Citius Mag Podcast

Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber discuss the first day of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials live from Eugene, Oregon, where Ryan Crouser demolished the world record with a 23.37m throw to win the men's shot put.  We slept on Woody Kincaid and paid the price as he won the men's 10,000m in 27:54.62.  We unpack the first round of the women's 1,500m after the controversy regarding Shelby Houlihan's four-year ban, Erik Sowinski out for revenge in the men's 800m and much more.    TUNE IN AND LISTEN TO TRIALS TALK WITH CHRIS AND KYLE. Our daily podcast from the Olympic Trials is presented by Tracksmith.   We’re excited to partner with Tracksmith, an independent running brand fueled by a deep love of the sport. They celebrate the amateur spirit and seek to inspire the personal pursuit of excellence. Tracksmith is pleased to be supporting 30 Olympic Trials qualifiers in Eugene, including athletes across 14 disciplines, as part of their Amateur Support Program.  Check out Tracksmith's es

"I feel completely devastated, lost, broken, angry, confused and betrayed by the very sport that I’ve loved and poured myself into just to see how good I was. I want to be very clear. I have never taken any performance-enhancing substances. And that includes that of which I am being accused. I believe in the sport and pushing your body to the limit just to see where the limit is. I’m not interested in cheating. I don’t do this for the accolades, money, or for people to know my name. I do this because I love it. I have so much fun doing it and it’s always the best part of my day.” On Wednesday afternoon, a virtual press conference was held by the Bowerman Track Club where it was announced Shelby Houlihan, the American record holder in the 1500 meters and 5000 meters, has been suspended for four years after testing positive for the banned substance Nandrolone. The test was taken in December 2020 and she was notified of the positive test in January by the Athletics Integrity Unit. The reason she has not raced in

Valerie Constien is the United States’ third-fastest steeplechaser heading into the Olympic Trials with a personal best of 9:25. That’s also good enough for No. 14 in the world for 2021. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado and now competes for the Tracksmith Amateur Support Program while being coached by Mark Wetmore and Heather Burroughs.  We’ll be featuring a few more Tracksmith athletes before we kickstart our daily podcast series – Trials Talk with Chris & Kyle – live from Eugene, Oregon. Kyle Merber and I will be bringing you a show recapping the biggest performances and surprises from each day of the Trials.  The women’s steeplechase will certainly be one of them. Do not sleep on Valerie for that third possible spot on the Olympic team since there’s still a few question marks around Colleen Quigley since she hasn’t raced since February or steepled since 2019. That race has gotten super interesting in recent weeks with some big performances by Valerie, Mel Lawrence, Marissa Howa

Ben Flanagan returns to the podcast! He first came on in 2018 after winning his NCAA title in the 10,000m. Now he’s a professional runner for the Reebok Boston Track Club and he’s currently quarantined in Canada before he competes at their respective Olympic Trials in Montreal later this month. We’re all fairly familiar with what it takes to make the U.S. Olympic team with a top three finish at each event but it’s a little more complex with Canada. He explains why. His personal best in the 5,000m is 13:20, which was run at the Platinum PT Qualifier put on by Tracksmith at the end of May. I was behind the mic for that race and while I saw it was a four-second personal best, he tells us why it was a much bigger deal in his hopes for Tokyo. We also catch up on life since his last podcast appearance, he’s got some nice things to say about Mason Ferlic and much more.  You can watch Ben compete in the men's 5,000m on Saturday, June 26 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Athletics Canda said the event will be streamed for free on

"I have a really unique privilege of being able to do both worlds. I don't know if anyone's been able to work out with pros and do their easy runs with their high school team. It's super cool. It just works because of the circumstances of my dad being the coach and Ron (Warhurst) being the assistant coach at Skyline. I definitely wish a lot of people knew I'm not just training like a pro. I work out with those guys but I'm a high schooler and I treat running like I'm a high schooler. I just have fun with my teammates and jump in the river on runs and stuff." Hobbs Kessler is a high school senior competing for Skyline High School in Ann Arbor. He just made history this past weekend by running 3:34.36 for a new U.S. high school 1,500m record but it’s also now faster than the recent 3:34.68 NCAA record. Kessler’s time is faster than Jim Ryun’s U-20 record of 3:36.1 that was run back in 1966. And of course, this guarantees Kessler’s spot at the U.S. Olympic Trials later this month. What’s next for him? Well, he’s

