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

"Becoming a champion is a byproduct of becoming a team player. Everyone has to play a role and do their own part." This past weekend, Florida's Joseph Fahnbulleh won the 100 and 200 meters at the NCAA Track and Field Championships. He won the 100 meters in a personal best of 10 seconds. He won the 200 meters in 19.83 seconds, which is the fourth-fastest in collegiate history. Florida won the team title with 54 points. Last summer, Fahnbulleh competed for Liberia at the Tokyo Olympics. We touch on all of that, his roots as a distance runner in Minnesota, his goals for the World Championships and much more including your listener questions. He also addresses the internet coaches who still hate on his 100 meter start. 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 ADIDAS: The Adizero Adios Pro 3 is here! Adidas' latest edition of their super shoe built for runners looking to take their performance to the next level and run after new records. Worn by Olympic champion + New York City Marathom and Boston Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir, it's got a proven track record. The Adios Pro 3 features the new EnergyRod 2.0 system, Lightstrike Pro foam, a brand new upper and continental rubber outsole – all while being made of recyclable materials. Mark your calendars. The shoe will be available for sale on Adidas.com on June 23. 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/ OREGON22: We are less than 60 days until the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). The outdoor track season is underway and the journey to Hayward has begun. Don’t miss out. Buy your tickets today to see the world’s best athletes in action at the first-ever world outdoor championships being held on U.S. soil. You can get your tickets by visiting WorldChampsOregon22.com/Tickets SUPPORT THE PODCAST 🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. 🎥 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel

"(In 2016), I thought it was cool to be in Eugene for the Olympic Trials. I was still young. I was not a fast athlete in the field. I just had a good experience after that race and from there, I was like, 'OK. I want to be better. I want to be the top athlete. I want to make Team USA.' I started playing with my mind like that and just reminding myself I can be one of those guys." My guest for this episode is Biya Simbassa. We recorded this back in late March. Bear with us since we had a couple of microphone and audio issues that kept this episode pent away for the past couple of weeks. We did our best to repair it and still wanted to share his story with you all. Biya is a professional runner for the newly rebranded Under Armour Mission Run Dark Sky Distance team based in Flagstaff, Arizona and coached by Stephen Haas. Biya was last year’s USATF Running Circuit champion with solid performances week after week on the roads including personal bests in distances from 5K to the half marathon. He also finished seventh at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 10,000 meters despite being one of the last men entered in the race. This year, he finished 11th at the U.S. Championships. We touched on how he wants to improve this year both on the track and the roads but also dive into his upbringing being the son of an Ethiopian refugee, going through JUCO before landing at Oklahoma and then navigating his career post-collegiately. 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 ADIDAS: The Adizero Adios Pro 3 is here! Adidas' latest edition of their super shoe built for runners looking to take their performance to the next level and run after new records. Worn by Olympic champion + New York City Marathom and Boston Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir, it's got a proven track record. The Adios Pro 3 features the new EnergyRod 2.0 system, Lightstrike Pro foam, a brand new upper and continental rubber outsole – all while being made of recyclable materials. Mark your calendars. The shoe will be available for sale on Adidas.com on June 23. 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/ OREGON22: We are less than 60 days until the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). The outdoor track season is underway and the journey to Hayward has begun. Don’t miss out. Buy your tickets today to see the world’s best athletes in action at the first-ever world outdoor championships being held on U.S. soil. You can get your tickets by visiting WorldChampsOregon22.com/Tickets

"We want to prepare for the World Championships, run fast before the World Championships to get confidence and then try to win the World Championships." Happy Friday! This is the eighth edition of Track Snacks – a mini-series taking you into the weekend where Chris Chavez and a CITIUS MAG staffer or friend share the story of an athlete who they're excited about right now that you can expect to see compete at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (July 15–24, 2022). For this episode, we're joined by Brazilian hurdle star Alison Dos Santos after he won the Prefontaine Classic men's 400m hurdle race in a world-leading time of 47.23. Last summer, he was part of one of the greatest races in track and field history – the Olympic 400m hurdle final. Norway's Karsten Warholm made history by becoming the first person to break 46 seconds with his victory (45.95). Rai Benjamin went 46.17 for the second-fastest time in history and the silver medal. Dos Santos rounded out the podium with a 46.72 for the bronze medal. We chatted more with him about how he got his start in track and field because he was competing on big stages as a teenager including winning a bronze medal at the 2018 World U20 Championships. He’s earned gold medals at the South American Championships and the PanAmerican Games. His first senior global championship came in 2019 when he finished 7th at the World Championships in Doha – just a quarter of a second away from the bronze medal. I watched Dos Santos during the practice session at Hayward Field. He’s six feet, seven inches tall and puts down tremendous force into the ground. While he’s fierce and focused on the track, if you catch him anywhere off-the-track, he’s always willing to stop and chat, crack some jokes, tell stories and even share a dance. Track Snacks is presented by Hayward Magic. Everyone knows how much all of us in the CITIUS MAG family love track & field, and how much we enjoy sharing that love with you all. Well, we’ve got a few big love-sharing ideas in the works and it all takes place in Eugene, Oregon this summer. Hayward Field will be the home to the Prefontaine Classic, the USATF Outdoor Championships and the World Athletics Championships. We'll be there and you should be too. Visit https://citiusmag.com/summerofhayward/ for all the information on dates and tickets. Track Snacks is sponsored by @HaywardMagic, the Instagram home for the true track & field diehards, dreamers and fans. Sharing the magic of the sport and elevating the athletes that push it forward. Follow them on Instagram @HaywardMagic. Intro music: "Believe In Yourself" by Norm Cotone

