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

“I want to isolate everyone because I run by myself. If everyone gets isolated and they’re running by themselves, that’s a huge advantage for me. I don’t need a pack to run with. I do 100% of my hard training alone. I want to get people alone. I want to sucker people into going harder on the downhills...You have to have that mentality that I’m coming to mess people up. That’s what I think about in a race – just having that raw competitiveness." Brooks pro runner CJ Albertson has been a pretty highly-requested guest on this show because people can see some of the untraditional training runs that he throws down on Strava. But if you ask him, he doesn’t think it’s wild. In this episode, we discuss his rise on the US marathoning scene where he popped off to a lot of people when he led last year’s Boston Marathon for 21 miles and finished 10th. He just ran 2:12 at the Modesto Marathon with three weeks to go until the big race. The catch is that was led off course by the lead bike for a bit. His 26.2 watch split was 2:10. So he’s fit and ready to throw down on marathon Monday. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS FINAL SURGE: No matter if you are an athlete or a coach, Final Surge helps plan and attain both short, and long-term training success. Their free online training log is compatible with Garmin, Strava, Polar, Stryd, COROS and a slew of other apps and devices. 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. BROOKS RUNNING: Check out our programming and plans for Boston Marathon weekend. THERABODY: Their new RecoveryAir JetBoots are the first of its kind as the world’s most advanced pneumatic compression system ever created. RecoveryAir flushes out metabolic waste more fully and brings back fresh blood to your legs at three times the speed of competitors. Faster cycles mean faster recovery, so you don’t have to wait for..the legs to be feelin' great. For more information and to get a discount visit: https://therabody.com/citius OREGON22: Friends, more than 100,000 tickets have already been sold for this summer’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). Some of the sessions have sold out. 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 🎙️ 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

"Boston is such a crazy race. I feel like if you can get to the start line feeling healthy and you've run on the course before and I've done that and I know it races, crazy things happen there. If I'm on the starting line, I'm going to give myself a chance. Last fall was really tough because I wasn't fit and I didn't totally want to be on the start line but we said, 'Eh, we'll just go out and try.' I feel like I'm still building back up from just that. I don't love my odds but if I'm healthy on the line, I'm not like, 'I have no shot.' I'm always going to give myself a chance." I believe this is 2018 Boston Marathon champion and 2x U.S. Olympian Des Linden's third time on the show and the first since 2020 when we may have enjoyed a bit too much whiskey on the air but it was the pandemic so who could blame us. In this episode, we catch up on everything she’s been up to including training for this year’s race, her foray into broadcasting with NBC, our shared love for Formula 1, where she sees her career right now and much more. It’s always a pleasure to kick back with one of U.S. marathoning’s all-time greats. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS FINAL SURGE: No matter if you are an athlete or a coach, Final Surge helps plan and attain both short, and long-term training success. Their free online training log is compatible with Garmin, Strava, Polar, Stryd, COROS and a slew of other apps and devices. 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. BROOKS RUNNING: Check out our programming and plans for Boston Marathon weekend.  THERABODY: Their new RecoveryAir JetBoots are the first of its kind as the world’s most advanced pneumatic compression system ever created. RecoveryAir flushes out metabolic waste more fully and brings back fresh blood to your legs at three times the speed of competitors. Faster cycles mean faster recovery, so you don’t have to wait for..the legs to be feelin' great. For more information and to get a discount visit: https://therabody.com/citius OREGON22: Friends, more than 100,000 tickets have already been sold for this summer’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). Some of the sessions have sold out. 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 🎙️ 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

