Evans Chebet
Kenya
Personal Bests
10 Kilometres Road
29:20
10 Miles Road
45:06
Half Marathon
1:01:59
Marathon
2:03:00
Kenya
“Especially after 36K, I was telling myself, ‘Even if they speed up, I have to go deep today…’ I was telling myself, ‘This is my moment.’”
My guest for today's episode is Abdi Nageeye, whose journey in 2024 could only be described as redemption at its finest. The Dutch marathoner and 2021 Olympic silver medalist who just three months ago grappled with his appointment after withdrawing late in the Olympic marathon in Paris, roared back to claim the biggest victory of his career at the TCS New York City Marathon.
In a thrilling showdown against one of the strongest fields in race history, Nageeye deployed patience, strategy, and a powerful finishing kick to secure his first World Marathon Major title in 2:07:39 seconds, making history as the first Dutchman and the first European since 1996. To win the New York City Marathon from his self coach training in Eldoret to a race plan honed by years of experience on the course, Abdi turned heartbreak into triumph.
We dive into his reflections on Paris, his mental and physical preparation for New York City, and what this victory means for him moving forward. But first, you'll also hear a never before released interview with Abdi from my trip to Kenya in June 2023, where we discussed a bit more of his backstory and upbringing from being born in Somalia to settling in the Netherlands as a refugee and spending time in Syria before finally being adopted by a Dutch family.
I initially planned for this to be released last fall, but didn't have a chance to, but I'm now glad it's finally out. It's fun because towards the end of that first interview, I asked him what he wants to accomplish and he finally gets it done. Part one is my interview with him in Kenya and then part two is my interview with him reflecting on New York.
Host: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez on Instagram
Guest: Abdi Nageeye | @abdinageeye on Instagram
Time stamps:
2023 Interview live from Eldoret, Kenya:
3:37 - Reflecting on training
5:02 - Why he likes to train in new places, what he enjoys about training in Kenya
9:05 - His backstory + stories from growing up
18:10 - Why he considers Africa to be his home
20:33 - Being embraced by the Netherlands
22:06 - Why shifting to the roads panned out so well for him
25:49 - What he learned from training with athletes like Eliud Kipchoge
28:20 - Future goals for his running career
2024 Interview after winning the NYC Marathon:
34:51 - How training has been going since the NYC Marathon
38:17 - What life has been like since our first interview in 2023
41:00 - Current training setup
43:28 - Paris Olympics marathon experience
47:55 - Thoughts after dropping out of the Olympic marathon
54:44 - NYC Marathon race breakdown
59:03 - The final miles of the race
1:01:03 - Thoughts when Tamirat Tola was closing on him and Evans Chebet
1:02:36 - The point when he knew he was going to win
1:06:13 - Emotions after crossing the finish line
1:08:12 - Looking ahead to future races
1:11:18 - Reflecting on his marathon career so far
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“I’m not in charge of how fit those guys are. No matter how hard I work, they could be working harder, they could be doing something better, they could be more talented. I was trying to take that out. My main goal in this race was just to execute. Execute my race plan, make sure I ran a race that afterward I felt good about. I think I did really well for most of the race.”
My guest for today's episode is Conner Mantz, the American Marathoner who just capped off an extraordinary year by setting an American course record at the New York City Marathon. He placed 6th overall in 2:09:00. Conner was the top American as usual and he showed us his relentless competitiveness.
He pushed through a conservative start and a fierce mid-race surge led by Evans Chebet, the 2022 New York City marathon champion, that splintered the rest of the field. Conner hung tough and ultimately finished with the fastest closing mile among all of the runners in the top ten.
In his young marathoning career, Conner has already established himself as the top American in Boston, Chicago, the Olympic Trials and an 8th place finish at the Olympics. Now he's setting his sights on closing the gap between being the best in America and being among the best in the world.
In this episode, we dig into his journey, his strategic approach under coach Ed Eyestone's “deploy, enjoy and destroy” race plan, and how he handles a little bit of friendly competition with training partner Clayton Young.
