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

“For some reason, I think everyone on this team is kind of an underdog. Everyone has that same killer mentality. We want to be at the top and we want to have that respect we deserve. Even Danny as a coach has been an underdog. Time after time, people are starting to understand these guys are legit. Josh is the best example of that. I think over the next couple of years, there will be more people winning medals.”

Isaiah Harris is taking his 1:44.42 personal best for 800m and 3:42.63 personal best for 1,500m to the Brooks Beasts. In this episode, he tells CITIUS MAG why he decided to make the move after a year where he finished fourth in the 800 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials and recorded a victory at the British Grand Prix at Gateshead. He takes us through his early roots in finding success in track as a high schooler in Lewiston, Maine. By the end of his high school career, he held the Maine state record in every event from 200 meters through 800 meters. Riley Masters considers him the greatest athlete to come out of Maine. Now, Isaiah wants to give back to his community at home as a professional because Lewiston ranks as Maine's poorest city so you'll get to hear a bit about those plans. Consider Isaiah someone to watch in the 800 in 2022.

HOW TO 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

👕 Pick up merch from the CITIUS MAG store to show your support for the podcast and website.

📧 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG Newsletter

🎥 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel

"I didn't feel like I had it. I had no idea. With a mile to go, I looked at my watch and I think I saw 2:12. It's hard to do math when you're so tired. So I was like, 'What does that mean? I think I can do this but I need to keep going.' It's funny because when I get in really good shape, my husband calls me The Buzzsaw. Don't stand in my way because Keira is just coming through. In the last mile, I don't know what it was but I was clinging to that. I was physically saying aloud to myself, "Buzzsaw. Buzzsaw. Buzzsaw." as 'Keep going! Keep hanging on!'...I kept looking for the banner. I knew I was going to be able to see it. I was a little like, 'Please just make this soon because I don't know how much further I can go.' When I made the turn and seeing the banner, that's when I was like. 'This is going to happen for me today.'"

Keira D'Amato is a friend of the podcast and just this past weekend set the American record for the marathon with her win at the Houston Marathon in 2:19:12. She took 24 seconds off Deena Kastor's previous mark which had stood since 2006. At 37 years old, she's one of the most inspiring stories in the sport. If you haven't heard her episode with me from November 2020, she talks in detail about her decade of hobby jogging after running at American University. She got married. Got into Real Estate. Had two kids. Started competing well on the national level at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials and her Cinderella story continues to this day. She went on the Today Show on Tuesday morning and then joined me for this longer conversation where we basically are processing her run in real-time.

Listen to her previous episode on the CITIUS MAG Podcast from Nov. 2020.

Listen to her Dec. 2020 appearance on More Than Running.

HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Interested in sponsoring the show? Reach out to Chris at [email protected] for advertising, sponsorship and partnership offerings.

🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

💵 Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG or Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG

👕 Pick up merch from the CITIUS MAG store to show your support for the podcast and website.

📧 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG Newsletter

🎥 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel

"For the longest time, my definition of mental toughness was being in the call room and not being scared and not being nervous. As I get older, I think mental toughness or mental resilience is being scared, being nervous, but knowing you're mentally robust and that you can handle these stressful situations. And trusting your fitness is there, trusting yourself and your instincts, that all the pieces are there and it's not going to fail. It's okay to be nervous."

It's been almost three years since Hobbs Kessler joined the CITIUS MAG Podcast. Back in 2021, he was a high school phenom out of Michigan before turning pro ahead of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials. Now, he's the world champion and world record holder in the road mile. We caught up just two days after he ran 3:48.86 to finish second in the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games to become the second-fastest American man in history.

In this episode, he opens up about his training and adjustments he's made – including not running any run longer than seven miles, doubling every day and still sharpening his speed. Hobbs also shares how he's changed in his approach to racing and feels that he belongs among the best pros.

Time Stamps:

4:39 - Recalling his first summer as a pro.

5:15 - His confidence before becoming an established pro.

6:23 - Some of the low points he’s experienced over the past two years.

8:16 - The people that have had the greatest impact on him.

