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

"My goal for this sport is to be remembered as someone that gave it their all on the track and never left anything. I want to be remembered for inspiring the next generation. I want to set American records. I want to set world records and just strive for the best Abdihamid can do.” Abdihamid Nur is a professional runner for Nike after a remarkable breakout year with Northern Arizona University. He was part of their NCAA cross country winning team but excelled on the track to the NCAA indoor 5000m and 3000m titles. He finished third in the NCAA outdoor 10,000m final but rebounded with a third-place finish at the U.S. Outdoor Championships to qualify for his first World Championship team. It marked the first time he got to rock the Team USA kit and that’s truly special since representation matters and his story begins in Somalia and makes stops along the way in Kenya and Egypt before he finally arrived in the United States as a kid. You’ll hear all about that, his incredible season and his hunger for more after finishing 11th at the World Championships. Abdihamid is truly someone you’re gonna want to support for many years to come. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS NIKE: CITIUS MAG has partnered with Nike to celebrate the multitude of reasons runners take to the streets. For the everyday and common runner, Nike is committed to motivating, standing by, listening to, and helping them from the starting line to the finish line and every mile in-between. https://www.nike.com/running | Download the Nike Run Club app here. 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 Article One Eyewear: Article One is an independent eyewear company based in Flint, Mich. with designers with deep roots in running. All their frames are handcrafted in a small village in Northern Italy. Designed with your entire day in mind, Article One takes you from a long run in the morning to drinks on the patio to wind down. Their timeless silhouettes, paired with technical components — like adjustable silicone nose pads, polarized lenses, and spring hinges — create running sunglasses that are standalone. CITIUS MAG listeners get 20% off using CITIUSMAG at checkout at https://articleoneeyewear.com/ FINAL SURGE: If you are a coach, Final Surge makes planning and analyzing workouts simple and helps streamline communication with your athletes. If you’re an athlete out there hammering miles and tempo runs solo with no guidance or direction, 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. TRACKSMITH: Tracksmith is an independent running brand inspired by a deep love of the sport. Their new Fall Collection was just released and is now available. It features staples ready for all your training and racing needs. Inspired by classic team kits, their Van Cortlandt Collection features lightweight 2:09 mesh in performance silhouettes. For training, their Van Cortlandt Grand Shorts and Van Cortlandt Tee are some of my favorites. Get free shipping by using code CITIUS at checkout & 5% of the sale will benefit the Release Recovery Foundation, a nonprofit supporting those in need of substance abuse and mental illness treatment through scholarships.

"My dream to see from my country is to see, in the next five years time I hope, that my country will be able to do anything in distance running – especially in track and field and in the marathons. I really hope that the kind of light that I've put will transcend into raising many champions. I've taken the lead. My brother Jacob is also taking the lead. We believe that these young people when they continue pursuing the sport with discipline, proper guidance and listening, I believe Uganda will be somewhere up there." Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei is just 25 years old and he’s already an Olympic gold medalist at 5000m and Olympic silver medalist at 10,000m. He’s a three-time world champion. At this summer’s world championships, he won the 10,000 meters and finished second to Jakob Ingebrigsten in the 5000m. Oh…and he’s also the world record holder at 5000m and 10,000 meters. In addition to all of his work on the track, Joshua Cheptegei works closely with his sponsors including Nike and the NN Running Team to give back to the next generation of runners in Uganda so you’ll hear a bit about that as well in our conversation. Kyle Merber and I previously did an episode of Track Snacks where we shared out admiration for Joshua and now you can hear from him yourself. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS NIKE: CITIUS MAG has partnered with Nike to celebrate the multitude of reasons runners take to the streets. For the everyday and common runner, Nike is committed to motivating, standing by, listening to, and helping them from the starting line to the finish line and every mile in-between. https://www.nike.com/running | Download the Nike Run Club app here. 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 Article One Eyewear: Article One is an independent eyewear company based in Flint, Mich. with designers with deep roots in running. All their frames are handcrafted in a small village in Northern Italy. Designed with your entire day in mind, Article One takes you from a long run in the morning to drinks on the patio to wind down. Their timeless silhouettes, paired with technical components — like adjustable silicone nose pads, polarized lenses, and spring hinges — create running sunglasses that are standalone. CITIUS MAG listeners get 20% off using CITIUS at checkout at https://articleoneeyewear.com/ FINAL SURGE: If you are a coach, Final Surge makes planning and analyzing workouts simple and helps streamline communication with your athletes. If you’re an athlete out there hammering miles and tempo runs solo with no guidance or direction, 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.

Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber sit down with Ben Flanagan, Keira D'Amato, Marielle Hall, Colin Bennie and Patrick Tiernan after competing at the 2022 Falmouth Road Race. We were on-site to provide live updates and do our live aftershow to interview the stars of the day. D'Amato is coming off an 8th place finish at the World Championships Marathon and decided to make her Falmouth debut in grand fashion with a 36:14 victory over the seven-mile distance. She became the first American woman to win the race since Magdalena Lewy-Boulet in 2011. Ben Flanagan became just the fifth man in history to win three Falmouth Road Race titles with his 32:25 win over Biya Simbassa. He details how his competitors stayed on his heels, why this one was the most difficult one to win and what he hopes to accomplish with a few more road races scheduled soon. We also speak with Marielle Hall after her third-place showing on how she's learning more about road racing. Colin Bennie shares a bit about his new coaching venture and why he's not planning to run a fall marathon. Patrick Tiernan is a week away from his wedding and in the middle of a training block before debuting at the Chicago Marathon. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS 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 Article One Eyewear: Article One is an independent eyewear company based in Flint, Mich. with designers with deep roots in running. All their frames are handcrafted in a small village in Northern Italy. Designed with your entire day in mind, Article One takes you from a long run in the morning to drinks on the patio to wind down. Their timeless silhouettes, paired with technical components — like adjustable silicone nose pads, polarized lenses, and spring hinges — create running sunglasses that are standalone. CITIUS MAG listeners get 20% off using CITIUS at checkout at https://articleoneeyewear.com/ HYDROW: Hydrow is a state-of-the-art rowing experience. Hydrow works 86% of major muscle groups, compared with only 44% from cycling. That’s twice the benefit in half the time! It’s a perfect low-impact workout to add to your training cycle for both endurance and resistance training. Use code CITIUS100 for $100 off of the rower (stackable with any current offerings) >> https://hydrow.com/ @HaywardMagic is the Instagram home for the true track & field diehards, dreamers and fans. They are sharing the magic of the sport and elevating the athletes that push it forward. Follow them on Instagram @HaywardMagic.

"I had no idea how much this meant to people. I knew how much this meant to me, Sara and Keira. For the outpouring of support, you would think that we swept the podium. It's so cool that people appreciate the performance for what it was. I think we did everything right in the race and still came up short in our eyes...We put ourselves in a position to be in contention in that race. We worked together the entire time. That's something that doesn't happen very often to find each other in a race." Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber speak with Emma Bates and Joe Klecker at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Bates finished 7th in the women's marathon in a personal best of 2:23:18. She speaks about the teamwork alongside Sara Hall and Keira D'Amato to put all three American women in the top 10 of the World Championships. She also discusses how she found her confidence and calling in the marathon now. A year after competing at the Tokyo Olympics, U.S. champion Joe Klecker returned to the global championship stage in the 10,000m. He placed 9th in a season's best of 27:38.73. He discusses the lessons he took from sticking with some of the best 10,000m runners in the world for much of the final. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS 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 Article One Eyewear: Article One is an independent eyewear company based in Flint, Mich. with designers with deep roots in running. All their frames are handcrafted in a small village in Northern Italy. Designed with your entire day in mind, Article One takes you from a long run in the morning to drinks on the patio to wind down. Their timeless silhouettes, paired with technical components — like adjustable silicone nose pads, polarized lenses, and spring hinges — create running sunglasses that are standalone. CITIUS MAG listeners get 20% off using CITIUS at checkout at https://articleoneeyewear.com/ HYDROW: Hydrow is a state-of-the-art rowing experience. Hydrow works 86% of major muscle groups, compared with only 44% from cycling. That’s twice the benefit in half the time! It’s a perfect low-impact workout to add to your training cycle for both endurance and resistance training. Use code CITIUS100 for $100 off of the rower (stackable with any current offerings) >> https://hydrow.com/ @HaywardMagic is the Instagram home for the true track & field diehards, dreamers and fans. They are sharing the magic of the sport and elevating the athletes that push it forward. Follow them on Instagram @HaywardMagic.

"I feel like I'm at Disney World. I'm so embarrassed because I'm such a fan girl. I follow all these people on Instagram in a way that I'm like, 'I gotta get more friends...I love track. It's the most fun thing for me to watch. I'm in such awe of these athletes. I can't believe we all have the same bodies and this what they're able to do." Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber and John Anderson chat with comedian Michelle Wolf. Before she was crushing the stand-up scene, Michelle was a jumper in high school and at William and Mary. She still runs and competes in ultra-marathons when she's not touring. During the World Athletics Championships, she worked with Hayward Magic to highlight the personalities of athletes like Athing Mu, Ryan Crouser, Grant Fisher while on the massage table. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS 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 Article One Eyewear: Article One is an independent eyewear company based in Flint, Mich. with designers with deep roots in running. All their frames are handcrafted in a small village in Northern Italy. Designed with your entire day in mind, Article One takes you from a long run in the morning to drinks on the patio to wind down. Their timeless silhouettes, paired with technical components — like adjustable silicone nose pads, polarized lenses, and spring hinges — create running sunglasses that are standalone. CITIUS MAG listeners get 20% off using CITIUS at checkout at https://articleoneeyewear.com/ HYDROW: Hydrow is a state-of-the-art rowing experience. Hydrow works 86% of major muscle groups, compared with only 44% from cycling. That’s twice the benefit in half the time! It’s a perfect low-impact workout to add to your training cycle for both endurance and resistance training. Use code CITIUS100 for $100 off of the rower (stackable with any current offerings) >> https://hydrow.com/ @HaywardMagic is the Instagram home for the true track & field diehards, dreamers and fans. They are sharing the magic of the sport and elevating the athletes that push it forward. Follow them on Instagram @HaywardMagic.

Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber and John Anderson speak with Rai Benjamin after earning a silver medal in the men's 400m hurdles. In this episode, he explains why the silver medal means so much to him in a season marred by illness and injury. He earned an Olympic silver medal last year in 46.17, which is the second-fastest time in history and the American record. He has broken 47-seconds for the 400m hurdles four times in his career. He also explains why he was blown away by Trevor Bassitt's story, who earned bronze in a personal best of 47.39. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS 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 Article One Eyewear: Article One is an independent eyewear company based in Flint, Mich. with designers with deep roots in running. All their frames are handcrafted in a small village in Northern Italy. Designed with your entire day in mind, Article One takes you from a long run in the morning to drinks on the patio to wind down. Their timeless silhouettes, paired with technical components — like adjustable silicone nose pads, polarized lenses, and spring hinges — create running sunglasses that are standalone. CITIUS MAG listeners get 20% off using CITIUS at checkout at https://articleoneeyewear.com/ HYDROW: Hydrow is a state-of-the-art rowing experience. Hydrow works 86% of major muscle groups, compared with only 44% from cycling. That’s twice the benefit in half the time! It’s a perfect low-impact workout to add to your training cycle for both endurance and resistance training. Use code CITIUS100 for $100 off of the rower (stackable with any current offerings) >> https://hydrow.com/ @HaywardMagic is the Instagram home for the true track & field diehards, dreamers and fans. They are sharing the magic of the sport and elevating the athletes that push it forward. Follow them on Instagram @HaywardMagic.

"One of my favorite things to say now is that Jud (Logan) was not much of a runner in his day as a hammer thrower but he runs those races with me. I did go back and look back at the race from my fiance's angle. She recorded the race and then recorded the board. They put up Rai's time and the time between me and Rai's time, it's 15 seconds – which thinking about how instantly results pop up is a really long time. I also didn't blink. I was staring at the board and I didn't want to blink because I didn't want to miss it." Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber and John Anderson spoke with Trevor Bassitt after he earned a bronze medal in the men's 400m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships. The moment came just months after the death of Ashland University's longtime head coach Jud Logan. Bassitt has been writing his own workouts for much of the year and earned a silver medal in the 400m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships back in March. He went through the whole outdoor season unsponsored but hopefully, his story and performances will soon change that. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS 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 Article One Eyewear: Article One is an independent eyewear company based in Flint, Mich. with designers with deep roots in running. All their frames are handcrafted in a small village in Northern Italy. Designed with your entire day in mind, Article One takes you from a long run in the morning to drinks on the patio to wind down. Their timeless silhouettes, paired with technical components — like adjustable silicone nose pads, polarized lenses, and spring hinges — create running sunglasses that are standalone. CITIUS MAG listeners get 20% off using CITIUS at checkout at https://articleoneeyewear.com/ HYDROW: Hydrow is a state-of-the-art rowing experience. Hydrow works 86% of major muscle groups, compared with only 44% from cycling. That’s twice the benefit in half the time! It’s a perfect low-impact workout to add to your training cycle for both endurance and resistance training. Use code CITIUS100 for $100 off of the rower (stackable with any current offerings) >> https://hydrow.com/ @HaywardMagic is the Instagram home for the true track & field diehards, dreamers and fans. They are sharing the magic of the sport and elevating the athletes that push it forward. Follow them on Instagram @HaywardMagic.