"We sat down and [Jerry Schumacher's] big thing was that he thinks everyone kind of has their ideal race distance. For some people, it's the 1,500m. For other people, it's the 5K. For some people, it's the 3K so if you're going to run the 3K at the professional level, you also need to be able to hurdle. He said he didn't really know what that was going to be for me, but he thought the steeplechase could be something that I'd be potentially good at and would maybe want to experiment with if I join the team. I kind of knew where his head was at before I joined the team." Sean McGorty is a member of the Bowerman Track Club. Way before that he was a standout runner out of Virginia who went on to become an NCAA champion at Stanford. Since graduating in 2018, he’s run personal bests of 3:36.61 for 1,500m, 3:55.21 for the mile, 13:06.45 for the 5K and most recently 8:20.77 for the 3,000m steeplechase. His win in his steeplechase debut at the USATF Golden Games gave him the Olympic standard and now an option to possi

"Nike was trying to offer me less than what they offered me when I came out of college. To me, it was just a slap in the face. I was like, ‘I've made the Olympic team. I'm pretty much, you know, not to sound cocky, but like I'm probably going to make another Olympic team. I've made five USA teams since I graduated. How could I possibly be worth less than I was when I came out of college?’ They were able to come up a little bit when I was just straight up, like, ‘No. That's not a starting point.’ And they came up a little bit, but I'm still making almost three times what that was, with the same bonus structure, with the same incentives and no reductions. So now I don't have to worry about ‘Oh you didn't race ten races this year.’ Yeah like I've raced eight. Who really cares? I didn't make it off by doing things like the local turkey trot to get my tenth race. Lululemon isn’t ticky tacky and counting every little thing. They want me to be happy. They want me to live the values that their brand holds to be impor

“I’m thankful for the opportunity I have to make the U.S. Trials. It’s always easy to talk about things you don’t have but I’m so thankful for this club. For the first time in my career, I feel like I have opportunities to run times that I dreamed of when I was 13 or 14 years old and first started the sport. If you told my sophomore year high school or 15-year-old self that I’d have an opportunity to run 3:55 or 3:54 (for the mile), I probably wouldn’t believe you. But now I 100% believe it." Eric Holt is a member of Empire Elite, a new pro group in New York coached by John Trautmann and Tommy Nohilly who used to be part of Frank Gagliano’s coaching staff with the New Jersey-New York Track Club. In this episode, you’ll get to know Eric a bit better after he recently won the Trials of Miles Kansas City Qualifier men’s 1,500. He’s one of the guys on the cusp of break 3:40 and trying to get into the U.S. Olympic Trials. Eric went to Binghamton, where he was a six-time America East track and field champion. Eric

Jarret Eaton is a world championship silver medalist in the 60m hurdles. He’s a two-time national champion in the event. At this weekend’s Trials of Miles Kansas City Qualifier, he finished second in the men’s 110 hurdles. In this episode, he takes us through what it’s been like for him to push himself in this event since 2012 through some ups and downs, why he goes after it unsponsored, how to size up the 110 hurdles at the Olympics Trials and much more. We recorded this a week before the race in Kansas City.

