Citius Mag Podcast

Tinman Elite’s Drew Hunter is making his fourth appearance on the podcast. I first had him on the show after his first pro season back in 2017 and then we did a live show in Boston in 2018. A lot has happened in his life since then... He’s run personal bests of 3:35.90 for 1,500 meters, 7:39.85 for 3,000 meters and 13:17.55 for the 5,000 meters. However, the past year was fairly difficult for him. He raced just once indoors in February and then tore his plantar, which forced him to miss the U.S. Olympic Trials. Tinman Elite also went through a very public breakup with coach Tom Schwartz and now the team is coached by his mother, Joan Hunter. We unpack all of those changes, the comeback from injury and what it was like to stamp his return with a win at the USATF 5K Championships in New York City, where he captured his second national title. My co-host for this episode is Mac Fleet, who has been working hard behind the scenes to also now bring you some of these conversations and other fun video content on The C

“I truly believe in my heart that if it wasn’t for my recovery journey, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this. I kept thinking of that during the marathon. I kept thinking about all the hard times and trials and tribulations. All the stuff that I got through and I thought, ‘If I can do that, then why can I do this?’” My guest for today’s episode is Mario Diurno. Just a few days ago, you got to hear the story of Molly Seidel who finished fourth in the elite women’s race. I want to share with you the story of a friend of mine and one of the last people across the finish line.  While many of the people who ran on Sunday were getting ready for bed, Mario was working his way through Central Park and crossed the finish line just before 11 pm – 10 hours and 55 minutes after he started in Staten Island.  Mario is a client support specialist at Release Recovery. You’ve heard me speak about Release Recovery in previous episodes. I interviewed the founder and my friend, Zac Clark, after he was on The Bac

"Despite everything, somehow this race turned out so much better than I could’ve imagined. I am so excited about how New York went because there were so many times throughout the build-up where we didn’t even know if I was going to make it to the line." We welcome back Molly Seidel to the podcast and I get to introduce her as the 2021 Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon and also now the fastest American woman to ever run the New York City Marathon. This past weekend, she ran 2:24:42 and finished fourth overall. The previous record was 2:25:53 set by Kara Goucher in 2008. The race was won by Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya in 2:22:39. Molly is now four for four in her marathons. Makes the Olympics in her first. Runs a PR and places high in London amid the pandemic. Earns a bronze medal at the Olympics and now breaks a record at the New York City Marathon. We touch on Molly’s run in Sapporo and New York City but also get some more details on the less-than-ideal build-up that somehow led to this

"When you guide somebody, there is a bond that is formed that is undeniable to know that they couldn't have done it without you and also that you're doing it because of them as well." Dr. Joe Park is a good friend of mine and some of you might know of him from his time on Tayshia Adams’ season of The Bachelorette or his brief stint on the latest season of Bachelor In Paradise. But he’s more than just a reality TV show contestant. He’s a full-time anesthesiologist and interventional pain specialist in New York City. He’s one of the nicest guys out there and you’ll hear a couple of stories of why that’s the case. He and I will be running the NYC Marathon together next weekend and hoping to run under 3 hours and 30 minutes. He is fundraising for Achilles International, whose mission is to transform the lives of people with disabilities through athletic programs and social connections. There are 28 chapters in 19 states. Joe has been a guide for the New York City chapter before and in this episode, you’ll learn a

“Everyone processes things differently. We hoped that it wouldn’t take away from the rest of my year but you never know in those moments. To bounce back with a 3:59 (for 1,500m) was like, ‘Hell yeah! I deserve to be doing this and racing at this level and competing. This is what we trained for all year.’ It was almost like a rewarding moment coming back from that disappointment...Our conversations were really positive. It was about what you could be excited about ahead. There are world champs the next two years and then an Olympic team. This sport moves quickly and there’s a lot more to be excited for right away. That definitely helped turning around on the trials.” Josette Norris is a professional runner for the Reebok Boston Track Club. If track and field had a breakout star of the year award, Josette would be a strong candidate for that. She came into the year with personal bests of 4:10.82 for 1,500 meters and 15:29.34 for 5,000 meters. Now, she’s at 3:59.72 for 1,500 meters which is No. 9 on the all-time