We recorded this on Global Running Day, which is perfect because Hellah Sidibe is someone who gets the most joy out of the sport. He just recently celebrated his five-year run streak so we take a trip back to 2017 when and why it all began for the former MLS player. We also discuss his amazing 3061-mile run from Los Angeles to New York, which he accomplished in 84 days and made history as the first Black man to run across America. My co-host for this episode is my good friend, Zac Clark. He is a big fan of Hellah’s charitable work and his attitude toward running so I invited him on to kick it on the pod. 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 ADIDAS: The Adizero Adios Pro 3 is here! Adidas' latest edition of their super shoe built for runners looking to take their performance to the next level and run after new records. Worn by Olympic champion + New York City Marathom and Boston Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir, it's got a proven track record. The Adios Pro 3 features the new EnergyRod 2.0 system, Lightstrike Pro foam, a brand new upper and continental rubber outsole – all while being made of recyclable materials. Mark your calendars. The shoe will be available for sale on Adidas.com on June 23. 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/ OREGON22: We are less than 60 days until the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). The outdoor track season is underway and the journey to Hayward has begun. Don’t miss out. Buy your tickets today to see the world’s best athletes in action at the first-ever world outdoor championships being held on U.S. soil. You can get your tickets by visiting WorldChampsOregon22.com/Tickets

"We have never liked the way that track did business. They’re only focused on business and not the athlete. I feel like we want to change that. It’s athlete first and business second. I want to change that and we are changing that." – Tara Davis "I think that we want to do that in two steps. One is being that person and those athletes making the change. It’s also trying to do things on our own to make that more accessible to athletes. I think it’s easier said than done a lot of times because those resources aren’t available to athletes. A lot of times there isn’t someone there teaching athletes what to do or how to market themselves and how to use these platforms to grow their brand to be able to connect with brands and support themselves." – Hunter Woodhall U.S. Olympic long jumper Tara Davis and Paralympic sprinter Hunter Woodhall are two of the most fun personalities in the sport. You may remember Davis celebrating making the U.S. Olympic team and rocking a cowboy hat and then celebrating by running into Woodhall’s arms. They’ve chronicled much of their relationship as well as their on and off-the-track story very well on social media. They’ve done such a great job of marketing themselves that they boast more than 420K subscribers on YouTube and have a combined TikTok following of more than 3 million followers. They sat down with me and my colleague Jasmine Todd to share the news that they’ve just signed a sponsorship deal with Lululemon as global brand ambassadors. In this episode, we touch on that deal, why they’ve gone about sponsorships and contracts differently in the track space and the importance of athletes harnessing their own story.  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 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/ OREGON22: We are less than 60 days until the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). The outdoor track season is underway and the journey to Hayward has begun. Don’t miss out. Buy your tickets today to see the world’s best athletes in action at the first-ever world outdoor championships being held on U.S. soil. You can get your tickets by visiting WorldChampsOregon22.com/Tickets

“It was very nerve-wracking…You just have to be attentive to everything that’s happening & thinking how can I put myself in the best position to kick for this team” Hear from Olympian and On Athletics Club star Joe Klecker the morning after he won the USATF 10,000 meter championship race in 28:28.71 over American record holder Grant Fisher. With the victory, Klecker has secured his spot on Team USA for the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon this July. This is his second U.S. national team after qualifying for last year's Tokyo Olympics and finishing 16th at the Games in the 10,000 meters.  Catch Klecker's first appearance on the podcast from last summer here: https://apple.co/3NGaxNc 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 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/ OREGON22: We are less than 60 days until the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). The outdoor track season is underway and the journey to Hayward has begun. Don’t miss out. Buy your tickets today to see the world’s best athletes in action at the first-ever world outdoor championships being held on U.S. soil. You can get your tickets by visiting WorldChampsOregon22.com/Tickets

