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

Happy Friday! This is the first edition of Track Snacks – a short show taking you into the weekend where Chris Chavez and a fellow CITIUS MAG staffer share the story of an athlete who they're excited about right now that you can expect to see compete at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (July 15–24, 2022). In this episode, David Melly joins the show to geek out about the brilliance of Ven...

"I think that's why we're running so well. We just all push each other to be the best. We realize that none of us will be the one star. We're all going to share this together. I think that's what makes it really special. They just push me to be a better athlete. I'm just glad that we're all willing to race each other all the time and push each other and break the limits of high school running." In...

"Every time we race, records are looking to be broken or new records are looking to be set. Just like us being out there competing against each other, there's definitely a chance of us getting a record each time we go out there." In this episode, we speak with Sophia Gorriaran . She is a junior at Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island. She’s truly a special athlete who comes from a family...

"I would rather race them and get pulled along to a fast time and possibly get second or third instead of going and running on my own and maybe having to do a bit of extra work to get a faster time or maybe not even get that fast of a time. My mind is set on not really caring so much about winning and losing but getting a fast time." In this episode, we speak with Juliette Whittaker . She is a sen...

"I was never in it for the money or the fame. But if you really think about it, I had more gold medals than Allyson Felix individually. I have more medals – if I'm not mistaken – than Usain Bolt individually. Yeah, it sucks but it all goes back to how the track takes over the field. It's just unfortunate but again, I feel like I was put on this earth to inspire and not to be that person. That's ju...

Deena Kastor is one of the greatest American distance runners of all-time. Up until recently, she was the American record holder in the marathon with a personal best of 2:19:36 from 2006. It withstood the test of time until Keira D’Amato broke it in Houston in January. Deena has held American records from 5K to the marathon. She is the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon She is a two-time...

“To be able to have a race where we’re focusing fast and really see the culmination of the hard work and the progress made – both in training and my mentality and my approach to training/racing – was really cool to see come to fruition.” Bowerman Track Club star Elise Cranny returns to the show for the first time in two years. The last time she was on was in 2020 after she ran 14:48 for the 5000m,...

Kyle Merber and Chris Chavez host After The Final Lap live from The Armory in New York City for the 2022 New Balance Indoor Nationals.  We are joined by special guest host Trayvon Bromell. – On the final day of the championship meet, we saw Cade Flatt of Benton, Kentucky run the No. 3 U.S. HS boys all-time 800m mark in 1:48.86. He joined us to share why he isn't afraid to talk about going for...

Kyle Merber and Chris Chavez host After The Final Lap live from The Armory in New York City for the 2022 New Balance Indoor Nationals.  We are joined by special guest hosts Emma Coburn and Cory McGee. Newbury Park High School destroyed the U.S. HS Boys 4 x Mile record in 16:29.31. We're joined by Aaron Sahlman (4:11.37 split), Leo Young (4:06.86 split), Lex Young (4:07.35 split) and Colin Sah...

"If you’re not having fun with it, I think you’re going to look back in a few years once you retire and be like, ‘You know what, maybe I didn’t handle it the right way. I was too serious with it.’ You can have fun with it, enjoy it and still do well. Everybody was talking about how Molly wasn’t taking it seriously – No. We were taking it super seriously in Sapporo and Tokyo in everything we were d...

"In this sport, it's always about what have you done for me lately. All I can do is control what I can control moving forward. That's: Running fast, making teams and getting medals...This is my fifth indoor USAs and my third team. It meant so much to get positive feedback from people who are actually fans of track and saw that after the Olympics I was able to put together more races and show I'm s...

“I’m no superstar like LeBron James or Tom Brady. There are occasions when people come up to me and say certain things and they’re flattering. I walk away just saying, ‘You have a mission. You were put on this earth and you have an opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.’ I know that.” My guest for this episode is Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray, who is an absolute legen...

"I'm looking forward to competing against those guys. They may be world championship qualifiers and Olympians but if I enter these events scared of them, then I'm not doing myself any favors and I'm not really living up to my mantra of finding my limits. If I can compete with them, I can obviously and hopefully surpass them. I'm looking forward to the competition and getting to know them as compet...

"I think if I can be in 3:27 shape again and just be stronger to maybe be able to run 3:28.5 in the final, that's the best I can do. If they keep getting better and run 3:25 or 3:26 in the final of a major championship, I've got to be honest with myself and say, 'Well I'm not there yet.' Because I'm not. I can run 3:27-high in a major championship this year. I know I can. If that wins, it wins. Bu...

"I didn't know if I wanted to go pro after the Olympic trials. I actually had a job lined up. I had accepted a job offer in South Carolina to start in the fall starting August. And I called them when I qualified for the Trials and I'm like, “Hey, I'm not going to be there. I'm going back to school, I'm going to be in East Lansing.” Having the opportunity to come in for a sixth year and get a free...

"I jokingly told my wife, 'I bet if just had a decent bunch of kids, I bet I could win a state meet and be a national-caliber team.' She was like, 'Yeah...yeah...' I emailed all the coaches in the area. I decided to go back to school to get my credentials and maybe I'd teach in high school. Nobody got back to me but Newbury Park. The coach was like, 'Hey, I'm retiring in a couple of years. We need...

"There are over 600,000 dreamers in America. When I think about my situation at the Olympics, out of the 600,000 Dreamers, imagine if there was someone else in the same exact situation higher than Olympics or even better than the Olympics – something better than that and they can’t get the opportunity to go to their event or do this or that. That’s why my whole movement when it started it was real...

“For me, that American record has been on my mind since I’ve been at Oregon. I know that I can hit that American record. The fact that I went to the Olympic Trials and came in eighth off of four weeks of training, that’s what did it for me. In 2021, I was not as fast as I had been in 2015 due to my hamstring injury. After last year and being at the Olympic Trials and finishing eighth, that was the...

Kyle Merber and Chris Chavez return to host our first CITIUS MAG Live postgame show called After The Final Lap.  With the NFL, NBA or MLB, you tune in to the game and afterward, you hear more from the athletes and coaches and get some fresh takes and thoughts from analysts about what you just saw. We’re bringing that to you in a fun show. For the Millrose Games, we were joined by a surprise g...

"I need to have a good 'why' for why I'm doing it and what drives me. For me, it's never been money before with college running... I want to do it for the love of the sport and the fulfillment it brings me. Just Keep my 'Why' in a good place." Whittni Orton Morgan is the reigning NCAA cross country out of BYU who joins us to share some news that she has signed her first professional contract and w...

Alicia Monson is a professional runner for the On Athletics Club and a 2021 Olympian in the 10,000 meters. Before turning pro, she was a star at the University of Wisconsin. Just a few weeks ago, she won her first national title with a win at the USATF Cross Country Championships in San Diego. In this episode, we touch on a bit more of her personality and dive into why so many things have been goi...

"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,...

“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 w...

"I was planning to go to the marathon last year but this injury came up. I still have unfinished business on the track so after world champs, I’m going to try to debut at a fall marathon. Hopefully New York or something. That was my main thing. Once I switch my focus and I’m doing the marathon, I’m going to do some damage there." Shadrack Kipchirchir is the newly-crowned 2022 USATF cross country c...

At 20 years old, Cole Hocker has put himself atop the United States middle distance scene. I profiled him for Sports Illustrated last July after he outkicked reigning Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz for the win in the men’s 1,500 meter final at the U.S. Olympic Trials – which was one of my favorite races to watch of the whole trials. Hocker’s finishing speed is world-class. He went on to run 3...