Nick Willis returns to the podcast for this episode, which was recorded live in front of an audience at the Tracksmith pop-up shop during Chicago Marathon weekend. Nick was first a guest on this show back in February 2020 before the Millrose Games when we went over his entire career up until that point. So this conversation picks up with 2021. This season, he broke four minutes for the 19th consecutive year and then qualified for his 5th Olympic Games for New Zealand. It didn’t come easy though. He squeaked into the Games via his World Athletics ranking. He tells us why his wife was a major factor in motivating him to get there and in shape within six weeks. He gives us insight ito what his experience was like in Tokyo, where he made it to the semifinals and ran a season’s best of 3:35.41. Plus, what’s next for him? He’s been playing lots of basketball and skateboarding in the meantime. SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS TRACKSMITH is a Boston-based running brand, who crafts performance apparel for training, racing and res

"It takes a lot to get out of your comfort zone, especially in the pole vault. Because it is scary and because there is a fear element, you want to hold onto your comfort zone so badly...Changing things really is not easy. There were a lot of tears. I always bought in. My gut led me to Ashland. My gut sent me to Brad (Walker). It hasn’t been wrong yet. I knew that I was in the right place because of the way he described it. He made it so simple. I’m in control of what I’m doing so if I focus on X, Y and Z, the heights will come. He totally changed the mental game for me, which then allowed me to change the technical things. It took all of that time to make that happen. Especially in this generation, people want immediate gratification and results. I’m very much like that. I don’t like waiting for things. I’m really happy that I didn’t make the team in 2016 because I would not have done that. I would not have gone that far out of my comfort zone. I wouldn’t have let someone else challenge me that way. I’m grat

"The main reason we started was just that we didn't see that many people that look like us reporting on track and field. In other sports like basketball and the NFL, you see people of color and a lot of diversity in all of the reporting. When it comes to track, it's not really like that. I really love track and field. I love all the events. When I go to these other sites and mainly distance is getting covered, I'm thinking most of the reason why is because it's not a diverse group of people. Whenever you put culture and diversity into something, it gets better." My guests for today’s episode are Aaron and Joshua Potts. You may know them as the Two Black Runners since they have their own podcast by that name. You may have watched some of their videos on YouTube or Instagram. They’re creating all types of running content by the culture and for the culture, as they say. I had the chance to meet them in person for the first time when we broadcast the Trials of Miles Qualifier meet in Kansas City and they served a

"When I go and talk in schools and you've got these negative issues, you want to portray the positivity of 'Wow. This is such a great thing to be involved in running, sport and events.'  Even though it's frustrating, you want to put that positive message out. You want kids to get involved. You want to celebrate being together as runners. When I look back at my career, yes, I am frustrated at what my career could have been but that's the same for so many athletes...You just have to think, 'Yeah, but I've traveled all over the world. I've met amazing people. I've competed at Olympic Games. Aren't I a lucky person to have had that?' That's kind of the message I want to take forward as well. Of course, I'm gutted about people who cheat but you want to think about the positives of our sport as well. There's still work to do." Jo Pavey is a five-time Olympian for Great Britain. She is the 2007 world championship bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters after finishing fourth but then getting upgraded to the podium

"I want to point out that while I’m relaying the advice to be patient like I’ve been given from Meb, Ritz, Ryan Hall, Deena and Des to be patient. It’s still hard to be patient. You want to see the good tune-up races and the good workouts because...I don’t want to go to New York and be in the pack at 15 miles and when there’s a strong move, I run smart and I pick off a few guys over the last few miles of the race and I finish fifth to 10th. I’ve done that. I know how to do that. I want to be fit enough that I can cover a 4:40 mile going up First Avenue and I can be in that pack and I can sit in that race. That’s what motivates me." I believe this is the third time Jared Ward has come on the show. His first time was in Feb. 2019 and then he was on last fall before he ran in the London Marathon. Now he’s back as he gets ready for the New York City Marathon and also runs in the Saucony Future Fast 10K in Germany that you can watch next Wednesday at 2 pm ET on the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel.  Jared has raced