Happy Friday! This is the second edition of Track Snacks – a short show taking you into the weekend where Chris Chavez and a fellow CITIUS MAG staffer 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). In this episode, The Lap Count editor-in-chief Kyle Merber joins the show to geek out about the stardom of Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei. He is the reigning Olympic champion in the 5000m, the reigning 10,000m world champion and the world record holder in the men's 5000m and 10000m. Just two years ago, Cheptegei boosted his international profile by breaking Kenenisa Bekele's world records in the 5000m and 10000m in 2020. He has already stated his intention that he will be looking to lower his 5000m world record at the Prefontaine Classic. We dive into how his progression has also lifted up Ugandan distance running and why we think we may be seeing the greatest distance runner of all-time in his prime. 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. Intro music: "Believe In Yourself" by Norm Cotone

"It's almost criminal these days how little the shot put gets coverage-wise. You can say it's arguably the best it's ever been all-time...What I'm trying to do is to bring people to watch and think that guy is not only really good at what he's doing but looks really good doing it...I also think that shot putters – when it comes to the people that I've met around the world – are some of the best personalities. I think we have some of the funniest guys out there." Nick Ponzio is a shot putter who represents Italy on the global championship stage. He just took seventh at the World Indoor Championships. He is an electric follow on Instagram – @chubbydiamonds on there. He just recently threw a 21.83m personal best at the European Winter Throws Cup to open his outdoor season. He is originally from San Diego, grew up in Temecula, went to the University of Florida before transferring to USC. He also spent some time training post-collegiately in Arizona with Ryan Whiting but is now based in Nashville and coaching at Belmont. We go through his career trajectory up until this point,  talk about his decision to compete for Italy, examine the depth of U.S. shot put, what he hopes to see improved around the coverage of the throws and much more. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS FINAL SURGE: No matter if you are an athlete or a coach, Final Surge helps plan and attain both short, and long-term training success. Their free online training log is compatible with Garmin, Strava, Polar, Stryd, COROS and a slew of other apps and devices. 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. THERABODY: Their new RecoveryAir JetBoots are the first of its kind as the world’s most advanced pneumatic compression system ever created. RecoveryAir flushes out metabolic waste more fully and brings back fresh blood to your legs at three times the speed of competitors. Faster cycles mean faster recovery, so you don’t have to wait for..the legs to be feelin' great. For more information and to get a discount visit: https://therabody.com/citius OREGON22: Friends, more than 100,000 tickets have already been sold for this summer’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). Some of the sessions have sold out. 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 🎙️ 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

Happy Friday! This is the first edition of Track Snacks – a short show taking you into the weekend where Chris Chavez and a fellow CITIUS MAG staffer 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). In this episode, David Melly joins the show to geek out about the brilliance of Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas. She is the reigning Olympic champion, world champion and indoor and outdoor world record holder in the women's triple jump. She most recently recorded the farthest jump in any setting ever by leaping 15.74 meters to win the World Indoor Championship triple jump gold medal in Belgrade, Serbia. She's been undefeated at every global championship since taking silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. We unpack other mind-blowing stats and share a little bit about her upbringing and coaching set-up. 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. Intro music: "Believe In Yourself" by Norm Cotone

"I think that's why we're running so well. We just all push each other to be the best. We realize that none of us will be the one star. We're all going to share this together. I think that's what makes it really special. They just push me to be a better athlete. I'm just glad that we're all willing to race each other all the time and push each other and break the limits of high school running." In this episode, we speak with Roisin Willis. She is a senior at Stevens Point Area High School in Wisconsin. That’s the same high school that has produced track and field greats like Chris Solinsky and Suzy Favor Hamilton. Roisin is already one of the next big stars. Last year, she qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials when she ran 2:00.78 at the Trials of Miles NYC meet and then ended up reaching the semifinals in Eugene. The fast times continued this indoor season as she ran 2:00.06 to break the high school girls indoor 800m record. The previous record was 2:01.78 set in 2017 by Sammy Watson. She capped her indoor season with a win in the 800 at New Balance Nationals. Next year she’s taking her talent to Stanford so there’s plenty of excitement about that. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS FINAL SURGE: No matter if you are an athlete or a coach, Final Surge helps plan and attain both short, and long-term training success. Their free online training log is compatible with Garmin, Strava, Polar, Stryd, COROS and a slew of other apps and devices. 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. THERABODY: Their new RecoveryAir JetBoots are the first of its kind as  the world’s most advanced pneumatic compression system ever created. RecoveryAir flushes out metabolic waste more fully and brings back fresh blood to your legs at three times the speed of competitors. Faster cycles mean faster recovery, so you don’t have to wait for..the legs to be feelin' great. For more information and to get a discount visit: https://therabody.com/citius OREGON22: Friends, more than 100,000 tickets have already been sold for this summer’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). Some of the sessions have sold out. 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 🎙️ 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

