Citius Mag Podcast

"I'm looking forward to competing against those guys. They may be world championship qualifiers and Olympians but if I enter these events scared of them, then I'm not doing myself any favors and I'm not really living up to my mantra of finding my limits. If I can compete with them, I can obviously and hopefully surpass them. I'm looking forward to the competition and getting to know them as competitors and fellow U.S. athletes aspiring for the same dream." My guest for this episode is Atlanta Track Club Elite middle distance star and new 1000m American record holder Shane Streich. A few weeks ago, Shane took people by surprise when he ran 2:16.16 at the American Track League’s Eastern Indoors meet to break Bryce Hoppel’s previous record by .11 seconds. Shane is having a solid indoor campaign with three wins in his four races so consider him someone to watch at the upcoming USATF Indoor Championships. In this episode, get to learn a bit more about the former Minnesota Gopher and Lipscomb Bison, why he chose th

"I think if I can be in 3:27 shape again and just be stronger to maybe be able to run 3:28.5 in the final, that's the best I can do. If they keep getting better and run 3:25 or 3:26 in the final of a major championship, I've got to be honest with myself and say, 'Well I'm not there yet.' Because I'm not. I can run 3:27-high in a major championship this year. I know I can. If that wins, it wins. But it was the same conversation back in 2020: We can run 3:29 in the Olympic final and we just have to be happy with what that comes out with. We're chasing to be the best in the world. I want to be world champion this year. Everything that I can do to make that happen, I'm going to try. At the end of the day, if I cross the line running my best race as I did in 2021, I'll shake everyone's hand and be happy with my performance and how I represented myself and my brand at that major championships." My guest for today’s episode is Brooks Beasts star and 2021 Olympic 1500m bronze medalist Josh Kerr. This man is entertain

"I didn't know if I wanted to go pro after the Olympic trials. I actually had a job lined up. I had accepted a job offer in South Carolina to start in the fall starting August. And I called them when I qualified for the Trials and I'm like, “Hey, I'm not going to be there. I'm going back to school, I'm going to be in East Lansing.” Having the opportunity to come in for a sixth year and get a free master's degree was pretty big...I knew that competing more and getting my name out there a little bit more would be really advantageous. So I decided to come back as a collegiate and maybe get a maybe a better deal or get with a team that hadn't been looking at me that I was a better fit for after the trials. I didn't get a whole lot of attention from pro teams or even agents immediately after the Trials. It wasn't until the fall...Now I have the time to look at all of the options and see what's what and where I could go while not making any super rash decisions – all while still getting a master's degree." My guest

"I jokingly told my wife, 'I bet if just had a decent bunch of kids, I bet I could win a state meet and be a national-caliber team.' She was like, 'Yeah...yeah...' I emailed all the coaches in the area. I decided to go back to school to get my credentials and maybe I'd teach in high school. Nobody got back to me but Newbury Park. The coach was like, 'Hey, I'm retiring in a couple of years. We need someone to take over the program.' That's kind of how it happened. I just walked into the program, sat down with the guys and we were not very good at the time. I just started setting the standards high. It made some people mad at first. I might have lost one or two kids mentally wanting to put that work in. It turned around pretty quickly. We won a state championship in three years. We won a couple more and then a national championship. My girls won the state championship. It's just been snowballing since. The biggest thing I say is that we don't set boundaries. We really don't. We just go after what we want." I go

"There are over 600,000 dreamers in America. When I think about my situation at the Olympics, out of the 600,000 Dreamers, imagine if there was someone else in the same exact situation higher than Olympics or even better than the Olympics – something better than that and they can’t get the opportunity to go to their event or do this or that. That’s why my whole movement when it started it was really big for all the Dreamers in the U.S. It was an inspiration I think to say if I could do it, they can do it. It’s really difficult to be in the situation we are in because there are a lot of obstacles we have to go through. It’s really hard to leave the country in the first place. Imagine if you’re somebody who wants to travel and see the world, you might not ever have the opportunity to do that because if you leave you can’t get back in. I think I kind of started something and got more recognition for what DACA is and what Dreamers are.” Luis Grijalva was an Olympian for Guatemala at the Tokyo Olympics and finishe

