Road to the Trials

Peter Bromka sits down with Makenna Myler, one of the most exciting ascending marathoners in the U.S. right now. Makenna finished 7th at the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials, proving she can show up on championship day, and she joins the show fresh off her run in Chicago — a performance she calls “a little disappointing,” but only because her trajectory has her aiming higher than ever. Peter and Maken...

Peter Bromka and Lindsey Hein sit down with Alana Levy, who ran 2:36:53 at the Chicago Marathon and punched her ticket to the 2028 Olympic Trials. Alana’s progression over the past few years has been remarkable: she broke three hours, then 2:50, and now has taken another eight minutes off her time to reach a new level. She reflects on attending the 2024 Trials not with disappointment but with genu...

Lindsey Hein and Matt Chittim chat with Maria Lindberg, the first masters finisher at the 2025 Chicago Marathon, where she ran 2:34 at age 42. A former high school and college All-American, Maria has now completed 21 marathons and is running some of her fastest times ever. She explains how shifting to “intuitive” training without a coach and stacking consistent high-mileage weeks helped her drop f...

Ryan Ford joins  Road to the Trials  to talk about his breakout year and his transition to the ON Athletics Club (OAC) in Boulder. After a standout performance at the 2024 Boston Marathon—running 2:08:00 and firmly establishing himself as one of America’s top marathoners—Ryan has quickly become a name to know in U.S. distance running. He is now coming off of a 2:09:37 at the recent Chicago Maratho...

Will Norris joins  Road to the Trials  after winning the Twin Cities Marathon and punching his ticket to his third U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. In this conversation with hosts Peter Bromka and Lindsey Hein, Will shares what it felt like to finally win a race he’s chased for years, what he’s learned through the ups and downs of marathon training, and how he’s evolved into a consistent, successful...

Gabi Rooker joins Lindsey Hein and Matt Chittim fresh off her ninth-place finish at the 2025 Chicago Marathon, where she was the third American woman and ran a 2:26 marathon to secure her qualifying time for the 2028 U.S. Olympic Trials. Gabi’s rise in the sport has been nothing short of incredible. She ran her first marathon in 2021, clocking 2:54, and just three years later, she’s competing amon...

Jane Bareikis joins  Road to the Trials  fresh off her win at the Twin Cities Marathon, becoming the first female qualifier of this Olympic Trials window. A 2:29 marathoner (Berlin 2023), Jane is a mother and coached by her husband. She grew up in Kenya and didn’t start running until 2017, after having her son. Jane competed in her first U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2024 (Orlando), where she pl...

Megan O’Neil is a Hansons–Brooks marathoner from Michigan who just punched her OTQ at Twin Cities in 2:36:43, taking second on a warm, windy day. She’s a former steepler turned road racer who works in software product/marketing, trains with the Hansons high-mileage model, and brings a gritty, good-humored Michigan vibe to everything she does. In this episode, Megan recaps how the race unfolded key...

Hosts Lindsey Hein and Peter Bromka welcome Nick Hauger—pro marathoner, coach, and newly minted 2028 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier—fresh off his 2:11:48 at the Berlin Marathon, good for 15th overall. Hauger explains why the result is both “objectively his best marathon” and a touch bittersweet: he trained with a clear eye on 2:09, adjusted on race morning for heat and humidity, and still executed...

In this episode, hosts Matt Chittim, Peter Bromka, and Lindsey Hein sit down with legendary coach  James McKirdy , the founder of McKirdy Trained. Over the past decade, McKirdy has built one of the most recognizable and influential coaching groups in the U.S., guiding dozens of athletes to Olympic Trials Qualifiers and shaping the way amateur runners approach high-level performance. Known for his...

Host Matt Chittim and co-host Peter Bromka sit down with marathoner Mike Duggan to relive his one-second OTQ at CIM on the final day of the window and the chaos of gun time versus net time. Duggan shares lessons from a rough Berlin attempt and jet lag, the power of Jeff Cunningham’s Austin training group and why Chicago is next. He talks pack dynamics, late-race mindset, and how that approach carr...

Co-hosts Peter Bromka and Matt Chittim sit down with elite coach Jeff Cunningham to unpack the multi-year, step-by-step process of developing athletes for the U.S. Olympic Trials. The conversation explores how to structure seasons for steady progression, what differentiates first-time Trials qualifiers from veterans, and how clear communication and buy-in drive consistent training. This conversati...