Host: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez on Instagram
Guest: Conner Mantz | @connermantz on Instagram
Time stamps:
4:03 - Why he wasn’t satisfied with his performance at the NYC Marathon
5:46 - What would’ve made it a satisfying race
7:43 - Overall fitness heading into the race
8:17 - Best workouts leading into the race
13:07 - Going after the half marathon American record at the Houston Half in 2025
16:09 - Pre-race chat with coach Ed Eyestone: deploy, enjoy, destroy
19:30 - Responding to moves during the race
25:40 - Sharing bottles during the race, Evans Chebet makes his move
34:19 - Clayton catching up to him, snapping back into the race, final few miles
42:40 - Feelings after crossing the finish line
47:27 - Grading his marathons throughout 2024
52:50 - Looking ahead to spring marathons
54:35 - Future training plans with Clayton
58:53 - Thoughts on joining Grand Slam Track as a challenger
1:03:34 - Overrated/underrated: training methods
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WAHOO: KICKR RUN - a new revolutionary treadmill offering the freedom and form of outdoor running at home, from Wahoo Fitness. Run hands-free and focus solely on the joy of running with the innovative RunFree Mode - which adjusts to your stride and pace automatically. For the first time runners can now fully benefit from indoor training apps such as Zwift Run and the Wahoo app for an immersive training experience that delivers unmatched realism and results. Learn more at WahooFitness.comOLIPOP: For the past year, we’ve redefined Olipop as more than just a healthy drink known for its gut microbiome with a low sugar content and a much better alternative to regular soda. You know there are more than 16 flavors, including classic root beer, cherry cola, and lemon-lime. You know it as The Runner’s Soda. Get 25% off your orders by using code CITIUS25 at drinkolipop.com.
In a fitting theme for the city of Broadway, the 53rd edition of the New York City Marathon was all about breakout stars finally getting their time in the spotlight. Both winners of the men’s and women’s elite races in NYC are frequently recurring characters near the front of major races, but neither had completed a signature performance before today.
Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands and Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won their first World Marathon Major titles by defeating fields full of former NYC champs, with Nageeye outkicking 2022 champ Evans Chebet down the homestretch and Chepkirui beating 2023 champ Hellen Obiri at her own game with a late surge through Central Park.
Time stamps:
Women’s race:
2:10 - Breaking down Sheila Chepkirui’s win
5:03 - Hellen Obiri talking a big game + reflecting on her career
13:20 - Kudos to Vivian Cheruiyot for her third place finish
16:10 - Sara Vaughn’s top American performance
19:42 - More top results: Jess McClain, Sharon Lokedi, Kellyn Taylor, Tristan Van Ord, Dakotah Popehn
22:38 - Reflecting on Jenny Simpson’s career
Men’s race:
26:47 - Breaking down Abdi Nageeye’s win
31:24 - Evans Chebet’s performance, 30th career marathon
33:18 - More top results: Albert Korir, Tamirat Tola
35:19 - Conner Mantz and Clayton Young’s races
39:45 - Kudos to CJ Albertson
More thoughts:
44:27 - 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials
48:40 - Valencia Half Marathon recap
54:50 - What’s ahead on the CITIUS MAG Podcast
56:18 - Sydney Marathon becoming the newest World Marathon Major
Mentioned in this episode:
Watch: NYC Marathon Watchalong
Read: Parting Thoughts From The 2024 NYC Marathon: Abdi Nageeye and Sheila Chepkirui Win + More
Listen: Jenny Simpson Reflects on Her Career from High School to 2019, Shares 2020 Plans and Hopes
Hosts: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez on Instagram + Isaac Wood | @isaacew on Instagram
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WAHOO: KICKR RUN - a new revolutionary treadmill offering the freedom and form of outdoor running at home, from Wahoo Fitness. Run hands-free and focus solely on the joy of running with the innovative RunFree Mode - which adjusts to your stride and pace automatically. For the first time runners can now fully benefit from indoor training apps such as Zwift Run and the Wahoo app for an immersive training experience that delivers unmatched realism and results. Learn more at WahooFitness.com
OLIPOP: For the past year, we’ve redefined Olipop as more than just a healthy drink known for its gut microbiome with a low sugar content and a much better alternative to regular soda. You know there are more than 16 flavors, including classic root beer, cherry cola, and lemon-lime. You know it as The Runner’s Soda. Get 25% off your orders by using code CITIUS25 at drinkolipop.com.
The final World Marathon Major of 2024 is almost here! In a banner year for road running, it’s hard to imagine how anything could top the Olympics, a historic Chicago, or even the early thrills of the U.S. Trials, but NYC has assembled a field full of living legends, rising stars, and fascinating narratives primed to end the year on a high note.
