THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Today on the podcast is the Director of Cross Country and Track & Field at the University of Toledo, Coach Andrea Grove-McDonough! Under the leadership of Coach McDonough, the Toledo cross country teams have achieved remarkable success, securing consecutive Mid-American Conference Women’s Cross Country titles in 2021, 2022, 2023 and notable individual accolades. The 2022 women’s team notably c...

Today on the podcast is the one and only Kristen Holmes! This conversation was a true privilege to have.  Kristen is the Global Head of Human Performance & Principal Scientist at WHOOP.  Kristen is a psycho-physiologist whose research is focused on testing sleep, circadian, recovery, and training behaviors and how they might impact measures of physiological and/or psychological resilience. She...

Mid-distance star Will Sumner is back on the show after smashing the Millrose Games 600m record in February, clocking an impressive 1:14.04 The former Georgia Bulldog, who attended Woodstock High School in Georgia, comes from a lineage of stand-out runners. Will's parents, Brad and Tosha, both ran collegiately in the 1990s–Brad at Villanova and Tosha at Georgia. Will's sister, Brynne, has run for...

Today on the podcast is Coach Chris Neal! Coach Neal is currently an Assistant Track & Field and Cross Country Coach at The University of Notre Dame. He leads the Men's program.  Before Notre Dame, Coach Neal y coached ten NCAA Cross Country Championship team qualifiers with four top-15 finishes. He has also coached his teams to 18 Southern Conference Team Cross Country titles, nine men ti...

CONNOR BURNS & SIMEON BIRNBAUM RETURN TO THE PODCAST You ask, we deliver.  After months of requests to get the villains back on the podcast, we came through.  Connor Burns & Simeon Birnbaum were two of the greatest high school runners of all-time and graduted high school this past spring. Both broke the 4-minute mile barrier, and set countless state records, and in Connor's case a Nati...

Today on the podcast is the Director of Strength & Conditioning at the Univerisity of Charlotte, Lew Caralla.  He's perhaps best known for his viral practice speeches to his teams over the years that have amassed hundreds of millions of views. He made a book out of some of the principles he talks about called "Fire Lighters 365." Before his current role, Caralla was Buffalo's...

Today on the podcast is Head Coach of HOKA NAZ Elite Jack Mullaney.  Born and raised in Eagan, Minn., Jack stayed in state and attended the University of Minnesota, where he spent time as a student assistant for the Gopher athletics program. After graduating in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, he spent a brief time in the financial world before returning to Minnesota to pursue his passion...

Back on the podcast is one of the fastest high school girl milers of all time, Sadie Engelhardt! This past weekend, Sadie won the 2024 New Balance National Indoor Mile title by running a meet record of 4:36.36. She also recently commited to run for NC State in 2025 after she graduates high school. If you're not familiar with Sadie, she has run 2:05.66 (800m), 2:41 (1k), 4:11.79 (1500m), 4:34.4...

Today on the podcast is Habtamu Cheney! Habtamu holds PRs of 63:19 in the Half-Marathon and 2:15:43 in the Marathon. He most recently placed 22nd at the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials and last year 19th at the 2023 10k USATF Championships. In college, he ran for Utah Valley, where he significantly contributed to the success of the program. Prior to his time there, he attended Desert Vista High Schoo...

Today on the podcast is one of the assistant coaches at The University of Tennesee, Coach Judy Pendergast!  Coach Judy Pendergast began her first season coaching on Rocky Top in 2023-24 after spending a year on the coaching staff at Harvard.   While at Harvard, Judy assisted in coaching the Men’s and Women’s middle distance and distance runners to one of their best years in school history. She ass...

Today on the podcast is 2xNCAA Champion & National-Record Holder, Maia Ramsden!  This conversation was recorded the week leading into the NCAA Championship Mile, so it's very fun looking back on this conversation and hearing what Maia's mindset was leading into the race where she won in a meet record time of 4:25.13. If you don't know who Maia is (you're probably living under a...

Today on the podcast is the newly announced assistant coach of the Bowerman Track Club, Alex Ostberg.  For some background, Alex Ostberg is a seven-time All-American who holds PRs of 3:58 in the Mile, 7:49 in the 3k, and 13:18 in the 5k. He has a Bachelor's Degree in human biology, a minor in psychology, and a master's in public health. Alex graduated from Stanford before getting his maste...