"I do think that it's important for athletes to consider different revenue streams. I'm still trying to get my finger on the pulse of what even lands a sponsorship 15 years into this. I don't know if it's potential, if it's past times, if it's making teams, if it's Instagram followers, if it's marketability – whatever that means, if it's age, I still can't figure it out. I just think it's important for athletes to make their own way, make their own brand and use their voice. Hopefully, you find a brand that aligns with you, which is kind of what I've done with &Mother and Cadenshae." Sara Vaughn is a 1,500m specialist dipping her toes back in the steeplechase soon. You can catch her in action at this weekend’s Trials of Miles Kansas City Qualifier on May 1. Sara will be in the steeplechase for the first time since 2014. Since then, she’s made the US national team for the 2017 world championships as a mother of three, added another baby and then announced her plans to chase the US Olympic Trials for T

"I was talking to my mom the other day and she said, 'It's important to be who you are so that the right people love you.' I was like, 'Yeah. That's what it is.' I just felt like it is really important to continue to show up as myself in all areas of my life so the right people are on my side, the right people are following me and I can lean into that more than anything." Nikki Hiltz is now a two-time guest on this show. Our first episode together April 17th, 2019 during the Boston Marathon weekend. For this one, I’m joined by David Melly, the host of the Run Your Mouth Podcast, for another crossover episode. April 2019 was just the start of Nikki’s hot streak that year. They finished third at the U.S. Championships and qualified for the world championships. They went on to make the final in Doha and ran a personal best of 4:01.52. Expect Nikki to be in the mix for that Olympic team in the 1,500 meters, which is shaping up to be one of the must-watch events at Hayward Field during the Trials. We touched on Ni

Conner Mantz is a junior at BYU and just won the NCAA Cross Country Championships last month. Right from the start of the race, he went with the hot pace established early by Iowa State’s Wesley Kiptoo and eventually pulled away to win by 22 seconds. Mantz is the first American man to win the NCAA individual title since 2008. He was BYU’s first champion since 2006.  Just two weeks or so after that race, he went on to run 13:24.78 for 5,000 meters in the men’s 5000m at the Hayward Premiere – the first meet held at the newly renovated Hayward Field. The time is a school record and a U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier.  Hear more about his development at BYU (and way before that since he ran his first half marathon at 12 years old), his plans for the rest of the season, thoughts on turning pro and much more.

48 miles in 48 hours and more than $48,000 raised for the Release Recovery Foundation over the weekend in New York City. On national tv, Zac Clark opened up about his history with drug addiction/substance abuse and his recovery. In 2017, he co-founded Release Recovery to help others reclaim their lives from addiction. His foundation is a non-profit that helps provide scholarships to those who may not have the financial means to go and recover. A few months back, he convinced my, Ryan Welsh and Zac Price to embark on the David Goggins Challenge of running 4 miles at the top of the hour every 4 hours for 48 hours. The goal was to use running as a way to raise awareness on addiction and mental health four miles at a time. In this episode, we talk about all the highs and lows from the weekend and the power running can have for good.

"I do some of my best thinking when I'm on my long runs. Today, we've talked a lot about my recovery and my sobriety. Running is one of the greatest tools I've been given because any time I can go reset the mind. People in my life know that. They'll say, 'Dude, go for a run. Let's talk after.' Because it's such a release for me." Some of you might be familiar with Zac Clark since he won the most recent season of The Bachelorette and is currently engaged to Tayshia Adams. In this episode, you’ll learn a lot about Zac’s come-up in New Jersey and the many struggles along the way in his life that really spiraled after he underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor and got addicted to pain medication shortly thereafter. Drinking, drugs and partying took a toll on him and his relationship at the time. There’s a lot in his life story, which was shared a bit on national TV last fall. Zac went to rehab and got his life together and now serves as the co-founder of Release Recovery, which is a 501c3 non-profit dedicated t

Matthew Luke Meyer and I discuss all of the good things that have happened in the sport since we last caught up in early February to unpack the biggest storylines and headlines in the sport.  In this episode we discuss: – Our NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship MVPs and why we should maybe taper expectations on Cole Hocker – The brilliance of BYU's women and coach Taylor at the indoor and cross country championships – Outdoor season appears to be in full swing with the Bowerman Track Club still proving they're fast but witholding some of the top stars – Hayward is finally opening, Des Linden is running a 50K, Eliud Kipchoge returns with a marathon and meets will be poppin' off in May – How weird it sounds like the Olympics are going to be – Dopers Gonna Dope with a Russian scandal that's made for a Netflix special + Much more...

