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

"It’s not chance. It’s not talent on the team. It’s what we talk about and how we train. That’s never going to change. Regardless of what athletes we have, we’re always going to be able to perform within some contained range – whether that’s winning or 5th place, it’s always going to be something that we’re proud of.” My guest for today’s episode is Nico Young. He is a star for Northern Arizona University’s track and cross country team. He just finished second individually in the NCAA Cross Country Championships but led the Lumberjacks to their sixth national title in the last seven years. Before even arriving in Flagstaff, he was the sparkplug that kicked off Newbury Park High School’s cross country and track dominance when he ran 9:05 for 3200 meters as a sophomore and then won a bunch of state and national titles as a junior and senior. It’s been a great progression for him. He’s lowered his personal best to 13:11 for the 5000m, which puts him at No. 3 on the all-time collegiate list. He was third at the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships in the event and then took eighth at the U.S. Outdoor Championships 5000m final. All of this and he’s still just 20 years old.  We touch on a bit of his progression, how he’s handled that rise in an era of social media, what makes this NAU team special and also what it was like coming out as gay before the start of the cross country season. I appreciate Nico’s openness in this conversation and I’m looking forward to seeing how fast he goes this weekend at the BU Season Opener, where he’s the top seed in the men’s 5000m. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS VELOUS is an active recovery footwear brand designed to help you restore, revive & re-energize before and after you train. Two years in development, this team has created the world’s most comfortable, supportive and lightweight active recovery shoe in the world. Get 20% off using code CitiusMag20 GARMIN: Music. Training. Data. The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is my favorite running partner. You do the running. This GPS running smartwatch does the thinking. It even gets to know you and your body better, mile after mile and song after song. Get one for yourself here >> https://bit.ly/3Pcu0qo FINAL SURGE: If you are a coach, Final Surge makes planning and analyzing workouts simple and helps streamline communication with your athletes. Final Surge is also here to offer up some world-class training programs. Check out their offerings today: FINALSURGE.COM – USE CODE CITIUS FOR 10% OFF. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 🎙️ 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

"The hardest part of the process was the psychological aspect, which I didn't anticipate. I really struggled with postpartum anxiety and some postpartum depression. I think we're talking about it more but it can be quite debilitating, especially when we're expected to be so happy and joyful that we have this new beautiful baby but there is another darker piece that happens for a lot of women. It's definitely something I've struggled with and I'm not totally out of the woods with it. Motherhood has really changed me – mostly for the better but there are some mental health things I really need to stay on top of now." Chelsea Sodaro made history last month by winning the Ironman Kona World Championship women's race and becoming the first American to win in Kona since 2002 and the first American woman to win since 1996. One of the most impressive parts is that she accomplished the feat just 18 months after giving birth to her daughter Skylar. Chelsea was in 5th place going into the run before clocking a 2:51 split on the marathon run – that's after swimming 2.6 miles and biking 112 miles – to win by almost eight minutes. It's super impressive. It was so great to catch up with Chelsea, who was a pro runner when I started covering track in 2012 through her final track race at the 2016 Olympic Trials. We go deep on her journey to find her calling in triathlon, some of the highs and hardships from her pregnancy, what track and field can learn from another sport and of course that epic day in Hawaii. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS VELOUS is an active recovery footwear brand designed to help you restore, revive & re-energize before and after you train. Two years in development, this team has created the world’s most comfortable, supportive and lightweight active recovery shoe in the world. Get 20% off using code CitiusMag20 GARMIN: Music. Training. Data. The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is my favorite running partner. You do the running. This GPS running smartwatch does the thinking. It even gets to know you and your body better, mile after mile and song after song. Get one for yourself here >> https://bit.ly/3Pcu0qo FINAL SURGE: If you are a coach, Final Surge makes planning and analyzing workouts simple and helps streamline communication with your athletes. Final Surge is also here to offer up some world-class training programs. Check out their offerings today: FINALSURGE.COM – USE CODE CITIUS FOR 10% OFF. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 🎙️ 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

