Galen Rupp

Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber, and Preet Majithia are back with lots to unpack, including two Diamond Leagues, a half marathon world record, a robot, a Rupp record, and breaking news at the end of the episode.

Discussed in this episode:

– Yomif Kejelcha, 56:51 half marathon world record, Buenos Aires: Cuts 21 seconds off Jacob Kiplimo’s 57:20 from Lisbon in March (note: the Lisbon run hasn’t been formally ratified yet either). Kejelcha’s splits: 13:45 through 5K, 27:19 through 10K (19 seconds off world record pace), then he turns it on: 13:22 for 10K-to-15K, closes the final kilometer in 2:32.

– Silesia men’s 1500m — Ethan Strand wins in 3:30, 11th to first: Cole Hocker third (3:31.17, first race since Pre Classic, seven weeks off), Jakob Ingebrigtsen fourth (3:31.19, ten days after winning the European 5K), Phanuel Koech second (3:31.14). Splits: 1:50.4 last 800, 54.3 last lap, 26.4 last 200 (13.2/13.2 for Ethan). Strand ran wide in lane two for much of the race, avoided the traffic that boxed Cole and Jakob, and had a clear line in the final 100.

– Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s return to the 1500: Ten days since Europeans. Ran to the front from 600 to go, accelerated sharply in 13.7 for that section, closed at a level that wasn’t far off Ethan.

– World Athletics Seb Coe Super Invites — Budapest 1500 expands to 13: Both Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen confirmed. World Athletics broke their own rule because the matchup was too good to keep from fans.

– Silesia women’s 1500m — Tsigie Duguma wins in 3:55.06 (world lead, PB): Goes from fifth to first in the final 100 meters with her trademark last-50 burst.

– Lausanne 5000m — Americans go 2-3-4: Birhanu Balew wins in 12:57. Parker Wolfe second in 12:58.2, Nico Young third in 12:58.3, Graham Blanks fourth in 12:59.16. Parker Wolfe is the best American 5K runner right now.

– Lausanne men’s 800m — Wanyonyi wins in 1:42, first DL 800 victory of the year: Marco Arop went through 400 in 49.1 — deliberately trying to set up a world record attempt (Rudisha’s split was 49.2).

– Lausanne women’s 800m — Audrey Werro wins in 1:55.33, Femke Bol second in 1:55.41: Femke sets a new Dutch national record (tying, then surpassing Ellen van Langen’s 1992 Olympic final mark).

– Silesia women’s 100m — Melissa Jefferson-Wooden wins, 10.78: Extends unbeaten 100m streak to 10 races.

– Rai Benjamin confirms the double at World Ultimate: Flat 400 on day one, 400H semis and final on days two and three.

– The robot: Lightning, a humanoid robot built by smartphone maker Honor, ran 9.32 at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing — breaking Bolt’s world record of 9.58.

– Galen Rupp, 61:29 at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon: US 40+ record. Ninth place overall. Fastest half he’s run in six years.

– Looking ahead: Zurich Diamond League Thursday. Diamond League final in Brussels September 4-5. World Ultimate Championships September 11-13.

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Pete Julian didn't beat cancer—he survived it, and that distinction shapes everything about how he coaches.

The Union Athletics Club founder sits down with Dominic for one of the most reflective conversations in the show'shistory. Julian opens up about coaching across cultures—helping Suguru Osako escape Japan's ekiden machine, swapping pep talks for pure logic with Germany's Koko Klosterhalfen, and why Shannon Rowbury remains the most impressive athlete he's ever coached.

He makes a case few pro coaches will: America's best coaches aren't in the NCAA or the pros—they're in high schools, and nearly every great athlete he's ever had was built by one. From there, the conversation becomes a masterclass in mindset: living the life of a champion; the “1% rule;”, why the “balance” the internet sells you is a lie; why women are routinely undertrained with kid gloves; and what separated Mo Farah and Galen Rupp from everyone else. Hint, it was never talent.

Then it gets personal. Being diagnosed with cancer at 28, one week before his first World Championships. Splitting from Nike and starting over. Rediscovering “idealistic Pete.” And an unflinching stretch on Alberto Salazar, grace, forgiveness, and why Shelby Houlihan shouldn't be racing in a sports bra from Target.

Whether you're a seven-minute miler or chasing medals, this one will change how you show up tomorrow.

Tap into the Pete Julian Special. 

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The hardest part of marathon training is finding the time to marathon train. It depends who you are, but that excuse often works for me. Life is busy and there are plenty of reasons to be content with an easy 5-mile run before work each day, though do that for six months and you quickly realize that rather than progressing the fitness just continues to erode.