"We brought in a copywriter to work with us for this running club. She started writing copy. One of the sentences she wrote was, "Hey, you've been behind the bar all day, you've earned your right to jog." In my conversation with my partner, I was like, "I'm not feeling that sentence." She's like, "What do you mean?" I was said, "We don't use the word 'jog." They're like, "Who's we?" I said, "Runners, we don't do that." He's like, "What the hell is up with that?" ... And I was like, "Gosh, you know what, you're right. What's my problem?" Frankly, what's the difference here? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the bartenders are a running club? Maybe it's the first-ever jogging club? If there's one demographic who can make jogging cool and relevant again, it's bartenders because bartenders are damn cool, way cooler than I'm ever going to be." My guests for this episode are Chris and Tim Heuisler. Chris is a good friend of mine who I’ve known for about six years now. He’s one of the nicest people and a huge fan and supporter

"If the Olympics had been held last year, I think I would have had a pretty outside shot of making the team. Maybe if things went perfect, I could have maybe snagged a third or something. But at the same time, I didn't even have the standard. It's tough to say but I do think this extra year has kind of served me pretty well. My confidence is much higher that I can make this team. It’s going to be incredibly hard. I don't think you should count out anybody in this situation." I’ve covered Grant Fisher's career since he was running for Grand Blanc (MI) High School and won the Dream Mile at the 2015 Adidas Grand Prix. He went on to become the seventh U.S. high school runner to break four minutes for the mile. He was a 12-time All-American and an NCAA champion in the 5,000 meters while at Stanford. He turned professional and signed with the Nike Bowerman Track Club in 2019. He’s thriving under Jerry Schumacher's training with personal bests of 13:02.53 for 5,000 meters and 27:11.29 for 10,000 meters. He’s got bot

"Other sports like cycling and swimming are very homogeneous because the cost of bike equipment runs in the tens of thousands of dollars. Swimming is a very homogeneous sport because not everyone has access to a swimming pool. In running, we can kind of toss off those shackles and you only really need a pair of shoes and an opportunity to race and train, which is more accessible than any other sport that exists. But when you start adding the technological constraint that says 'if you want to be good in this sport you have to have the sponsorship or the money' just think about what this is going to do at the high school level with kids that are racing in your $60 Eastbay spikes vs. being able to afford a $250 shoe that gives them 10 seconds to win the state championship or run a time that gets them a college scholarship. That is all of a sudden way different than the sport we knew and creates an in-equitability that is not just at the pro level but across the entire spectrum.” Mason Ferlic is currently an unsp

Previewing all of the races at the Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier with Kyle Merber before we hit the booth.  The Texas Qualifier is a two-night track meet happening on February 26 & 27. The first night is designed for athletes looking to achieve the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials qualifying mark. The second night of action will get faster with some of the sport’s top stars aiming for Olympic qualifying marks that will set them up for Tokyo. Tune in! ENTRIES AND FULL SCHEDULE: https://trialsofmilesracing.com/tom/the-texas-qualifier Here is a mutual aid directory that has been compiled by members of the Texas Sunrise Movement as other ways to help those in Texas recovering from the recent winter storm: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rdMnbzYxfXFrG1DefGqN3R1zu_lan2fml2bEYRpMcRQ/edit

It's been a while since Leah Falland (née O'Connor) joined the CITIUS MAG Podcast. Now she's got a new sponsor, a new home and a new last name after getting married to Louis Falland in 2020. Most importantly, she's running really well on the track and just paced Elle Purrier to an American record in the two-mile at the New Balance Indoor Games, which were held in New York City. I recorded this conversation with Leah at the end of January and since then she's run 4:12 for the win in a 1,500m at a small meet in Arizona. Her personal best of 4:11.04 was set in 2015 so things are trending in the right direction. She is slated to run the 5,000m at the Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier on Feb. 26 and Feb 27, which will be broadcast on the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel for free. In this episode, you'll hear much more about the refreshed perspective that she's adopted in the past 18 months that have propelled her forward in her career.