9:07 - His training and mindset leading into the 2024 indoor season.

11:33 - What training in Flagstaff looked like for him in January.

13:57 - His training philosophy + finding what training works best for him.

17:50 - Experimenting with training.

18:31 - Breaking down his training structure.

20:19 - How he’s been able to continue developing speed.

24:13 - Race tactics and strategy.

26:08 - Goals heading into the Millrose Games Wanamaker Mile.

27:50 - Thoughts leading into Indoor USAs.

29:02 - Where his current fitness is at.

31:12 - Thoughts on the BU track.

32:20 - His favorite race.

33:45 - What race he would re-run if he could do it over

35:01 - Advice on managing nerves before racing.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Hobbs Kessler | ⁠⁠⁠@hobbs_kessler on Instagram⁠⁠

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

🍊 OLIPOP is a prebiotic soda with only 2-5g of sugar that is good for your gut health. – and it's delicious. Use code CITIUS25 for 25% off non-subscription orders. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more at https://DrinkOlipop.com (click the link or use our promotional code for the discount)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

💻 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Visit CITIUSMAG.com | Our brand-new website hosts tons more podcasts, articles, videos and more. Track and field storytelling all in one place⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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 channel⁠

Did you miss us?!

The U.S. Olympic Trials are back and better than ever in the second half of the 8-day program, with incredible drama, upsets, and underdog stories across the board.

The race of the day (and perhaps the week?) was the women’s steeplechase, where a fast early pace and a topsy-turvy final lap ended with a whole slew of personal bests and rewriting of the record books. Tokyo Olympian Val Constien ended up on top thanks to a phenomenal final 400m, running 9:03.22 to PR by 11 seconds and land at #3 on the U.S. all-time list. Constien had ACL surgery last year and after a long road back is better than ever.

We got our first peeks at the 400m hurdles crew, and the main takeaway from the first round is that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Rai Benjamin are looking like world beaters out for an easy jog. McLaughlin-Levrone in particular shut it down entirely over the final two laps and still ran 53.07, the third-fastest performance in the world this year behind her own season’s best and Femke Bol’s world lead.

Speaking of first looks, Erriyon Knighton doesn’t seem to have missed a step as he ran his first 200m in four months, cruising through the first round with a 20.15 just behind Noah Lyles’s 20.10 in an earlier heat. And a stacked final is set for the 5000m, where reigning U.S. champ Abdi Nur takes on two of the three members of Team USA in the 10,000m, the 1500m Trials champ, and two NCAA champs.

The middle-distance rounds will continue to get more and more cutthroat, with the women’s 1500m featuring Elle St. Pierre, Heather MacLean, Cory McGee, Emily MacKay, Elise Cranny, Nikki Hiltz, Sinclaire Johnson, and more heading to the semis and Olympians Bryce Hoppel and Clayton Murphy looking ready to once again do battle in the 800m.

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez.

Join more than 15,500 people who stay up-to-date with all the thrilling action and biggest stories in the world of track & field – delivered right to your inbox every Wednesday morning. Subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://thelapcount.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this week's newsletter:

– 10K World Record: SMASHED 💥

– Gabi Rooker signs professional deal with Nike ✍️

– Houston, we have a problem with so many people making this reference 🚀

– Collegiate Records: 1 - 0 🤘

+ more rapid-fire highlights from the past week

You can read this week's newsletter here ➡️ https://www.thelapcount.com/p/whos-top-three

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

🥤 OLIPOP: New year, new you! At least that’s the promise you made to yourself before waking up with a hangover on Monday, right? Well, now that a couple of days have passed and your commitment to dry January is already waning, it’s time to invest in some OLIPOP. It’s the prebiotic soda with fiber and with as little as two grams of sugar in each can – a sip will have you feeling nostalgic for the days that your parents ordered you Shirley Temples as a special treat when you went out to eat. Wake up from tomorrow’s run with an extra pep in your step and some improved gut health thanks to OLIPOP.

⁠Use code ⁠⁠CITIUS25⁠⁠ for 25% off non-subscription orders.