Citius Mag Podcast

John Anderson, who is familiar to many people as one of ESPN's longtime SportsCenter anchors, joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast. He is one of the voices of ESPN's broadcast for the New York City Marathon alongside Carrie Tollefson and Tim Hutchings. His voice will be familiar for years to come since New York Road Runners, WABC-TV, and ESPN extended their partnership to broadcast the New York City Marathon through the 2022 event. I met John for the first time when I was an intern at ESPN in 2014 and we've been friends ever since. We usually get together when he's in town for the marathon so I decided to ask him to come on the podcast. He said he was down so we chatted it up. John was a high jumper at Mizzou but he shares why his high school cross country team was his favorite, an epic tale from his first marathon and what are some of the challenges in covering track and field on TV for everyone. I've seen a lot of criticism of the ESPN broadcast on Twitter. Some of it is fair and for some other points, you may b

Cam Levins joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast after winning the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and breaking a four-decade-old Canadian record in 2:09:25. The previous record was held by Jerome Drayton in 2:10:09.  Levins, 29, was a 2012 Olympian for Canada in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. He was a standout star at Southern Utah and won the 2012 Bowerman Award. He was legendary for weeks that topped out at 180-191 miles per week. He spent time training with the Nike Oregon Project under Alberto Salazar. In recent years, he has been sidelined by injuries and was unable to race at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio.  We discuss his comeback, the plan that went into his marathon debut and a return to high mileage. Levins plans to compete in the marathon at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo but what do his 2019 race plans entail? New York Times best selling author Malcolm Gladwell, also the host of the hit podcast 'Revisionist History', submitted his own questions for Levins so we get to those.  Plus: We share your

Allie Kieffer joins The CITIUS MAG Podcast before she takes on the 2018 New York City Marathon. The Big Apple was the site of her major marathon breakthrough in 2017. She finished fifth overall in 2:29:39, which was also a personal best by more than 15 minutes. The only American woman ahead of her was Shalane Flanagan, who became the first U.S. woman to win the race in 40 years. Since last November, Allie signed a professional contract with Oiselle and moved to Boulder to train under Brad Hudson. If the name sounds familiar, he is also the coach of past podcast guest Parker Stinson. Workouts seem to indicate that Allie may be in for another big race and she says that she wants to run fast. We discuss her training including why she's raced back-to-back half marathons. Allie reveals what she's learned from studying tape and film of other marathoners. Allie is also very vocal about body image activism. Her Instagram page is filled with various posts about her past struggles with weight and body image and how

We'll be back to your regularly scheduled CITIUS MAG Podcast interviews this week. Our next guest is Allie Kieffer so look for that interview later possibly on Thursday or Friday. Just wanted to take a moment to give you all a preview of the newest show on the CITIUS MAG Podcast Network. This is a project that I am very proud of and I've got high hopes for the new show. It's a show that I co-host with Jeanne Mack. She interviewed me on this podcast a few weeks back. We announced this was going to happen. Now it's here. Introducing "Runners of NYC". This is the first episode. You may not be from NYC but this show will give you some good insight into the many people who make up such a great city. It's every day runners in an every day setting but not your common backgrounds. In a city of 8 million people, Jeanne and I have a lot of stories to tell. We're excited to share them with you. The show is now available on iTunes and Soundcloud so subscribe today! iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/run

Intern Matt (also known as my good friend Matt Kulling) joins me over a beer at Murphy's Bleachers in Chicago just one day after he ran the 2018 Chicago Marathon. He was not a runner before July and so I decided to catch up with my buddy about what he learned from his first marathon. Why did he sign up to do this? What was the hardest part of training? What were the highs and lows of the actual race? Would he ever do it again? Here's what he said, when I asked him what he learned from this whole process. "It doesn't really matter if you run in 2:04 or if you run in 6:04, people will cheer you on the same amount. This is me kind of patting myself on the back but it's a tremendous accomplishment to just finish or even say that I'm going to do this at all. It's a self-imposed goal. The fact that people are so supportive of you – if you have to walk, it doesn't matter. If you're really old, it doesn't matter. If you're really young, it doesn't matter. People really rally around you and that's what I thought wa

Jeanne Mack takes over the CITIUS MAG Podcast to put me in the guest position for once. Maybe we should've done this at the start of the podcast so that listeners can get to know me better but here we are. I turn 25 on Sunday, Sept. 25. Before I start this quarter-life crisis, Jeanne asked to interview me and so we sat down in a park to chat about my background. This episode delves into how I got started in track and field as a sprinter at Xavier High School in New York City. Was I any good? (Spoiler: No) How did I gain interest in distance running? What spurred me to start running distance? Jeanne asks about my professional life as a writer for Sports Illustrated and then how I came about with the idea to start CITIUS MAG. What's the story behind #LegsAreFeelinGood? What's the hope for the future of CITIUS MAG? How can the readers and listeners help out? There's a lot to unpack in this episode so it's a bit longer than usual. We sat down and then realized that we had been recording for at least 80 minute