"I just came into this year, worked my tail off and worked hard. The two goals that I've had, even when we were at New Balance Indoors, I said I wanted to win the World indoor title and I wanted to come back and defend my World outdoor title. That's exactly what I did. To mark those two things off my bucket list and my things to do this season is great." Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber and John Anderson sat down with Grant Holloway on the day after he successfully defended his 110m hurdles world championship gold medal in Eugene, Oregon. The victory came after Olympic champion Hansle Parchment of Jamaica injured himself in the warmup before the final and U.S. star Devon Allen was disqualified for a false start by one-thousandth of a second (His reaction time was .099/The legal limit is .100). SUPPORT THE SPONSORS 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 Article One Eyewear: Article One is an independent eyewear company based in Flint, Mich. with designers with deep roots in running. All their frames are handcrafted in a small village in Northern Italy. Designed with your entire day in mind, Article One takes you from a long run in the morning to drinks on the patio to wind down. Their timeless silhouettes, paired with technical components — like adjustable silicone nose pads, polarized lenses, and spring hinges — create running sunglasses that are standalone. CITIUS MAG listeners get 20% off using CITIUS at checkout at https://articleoneeyewear.com/ HYDROW: Hydrow is a state-of-the-art rowing experience. Hydrow works 86% of major muscle groups, compared with only 44% from cycling. That’s twice the benefit in half the time! It’s a perfect low-impact workout to add to your training cycle for both endurance and resistance training. Use code CITIUS100 for $100 off of the rower (stackable with any current offerings) >> https://hydrow.com/ @HaywardMagic is the Instagram home for the true track & field diehards, dreamers and fans. They are sharing the magic of the sport and elevating the athletes that push it forward. Follow them on Instagram @HaywardMagic.  

"It's about the iconic 1969 Mexico City Olympic Games photograph of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the victory stand of the 200m with their fists raised, black socks and no shoes with their heads bowed during the national anthem. It's the story behind that photograph and it's an amazing story. I'm about as serious of a track fan as you can be. I think I knew about 10% of that story before we started working on it. We walk you through the fact that everyone is from San Jose State – which is so strange. San Jose State is the greatest track and field program in the world in the 1960s." Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber sit down with New York Times best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell to discuss his first trip to Eugene, Oregon for the World Championships and his latest podcast project "Legacy of Speed", which aims to tell the story of John Carlos and Tommie Smith's iconic protest at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.  WATCH THE INTERVIEW HERE: https://youtu.be/8fyLuGf394g?t=9575 SUPPORT THE SPONSORS 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 Article One Eyewear: Article One is an independent eyewear company based in Flint, Mich. with designers with deep roots in running. All their frames are handcrafted in a small village in Northern Italy. Designed with your entire day in mind, Article One takes you from a long run in the morning to drinks on the patio to wind down. Their timeless silhouettes, paired with technical components — like adjustable silicone nose pads, polarized lenses, and spring hinges — create running sunglasses that are standalone. CITIUS MAG listeners get 20% off using CITIUS at checkout at https://articleoneeyewear.com/ HYDROW: Hydrow is a state-of-the-art rowing experience. Hydrow works 86% of major muscle groups, compared with only 44% from cycling. That’s twice the benefit in half the time! It’s a perfect low-impact workout to add to your training cycle for both endurance and resistance training. Use code CITIUS100 for $100 off of the rower (stackable with any current offerings) >> https://hydrow.com/ @HaywardMagic is the Instagram home for the true track & field diehards, dreamers and fans. They are sharing the magic of the sport and elevating the athletes that push it forward. Follow them on Instagram @HaywardMagic.

“The caption I kept seeing was ‘Women supporting women.’ … I could feel Sara Hall & Emma Bates. You know that dance move where someone throws out a fishing line? I could see them and I felt like they were reeling me in…That’s really special to have because we’re also competitors.” Chris Chavez, David Melly and Dana Giordano speak with American record holder Keira D'Amato after she finished 8th at the World Athletics Championships Marathon with just 17 days of training. The American women placed 5th, 7th and 8th with Sara Hall and Emma Bates finishing ahead of D'Amato. Keira discusses how she changed her training to get ready for the race, her plan to go up against the best in the world and then the toll the race took on her body.  WATCH THE INTERVIEW HERE: https://youtu.be/un5SuliQu7A?t=180 SUPPORT THE SPONSORS 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 Article One Eyewear: Article One is an independent eyewear company based in Flint, Mich. with designers with deep roots in running. All their frames are handcrafted in a small village in Northern Italy. Designed with your entire day in mind, Article One takes you from a long run in the morning to drinks on the patio to wind down. Their timeless silhouettes, paired with technical components — like adjustable silicone nose pads, polarized lenses, and spring hinges — create running sunglasses that are standalone. CITIUS MAG listeners get 20% off using CITIUS at checkout at https://articleoneeyewear.com/ HYDROW: Hydrow is a state-of-the-art rowing experience. Hydrow works 86% of major muscle groups, compared with only 44% from cycling. That’s twice the benefit in half the time! It’s a perfect low-impact workout to add to your training cycle for both endurance and resistance training. Use code CITIUS100 for $100 off of the rower (stackable with any current offerings) >> https://hydrow.com/ @HaywardMagic is the Instagram home for the true track & field diehards, dreamers and fans. They are sharing the magic of the sport and elevating the athletes that push it forward. Follow them on Instagram @HaywardMagic.