The CITIUS MAG Podcast | A Running + Track and Field Show

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 people who stay up-to-date with all the thrilling action and biggest stories in the world of track & field – delivered right to your inbox every Wednesday morning. Subscribe at ⁠http://thelapcount.com/⁠ In this week's newsletter: - The New Age of Marathoning: Short Loop 🔁 - The College XC Roundup: Wisco + Pre Nats 🌲 - The Grand Marathon Championships🇯🇵 - USATF Marathon Trials Athlete Meeting Update 🗣 - LA2028: The Summer of Sports! 🏟 - Meet HOKA NAZ Elite’s Coach Jack Mullaney 🏔 You can read this week's newsletter here ➡️ https://www.thelapcount.com/p/marathons-getting-shorter SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS 👟 NEW BALANCE: Let me tell you something about the New Balance Fresh Foam x 1080… I like them. I use them for running seven-minute pace from my house, and for walking to my car to drive somewhere else to go run seven-minute pace. They’re workhorses and about as reliable of a shoe as you can ever ask for. When someone new to running asks me, “What shoes should I get?” then the New Balance 1080s are my go-to recommendation because everyone likes them, and that theoretical person probably will too. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 💻 ⁠Visit CITIUSMAG.com | Our brand-new website hosts tons more podcasts, articles, videos and more. Track and field storytelling all in one place⁠. 🎙️ ⁠Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts⁠. 💵 ⁠Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG⁠ or ⁠Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG⁠ 🎥 ⁠Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel

“After Berlin, I came home thinking I have a chance to make this team. I’m a stats guy, I’m a realist, it’s not this astronomically high chance — but I have a chance again… I have some of the best training partners in the nation and I have the pieces I think that I need now. So it's a fun opportunity.” My guest for today’s episode is 2016 U.S. Olympian Jared Ward, who just ran 2:11:44 at the Berlin Marathon. It’s been a while since Jared joined us on the show but he’s back to recap that race and how he somehow ended up in a tight battle with Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, who ended up breaking the women’s world record in 2:11:53. He also shares some of his thoughts on training partners Conner Mantz and Clayton Young’s big performances in Chicago. Plus, Ward gives us an update regarding some discussion about the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.  Last week, several of the top U.S. marathoners met with USATF CEO Max Siegel and other members of USATF’s team to discuss the noon start time for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando. A letter was sent to the national office on Sept. 15 and was signed by 84 athletes. Jared was among the athletes spearheading the conversation to voice concern over the midday heat in Orlando. You can read the full letter here: https://citiusmag.com/articles/us-olympic-trials-marathoners-max-siegel-trials-start-time Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠ Guest: Jared Ward |  @jwardy21 on Instagram SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS 🍊 OLIPOP is a prebiotic soda with only 2-5g of sugar that is actually good for your gut health. – and it's delicious. Use code CITIUS25 for 25% off non-subscription orders. ⁠Learn more at https://DrinkOlipop.com (click the link or use our promotional code for the discount)⁠ 👟 BANDIT RUNNING is a performance and lifestyle running apparel brand founded by members of the NYC Running Community in 2020. What started as socks and accessories has grown into a full-fledged apparel assortment. Check them out here: ⁠https://banditrunning.com/⁠ GET 15% OFF YOUR ORDERS AT BANDITRUNNING.COM THROUGH OCT. 31 📊 VDOT is offering 20% off their coaching subscription using the code citiusmag. Download V.O2 in the app stores or visit ⁠⁠vdoto2.com⁠⁠ to start your 30-day free trial. Athletes without a coach can use the same code and try out their fully automated VDOT Adaptive Trainer and sync to an Apple Watch, COROS or Garmin. Leverage the world-famous VDOT formulas and take your running to the next level with V.O2 HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 💻 ⁠Visit CITIUSMAG.com | Our brand-new website hosts tons more podcasts, articles, videos and more. Track and field storytelling all in one place⁠. 🎙️ ⁠Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts⁠. 💵 ⁠Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG⁠ or ⁠Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG⁠ 🎥 ⁠Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel

"I think at this point, it’s the NAU show up front for both the men and the women.” The biggest NCAA regular season weekend took place in Madison and Charlottesville this weekend with the Nuttycombe Invitational hosted by the University of Wisconsin and the 2023 Pre Nationals hosted by the University of Virginia.  We discussed the biggest winners and underperformers from the weekend with CITIUS MAG's cross country guru Isaac Wood. Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠ Guest: Isaac Wood | ⁠@isaacew on Instagram⁠ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS 🍊 OLIPOP is a prebiotic soda with only 2-5g of sugar that is actually good for your gut health. – and it's delicious. Use code CITIUS25 for 25% off non-subscription orders. ⁠Learn more at https://DrinkOlipop.com (click the link or use our promotional code for the discount)⁠ 👟 BANDIT RUNNING is a performance and lifestyle running apparel brand founded by members of the NYC Running Community in 2020. What started as socks and accessories has grown into a full-fledged apparel assortment. Check them out here: ⁠https://banditrunning.com/⁠ GET 15% OFF YOUR ORDERS AT BANDITRUNNING.COM THROUGH OCT. 31 📊 VDOT is offering 20% off their coaching subscription using the code citiusmag. Download V.O2 in the app stores or visit ⁠vdoto2.com⁠ to start your 30-day free trial. Athletes without a coach can use the same code and try out their fully automated VDOT Adaptive Trainer and sync to an Apple Watch, COROS or Garmin. Leverage the world-famous VDOT formulas and take your running to the next level with V.O2 HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 💻 ⁠Visit CITIUSMAG.com | Our brand-new website hosts tons more podcasts, articles, videos and more. Track and field storytelling all in one place⁠. 🎙️ ⁠Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts⁠. 💵 ⁠Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG⁠ or ⁠Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG⁠ 🎥 ⁠Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel

“It's not that I don't want to run faster because I do, but it's just not what motivates me to get out of bed in the morning. I want to be on a podium again at a world major, I want to finish in the top three, I want to fight for a medal someday, or at least give myself a shot. And I want to be on another Olympic team. Those are the things that get me out of bed.” U.S. marathon record holder Emily Sisson is back for her fourth time on the show. She just finished in as the top American and seventh overall at the Chicago Marathon in 2:22:09 despite battling a side stitch for the final eight miles. Unfortunately, the broadcast did not show much of Sisson’s race for the second consecutive year. Last year, she broke the American record in 2:18:29 on the course and we had her on the podcast to unpack that race. We’re keeping the tradition alive here and breaking down how it all played out for her. Sisson will now enjoy a break and then prepare for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on February 3rd in Orlando, where she will try to make her second Olympic team and her first as a marathoner. She’s part of a group of athletes meeting with USA Track and Field to try and adjust the start time so it’s not at noon in the potential heat and humidity of Orlando so we discuss that a bit and who she may be watching heading into the race. Host: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez on Instagram Guest: Emily Sisson | @em_sisson_ on Instagram SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS 🍊 OLIPOP is a prebiotic soda with only 2-5g of sugar that is actually good for your gut health. – and it's delicious. Use code CITIUS25 for 25% off non-subscription orders. Learn more at https://DrinkOlipop.com (click the link or use our promotional code for the discount) 👟 BANDIT RUNNING is a performance and lifestyle running apparel brand founded by members of the NYC Running Community in 2020. What started as socks and accessories has grown into a full-fledged apparel assortment. Check them out here: https://banditrunning.com/ GET 15% OFF YOUR ORDERS AT BANDITRUNNING.COM THROUGH OCT. 31 📊 VDOT is offering 20% off their coaching subscription using the code citiusmag. Download V.O2 in the app stores or visit ⁠vdoto2.com⁠ to start your 30-day free trial. Athletes without a coach can use the same code and try out their fully automated VDOT Adaptive Trainer and sync to an Apple Watch, COROS or Garmin. Leverage the world-famous VDOT formulas and take your running to the next level with V.O2 HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 💻 Visit CITIUSMAG.com | Our brand-new website hosts tons more podcasts, articles, videos and more. Track and field storytelling all in one place. 🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. 💵 Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG or Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG 🎥 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel

We are set for one of the biggest NCAA cross-country weekends before championship season approaches. The top teams in the country are split between Charlottesville, Virginia for the XC23 Pre-Nationals and Madison, Wisconsin for the Nuttycombe Invitational.  CITIUS MAG’s cross country guru Isaac Wood joined the podcast on Thursday to preview all of this weekend’s action. How to watch: The Nuttycomb Invitational will be held at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. The women’s championship 6K race will be at noon ET. The men’s championship 8K race will be at 12:40 p.m. ET. You can follow the live results here. You can watch the race with a Runnerspace+ subscription ($12.99 monthly or $119.88 annually.) The 2023 Pre-Nationals will be held at Panorama Farms on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. The men’s championship 8K race will be at 9:40 a.m. ET. The women’s championship 6K race will be at 11 a.m. ET.  You can follow the live results here. You can watch the race on ACCNX which is available through the ESPN app and at WatchESPN.com. Hosts: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez on Instagram Guest: Isaac Wood | @isaacew on Instagram SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS 🍊 OLIPOP is a prebiotic soda with only 2-5g of sugar that is actually good for your gut health. – and it's delicious. Use code CITIUS25 for 25% off non-subscription orders. Learn more at https://DrinkOlipop.com (click the link or use our promotional code for the discount) 👟 BANDIT RUNNING is a performance and lifestyle running apparel brand founded by members of the NYC Running Community in 2020. What started as socks and accessories has grown into a full-fledged apparel assortment. Check them out here: https://banditrunning.com/ GET 15% OFF YOUR ORDERS AT BANDITRUNNING.COM THROUGH OCT. 31 📊 VDOT is offering 20% off their coaching subscription using the code citiusmag. Download V.O2 in the app stores or visit vdoto2.com to start your 30-day free trial. Athletes without a coach can use the same code and try out their fully automated VDOT Adaptive Trainer and sync to an Apple Watch, COROS or Garmin. Leverage the world-famous VDOT formulas and take your running to the next level with V.O2 HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 💻 Visit CITIUSMAG.com | Our brand-new website hosts tons more podcasts, articles, videos and more. Track and field storytelling all in one place. 🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. 💵 Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG or Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG 🎥 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel

"We want to compete with the best and we want to have a run at the American record soon. It’s not going to happen next year with the Olympic Trials and the Olympics, but we want to compete with the best. American distance running will eventually get to that level. It would be better to do it with us now than in three to five years with someone else. We’d rather be the ones to get that rather than reacting to someone else hitting it.” Conner Mantz and Clayton Young just became the first two American men to hit the Olympic marathon qualifying standard for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. At the Chicago Marathon, Mantz finished 2:07:47 for sixth place. Young took seventh in 2:08:00. Going into last weekend, no American man had dipped under the 2:08:10 standard so there was a bit of stress about whether any American marathoners would have the mark before the U.S. Olympic Trials in February. Athletes can qualify for the Olympics by hitting the time, placing top five at a Platinum Label Marathon or getting within the world ranking quota. Mantz and Young assured that we will have at least two U.S. men’s marathoners at the Paris Olympics. Now, they’ll have to just finish in the top 3 of the U.S. Olympic Trials to get on the team officially. We’ll discuss that a bit more within the episode. While the performances were strong, we actually didn’t get to watch any of it on the TV broadcast since Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum was much further ahead while on his way to a 2:00:35 world record. In this episode, we’ll unpack how the races played out for them, their key takeaways, what their early thoughts are for the trials and much more. Host: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez on Instagram Guest: Conner Mantz | @connermantz on Instagram Guest: Clayton Young |  @_clayton_young_ on Instagram SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS 🍊 OLIPOP is a prebiotic soda with only 2-5g of sugar that is actually good for your gut health. – and it's delicious. Use code CITIUS25 for 25% off non-subscription orders. Learn more at https://DrinkOlipop.com (click the link or use our promotional code for the discount) 👟 BANDIT RUNNING is a performance and lifestyle running apparel brand founded by members of the NYC Running Community in 2020. What started as socks and accessories has grown into a full-fledged apparel assortment. Check them out here: https://banditrunning.com/ GET 15% OFF YOUR ORDERS AT BANDITRUNNING.COM THROUGH OCT. 31 HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 💻 Visit CITIUSMAG.com | Our brand-new website hosts tons more podcasts, articles, videos and more. Track and field storytelling all in one place. 🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. 💵 Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG or Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG 🎥 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 people who stay up-to-date with all the thrilling action and biggest stories in the world of track & field – delivered right to your inbox every Wednesday morning. Subscribe at http://thelapcount.com/ In this week's newsletter: • Word Record Holder: Kelvin Kiptum • Is there anything Sifan Hassan cannot do? • Two down, one to go for Team USA • Japan’s Grand Championship Marathon + more Rapid Fire Highlights You can read this week's newsletter here ➡️  https://www.thelapcount.com/p/goat-now SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS👟 BANDIT RUNNING is a performance and lifestyle running apparel brand founded by members of the NYC Running Community in 2020. What started as socks and accessories has grown into a full-fledged apparel assortment. Check them out here: https://banditrunning.com/ GET 15% OFF YOUR ORDERS AT BANDITRUNNING.COM THROUGH OCT. 31 HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 💻 Visit CITIUSMAG.com | Our brand-new website hosts tons more podcasts, articles, videos and more. Track and field storytelling all in one place. 🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. 💵 Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG or Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG 🎥 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel

On Sunday, October 8, the penultimate World Marathon Major of 2023 kicks off through Millennium Park and through the streets of Chicago. The site of multiple American and world records, the Chicago Marathon is often considered one of the fastest courses in the United States and always draws strong domestic and international elite fields chasing fast times. Last year, the women’s race saw an American record from Emily Sisson and the second-fastest performance of all time (at the time) from winner Ruth Chepngetich. Chicago’s men’s course record of 2:03:45 was the world record when it was set in 2013 by Dennis Kimetto and the women’s course record of 2:14:04 set by Brigid Kosgei in 2019 was the world record until a few weeks ago – this is the place to run fast. The first wave of runners goes off at 8:30 a.m. E.T. (men and women start together). Right now, the forecast looks promising, with a low of 46F and a high of 57F. It’ll be a little breezy with 10-15mph winds, but the looped Chicago course lined in many spots by high rises is relatively tolerant to wind. We could be in for some seriously special racing! CITIUS MAG's team (Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber and Declan Murray) will preview all the top storylines and athletes to watch. Show presented by Bandit Running | Bandit Running is a performance and lifestyle running apparel brand founded by members of the NYC Running Community in 2020. What started as socks and accessories has grown into a full-fledged apparel assortment. Check them out here: https://banditrunning.com/ GET 15% OFF YOUR ORDERS AT BANDITRUNNING.COM THROUGH OCT. 31

Sifan Hassan has defied every expectation of how an athlete is supposed to transition to the marathon. Her debut in London was full of issues, with Hassan experiencing trouble fueling and having to stop to stretch her quad. In the later miles of the race, she even narrowly missed getting hit by a motorbike trying to pick up a water bottle. Oh yeah, and she won in 2:18:33. Then five weeks later she was back on the track racing a 10,000m and 1500m, kept her season going into August, attempted to triple in the 1500m/5000m/10,000m in Budapest, and came out with two medals, all while in the middle of her buildup for Chicago. If, by some miracle, that effort hasn’t completely burnt her legs out from under her, she has to be considered one of the biggest – if not the biggest – threat to Ruth Chepngetich’s attempted title defense. Hosts: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez on Instagram Guest: Sifan Hassan | @sifanhassan on Instagram SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS 🍊 OLIPOP is a prebiotic soda with only 2-5g of sugar that is actually good for your gut health. – and it's delicious. Use code CITIUS25 for 25% off non-subscription orders. Learn more at https://DrinkOlipop.com (click the link or use our promotional code for the discount) 👟 BANDIT RUNNING is a performance and lifestyle running apparel brand founded by members of the NYC Running Community in 2020. What started with socks and accessories has grown into a full-fledged apparel line. Come shake out with us with some easy miles on Saturday morning and swing by their pop-up at 333 N Michigan Ave starting on Thursday, October 5th. The pop-up is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Full lineup and links to RSVP for their weekend of events here. View Bandit’s limited edition Chicago collection, here. Only available at their pop-up. You can check out the rest of their store here. Get 10% off your first order by joining their mailing list. Free shipping on orders over $100. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 💻 Visit CITIUSMAG.com | Our brand-new website hosts tons more podcasts, articles, videos and more. Track and field storytelling all in one place. 🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. 💵 Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG or Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG 🎥 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel

We're testing something new and having an audio version of The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 people who stay up-to-date with all the thrilling action and biggest stories in the world of track & field – delivered right to your inbox every Wednesday morning. Subscribe at http://thelapcount.com/ In this week's newsletter: – The start of something new on the roads 🌍 – The World Road Running Championships 🌍 – Running the canceled Twin Cities Marathon/10 Mile 💁‍♂️ – Olli Hoare Discusses Mental Health Struggles ☕️ – No More Off Years — Seb’s 2026 Spectacle 🗓️ – 8 Things To Convince You To Care About Chicago 🌭 – More Rapid Fire Highlights 🔥 You can read this week's newsletter here ➡️ https://www.thelapcount.com/p/road-infrastructure-plan