"There's a fine line between knowing I was ready and confident to run a sub-two and then actually doing it. To see the 1:59 on the board really took so long to sink in because it was such an amazing feeling and something I had been wanting for so long. The fans and the atmosphere were an awesome feeling. I definitely would not have wanted to do this at any other meet." Juliette Whittaker rejoins the show. She is a senior at Mount De Sales Academy in Maryland and is committed to Stanford for next year. If you haven't listened to her episode from March, it takes a deeper dive into her story and rise as one of the top 800m high school stars in the country. We caught up this week to chat about her 1:59.80 to win the women's 800 meters at Trials of Miles' Track Night NYC. Only Mary Cain’s record of 1:59.51 from 2013 is faster in high school history. If you haven't seen the race yet, it's available on the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel along with a full replay of the meet. Juliette takes us through that day, why this goal has been a long time coming, the rest of her race schedule for the summer and what her top high school career moments have been. Watch the race here: https://youtu.be/cVXVf9f0kRM Listen to Juliette's previous appearance on the podcast here: https://apple.co/3aggZvV 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 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/ OREGON22: We are less than 60 days until the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). The outdoor track season is underway and the journey to Hayward has begun. Don’t miss out. Buy your tickets today to see the world’s best athletes in action at the first-ever world outdoor championships being held on U.S. soil. You can get your tickets by visiting WorldChampsOregon22.com/Tickets

"Right after I ran it, there was so much commotion with people coming up to me and talking to me that for the first half-hour after the race, it didn’t settle in. I went on a cooldown by myself and it started to set in. Honestly, I started to tear up a little bit because it’s incredible to think of where I’ve come from. I knew I was in shape to run sub-four. I thought I could do it. It’s a big difference between actually going out there and doing it and just thinking you can do it. I realized the company that I’m in and it’s pretty surreal." Archbishop Wood High School (PA) senior Gary Martin joins the podcast. Earlier this month, Gary made headlines by becoming the 14th US high school boy to break four minutes for the mile by running 3:57.98 at the Pennsylvania Catholic League Championship. He is the fifth-fastest high school miler of all-time indoors or outdoors but he is the fastest high schooler to ever do it against high school only competition. He solo’ed the race and beat Jim Ryun’s 3:58.6 miles record, which stood since 1965. In this episode, you’ll get to know Gary better, what motivates him and what’s got him most excited about his potential and his future at the University of Virginia. We also take a bunch of your listener questions submitted from Instagram. 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 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/ OREGON22: We are less than 60 days until the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). The outdoor track season is underway and the journey to Hayward has begun. Don’t miss out. Buy your tickets today to see the world’s best athletes in action at the first-ever world outdoor championships being held on U.S. soil. You can get your tickets by visiting WorldChampsOregon22.com/Tickets

Happy Friday! This is the seventh edition of Track Snacks – a mini-series taking you into the weekend where Chris Chavez and a CITIUS MAG staffer or friend share the story of an athlete who they're excited about right now that you can expect to see compete at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (July 15–24, 2022). For this episode, Joshua Potts (Host of The 2BlackRunners Podcast) joins me to chat about Olympic pole vault champion and world record holder Mondo Duplantis. The New York Times called him "The Tiger Woods of the pole vault" as a high schooler. We dive into Mondo's childhood and how he got so good at a young age, dominated the high school scene and has literally propelled himself as one of the sport's biggest stars for the next decade. Duplantis owns the indoor and outdoor world records with a 6.20m jump indoors and a 6.15m jump outdoors. He's got the records and the Olympic gold medal but he's still missing a World Championship gold. That seems to be on the way in Eugene this summer. Can anyone stop him?! Track Snacks is presented by Hayward Magic. Everyone knows how much all of us in the CITIUS MAG family love track & field, and how much we enjoy sharing that love with you all. Well, we’ve got a few big love-sharing ideas in the works and it all takes place in Eugene, Oregon this summer. Hayward Field will be the home to the Prefontaine Classic, the USATF Outdoor Championships and the World Athletics Championships. We'll be there and you should be too. Visit https://citiusmag.com/summerofhayward/ for all the information on dates and tickets. Track Snacks is sponsored by @HaywardMagic, the Instagram home for the true track & field diehards, dreamers and fans. Sharing the magic of the sport and elevating the athletes that push it forward. Follow them on Instagram @HaywardMagic. Intro music: "Believe In Yourself" by Norm Cotone

"Running has been super therapeutic for me these last couple of months. I've really taken time to heal and prioritize healing...When my own personal running isn't going well. I get so much joy out of watching my friends crushing it." Rachel Smith (née Schneider) is one of the nicest people in track and field. Last summer, she fulfilled one of her biggest dreams when she crossed the finish line in third place in the U.S. Olympic Trials 5000m finals and qualified for the Tokyo Games. She just missed out on making it into the final when she ran 15:00 in the first round of the Olympics. We got the chance to catch up a few weeks ago when we were both in Washington, DC for the Team USA athlete summit ahead of their White House visit. It’s been a very hard year for Rachel. Earlier this year, she had a bout with COVID in January. In February, she shared that she learned she had skin cancer and underwent surgery to treat it. In April, she opened up on Instagram about having a miscarriage. It’s very sad to hear and we briefly touch on it. Through it all, Rachel still has turned to running and the sport as a way to heal. She’s at practice and helping her husband Mike coach the NAU team and the small professional squad that includes Elly Henes, Nikki Hiltz and Luis Grijalva. When she is ready to return to racing, she is certainly someone to root for. 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 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/ HAYWARD MAGIC: The Instagram home for the true track and field diehards, dreamers and fans. Sharing the magic of the sport and elevating the athletes that push it forward. Follow them on Instagram @HaywardMagic.