Parker Stinson joins The CITIUS MAG Podcast to discuss his training and expectations for the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Before we delve into his preparation, we discuss how he got involved in the sport at an early age thanks to his father and then landing at the University of Oregon where he became a nine-time All-American for the Ducks. After a solid collegiate career, Parker signed a professional contract with Saucony and moved to Boulder, Colorado to train under esteemed coach Brad Hudson. Parker's training has been chronicled in a very well-done video series called 'Endure' which is produced by Trackster. In the latest video, Parker completes a 35K workout (21.75 miles) on dirt roads at 5,200 feet of elevation and at 5:12 pace per mile. We definitely discussed that workout and what it means to embrace the suffering. Listener questions include: - What's the best version of the Saucony Kinvara? His favorite trainer and racer? Plus, will we be seeing his all-white kicks in Chicago? - What are

Checking back in with Jason Suarez, a CITIUS MAG contributor also known on Instagram as @NotAfraid2Fail. Jason announces that he will be running the 2018 New York City Marathon and has found his love for running again. Jason joined the podcast in March and talked about how he did his first marathon to prove to himself that it's not that difficult to run a marathon. He didn't train for it. He even stopped for a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich along the way. By the time that he finished, it was dark and there weren't too many people behind him. If you haven't listened to his first episode, it's a recommended listen.  Now, he's been running with Project Moonshot in New York City and has been working with a big training group to stay motivated for this year's race. Jason also has a lofty goal of raising $30,000 for Girls Gotta Run. We previously helped raise $1,805 for Girls Gotta Run on International Women's Day. Let's help Jason raise some money. With $30,000, Jason hopes to back 120 girls in Bekoji, Ethiopia

Claus-Henning Schulke was a champion to many watching the Berlin Marathon on TV or monitoring social media during Eliud Kipchoge's 2:01:39 marathon world record. The 52-year-old amateur triathlete was amped up whenever he successfully passed off bottles to Kipchoge. He would emphatically fist pump. On Twitter, people were referring to him as "Der Flaschenbro" which translates to The Bottle Bro. I loved the guy. Shortly after the race, I decided to get in contact with Kipchoge's reps, who then passed along Claus's contact information. When I reached out to him about doing a brief interview, he got back to me within a minute to make it happen. Claus knows how to deliver. He also still brought 100% energy to the call. I wish I started recording immediately because he started the call with a loud, "HELLO, NEW YORK!!" since he knew that I was in the Big Apple. LetsRun.com posted their own Q&A with Claus on Monday but we figured our listeners would still love to hear from the man himself. This episode is bro

We decided to check in briefly with our friend Nick Roche, who made his first appearance on the CITIUS MAG Podcast in April, and CITIUS MAG stats editor Scott Olberding. In his first appearance on the show, Nick publicly stated that he would like to get after a U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier even if his personal best is 2:27 from last year's Berlin Marathon. Scott also has OTQ dreams. Both these guys manage full-time jobs while training at a high level. Nick works at Adidas. Scott works at Columbia Sportswear. They train together as members of the Jacuzzi Boys Athletic Club. They're a group of fun guys with lofty, fast goals. Now they're both in Germany for this weekend's Berlin Marathon. Nick will go for the trials mark. Scott recently had an Achilles scare and will be looking to run his best. I decided to tap into their minds before their big race and get some insight into how two normal dudes approach their biggest race of the year. Follow them: Nick Roche - https://www.instagram.com/nickroche/

We definitely over-hyped this episode but it's a short (very short) interview with Eliud Kipchoge that was initially meant to be a story that never materialized into writing. The world has known much of Eliud's story as a professional runner because he burst onto the scene at 18 years old. I tried to find out a little bit more about his childhood. He was short on some of his answers but I was able to find a little more to share. So we decided to convert some of the sound bytes into a podcast. I did end up writing a short appreciation of Eliud for SI.com, which you can read here: on.si.com/2OeGY79 This weekend, Eliud will try to run a personal best at the Berlin Marathon. His PB is 2:03:05. The world record is 2:02:57. He's won an Olympic gold medal. He's won Berlin and London multiple times. Regardless of whether or not he gets it, he's had a tremendous career thus far and is the greatest of all-time in my opinion. This episode is brought to you by the Legs Are Feelin Good™. Get out there and get yourself

Paul Snyder and Kyle Merber meet up in Brooklyn to chat about the 2018 Hoka One One Long Island Mile, which will be held on September 5th at Bay Shore High School. If you're in New York, come out to watch the races or join the community races. Sign up at http://longislandmile.com/ Check out the fields for the races below: Women: Emily Lipari, Amanda Eccelston, Kate Van Buskirk, Shannon Osika, Danielle Aragon, Emma Coburn, Stephanie Schappert, Cory McGee, Ce'Aira Brown, Rachel Schnieder, Helen Schlachtenhaufen, Nikki Hitlz, Katrina Coogan, Sara Sutherland Men: Chris O'Hare, Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, Graham Crawford, Sam Parsons, Ben Blankenship, Neil Gourley, Eric Avilia, Sam McEntee, Charlie Grice, Rob Napalitano, Daniel Herrera, Colby Alexander, Cristian Soratos and Ben Flanagan

Stephen and Ryan get the band together one last time for the final Diamond League Meet of the season, and what is likely the last big meet pod ever. The only way you will get more Big Meet Pods is if you tell Stephen and Ryan they are good boys and you like their work.