"Every time we race, records are looking to be broken or new records are looking to be set. Just like us being out there competing against each other, there's definitely a chance of us getting a record each time we go out there." In this episode, we speak with Sophia Gorriaran. She is a junior at Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island. She’s truly a special athlete who comes from a family of runners yet showcases even more athleticism by being a star on her school’s lacrosse team as well. Last summer, she qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials and ran her outdoor personal best of 2:02.26 in the first round of the Olympic Trials just five days after she turned 16 years old. This winter, she ran 2:00.58 and finished fourth in the same race against pros and collegiate athletes that Roisin Willis broke the high school record. Sophia also got under Sammy Watson’s previous record from 2017 to put herself at No. 2 on the all-time high school girls 800m list. At New Balance Nationals, she raced the 400, the 800 (where she finished second to Roisin) and mile so she can do it all and the best part is that there’s still an extra year to chase the record. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS FINAL SURGE: No matter if you are an athlete or a coach, Final Surge helps plan and attain both short, and long-term training success. Their free online training log is compatible with Garmin, Strava, Polar, Stryd, COROS and a slew of other apps and devices. 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. THERABODY: Their new RecoveryAir JetBoots are the first of its kind as  the world’s most advanced pneumatic compression system ever created. RecoveryAir flushes out metabolic waste more fully and brings back fresh blood to your legs at three times the speed of competitors. Faster cycles mean faster recovery, so you don’t have to wait for..the legs to be feelin' great. For more information and to get a discount visit: https://therabody.com/citius OREGON22: Friends, more than 100,000 tickets have already been sold for this summer’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). Some of the sessions have sold out. 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 🎙️ 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

"I would rather race them and get pulled along to a fast time and possibly get second or third instead of going and running on my own and maybe having to do a bit of extra work to get a faster time or maybe not even get that fast of a time. My mind is set on not really caring so much about winning and losing but getting a fast time." In this episode, we speak with Juliette Whittaker. She is a senior at Mount de Sales Academy in Catonsville, Maryland. Juliette is a super talented athlete who isn’t one to back away from competition and throw herself in the mix for some fast times in the process. Last year, she ran an 800m personal best of 2:01.15 in Westchester, Pennsylvania and then reached the semifinal of the U.S. Olympic Trials at 17 years old. This indoor season, she ran the high school indoor 1000m record with a 2:39.41 and clocked the third-fastest high school indoor 800m time in 2:01.69. At New Balance Nationals, she led the mile wire-to-wire to run a personal best of 4:37.23, which is the fourth-fastest by a high school girl in U.S. history. She is committed to Stanford next year and as you’ll hear in this episode, her sense of humor will quickly make her an athlete whose career you’ll want to follow. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS FINAL SURGE: No matter if you are an athlete or a coach, Final Surge helps plan and attain both short, and long-term training success. Their free online training log is compatible with Garmin, Strava, Polar, Stryd, COROS and a slew of other apps and devices. 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. THERABODY: Their new RecoveryAir JetBoots are the first of its kind as  the world’s most advanced pneumatic compression system ever created. RecoveryAir flushes out metabolic waste more fully and brings back fresh blood to your legs at three times the speed of competitors. Faster cycles mean faster recovery, so you don’t have to wait for..the legs to be feelin' great. For more information and to get a discount visit: https://therabody.com/citius OREGON22: Friends, more than 100,000 tickets have already been sold for this summer’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). Some of the sessions have sold out. 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 🎙️ 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