The 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships are in the books. The NAU dynasty continues on the men's side as they finished the day with 83 points tied with Oklahoma State but then won the head-to-head tiebreaker. It marked the first time that a tiebreaker determined the national champion. Stanford's Charles Hicks outkicked Nico Young in the final stretch to claim in the men's individual title. On the women's side N.C. State became the first school to go back-to-back since Villanova in 2009 and 2010. They were led by Katelyn Tuohy, who hunted down Florida's Parker Valby despite a 12-second gap and won the women's individual title. We unpack all of the action, the biggest surprises and give some way too early 2023 picks with Isaac Wood of The Wood Report and Kyle Merber. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS VELOUS is an active recovery footwear brand designed to help you restore, revive & re-energize before and after you train. Two years in development, this team has created the world’s most comfortable, supportive and lightweight active recovery shoe in the world. Get 20% off using code CitiusMag20 GARMIN: Music. Training. Data. The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is my favorite running partner. You do the running. This GPS running smartwatch does the thinking. It even gets to know you and your body better, mile after mile and song after song. Get one for yourself here >> https://bit.ly/3Pcu0qo FINAL SURGE: If you are a coach, Final Surge makes planning and analyzing workouts simple and helps streamline communication with your athletes. Final Surge is also here to offer up some world-class training programs. Check out their offerings today: FINALSURGE.COM – USE CODE CITIUS FOR 10% OFF. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 🎙️ 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

The NCAA Cross Country Championships are upon us. 31 teams per gender. Two champions. Oklahoma State University will host the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 19th. The women’s race will begin at 10:20 a.m. ET with the men’s race slated to follow at 11:10 a.m. You’ll be able to watch the races uninterrupted on ESPNU starting at 10 a.m. Kyle Merber will be on the broadcast and making his own ESPN debut. To preview all of the main storylines and share some predictions, I called up cross-country guru Isaac Wood of The Wood Report. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS VELOUS is an active recovery footwear brand designed to help you restore, revive & re-energize before and after you train. Two years in development, this team has created the world’s most comfortable, supportive and lightweight active recovery shoe in the world. Get 20% off using code CitiusMag20 GARMIN: Music. Training. Data. The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is my favorite running partner. You do the running. This GPS running smartwatch does the thinking. It even gets to know you and your body better, mile after mile and song after song. Get one for yourself here >> https://bit.ly/3Pcu0qo FINAL SURGE: If you are a coach, Final Surge makes planning and analyzing workouts simple and helps streamline communication with your athletes. Final Surge is also here to offer up some world-class training programs. Check out their offerings today: FINALSURGE.COM – USE CODE CITIUS FOR 10% OFF. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 🎙️ 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'm really, really proud of this one. I feel like I executed it better than I had a marathon before. I think it was my savviest marathon...I understand I did really well and I made all the right choices. All of the measures of success I met. I don't necessarily have the joy. It's more pride right now." Scott Fauble is back on the podcast for the 7th time, which might be a record for a recurring guest. It’s funny to go back and look at the archives because when he first came on this show in 2017, it was ahead of his marathon debut and now he’s one of the top U.S. marathoners. He just finished as the top American at the New York City Marathon in 2:13:35 to finish 9th overall. Earlier in the spring, he ran a personal best of 2:08:52 at the Boston Marathon and we did an episode after that performance. Let's unpack another top American performance. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS VELOUS is an active recovery footwear brand designed to help you restore, revive & re-energize before and after you train. Two years in development, this team has created the world’s most comfortable, supportive and lightweight active recovery shoe in the world. Get 20% off using code CitiusMag20 GARMIN: Music. Training. Data. The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is my favorite running partner. You do the running. This GPS running smartwatch does the thinking. It even gets to know you and your body better, mile after mile and song after song. Get one for yourself here >> https://bit.ly/3Pcu0qo FINAL SURGE: If you are a coach, Final Surge makes planning and analyzing workouts simple and helps streamline communication with your athletes. Final Surge is also here to offer up some world-class training programs. Check out their offerings today: FINALSURGE.COM – USE CODE CITIUS FOR 10% OFF. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 🎙️ 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 wanted to do this for a long time because we knew Orlando can really produce what is needed both by the course, the staging area and the support from our running community, but also our entire community to really put forth a world-class event." We finally have an answer on where and when the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials will be held as USATF and the USOPC announced we're headed to Orlando on Feb. 3, 2024. The trials are the event where the top three men's and women's finishers who meet the qualifying standards for the Olympics will secure their spots for the Summer Games in Paris. The race will be held in the street of downtown Orlando. I decided to give a call to Jon and Betsy Hughes of Track Shack to hear about some of the early plans since Track Shack is will be staging the event with help from the city of Orlando mayor, the Orange county mayor and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS FOR EVERY RUN FILM FESTIVAL: Pacers Running, in partnership with The Running Event (TRE), is proud to present the first annual For Every Run Film Festival. Taking place at TRE this December 1 in Austin, TX, the festival will celebrate the best stories from the running industry, showcasing multiple categories for films as well as best brand campaign, photo of the year, and written work. Enter here: https://www.foreveryrunfilmfestival.com/ VELOUS is an active recovery footwear brand designed to help you restore, revive & re-energize before and after you train. Two years in development, this team has created the world’s most comfortable, supportive and lightweight active recovery shoe in the world. Get 20% off using code CitiusMag20 GARMIN: Music. Training. Data. The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is my favorite running partner. You do the running. This GPS running smartwatch does the thinking. It even gets to know you and your body better, mile after mile and song after song. Get one for yourself here >> https://bit.ly/3Pcu0qo FINAL SURGE: If you are a coach, Final Surge makes planning and analyzing workouts simple and helps streamline communication with your athletes. Final Surge is also here to offer up some world-class training programs. Check out their offerings today: FINALSURGE.COM – USE CODE CITIUS FOR 10% OFF. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 🎙️ 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, the New York City Marathon returned to full capacity for the first time since 2019 and although the warmer conditions made it tough for runners across the board, the city was alive to celebrate everyone from the 1st to the 50,000th finisher. Kenyans swept the men’s and women’s pro races for the fourth time this year on the World Marathon Majors stage. The women’s race saw a major surprise as Sharon Lokedi, the former NCAA champion out of Kansas, won in 2:23:23 in her debut marathon. 33-year-old Evans Chebet came away with the victory in a wild and unpredictable men’s race in 2:08:41 to complete his Boston-New York title double in 2022. Aliphine Tuliamuk and Scott Fauble were the top Americans on the day. We chat through the pro races + Kyle's experience running the race + my first time on a TV broadcast. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS TRACKSMITH: The Eliot Runner was developed to meet the rigorous demands of committed runners, providing the perfect balance of cushioning and responsiveness with classic Tracksmith style. See the Eliot Runner in person at Tracksmith’s Pop-Ups at the London and Chicago Marathons and their Boston store this fall before an exclusive opportunity to pre-order on October 24th. Learn more about the Eliot Runner by visiting tracksmith.com/citius FOR EVERY RUN FILM FESTIVAL: Pacers Running, in partnership with The Running Event (TRE), is proud to present the first annual For Every Run Film Festival. Taking place at TRE this December 1 in Austin, TX, the festival will celebrate the best stories from the running industry, showcasing multiple categories for films as well as best brand campaign, photo of the year, and written work. Enter here: https://www.foreveryrunfilmfestival.com/ VELOUS is an active recovery footwear brand designed to help you restore, revive & re-energize before and after you train. Two years in development, this team has created the world’s most comfortable, supportive and lightweight active recovery shoe in the world. Get 20% off using code CitiusMag20 GARMIN: Music. Training. Data. The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is my favorite running partner. You do the running. This GPS running smartwatch does the thinking. It even gets to know you and your body better, mile after mile and song after song. Get one for yourself here >> https://bit.ly/3Pcu0qo FINAL SURGE: If you are a coach, Final Surge makes planning and analyzing workouts simple and helps streamline communication with your athletes. Final Surge is also here to offer up some world-class training programs. Check out their offerings today: FINALSURGE.COM – USE CODE CITIUS FOR 10% OFF. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 🎙️ 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

My guest for this episode is Jos Hermens. He is the founder of Global Sports Communication and the NN Running team. We recorded this episode back in April when I made a trip to Rotterdam to host the team’s 5th anniversary. When they started in 2017, they announced themselves as “the first professional running team” with stars like Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele as the faces of the team. They’ve also made major strides by bringing in other major sponsors to back the team. We dive into the business side of the team, how Jos transitioned from an Olympian to an agent, what he’d like to see changed within the sport, his obsession with breaking records, stories working with Kipchoge, Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie, plus much more. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS TRACKSMITH: The Eliot Runner was developed to meet the rigorous demands of committed runners, providing the perfect balance of cushioning and responsiveness with classic Tracksmith style. See the Eliot Runner in person at Tracksmith’s Pop-Ups at the London and Chicago Marathons and their Boston store this fall before an exclusive opportunity to pre-order on October 24th. Learn more about the Eliot Runner by visiting tracksmith.com/citius FOR EVERY RUN FILM FESTIVAL: Pacers Running, in partnership with The Running Event (TRE), is proud to present the first annual For Every Run Film Festival. Taking place at TRE this December 1 in Austin, TX, the festival will celebrate the best stories from the running industry, showcasing multiple categories for films as well as best brand campaign, photo of the year, and written work. Enter here: https://www.foreveryrunfilmfestival.com/ VELOUS is an active recovery footwear brand designed to help you restore, revive & re-energize before and after you train. Two years in development, this team has created the world’s most comfortable, supportive and lightweight active recovery shoe in the world. Get 20% off using code CitiusMag20 GARMIN: Music. Training. Data. The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is my favorite running partner. You do the running. This GPS running smartwatch does the thinking. It even gets to know you and your body better, mile after mile and song after song. Get one for yourself here >> https://bit.ly/3Pcu0qo FINAL SURGE: If you are a coach, Final Surge makes planning and analyzing workouts simple and helps streamline communication with your athletes. Final Surge is also here to offer up some world-class training programs. Check out their offerings today: FINALSURGE.COM – USE CODE CITIUS FOR 10% OFF. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 🎙️ 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 she has the talent to be the best in the world in the marathon – just like she's been the best in the world in track and cross-country as well." Last week, Mac Fleet and I traveled to Boulder, Colo. to spend some time with the On Athletics Club and coach Dathan Ritzenhein. We got a chance to sit down and chat about the highs and lows of OAC’s 2022 outdoor season + Hellen Obiri’s upcoming marathon debut in New York City on Nov. 6. Obiri’s move to Boulder has been in the works since she signed with the Swiss sportswear company in January with the intention of focusing on the roads. Ritzenhein worked closely with her agent and former coach Ricky Simms to make the transition as smooth as possible following her 67:05 victory at The Great North Run in September. We also spoke with Obiri about her fall plans a day before she won a silver medal in the 10,000m at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. You can watch this full interview with Ritzenhein uninterrupted on the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS TRACKSMITH: The Eliot Runner was developed to meet the rigorous demands of committed runners, providing the perfect balance of cushioning and responsiveness with classic Tracksmith style. See the Eliot Runner in person at Tracksmith’s Pop-Ups at the London and Chicago Marathons and their Boston store this fall before an exclusive opportunity to pre-order on October 24th. Learn more about the Eliot Runner by visiting tracksmith.com/citius VELOUS is an active recovery footwear brand designed to help you restore, revive & re-energize before and after you train. Two years in development, this team has created the world’s most comfortable, supportive and lightweight active recovery shoe in the world. Get 20% off using code CitiusMag20 GARMIN: Music. Training. Data. The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is my favorite running partner. You do the running. This GPS running smartwatch does the thinking. It even gets to know you and your body better, mile after mile and song after song. Get one for yourself here >> https://bit.ly/3Pcu0qo FINAL SURGE: If you are a coach, Final Surge makes planning and analyzing workouts simple and helps streamline communication with your athletes. Final Surge is also here to offer up some world-class training programs. Check out their offerings today: FINALSURGE.COM – USE CODE CITIUS FOR 10% OFF. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 🎙️ 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 👕 Buy our merch

What you’re about to listen to is an episode of The Coffee Club Podcast hosted by Morgan McDonald, Geordie Beamish and Olli Hoare. I’m a big fan of the show since it started. I haven’t missed an episode. Here at CITRUS MAG, we’re all about athlete storytelling and I think they do a phenomenal job of chronicling what’s going on in their respective careers while also shedding a light on some of the other things happening in the sport on a weekly basis.  I was honored to be invited on as a guest while I was in Boulder last week on a quick content trip with Mac Fleet. Stay tuned for some of the videos and interviews that we have coming on the CITIUS MAG YouTube Channel. It’s an especially exciting time for the On Athletics Club since their teammate Hellen Obiri will be making her marathon debut in New York City on Nov. 6 and we’ll be on-site to cover the elite races. Some of you may have caught my personal announcement on Instagram and Twitter but I will be on the TV broadcast on ESPN2 on race day. More to come soon...For now, enjoy this episode of COFFEE CLUB and subscribe to their podcast + YouTube channel. COFFEE CLUB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/COFFEECLUBtothemoon COFFEE CLUB Podcast: https://apple.co/3TBb8CZ SUPPORT CITIUS MAG 🎙️ 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