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

"I have this road map for what I believe will make the best Olympic final for me...I just want to make sure that the training's there. If the training is there, I am the best 1500m runner in the world. I just need to make sure there's consistency. So the way that I look at races is: What can I do to bring the most value to that race as well as learning as much as possible from that ra...

"It's not like I'm jogging on those days [that I’m running] or that I'm cross-training easily. I think people underestimate what I'm doing. When I cross-train, there are puddles of sweat on the floor to the point that our recreational center has to put out 'Wet Floor' signs because I sweat that much. One time, they put an 'Out of Order' sign on my machine becau...

“I think the thing that characterizes DII, DIII and NAIA athletes is that they're super passionate about running in a way that differs from DI athletes. I always see the DIII guys and gals who are going to keep running well after college. They love it and that’s why they’re going to the smaller schools out of high school – because they want that opportunity to keep running. There’s way more pa...

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 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: – NCAA XC at Panorama Farms 🚜 – Parker gets hers! 🐊 – Back...

"I try to divert a lot of the attention from me towards the team because it really is a lot bigger than just me and my performances. I have a lot of supportive teammates and great staff at Harvard – so that's one thing I try to do. The other thing is just to stay in the moment with the guys. In the end, I'm a part of this team and that's the most important thing. I don't reall...

MEN’S INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION | GRAHAM BLANKS – Harvard’s Graham Blanks made history as the first-ever man from the Ivy League to win the men’s cross country individual title. He raced patiently before starting to make his move with a kilometer remaining in the race and was able to pull away from New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel (a 17th place finisher at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships). Bla...

MEN’S TEAM CHAMPIONS | OKLAHOMA STATE – One year after losing on a tiebreaker on their home course, Oklahoma State left nothing to doubt and downed the defending champion Northern Arizona 49–71. – The Cowboys put five runners in the top 15. – Freshman Denis Kipngetich was the top OSU runner in fourth place overall in 28:59.7 for the 10K course. Fellow freshman Brian Musau was not far behind with a...

WOMEN’S INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION | PARKER VALBY – After finishing second at the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships, Parker Valby dominated this year’s race to win in 18:55.2 for the 6K course. She won by 10.6 seconds. – Valby completed an undefeated season that included four victories at the Nuttycombe Invitational, SEC Cross Country Championships and the NCAA South Regional before Saturday’s victor...

WOMEN’S TEAM CHAMPIONS | NC STATE THREEPEAT! – The NC State women won their third consecutive team title with a narrow one-point victory victory Northern Arizona, which marked the closest team finish in NCAA Cross Country Championship history for the women’s side. – NC State is the first school to win back-to-back-to-back NCAA team titles since Stanford won from 2005 to 2007. – The Wolfpack was le...

A Wide Open Race At The Top "Nico Young feels due for an individual title on the grass. From his fourth place finish as a freshman, to falling just short over the final stretch last year, Young has never had a bad performance at NCAAs – his lowest career finish is 11th. A breakthrough in his senior year would be reminiscent of Adam Goucher’s legendary 1998 win, some great company for Young to...

Katelyn Tuohy vs Parker Valby: Part III "Stop me if this sounds familiar. Florida’s  Parker Valby  (2nd at 2022 NCAAs) is running eye-popping times that make her look untouchable, while Katelyn Tuohy is racking up big wins by leaving competitors in the dust over the final mile, setting up a head-to-head matchup with the hype of a heavyweight title fight. It feels like deja vu, when both runne...

NCAA Cross Country Championships Women's Team Preview: Will NAU Break Up The NC State Three-peat? "It was only a matter of time before the Northern Arizona University women caught up to their male counterparts. With the same team resources as the men, a beneficial training environment, and one of the best coaches in the country, there was no reason why top female talent wouldn’t flock to...

Can NAU Keep The Dynasty Going? Can Oklahoma State Get Redemption? "Flashback to 2022: there was chaos at the finish line of the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma, as officials tried to sort out the final score of the meet. The frequently-changing unofficial results made their way to the runners, and for just a moment, Oklahoma State thought they had won. It seemed that they us...

As Chris recovers from the marathon, Kyle Merber, Eric Jenkins and Mac Fleet took over the show for a special episode of "Office Hourse" – where we answer our followers, readers and listeners' questions. We'll try and do more of these when we're all together in-person. Here are the questions answered in this week's episode: – Do you like the way the U.S. selects its marat...

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 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: – The top storylines of the 2023 NCAA XC Meet ✍️ – In defense...

By 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, we should have a good idea of who will be the schools competing at the 2023 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Charlottesville, Virginia on Nov. 18. This weekend, nine regional championships will be held on Friday, Nov. 10. Women will race a 6K and men will race a 10K. CITIUS MAG's cross-country guru Isaac Wood joins the show to preview all of the action a...

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 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: – USATF 5K Championship 🇺🇸 – Elise Cranny’s turn to say goodbye...

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 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: – Rewarding mid-tier marathon races? – Faith vs. Sifan vs. Sydney...

“I make 800 meters. 800 meters does not make me. You must go back to the statistics. You will understand. If you look at my stats, you’ll understand what I mean. So for me, I have no unfinished business in the 800 meters because I have done what I was supposed to do.” Caster Semenya  is a two-time Olympic champion and three-time world champion in the 800 meters. She just released her book, The Rac...

"Everyone's so different... For me, it’s just getting B+ training in and hopefully getting A+ results because I'm not burning out. I can be consistent and get brilliant training blocks in throughout the year without burnout or anything. And I think that's got me to this point. It's nothing crazy, it's nothing fancy, it's just simplicity. You think in your head for the...

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 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: –The Valencia Half Marathon got real! 🇪🇸 – The Ingebrigtsens speaks...

"There have been seasons and periods of my NCAA journey where it hasn't felt fun. To me then it's like, Why are you doing it? Otherwise, it's just painful… The fun part is warming up with my teammates and chatting on the cool down about whatever drama happened with their friends that day. This year at camp when we sat down as a women's team to think through what we want out of...

This is The Lap Count newsletter by Kyle Merber, as read by Chris Chavez. Join more than 15,000 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: - The New Age of Marathoning: Short Loop 🔁 - The College XC Round...

“After Berlin, I came home thinking I have a chance to make this team. I’m a stats guy, I’m a realist, it’s not this astronomically high chance — but I have a chance again… I have some of the best training partners in the nation and I have the pieces I think that I need now. So it's a fun opportunity.” My guest for today’s episode is 2016 U.S. Olympian Jared Ward, who just ran 2:11:44 at the B...

"I think at this point, it’s the NAU show up front for both the men and the women.” The biggest NCAA regular season weekend took place in Madison and Charlottesville this weekend with the Nuttycombe Invitational hosted by the University of Wisconsin and the 2023 Pre Nationals hosted by the University of Virginia.  We discussed the biggest winners and underperformers from the weekend with CITI...