“For me, that American record has been on my mind since I’ve been at Oregon. I know that I can hit that American record. The fact that I went to the Olympic Trials and came in eighth off of four weeks of training, that’s what did it for me. In 2021, I was not as fast as I had been in 2015 due to my hamstring injury. After last year and being at the Olympic Trials and finishing eighth, that was the moment. These girls were jumping. It’s not like you weren’t out there competing. This is something you can do. That American record can happen. All you need is your speed back. You’re at a great facility. You can’t deny your jumps coach. You can’t deny your training group. You’re learning from this amazing training group. Your coaches believe in you. Your family believes in you. There’s no reason to not have set in stone to myself: You’re the future American record holder. That’s my goal. That’s what I want to do.” Please give her a warm welcome as Jasmine Todd is joining the CITIUS MAG team to help bolster our cove

Kyle Merber and Chris Chavez return to host our first CITIUS MAG Live postgame show called After The Final Lap.  With the NFL, NBA or MLB, you tune in to the game and afterward, you hear more from the athletes and coaches and get some fresh takes and thoughts from analysts about what you just saw. We’re bringing that to you in a fun show. For the Millrose Games, we were joined by a surprise guest host: 2016 Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz. Guests for the show include On Athletics coach Dathan Ritzenhein, men's Wanamaker mile champion Olli Hoare, men's 3000m winner Geordie Beamish, women's Wanamaker mile runner-up Josette Norris and NCAA cross country champion Conner Mantz. Kick back for a fun hour of banter!  (For those listening in the car or at home with their kids, there is some explicit language in this episode. Thanks for that Olli.) ----- Follow CITIUS MAG -----  ▶ Subscribe to the podcast: https://apple.co/3Byp72I ▶ On Twitter:  http://twitter.com/CitiusMag   ▶ On Inst

"I need to have a good 'why' for why I'm doing it and what drives me. For me, it's never been money before with college running... I want to do it for the love of the sport and the fulfillment it brings me. Just Keep my 'Why' in a good place." Whittni Orton Morgan is the reigning NCAA cross country out of BYU who joins us to share some news that she has signed her first professional contract and will be running for Adidas. She talks to me and my co-host Kyle Merber about the process and what it means for her training set up in Utah. Sneakily, there might be a real strong group forming there. We talk through her career up until this point which included playing multiple sports in high school with her favorite being basketball. So how’d she end up running and got so good at it? We touch on her mindset and motivation to win an NCAA title – which was interrupted by injuries throughout her career for the Cougars and just when things were going right, COVID strikes. A real fun conversation before she makes her debu

Alicia Monson is a professional runner for the On Athletics Club and a 2021 Olympian in the 10,000 meters. Before turning pro, she was a star at the University of Wisconsin. Just a few weeks ago, she won her first national title with a win at the USATF Cross Country Championships in San Diego. In this episode, we touch on a bit more of her personality and dive into why so many things have been going right for her in the past two years. She’s got big goals to make the U.S. national team in the 10,000 meters again for this summer’s world championships. I think she does a great job providing insight into her mindset during races and when she makes her move to break the competition. Stick around for her recap of the super hot Olympic Trials 10,000m race and her funniest drug testing story. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST Interested in sponsoring the show? Reach out to Chris at chris@citiusmag.com for advertising, sponsorship and partnership offerings.

"I didn't feel like I had it. I had no idea. With a mile to go, I looked at my watch and I think I saw 2:12. It's hard to do math when you're so tired. So I was like, 'What does that mean? I think I can do this but I need to keep going.' It's funny because when I get in really good shape, my husband calls me The Buzzsaw. Don't stand in my way because Keira is just coming through. In the last mile, I don't know what it was but I was clinging to that. I was physically saying aloud to myself, "Buzzsaw. Buzzsaw. Buzzsaw." as 'Keep going! Keep hanging on!'...I kept looking for the banner. I knew I was going to be able to see it. I was a little like, 'Please just make this soon because I don't know how much further I can go.' When I made the turn and seeing the banner, that's when I was like. 'This is going to happen for me today.'" Keira D'Amato is a friend of the podcast and just this past weekend set the American record for the marathon with her win at the Houston Marathon in 2:19:12. She took 24 seconds off Dee