Three 2024 Olympic medalists are hitting the five boroughs: Olympic champion Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia, silver medalist Bashir Abdi of Belgium, and bronze medalist Hellen Obiri of Kenya. Obiri and Tola also happen to be the reigning NYC champions, and Obiri will be trying to win the Boston-New York double for the second straight year. Five other former NYC champions are in the mix (three men and two women), plus a pair of stacked U.S. fields vying to produce top-10 overall finishes… or even higher.
Here’s a compilation of our interviews from the NYC Marathon press conference, including Conner Mantz, Clayton Young, Hellen Obiri, Dakotah Popehn, Jenny Simpson, Sharon Lokedi, Evans Chebet and Jess McClain.
Time stamps:
0:05 - Conner Mantz
6:10 - Clayton Young
15:30 - Hellen Obiri
20:17 - Dakotah Popehn
24:29 - Jenny Simpson
34:09 - Sharon Lokedi
40:31 - Evans Chebet
43:35 - Jess McClain
Read: 2024 New York City Marathon Insider Notebook: What The Pros Had To Say Ahead Of Sunday’s Race
Read: Top Storylines To Watch At The 2024 New York City Marathon
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WAHOO: KICKR RUN - a new revolutionary treadmill offering the freedom and form of outdoor running at home, from Wahoo Fitness. Run hands-free and focus solely on the joy of running with the innovative RunFree Mode - which adjusts to your stride and pace automatically. For the first time runners can now fully benefit from indoor training apps such as Zwift Run and the Wahoo app for an immersive training experience that delivers unmatched realism and results. Learn more at WahooFitness.com
OLIPOP: For the past year, we’ve redefined Olipop as more than just a healthy drink known for its gut microbiome with a low sugar content and a much better alternative to regular soda. You know there are more than 16 flavors, including classic root beer, cherry cola, and lemon-lime. You know it as The Runner’s Soda. Get 25% off your orders by using code CITIUS25 at drinkolipop.com.
In this episode of the Marathon Running Podcast, we have a chat with Claudio Berardelli, head coach at 2 Running Club in Kenya and the man behind the plan that is producing some of the fastest distance athletes in the world right now, including Evans Chebet, Benson Kipruto, Amos Kipruto, and many more.
We delve into Claudio's background and experience, exploring how he started coaching elite marathoners and what initially drew him to Kenya. He shares fascinating success stories of the athletes he's coached and provides insights into how elites train compared to "normal" people, ie do they follow the 80-20 rule? Claudio gives us a glimpse into the life at his training camps, detailing the daily routines and commitments of his athletes. We also discuss the influence of Kenyan culture on training, addressing why Kenyans excel at running, the role of certain tribes, and how cultural factors bolster the mental game of athletes.
Claudio offers his thoughts on the Paris marathon course and concludes with valuable tips for recreational runners. Tune in as you don't want to miss this episode!
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Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber and Eric Jenkins will preview all of the top athletes and storylines to watch for the men's and women's elite races at the 2024 Boston Marathon. Evans Chebet, Hellen Obiri, Emma Bates, Sharon Lokedi, Zouhair Talbi, Gabriel Geay, Des Linden, CJ Albertson, Jenny Simpson, Sara Hall are among the notable stars competing at the historic race. We will also share our picks at the end of the show. HOW TO WATCH THE RACE ON TV: All the Marathon Monday action gets underway on April 15th with pro races beginning at 9 a.m. The professional men’s field starts at 9:37 am E.T. and the pro women at 9:47 am E.T. Locally, the race will be viewable live on TV or online at WCVB-5. If you’re not in Massachusetts, the race will be shown live on ESPN2 with coverage beginning at 8:30 am E.T. READ OUR PREVIEW: https://citiusmag.beehiiv.com/p/2024-boston-marathon-preview-evans-chebet-hellen-obiri
Folks, I’m still on a high from that epic Boston Marathon. It did not disappoint.
We had a Kenyan sweep with Evans Chebet and Helen Obiri emerging as the champions of the day, stunning their competitors and fans alike with their impressive performances. It was an unforgettable day.
Thanks to the 30,000+ people who tuned in and watched along with us on the CITIUS MAG Boston Watch Party.
You can read my full breakdown and analysis here: https://citiusmag.substack.com/p/boston-marathon-2023-results-full-report
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BROOKS RUNNING: The Brooks Hyperion House is coming back to Boston! Join us mere steps from the marathon finish line at 137 Newbury Street on April 14th - 18th for a five-day pop-up experience featuring group runs, free swag, and a chance to shop the all-new Brooks x Des Run Boston Collection.
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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.
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