Looking for some new motivation to get me out the door this summer, I decided that it was time to do another fall marathon. Nike approached CITIUS MAG and asked whether anyone on our team was interested in running this year’s race. I decided it was finally time to do the Chicago Marathon. Having done three marathons before, I have learned that each one comes with a new curriculum of education. Experience is valuable and that’s why I am going to be leaning in on arguably the greatest distance runner in American history, Galen Rupp, to help guide my training.

In addition to having won two Olympic medals, Rupp also has a Chicago Marathon title to his name. Those are better accolades than mine, which is a 2:26 from the 2025 Houston Marathon. I’m hoping that with Galen in my corner to write workouts and give some regular advice that I can get that down.

This is the initial consultation. Galen comes in cold on my training history. We work through a full marathon training philosophy and discuss: consistent mileage as the foundation of marathon training, the role of cross training, long run structure/distance, the two-week training block model, why I need to train my endurance more than my speed, the shoe rotation philosophy, Chicago’s pancake flat profile requiring no specific course prep, nutrition and gut training starting now, age and recovery at 35 vs. 40, the mental work of logging each session’s goals and reflecting after, and lastly the goal.

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Kyle’s Recent Training:

May 25 — 5 x 1,000m @ 3:20 (5:22/mile pace)

May 30 — 5K in 17:30 (5:38/mile pace)

June 2 — 5 x 1,200m @ 3:58 (5:19/mile pace)

June 9 — 10 x 800m @ 2:45 (5:32/mile pace)

June 13 — 5 x 1 mile @ 5:17

June 16 — 3 x 2 miles @ 5:20/mile

June 19 — 8 x 1,000m @ 3:18 (5:19/mile pace)

July 1 — 7 x 1,200m @ 3:59 (5:21/mile pace)

July 5 — 15 miles easy

July 7 — 2 x 3 miles @ 5:26/mile

July 10 — 15 miles, with 6 miles alternating @ 5:53 average

July 13 — 10 x 30-second hills + 10 x 300m @ 53 seconds (4:44/mile pace)

July 17 — 10 x 1,000m @ 3:17 (5:17/mile pace)

July 19 — 16 miles, with 4 x 2 miles @ 5:50/mile

July 21 — 4 miles @ 5:26/mile, then 3 x 1 mile @ 5:18

July 26 — 18 miles, with 8 miles @ 5:40/mile

July 30 — 5 x (2K @ 5:26 pace // 1K @ 6:19 pace)

Aug. 2 — 20 miles @ 6:28/mile

Aug. 5 — 3 x 3 miles @ 5:21/mile

Weekly mileage: A six-week progression from 62 miles to 72.

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OLIPOP: OLIPOP's Citrus Rush packs apple, lemon, lime, and orange juices with 60mg of green tea caffeine for a bold, refreshing blast of flavor ready to fuel your next adventure. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠

Biya Simbassa took many American track and field fans by surprise on Sunday morning when they awoke to results from the Valencia Marathon and saw that the 31-year-old notched a personal best by nearly four minutes to run 2:06:53. The performance was good for 17th place in the race but moved him to No. 4 on the U.S. all-time list.

Only Khalid Khannouchi (2:05:38), Galen Rupp (2:06:07) and Ryan Hall (2:06:17) have run faster.

Back in 2022, we paid a visit to Flagstaff, Ariz. for a video featuring Simbassa and also recorded a podcast episode detailing his career path from being born in Ethiopia, moving to the United States in 2007 and then going through the school system. He started running in high school in Minnesota and then continued his development at Iowa Central Community College before transferring to Oklahoma. 

After graduating, he was coached by Scott Simmons in Colorado Springs before signing a pro contract with Under Armour to be part of the Dark Sky Distance Project with coach Stephen Haas. In 2023, Simbassa started working with Hall as his coach. The partnership lasted until this summer before Hall decided to step back from coaching. Simbassa worked with Ian Carter (a McKirdy Trained coach, who also was coached by Hall) for the Valencia Marathon build-up.