“For some reason, I think everyone on this team is kind of an underdog. Everyone has that same killer mentality. We want to be at the top and we want to have that respect we deserve. Even Danny as a coach has been an underdog. Time after time, people are starting to understand these guys are legit. Josh is the best example of that. I think over the next couple of years, there will be more people winning medals.” Isaiah Harris is taking his 1:44.42 personal best for 800m and 3:42.63 personal best for 1,500m to the Brooks Beasts. In this episode, he tells CITIUS MAG why he decided to make the move after a year where he finished fourth in the 800 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials and recorded a victory at the British Grand Prix at Gateshead. He takes us through his early roots in finding success in track as a high schooler in Lewiston, Maine. By the end of his high school career, he held the Maine state record in every event from 200 meters through 800 meters. Riley Masters considers him the greatest athlete to

"I was planning to go to the marathon last year but this injury came up. I still have unfinished business on the track so after world champs, I’m going to try to debut at a fall marathon. Hopefully New York or something. That was my main thing. Once I switch my focus and I’m doing the marathon, I’m going to do some damage there." Shadrack Kipchirchir is the newly-crowned 2022 USATF cross country champion. He is a 2016 Olympian and has not missed a U.S. world outdoor championship team since he switched allegiances from Kenya to America in 2014. After he kicked to the win on Saturday, I tried doing a little bit of research into his upbringing and his career path and honestly couldn’t find much. This is someone who has the 4th-fastest U.S. 10,000 meter time and has won six U.S. titles. So I reached out to him and invited him onto the show. This is his first-ever podcast interview and we went through his early days in Kenya growing up as one of nine kids, why he came to America to run for Western Kentucky and the

At 20 years old, Cole Hocker has put himself atop the United States middle distance scene. I profiled him for Sports Illustrated last July after he outkicked reigning Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz for the win in the men’s 1,500 meter final at the U.S. Olympic Trials – which was one of my favorite races to watch of the whole trials. Hocker’s finishing speed is world-class. He went on to run 3:31.40 for sixth place in the Olympic 1,500 meter final.  In September, he signed a professional contract with Nike and now sets his sights on his first professional indoor season, which includes headlining the men’s 3,000 meters at the Millrose Games. In this episode, we discuss his plans for the new year, the decision to turn professional after just one full NCAA campaign at Oregon, thoughts on American records and much more. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

"I never thought I would inspire anybody in life. I quit everything. I was never an inspiring person. To see me now, by just sharing my story of going from really sad to really glad and that being able to inspire somebody is a dream come true. I love making videos. I love sharing my story. I love oversharing, as my husband would say. The fact that it can help people is like, 'Are you kidding this is amazing?!" It is just more motivation to keep going, keep making videos and keep running because there are so many benefits that it's brought to me. Seeing the change that it brings other people is addicting and it never gets old." We welcome Erin Azar – also known as Mrs. Space Cadet. She’s a rapidly-growing social media star with 720,000 TikTok followers and 70,000 Instagram followers. She describes herself as an "expert struggle runner and struggle lifer making running more approachable for beginners." I first learned of her in Dec. 2020 when she was a guest on Dana’s podcast. She is one of the people who reall

“I've been cutting it close in training every week like, ‘Am I going to be able to get sharp in time and build up enough endurance to handle it.’ I did a workout the other week that gave me a lot more confidence that we’ve got a really strong shot at it. But a shot is still the idea. I think the range I could run is a 3:58 to a 4:02. If I were to predict my time, I’d say a 3:59.7 so that’s only just getting under.” Unfortunately, due to the rising COVID-19 cases in New York City, Tracksmith and race organizers have made the decision to cancel the upcoming Midnight Mile Gala on December 31st at the Armory. Our guest for today’s episode is recurring fan favorite and guest Nick Willis. He was supposed to try and break four minutes for the mile at the strike of midnight at the Armory but now instead, he will still be going for it in a private setting without any spectators.  I chatted with Nick a few weeks back while I was in town for the Chicago Marathon and we did a live show but this still hasn’t been ann

