 8:40.42 for 3000m at Boston University's indoor track, which is the second-fastest in NCAA history. It’s been a fantastic year for her. In the spring, she won the 2023 NCAA title in the steeplechase and then finished fourth at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She returned to South Bend for one more full year and capped her final cross country season with a third-place individual and fourth-place team finish for the Fighting Irish. She also signed an NIL deal with On earlier in the fall. I’d say she’s certainly a contender to make the U.S. Olympic team in the steeplechase and migh

“It says a lot about her and her career in general. She came in struggling, having gotten hurt at the end of high school. I'm so grateful that this program was able to help her get back and that she had the teammates and support here that she was able to come back after a disappointing end to her high school career and be able to have the career she's had here at NC State. I know some of her last individual [performances] weren't what she was hoping for or what we thought could have happened, but for her to end on a team championship will mean a lot to her looking back and it means so much to our program, staff and everyone at NC State."This is a bonus episode that complements our interview with Katelyn Tuohy, who has decided to forego the remainder of her NCAA eligibility to turn professional and has signed a contract with adidas. We chatted with coach Laurie Henes just a few weeks after leading the Wolfpack to their third consecutive NCAA cross country title. Henes and Tuohy are just two of

“It’s cool to see one of your dreams come true. I remember one meeting we had in high school where my coach was saying how he'd never coached a professional runner. And then he turned to me and was like, ‘Yet.’ So that was the first time I was like, ‘OK, someone believes that I can make it happen’. It's been really cool over the past few years chasing this dream and finally having it come true.” My guest for today’s episode is NC State’s Katelyn Tuohy, who has decided to forego the remainder of her NCAA eligibility to turn professional and has signed a contract with adidas, she told CITIUS MAG in an exclusive interview before her announcement on Wednesday afternoon. Ahead of the Olympic year, Tuohy plans to remain under the guidance of NC State coach Laurie Henes and may split time between Raleigh, North Carolina, and a possible training stint in Flagstaff, Arizona, to train at altitude for the first time in her career. Last month, Tuohy wrapped up one of the most decorated NCAA careers by a distance

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 people who stay up-to-date with all the thrilling action and biggest stories in the world of track & field – delivered right to your inbox every Wednesday morning. Subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://thelapcount.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In this week's newsletter: – Boston University: Still FAST!!! 

"In my mind, I have the situation going on in Ukraine. So it was really complicated for me to turn off this emotion and to be focused only on high jump. I'm really thankful to my coach because she said to me, ‘We come to show the results. We come for the gold medal. And we come for our country, to show all people that we are strong and will fight in all areas.’" Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh will make her debut at the ⁠116th Millrose Games⁠ at The Armory on Feb. 11 in New York City. Mahuchikh just wrapped up a stellar 2023 season in which the 21-year-old claimed gold in the women’s high jump at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest by clearing 2.01m on her second try. She completed her global outdoor medal set after earning a silver medal at the 2019 and 2022 World Championships and an Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo in 2021.  Mahuchikh also earned a gold medal at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia – which took place just weeks after fleeing her home in Dnipro due

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 people who stay up-to-date with all the thrilling action and biggest stories in the world of track & field – delivered right to your inbox every Wednesday morning. Subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://thelapcount.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ In this week's newsletter: – Making 4.748 Mile PB jokes is an American tradition

"I have this road map for what I believe will make the best Olympic final for me...I just want to make sure that the training's there. If the training is there, I am the best 1500m runner in the world. I just need to make sure there's consistency. So the way that I look at races is: What can I do to bring the most value to that race as well as learning as much as possible from that race?" 2023 1500m world champion Josh Kerr of Great Britain will headline the field for the men’s two mile at the 116th Millrose Games at The Armory on Feb. 11, race organizers announced. Kerr, who is also the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in the 1500m and European indoor mile record holder, will be competing in his fifth Millrose Games since 2018. In 2022, he took second in the Millrose Wanamaker Mile. Earlier this year, Kerr opted to run the men’s 3000m against one of the most talented fields ever assembled. The decision paid off as he kicked to victory with a 26.98 final 200m to win in 7:33.47.  The Millrose

"It's not like I'm jogging on those days [that I’m running] or that I'm cross-training easily. I think people underestimate what I'm doing. When I cross-train, there are puddles of sweat on the floor to the point that our recreational center has to put out 'Wet Floor' signs because I sweat that much. One time, they put an 'Out of Order' sign on my machine because they thought it was leaking. Little did they know, it was my sweat."  Florida’s Parker Valby just won the 2023 NCAA Cross Country individual championship title after a runner-up finish behind NC State’s Katelyn Tuohy in 2022. She wrapped up an undefeated 4–0 season that includes wins at the Nuttycombe Invitational, the SEC Championships and the NCAA South Regional before winning it all in Charlottesville just nine days ago. She dominated the race and covered the 6K course in 18 minutes and 55 seconds to win by just over 10 seconds. Parker is also the NCAA Outdoor 5000m champion and owns a personal best of 15:

“I think the thing that characterizes DII, DIII and NAIA athletes is that they're super passionate about running in a way that differs from DI athletes. I always see the DIII guys and gals who are going to keep running well after college. They love it and that’s why they’re going to the smaller schools out of high school – because they want that opportunity to keep running. There’s way more passion rather than ‘I’m the best at this and there’s a scholarship on the line so I may as well do it.’” The Lap Count’s Kyle Merber and Noah Droddy, 2:09 marathoner and D3 Glory Days Podcast host, talk through their experience covering the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Kyle was on the call for the ESPN broadcast for Division I while Noah was behind the mic for the Division III stream on YouTube. SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 people who stay up-to-date with all the thrilling action and biggest stories in the world of track & field – delivered right to your inbox every Wednesday morning. Subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://thelapcount.com/⁠⁠⁠ In this week's newsletter: – NCAA XC at Panorama Farms