CITIUS MAG spoke with Simbassa on Thursday afternoon to get details on how the performance came about.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram

Guest: Biya Simbassa | @simba_runner

Time stamps:

3:19 - Reflections coming off the Valencia Marathon 

5:12 - Processing the Olympic Marathon Trials 

6:59 - Thoughts on whether he could’ve made the Olympic team

8:17 - When he knew the marathon was his event

11:15 - Feelings after not making Olympic team

13:00 - Why he races so often

17:14 - Thoughts on Ryan Hall stepping away as his coach

18:27 - Ian Carter becoming his new coach

19:42 - Why he landed on racing Valencia

20:39 - Goals and expectations heading into Valencia

23:55 - How he stayed composed after the halfway split 

27:12 - Valencia course + atmosphere

30:13 - Shoe choice for the race

32:00 - Fueling throughout the race 

33:44 - Plans for what’s next 

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Galen Rupp is one of the greatest American Distance Runners of all time. He won a Silver Medal in the 10,000 in the Rio 2016 Olympics and a Bronze Medal in the Marathon in the Tokoyo 2020 Olympics. He is also the 2017 champion of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. He’ll be on the ... more »

“After the (2012) Olympics, it just was such a big boost because for so long you're scrapping and fighting. I was 5th, 6th, 7th in a lot of these races and I kept saying, ‘This is going to be the year I'm going to get over the hump.’ For it to finally happen was just such a big moment for me, for my own confidence. After that I knew that I belonged and could really compete with all these guys.”

2x Olympic medalist and 12x U.S. champion Galen Rupp joins us live in Eugene to catch us up on life since the Olympic Marathon Trials in February. Galen reflects on his favorite races from his career, his experience competing for the University of Oregon, what his training was like during the peak of his career, the support he’s received from his wife and family, how he stays looped into the running community, and what it’s been like recovering from surgery a few months ago. Hear more of Galen’s updates in this episode of the CITIUS MAG Podcast.

Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram + Mitch Dyer | @metchosketch on Instagram

Guest: Galen Rupp

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Today on the podcast is Ryan "Plop" Johnson! 

Ryan graduated from The United States Air Force Academy last spring. Ryan currently serves as a 2nd Lieutenant in The United States Air Force in Colorado Springs. During his years at the academy, Ryan contributed greatly to the program both through his leadership and performances, leading them to top finishes at the NCAA meets. Most notably, in 2022, Ryan was an NCAA XC All-American, placing 28th. 

Ryan holds PRs of 8:00 (3k), 13:45 (5k), 28:20 (10k), and recently ran 62:31 at the 2024 Houston Half-Marathon where he beat Galen Rupp. 

In today's conversation, Ryan takes me through life as a 2nd Lieutenant, the balance of working and training, his years at the academy, the culture of AFXC, his future ambitions in the sport, why he runs, and so much more!

I loved this one. Ryan was super open about his journey and what goes into his life, making today's conversation super intriguing and inspiring. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did having it!

Tap into the Plop Special. 

You can listen wherever you find your podcasts by searching "The Running Effect Podcast." If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. 

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Today on the podcast is a man who is a leader in his field of work and making the best in the world even better. 

His name is Paul Mackinnon, and he's known for working with athletes like Galen Rupp and many BTC athletes.  

For some background on Paul, he lived a sporting life as a semi-professional hockey player for 15 years, playing in Australia and Europe, allowing him access to high-performance programs, athletes, and coaches around the world. Since retiring, he has developed The Balanced Runner coaching business to help athletes. The philosophy was developed largely by Lex Anderson in Canberra and further refined by Paul over close to a decade of practicing as a professional running technique coach. 

In today's episode, we go through Paul's work and answer some of the most commonly asked questions in regard to running form and biomechanics. 

This episode was awesome, and a privilege to pick the brain of someone who is stellar in their field of work.

Tap into the Paul Mackinnon Special

You can listen wherever you find your podcasts by searching "The Running Effect Podcast." If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. 

The podcast graphic was done by the talented: Xavier Gallo 

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The Olympic Marathon Trials are complete and what a day it was! W are kicking off the next 2-3 weeks of Trials coverage with an amazing person and story. Josh Kalapos was the last seed at the Trials with a quallifying time of 2:18:00. He qualified for the race without a second to space. Then Josh did the improbable - he finished 17th (only one spot behind returning champ Galen Rupp). Not only that, this former DIII runner called his shot, telling the D3 Glory Days podcast two weeks before the race that he'd being going out with the leaders in an effort to make the podium. In this episode we hear Josh detail this amazing story and hear his views on elevating unheralded college runners and being one of the few Asian-American runners in the field. Sponsors ASICS - Check out my favorite footwear brand, and the NEW Novablast 4, at www.asics.com. V.02 - Become a faster runner and/or better coach in 2024 with V.O2. Download V.O2 in the app stores or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vdoto2.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more about leveraging the world-renowned VDOT training paces in your running. Use code "rambling" to get 20% off the product of your choice and get a free trial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Heading into the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials, the consensus was that there was no consensus: Anyone could make the team.