Today on the podcast is the man with debatably the best name in running, Anthony Fasthorse!  Anthony holds PRs of 1:55 (800m), 4:08 (1600m), 8:51 (3200m), 13:48 (3-Mile XC), and 14:32 (5k XC). He is committed to run for The University of Oregon this Fall.  In today's conversation, Anthony takes me through his journey in sport, handling injuries, committing to Oregon, his goals and ambitions fo...

Back on the podcast is Imogen Barrett!  Imogen recently signed with OAC Oceania last year after graduating from The University of Flordia.   While at Flordia, Imogen has achieved remarkable times, including an indoor 800m time of 2:01.23 and an outdoor 800m time of 2:00.96. She also holds an impressive mile time of 4:38.12 indoors and a 1500m time of 4:14.55 outdoors. Her accomplishments have earn...

Today on the podcast is the Founder & CEO of PILLAR Performance and former professional athlete, Damien Fitzpatrick.  PILLAR Performance is solving problems for athletes. In July 2021, they launched the first range of globally leading micronutrition products targeted for those seeking performance outcomes.  In today's conversation, Damien goes through his years as his professional athlete,...

Today on the podcast is Brooks Bash!  Brooks is an athlete, entrepreneur, and founder of Earthy, a company revolutionizing sustainable energy for athletes.  Brooks is currently in the midst of raising capital for his company, and until he hits his goal, he's doing a marathon a day... He was on day 88 when I spoke to him. Some days have been around LA, others in the Apple Vision Pro or on a tre...

Today's podcast is one of the most moving episodes we've ever released.  I have the extreme privilege of sharing the story of Kallup McCoy II. From the age of 11, Kallup started his battle with drug addiction, which led to overdosing on heroin six times and time in prison. From a life that lacked purpose and was full of pain, Kallup struggled to find meaning in life.  In today's conver...

Today on the podcast is Ryan "Plop" Johnson!  Ryan graduated from The United States Air Force Academy last spring. Ryan currently serves as a 2nd Lieutenant in The United States Air Force in Colorado Springs. During his years at the academy, Ryan contributed greatly to the program both through his leadership and performances, leading them to top finishes at the NCAA meets. Most notably,...

Today on the podcast is Adrian Wildschutt!  Adrian, hailing from Ceres, South Africa, is a standout long-distance runner with a remarkable list of accomplishments. After joining HOKA NAZ Elite in 2022, he swiftly made his mark on the global stage, competing in prestigious events such as the World Athletics Championships and the Commonwealth Games, achieving a notable fifth place. Adrian's jour...

Today on the podcast is Jessica McClain! Jess is the alternate for the US Olympic Marathon Team. She placed 4th in stunning fashion at the 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials running 2:25:46, a personal best by nearly four minutes. If you're not familiar with Jess, she was a 7-time All-American while representing Stanford University, and prior to that Jess Tonn qualified all four years for the ⁠Fo...

Today on the podcast is a man who is a leader in his field of work and making the best in the world even better.  His name is Paul Mackinnon, and he's known for working with athletes like Galen Rupp and many BTC athletes.   For some background on Paul, he lived a sporting life as a semi-professional hockey player for 15 years, playing in Australia and Europe, allowing him access to high-perfor...

Today on the podcast is accomplished Heptathlete Erin Marsh!  If you're not familiar with Erin, she is a highly accomplished and versatile track and field athlete known for her exceptional performances in various multi-event competitions. A graduate student during the 2021-22 season at Duke University, Erin consistently achieved remarkable success in both indoor and outdoor track and field. Sh...

Back on the podcast is the newest Sub 4 kid, JoJo Jourdon! On February 3rd, he won the 2024 New Balance Grand Prix in a time of 3:59.87. JoJo became the first Utah high school runner to break the four-minute mile barrier. JoJo was the 2023 Men's NXN Champion and won in stunning fashion. He came out of the mud on top and that was just the start. He's also run 1:55.55 in the 800m and 8:46.87...

Today on the podcast is the one and only Carrie Tollefson!  Carrie was born and raised in Dawson, Minnesota, where she was a 13-time State Champion: eight in track and five in cross country. Her five cross-country titles established a national record for most consecutive titles, which still stands to this day. Carrie attended Villanova University, where she was a 5-time NCAA Champion and the 1998...

Today on the podcast is NCAA Champion & Record Holder Leo Neugebauer! If you're not familiar with him, Leo is a standout track and field athlete with an impressive list of accomplishments. As a four-time USTFCCCA All-American and two-time Big 12 Champion, Leo has consistently excelled in various events, from decathlon to heptathlon. Notable achievements include his 2023 NCAA Decathlon Cham...