"That's honestly been the biggest change I made this year: Just mentally being so much more prepared, so much happier and just felt ready with myself. I wasn't really focused on what anyone else was doing. I knew I was ready. I think there were a few big things we worked on. I have such a perfectionist nature. It was super innate probably and then I grew up in a sport that just sort of cultivated that in gymnastics. The whole premise of the sport is perfection. We really tackled that. We realized it wasn't just in terms of running that trait was coming out. It's probably been my whole life. Whenever I get into a scenario, especially in training, where someone is pushing the pace or it's playing out differently than I think it should be, what tools do I have or what can I do to handle that vs. going into a panic mode – which is what was starting to happen pretty frequently." Olympic and world championship steeplechase silver medalist Courtney Frerichs re-joins the show. The last time she was on was in 2018 aft

"I want to be top American at a World Marathon Major. I want to take that step forward. It's taken me a lot longer to get to that point. That's just how it goes sometimes with surgeries, setbacks and there not being that many opportunities...Boston is hard though." Welcome back to the podcast, Parker Stinson. The last time he was on this show, he was getting ready to run the 2018 Chicago Marathon and still had a bit of work to prove himself as a pro runner on the roads following his successful career at the University of Oregon. After a coaching switch from Brad Hudson to Dathan Ritzenhein, Parker seemed to find a bit of that spark that he needed and had a strong 2019 campaign that included running a 25K American record of 1:13:48 and then a 2:10.:53 marathon in Chicago that fall.  Unfortunately, he had to scratch from the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials due to an injury - which he’ll talk about in this episode and then underwent knee surgery in 2020. The road back hasn’t been easy but Parker peels back the

“There’s so many stories and testimonies of amazing women in track and field – men and women. We should definitely shine a light on everybody because everybody has a story. Everybody has been through a lot. You never know who can relate to those stories as well. I’m a big advocate of showing a light on everyone.” Teahna Daniels is a professional sprinter for Nike, who had a breakout season in 2021 to run 10.83 at the Prefontaine Classic, which ties her for No. 14 on the all-time U.S. list. This has been a season where Sha'Carri Richardson has been the No. 1 U.S. female sprinter in all of the headlines but why not spread the love and the attention on some of the women who are also running fast behind her. Teahna is No. 2 for the United States in the U.S. In this episode, you’ll learn about her upbringing in Florida, where she lit it up as a high schooler. She went on to run at Texas, where she won an NCAA title in the 60-meter dash. As a professional, she was the 2019 U.S. Champion and went on to finish 7th at

One-on-one with Eliud Kipchoge. The two-time Olympic gold medalist in the marathon. The 26.2 world record holder. The only person in history to get under two hours for the marathon. A legend of the sport.  You may have seen some other podcasts out there with little mini-episodes for 15 min with him but this was the real deal. I got the chance to sit down with Kipchoge in Eugene for just an open conversation on life after winning another gold medal, where he goes from here, what his thoughts are on the greatest of all-time debate and much more.

"Initially, when I found out I broke down. I honestly went Hulk mode on a wall in the village. My room wall was torn out with a steel beam. It’s got a couple of dents in it. I went crazy. I'm not gonna lie. As I thought about how happy she was in those moments – She was actually with Athing Mu’s high school coach and Tara Davis’ mom in Orlando having the time of her life. So I think about her smile and her love and all the things and lessons that she gave me and taught me and how happy she would be for me in this moment. I really find a lot of peace in it.  I feel like you really find the true beauty of life in those high and low moments. Because just as high as I was, I went just as low as I went so fast." Raven Saunders and I recorded this while she was in attendance at the Prefontaine Classic and popped by The Magic Boost tent. We traded a couple of messages over Twitter about how we wanted to make this interview happen for a while because she’s one of the funniest personalities in the sport and the t