The Big Meet Pod is back with a recap of Day 1 of the Diamond League finals. This one took place in Zurich, ya know, in Switzerland? And boy oh boy was it a BIG ONE.

Dana Giordano, a former All-American at Dartmouth and full-time employee/runner for Reebok, joins the show to give more insight into her inspiring story ahead of her run at the Falmouth Road Race on Sunday. In 2008, doctors discovered a 5-pound malignant ovarian teratoma which needed to be removed from her ovaries. She underwent surgery and made a full recovery before joining her high school track team in New Jersey and eventually developing into a star distance runner for Dartmouth. 10 years later, Dana is coming off a season in which she dropped her 1,500 meter personal best to 4:08 and made the 1,500 meter final at the U.S. Outdoor Championships. We recap some of her season and untraditional path back to the professional ranks. After a short break from training, Dana will be running the Falmouth Road Race on Sunday but has set the goal of raising $10,000 for Boston Children's Hospital. We're almost there! Less than $1,500 to go! It is her way of giving back to the hospital that cared for her. We talked a

Courtney Frerichs of the Bowerman Track Club joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast just days after setting the American record in the steeplechase at the Monaco Diamond League meet. She ran 9:00.85 to break Emma Coburn's previous American record of 9:02.58. Frerichs was second in the race behind Kenya's Beatrice Chepkoech, who broke Ruth Jebet's world record of 8:52.78 by eight seconds with a 8:44.32 victory.  Frerichs is now the sixth-fastest woman of all-time in the steeplechase and she's not done yet. She shares some insight into her lofty goals for the Brussels Diamond League and the next two years of her career. We've transcribed some of the best excerpts of the podcast and you can read them on CITIUSMAG.com. You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also now on Stitcher and now Google Play! If you enjoy this podcast, check out the other shows on the CITIUS MAG Podcast Network including the 1609 Podcast, Price of a Mile, Running Things Conside

Several CITIUS MAG Podcast listeners have requested an episode with Stephanie Bruce and we finally made it happen! Steph is on a roll this summer with a third place finish at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships 10,000 meters, which she then followed up with a win at the AJC Peach Tree 10K (U.S. 10K Championships). That win marked her first U.S. national title and a personal best (32:21) by more than 30 seconds. We caught up with Stephanie before the end of her summer racing season to discuss how she managed to bottle up her fitness and disappointment from the London Marathon in April and turn it into a breakthrough at 34 years old. A win in Atlanta in 2018 is good but one in 2020 when the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials roll into town would be even better. We discussed the outlook of the women's marathoning scene and her approach to such a deep era in the sport. Stephanie is also a mother to two boys. She's been very open on social media about how she manages to be a good mom and professional runne

Ryan Sterner and Chris Chavez go over the Monaco Diamond League meet, which they have dubbed the biggest meet of the year. That makes this the Biggest Meet Pod. World Records, American Records, Meet Records galore, this is one you don't want to miss.

Shelby Houlihan joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast fresh off her 3:57.34 win in the Lausanne Diamond League 1,500 meters. She is now the fourth-fastest American woman of all-time at the distance. In that race, she beat a few global championship medalists at the distance including Laura Muir, Caster Semenya and Sifan Hassan. Shelby pulled off the win with a 14-second final 100 meters that was more than a second faster than anyone else in the field. Oh, we haven't even mentioned that this is all after she won the 1,500 meters and the 5,000 meters at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Shelby is on a tear. We discuss how she developed this incredible kick, the importance of strength work, being patient in training and much more. Fun topics include: The origins of French Bread Friday, why she doesn't plan on changing her Twitter handle, ranking the Harry Potter moves and much more including a BIG SCOOP that she has never told anyone before. Plus: Listener questions submitted on Instagram. All that an

Jim Walmsley joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast with Chris Chavez and Stephen Kersh to talk about his big win at the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. He shares a little bit of background into how he found ultra running and was introduced into the sport, what makes for a good ultra runner, preparing your mindset for a grueling race and enjoying the process. Jim had two previous close calls for the win at Western States, In 2016, he aggressively chased the course record in his first time out on the course but made one bad turn that cost him the W. In 2017, he was a DNF after 90 miles due to heat exhaustion and struggles to keep fluids down. 2018 was his crowning moment. Stephen was on-hand to watch the race and chronicled its beauty for CITIUS MAG. You can check out his piece here: http://citiusmag.com/western-states-100/ Jim talks about his training for Western States, the feeling walking away and plans for the future. Jim is thinking about chasing an Olympic Trials Qualifier for 2020 and delves into how he