THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST Keegan Smith: 14:23 XC, 4:04 Mile Injured, NCAA Dreams, and His Relentless Chase for a Sub-4 Minute Mile
As Keegan Smith is apt to say, winning isn’t everything – running your best is.
Up next in our 2025 HOKA Festival of Miles series, we welcome one of the most dominant high school distance runners in the country: Keegan Smith, straight out of Tennessee.
From the moment he laced up as a freshman, Keegan’s been smashing records and turning heads. He opened his high school career by dropping a 14:53.79 5K — the fastest ever by a U.S. freshman in cross country — then lit up the track with a 4:14.63 mile and an 8:52.96 3,200m, both national freshman records.
Fast forward to his senior year: Keegan clocked a blistering 14:23.26 at the Nike Cross Southeast Regional, breaking the Tennessee state record and proving he's still leveling up. He closed out his high school XC career with wins at NXR Southeast and Foot Locker South, and shattered three all-time course records along the way.
His PRs speak for themselves: he has run 1:51.93 in 800m; 3:55.64 in the 1500m; 4:11.90 in the mile; 8:54.97 in the two-mile; and 14:23.26 in the 5,000m in cross country.
The longer the race, the stronger he gets.
Now committed to the University of Colorado, Keegan’s taking his talent to one of the top distance programs in the nation. And with NIL deals already in place with HOKA and Precision Fuel & Hydration, he’s not just running fast — he’s building a brand.
In today's conversation, Keegan shares behind-the-scenes stories from my marathon (lol), what it was like to run a local race, his breakdown of XC postseason, why his XC season was so meaningful to him, running a 4:04 Mile while being injured, his ambitions for the outdoor track season, and racing the 2025 HOKA Festival of Miles meet.
Tap into the Keegan Smith Special.
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