"We have to understand the changing nature of broadcasts and how people consume our sport. I want it to be as accessible as possible, as exciting as possible, as understandable as possible and that does mean getting rid of some rules and regs that slow us down...It's multifaceted. I just want noisy, passionate, young fans in a stadium who when they're grandparents, they've still got their grandchildren wanting to be there." We welcome four-time Olympic medalist, former 800 meter and 1,500 meter world record holder and current World Athletics President Seb Coe to the show. We got the chance to pick his brain on his vision for this current moment that the sport is in with two World Championships and an Olympics ahead of us and why it’s crucial.  We talk about changes and improvements that can be made in the sport’s presentation and accessibility, especially for athletes and fans. Of course, I bring up Formula 1’s rapid growth and what pages he may be taking from that sport’s playbook.  Plus some fun q

“I really want to develop more of that 1,500-meter/mile speed. Hopefully, after that, we’ll have another crack at a quick mile like we did last year at Arkansas – who knows, maybe go for an American record there. We were pretty close last year so hopefully if things keep trending the right way, we’ll have a shot at that. USAs indoors obviously but not sure what we’ll do there yet. Cole is trying to maybe look toward some of that higher-end stuff like 3K-5K so maybe he’ll give me a shot at taking the mile title and he’ll go for the 3K. We haven’t figured out everything yet but it’s all geared toward making that World team. That’s the biggest thing to do. I know what I have to do now after getting fourth at Trials.” Cooper Teare just announced his decision to turn professional and signed a contract with Nike. We hear some insights into what that means for his future plans. He put together a really great last 12 months. He ran 3:50.39 for the mile and 7:46 indoors for the 3,000m. Outdoors, he ran 3:35 for 1,500

Olli Hoare is an Australian Olympic finalist in the 1,500 meters who runs professionally for the On Athletics Club under coach Dathan Ritzenhein in Boulder. Before turning pro, he was a stud at Wisconsin where he won the 2018 NCAA title in the 1,500 meters. In 2021, he set personal bests of 3:32 for the 1,500 meters both indoors and outdoors. He ran 3:51 for the mile and 3:50 for the mile on the roads. He ran 13:22 for the 5K outdoors and then just ran 13:09 this past weekend in Boston. He finished 11th in the Olympic 1,500 meter final. We touch on that race, his run at BU, what’s his view for how the 1,500 meters has evolved and much more.  Olli is also the host of the Coffee Club Podcast that he co-hosts with his teammates and training partners so be sure to check that out. We talk podcaster-to-podcaster a bit at the start before my co-host Mac Fleet chimes in to talk athlete-to-former athlete. All of that plus, your listener questions. SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS TRACKSMITH has come up with a very creative w

"In the huddle, that's kind of what I ended with: At the end of the day, you don't know going into a season like this if everything is going to work out. We are here with an opportunity to be successful...We said it at the regional meet – because you could kind of feel it building and our Top 5 were really dialed in and running well. I said, 'Take the time and appreciate what you're doing right now. There's no guarantee of it. All you can ask for is an opportunity.' And they really took advantage of that. I'm thankful for these people I'm surrounded by. This staff is awesome. This team is awesome." North Carolina State coach Laurie Henes joins the show just days after the Wolfpack won the team’s first-ever NCAA cross country title.  Early on in the conversation, you’ll be quick to hear Coach Henes point out that NC State won AIAW Cross Country titles in 1979 and 1980 before the NCAA. She knows her NC State history because as an athlete, she was an NCAA champion and a six-time All-American for them and th

"Running became this focal point for me, especially these last few years...The stigma is real. People don't want to talk about this kind of stuff, especially in the military. You're trained as much you can to be emotionless because that can be a liability." Joey Maiocco is a lead editor at Newsy and a veteran of the U.S. Army. His work at Newsy encompasses the entertainment industry as well as national news but it has all come full circle for him with his most recent project: In Real Life: Post-Trauma. It is a 22-minute special that shares his personal story on treating post-traumatic stress and how other war veterans cope and find their own treatment upon returning home. For Joey, running has played a major role in it and he just recently ran the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. I connected with him back in December through a mutual friend and sensed his excitement about what the sport has brought him and we decided to talk about it on this podcast because that’s also part of his healing and way of helping