Road to the Trials

Matt Llano came away from the Berlin Marathon with a lifetime personal best of 2:11:14. A time that shows the promise he's been waiting to demonstrate since he ran his precious PR, again in Berlin, four years ago.  The past three years have included serious struggles. Coming back from injury and major surgery (labrum and pelvis) and working through two coaching changes can trig...

The only thing better than seeing someone achieve a dream is having an opportunity to speak with them afterwards. Carly Gill ran the race of her life at the Berlin Marathon with an  Olympic Trials Qualifying time 2:42. Carly is the personification of energy and enthusiasm and it was wonderful to hear about her training, approaching running with joy, and becoming a sub-elite runner despite sta...

In this episode we welcome back John Raneri after two stellar performances. He recently competed in the Crim and Surf City 10 milers. While both races are quite different, John performed well in both. After we talk about each race, and the preparations that went into both, we take a deep dive into his racing mentality and how he fights through pain on race day.  This episode is sponsored by I...

Roberta Groner’s amazing world championship marathon performance in Doha, Qatar by the stats:  - 90 degrees and 73% humidity  - 6th place finish  - First American  - 2:38:34  - One of only 40 finishers of the 68 entrants  - Six laps of a 7k course  - One core temperature measurement pill  Roberta had an unbelievable race in the most grueling event that she’s...

Lindsay Crouse is an editor, producer, and writer at the New York Times. A native Rhode Islander, she ran cross country and track at Harvard before landing at The Times. This spring her work was the talk of the sports world. She helped she’d light on how Nike was not guaranteeing female athletes a salary during their pregnancies or immediately after giving birth. This powerful piece, and follow up...

When we last spoke to Sarah Bishop she was starting her journey into triathlon after a short build up that followed a string of injuries. She quickly evolved from an athlete who purchased her first road bike in February to one of the top amateur triathletes in the world. That’s right, in the world. In this episode, we talk about her finishes listed below As well as how she was able to put together...

What a difference a week makes. In consecutive weeks Parker Stinson ran the Crim 10 Miler in the USATF 20K Championship.  The beginning of this doubleheader did not go well. In this episode, Parker details, with brutal honesty, exactly what went wrong in the first race and how he corrected it in the second.  This episode is sponsored by InsideTracker. In an era where there are more diet...

The last time we checked in Dr. Stefanie Flippin she was feeling good and ready to embark on a summer filled with speed-work. Quickly thereafter she was slowed by an unidentified feeling. She just wasn’t herself and couldn’t hit her normal paces in workouts. In this episode we talk about what she was dealing with, how she worked through it, and exactly what her training has looked like. We also ha...

In this episode we reconnect with Lou Serafini. We spoke about how he has recovered from Grandma’s Marathon and how that recovery compared to previous races. We then dive into the the beginning of his marathon build-up for the NYC Marathon and his Falmouth Road Race. Falmouth is always stacked with an elite field filled with athletes finishing up a season or starting a new one. Lou finished well w...

In a new twist for the show we are speaking with a coach of one of the athletes we are following. James McKirdy has been coaching John Raneri for two years but has known him for far longer than that. In this episode, we discuss how he has helped John get to the next level as a runner and how they are preparing for the Crim 10 Miler next weekend and the TCS NYC Marathon. James runs the McKirdy Trai...

What an exciting summer for Kellyn Taylor. At the 2019 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships Kellyn competed in the 5k and 10k against the nations best. In this episode we take a deep dive into both races where she placed third and tenth respectively. We also talk about her inclusion in the recent announcement of the TCS New York City Marathon elite field which is stacked with elites.

Earlier this week the TCS New York Marathon announced their elite field. It is stacked with high-level runners, including Roberta Groner. This exciting news was made even more interesting when coupled with the fact that 37 days before New York Roberta will be representing the USA in the marathon at the World Championships in Doha. In this episode, Roberta talks about why she chose to run two fall...

Jared Ward is one of the best marathoners in the United States and he is poised to compete for another spot in Olympic marathon. In this episode, Jared discusses his training for, and recovery from, the 2016 Olympics, how he learned to proactively work on his body after struggling with injuries for two years, and his mindset for 2019/20.  Several career highlights: - Marathon PR - 2:09:25 (20...

Our latest installment is with Dr. Stefanie Flippin. Stefanie is the lone member of the Road to the Olympic Trials roster who is striving to achieve an Olympic Trials qualifying time in the marathon. She began running as an adult in medical school and is quite new to competitive road racing. An experienced ultra and trail runner, she is a four time 100 miler finisher, twelve time 50-100k finisher....

As a wife and mother of four young children, Sarah Bishop understands how overwhelming daily responsibilites can be, and the importance of having an outlet to channel her incredible energy. For her, training goals not only improved her life in many ways but also led to her to winning marathons, half-marathons, 70.3 IRONMAN,  and qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials. When runners ge...

Big news was announced on Tuesday by the IAAF and we are here with a comprehensive reaction with Mario Fraioli, Parker Stinson, and Ben Rosario.  Here is an excerpt from the USATF release: ”The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), granted its request to extend the conditions for granting a Gold Label for 2020 Olympic Trials – Marathon men’s and women’s qualification - on...

John Raneri is a runner who has come into his own over the last two years. After a solid career at the the University of North Carolina it look him a while to tap into his enormous talent. Once he re-dedicated himself, and began working with his longtime friend James McKirdy, John established himself as one of the top runners in the country when he finished 9th at the 2019 NYC Half in a time of 62...

Kellyn Taylor has established herself as one of the top American marathoners since she debuted at the distance running a 2:28:40 at the Chevron Houston Marathon. Ever since she has been one of the top runners in the country a various distances. In this episode we discuss her recent training, the Peachtree road race, and her preview of the Olympic marathon trials course. In 2019, she followed up a...

Lou Serafini has become a staple of the Boston running scene through his blockbuster performances and community leadership. Lou has succeeded at many distances, including breaking four minutes in the mile last year.  In addition to running  over 100 miles a week in his pursuit of excelling at the marathon, Lou works full-time as the community manager for Tracksmith.   In this e...

For Roberta Groner, 2019 has already been a year of unparalleled success and she is striving for more. Roberta is one of only nine U.S. women who currently have the 2020 Olympic standard. She achieved this in April at the Rotterdam Marathon, finishing in a personal best time of 2:29:09. In doing so she joined Deena Kastor and Colleen De Reuck as the third American woman over the age of 40 to break...

Welcome to the first episode of the Road to the Olympic Trials podcast. This episode features Parker Stinson. Parker is a nine time All-American from the University of Oregon and has been a fixture in the American running scene for some time. In this episode we dive into his challenging marathon experiences, overcoming past and current injuries, his recent coaching change to longtime friend Dathan...

The Road to the Olympics Trials podcast features eight elite runners, four men and four women, who are excited about pulling back the curtain and being open and honest about their training, racing, and goals in their lead-up to the Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta in February, 2020. The athletes who will be sharing their journey are Jared Ward, Kellyn Taylor, Roberta Groner, Parker Stinson, Lou...