And the races delivered big time, with topsy-turvy place changes and unexpected finishes on both the men’s and women’s side. In the men’s race, Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, the top two seeds in the field, did come away with the top two places, but the surprising news was who wasn’t in the mix, as two sub-2:09 seeds – Scott Fauble and Sam Chelanga – dropped out and reigning champion Galen Rupp struggled to a 16th-place finish.

Before Clayton Young’s 2:08:00 breakthrough in Chicago last fall, the ASICS runner’s marathon career had gotten off to a fairly rocky start. Young debuted in Atlanta in 2020 but only managed a 2:29:46 for 136th place, and in his first Chicago the following year, he was on track for a top-10 finish before falling only 300 meters from the finish line and losing 3 minutes and 5 places. Along the way, he’d picked up a few wins at shorter road races including a pair of national titles in 2023, but it wasn’t until last fall when he entered the conversation of potential Olympic contenders.

Young, who trains with Mantz in Utah, had a smoother buildup than his training partner (who dealt with a stress reaction in November) and seemed to be the most in control of all the leaders at each point in the race. He’s gotta get bonus points for sportsmanship as well, offering his training partner a pull from his water bottle after Mantz missed one of his own and hyping up the crowd even as he got passed in the final few strides.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠

Host: Kyle Merber | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@kylemerber on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

Host: Eric Jenkins | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ericjenkins_ on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Clayton Young | ⁠⁠⁠@_clayton_young_ on Instagram

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On Saturday, Feb. 3, Orlando will host the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. The top three men and women who have met the qualifying standards and criteria will be named the U.S. Olympic team for the Paris Games.

This race features the first head-to-head matchup over the marathon distance by American record holder Emily Sisson and former record holder Keira D'Amato. Five of the six members of the 2020 Olympic team are back as Galen Rupp, Molly Seidel, Aliphine Tuliamuk, Jake Riley and Abdi Abdirahman return to try and make another team. Conner Mantz and Scott Fauble remain two of the most consistent American men of the last Olympic cycle. CITIUS MAG's team (Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber, and Eric Jenkins) will preview all the top storylines and athletes to watch. Read our full previews for the elite races: https://citiusmag.com/ Show presented by HOKA | Stay up to date on the latest news and promotions from HOKA. Check them out here: https://www.hoka.com/

Today we have a fun a wide ranging conversation that focuses on Emma Bates's injury announcement, Top-10 U.S. Men's Marathoners Family Feud, Kofuzi and elite's running Houston, and the impact (or lack thereof) of the Olympic Marathon on professional careers.

We has also have some wild tangents that include vacuum YouTube, New Year's Day races, and race selection dogma.

This episode features Kofuzi, Peter Bromka, Marcus Brown, and Matt Chittim.

Chapters

3:00 - The Tradition of New Year's Day Runs

4:00 - The Fascinating World of Vacuum YouTube

19:00 - Kofuzi's Houston Half-Marathon Preview

36:00 - Elite Runners Participating in the Houston Half

41:00 - Expectations for Galen Rupp

46:00 - Unheralded Runners to Watch Out For

50:00 - Top-10 U.S. Men's Marathoners Family Feud

54:00 - Discussion on Emma Bates' Injury

59:00 - Importance of the Olympics in the Running Community

1:03:00 - Potential Emma Bates Silver Lining

Just a few hours after the conclusion of the elite races, Des and Kara jumped on the mics to recap all of the action at the TCS NYC Marathon on Sunday. To call this episode "pure fire" would be a gross understatement AND STILL perhaps the best possible teaser words for it. 

They spend the most time on the women's race, one that Kara calls "the best race of the year," breaking down the cat-and-mouse games that extended well into the race. This includes their perspectives on the strategies of Kellyn Taylor and Molly Huddle to take the lead at various points, knowing full well that Obiri and Gidey were going to stay patient until a final, blazing-fast push to the finish. As a bonus, you get some early predictions for the women's marathon in Paris. 

Then, they cover the men's race too, but not before hearing about Des's death-defying trip to the marathon start line in Staten Island, where she and counterpart-on-the-lead-motos Galen Rupp, were the very last to cross the bridge before it closed.

Des was in rare form on this episode - fresh off the marathon broadcast, still jet-lagged from Japan, hopped-up on champagne, beer, and coffee, and oh so ready to stoke any available fire. Kara just can't seem to contain her... or walk away. You have to stay all the way to the end for the biggest conflagration (and genuinely not a bad sponsorship idea for the US Marathon Trials). Enjoy!