"I was never in it for the money or the fame. But if you really think about it, I had more gold medals than Allyson Felix individually. I have more medals – if I'm not mistaken – than Usain Bolt individually. Yeah, it sucks but it all goes back to how the track takes over the field. It's just unfortunate but again, I feel like I was put on this earth to inspire and not to be that person. That's just not who I was put on this earth to be. I never really dwelled on it. Do I feel like I was underappreciated? Yeah, of course. It's track and field. I'm definitely underappreciated if we're talking real talk. I'm not on that type of time or type of level. I just never really cared about things like that. But, I am the MJ of long jump though. I feel like I am that." My guest for this episode is one of the greatest track and field athletes of all-time. She doesn’t get the credit she deserves. It’s the one and only Brittney Reese aka B Reese aka Da Beast. She is the Michael Jordan of the long jump. She was the 2012 Olympic champion and the Olympic silver medalist in 2016 and 2021. She won four world outdoor titles (2009, 2011, 2013 and 2017). She won three world indoor titles (2010, 2012 and 2016). She is a 13x U.S. champion. She was a two-time NCAA champion at the University of Mississippi.  With all of those accomplishments, you’d think her face would be plastered on billboards or commercials in the leadup to the world championships or Olympics but it rarely was. After her silver at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, she decided to retire…or so we think. As you’ll hear in this episode, the door might be open for a possible comeback. My cohost, Jasmine Todd, and I  touch on what can be done better to market and showcase the jumps + what’s next for Da Beast as a coach and mother. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS FINAL SURGE: No matter if you are an athlete or a coach, Final Surge helps plan and attain both short, and long-term training success. Their free online training log is compatible with Garmin, Strava, Polar, Stryd, COROS and a slew of other apps and devices. 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. THERABODY: Their new RecoveryAir JetBoots are the first of its kind as  the world’s most advanced pneumatic compression system ever created. RecoveryAir flushes out metabolic waste more fully and brings back fresh blood to your legs at three times the speed of competitors. Faster cycles mean faster recovery, so you don’t have to wait for..the legs to be feelin' great. For more information and to get a discount visit: https://therabody.com/citius OREGON22: Friends, more than 100,000 tickets have already been sold for this summer’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). Some of the sessions have sold out. 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

Deena Kastor is one of the greatest American distance runners of all-time. Up until recently, she was the American record holder in the marathon with a personal best of 2:19:36 from 2006. It withstood the test of time until Keira D’Amato broke it in Houston in January. Deena has held American records from 5K to the marathon. She is the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon She is a two-time world cross country championship silver medalist. She has won the London Marathon and Chicago Marathon. The best part is that she’s not done.  In this episode, you’ll hear a bit more about her plans for the year, what excites her about the sport as a fan, coach, athlete, fan and commentator and what she makes of everyone running so dang fast. It was a blast to record this episode with Deena at the Running USA Conference in Orlando, Florida. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS FINAL SURGE: No matter if you are an athlete or a coach, Final Surge helps plan and attain both short, and long-term training success. Their free online training log is compatible with Garmin, Strava, Polar, Stryd, COROS and a slew of other apps and devices. 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. THERABODY: Their new RecoveryAir JetBoots are the first of its kind as  the world’s most advanced pneumatic compression system ever created. RecoveryAir flushes out metabolic waste more fully and brings back fresh blood to your legs at three times the speed of competitors. Faster cycles mean faster recovery, so you don’t have to wait for..the legs to be feelin' great. For more information and to get a discount visit: https://therabody.com/citius OREGON22: Friends, more than 100,000 tickets have already been sold for this summer’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon (7/15-24). Some of the sessions have sold out. 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. 💵 Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG or Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG 📧 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG Newsletter 🎥 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel 👕 Shop for CITIUS MAG merch to rep