Justin Gatlin trains with Sha’Carri Richardson under coach Dennis Mitchell and is a polarizing figure in his own right, having served two doping bans during his long career. Since the early 2000s, Gatlin has been a world-class sprinter with a Jamaican rivalry of his own and battled Usain Bolt at several global championships. I caught up with him in the mixed zone at Hayward Field (which is why the audio isn't as clear) to briefly chat about how long he plans to continue going but also what it’s like to watch Sha'Carri come up as the next sprints star for the United States. He knows what it's like to be in the media spotlight and public’s crosshairs, where Sha'Carri found herself after her last-place finish at the Pre Classic behind the Jamaican sweep of the podium and Elaine Thompson-Herah’s 10.54 No. 2 all-time mark.

"I don't want my motivation to be other people. There's part of me that realized that's what I was leading up to the trials. I want to be more than a mullet and a mustache. I want to be more than just making teams." Shortly after finishing second in the Prefontaine Classic men's international mile, Craig Engels sat down in the Magic Boost tent to briefly chat about how he's found fun in the sport after finishing fourth at the Olympic Trials in the men's 1,500 meters and missing the Tokyo Olympics by one spot. He addresses the recent rumors that he may be contemplating retirement.  We kept this conversation fairly short since we'll likely record a much longer episode in person, if Craig competes at the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City in September.

"For me, it's about always looking at my next race as my next big chance and always trying to prove myself at my next big chance." This conversation with Karsten Warholm took place in October 2020. This is a never-before-heard interview that was supposed to run online as a Q&A but never ended up finding a right time to get published so it stayed in my archives for a bit. So this all before he became the world record holder and Olympic champion by running 46.70 at the Oslo Diamond League in July and then an incredible 45.94 at the Tokyo Olympics.  We touch on the world records, his progression as a star and what his expectations were for 2021, talking with Edwin Moses, watching Kevin Young and much more.  Knowing what we know now, it’s really cool hearing his thoughts just months ago about taking down a long-standing world record.

On the series finale of TORCH TALK, Chris, Kyle and Dana run through the final day of track and field at the Tokyo Olympics where seven gold medals were handed out in the women's high jump, the women's 10,000 meters, the men's javelin, the men's 1,500 meters, the men's and women's 4x400m relay and the men's marathon. We bring on Friend of The Pod David Melly, the host of the Run Your Mouth Podcast, for some extra spice on the final day of action. In this episode, we discuss: – Journaling in the women's high jump – Sifan Hassan's Tokyo Olympics end with two gold medals and one bronze medal and thankfully she can now take some downtime – India's new javelin star Neeraj Chopra has a wild Wikipedia page and may be loaded now – Can Jakob Ingebrigtsen take down world records after setting the Olympic record of 3:28 in the 1,500 meters? – A fitting farewell to Allyson Felix at the Olympics but what's next for her – Rai Benjamin gets redemption with a 43.4 split to anchor the men's 4x400m – Eliud Kipchoge continues t

Chris, Kyle and Dana celebrate Molly Seidel winning a bronze medal in the women's Olympic Marathon behind Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kosgei. Seidel becomes just the third American woman to medal in the women's Olympic marathon after Joan Benoit in 1984 and Deena Kastor in 2004. We also managed to get Molly's sister, Izzy, on a quick call to share with us a little bit more about the atmosphere at the Seidel family watch party in Wisconsin. More discussed in this episode: – Faith Kipyegon puts an end to Sifan Hassan's triple gold medal hopes with a brilliant victory – Laura Muir with the Magical Performance of the Day – Joshua Cheptegei gets his moment in the 5,000 meters but the race is highlighted by a mean lean by Paul Chelimo at the finish line – Italy adds another medal with a win in the men's 4x100m – Jamaica had to sweat it out after the results in the women's 4x100m relay as Team USA took silver – Shaunae Miller Uibo completes a Bahamian sweep of the 400m gold medals, Allyson Felix gets medal