On this episode of Road to the Trials, Olympian  Dakotah Popehn  shares her journey from Division II walk-on to placing third at the 2024 Olympic Trials and finishing 12th in Paris. She talks about the belief and consistency that carried her rise, the heat prep that made Orlando feel almost routine, and the big goals she’s chasing next—including a PR attempt in Chicago this fall and another shot a...

Road to the Trials welcomes Olympian Jared Ward, fresh off a year in the UK completing an MBA, for a focused conversation on sustainable high-performance training and mindset. Jared explains how he’s reframed workouts as stimulus for long-term adaptation, what he learned from the 2016 Trials and sixth place in Rio, and why he’s still chasing meaningful goals while balancing family life and health....

Join us as we dive into the inspiring journey of Theresa Hailey, a dedicated marathoner who has qualified for the Olympic Trials twice. In this episode, Theresa shares her experiences overcoming injuries, her mental strategies for racing, and her goals for the future. Discover how she balances her passion for running with her new role as a foster parent. Sponsor Big shout-out to the best coaching...

Welcome to Season Four of Road to the Trials! This will be the most epic season yet as we look to interview every qualifier to the 2028 Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles as well as plenty of industry professionals along the way. Our expanded goal is matched by our expanding team! We now have three co-hosts - Matt Chittim, Lindsey Hein, and Peter Bromka. We are thrilled to be your central hub...

Unfortunately for Sara Vaughn, the 2023 Boston Marathon didn't playout anywhere close to how she imagined it going. Sara decided to step off the course around mile 15 and that is where her race ended. In this episode, Sara provides of a full analysis of what went wrong, her thought process during the race, and how she is handling the disappointment that comes with a DNF.

In our latest Boston Marathon recap, we hear from Dani Moreno. This race wasn't merely a chance to experience Boston, this was Dani's first road marathon and a full-fledged attempt to break 2:37 and grab an Olympic Trials qualifying time. That's a lot to handle but Dani was ready. As one of the best sub-ultra trail runners in the world, she spoke about the atmosphere at Boston and how...

At last week's Boston Marathon, Nell Rojas went up against some of the world's best after a less-than-ideal build and did her thing. Nell ran a 2:24:51, a personal best, which was good for 14th overall and 3rd American. Two weeks before Boston, Nell finished 3rd at Cherry Blossom 10 Miler (USATF Championship). In this episode we detail the training that led to these performances as well as...

Nico Montañez finished the Boston Marathon in a time of 2:10:52 which was good for 13th overall and the 5th American. A fantastic finish that left Nico wanting more. In this episode he details nearly every mile of the race, the moves that were made, who he ran with, gaps in the second group, and what he thought may have limited his performance in the final miles.

Our first Boston Marathon recap starts with CJ Albertson. CJ ran a gutsy race that proved to far more impactful that his 12th place overall finish (4th American). We dive into all of it while talking at length about his well-crafted IG post detailing his experience: "2:10:33- 12th place at the Boston Marathon On paper, a mediocre result. With analysis, a poor result- with a 62:20 1st half spl...

Our final Boston Marathon preview episode before race day is with CJ Albertson. This will be CJ's third Boston after clocking a 2:11 and a 2:10 in 2021 and 2022. In this episode CJ details his atypical 6-8 week build, his feelings on racing/race strategy, his detailed thoughts on tapering (or lack thereof) including a somewhat spicy 21 mile run on Monday, and his thoughts on using ketone ester...

Nico Montañez is back on the show to give us a full preview of the upcoming Boston Marathon. First we dive into his 2022 experience that left Nico, who was as fit as he'd ever been, navigating emergency dental surgery and running on antibiotics. Then Nico details his training over the past six weeks, how he is approaching race day strategy and tactics, and his favorite pre-race movie. Oh, and...

Our Boston Marathon previews continue with Dani Moreno. Dani, one of the top sub-ultra trail runners in the world, is gearing up for Boston in a way that is truly unique. Not only is a road marathon not her forte, but her home of Mammoth Lakes, CA has had historic snowfall that pushed nearly all of her running onto the treadmill. Despite the atypical build, Dani nearly nabbed an OTQ time at the Ve...

The Boston Marathon is around the corner and we are kicking off our preview episodes with Sara Vaughn. Sara details what types of training she prioritized in over the last two months, non-running challenges she's had to work through, her pre-race logistics and mindset, and her difficulty choosing a race day shoe (two great options that can't decide between!).