THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Episode 4 of The Road To Hayward is with the one and only Alexander Chukwukelu! Alex is the #1 high school hurdler in the 110m hurdles so far this year. He is committed to run for the University of Kentucky next year. Alex has set historic marks in his events, running personal bests of 12.98 (110mH), 10.86 (100m), and 21.45 (200m). He recently won his first state title in his home state of Texas a...

Today on "The Road To Hayward" is the U20 400mh World Champion Akala Garrett. Akala is a fifteen-time individual state champion (yes, you read that right). She won the 100m hurdles and the 400m hurdles at the 2022 USATF U20 Outdoor Championships running 10.91 for the 100m hurdles and 57.47 for the 400m hurdles. She then went on to become the U20 World Champion a few weeks later. She won...

Today on the podcast is the man, the myth, the legend, Evan Jager. For those who aren't familiar with Evan, he is undoubtedly the greatest American at the 3000m Steeplechase ever. Evan won a Silver Medal in the steeplechase at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, won Bronze at the 2017 World Championships in London; he has the American Record in the 3,000m Steeplechase with a time of 8:00.45, and get thi...

Today's conversation will challenge you. It will stretch you to think on deep topics that ultimately impact the quality and impact of your pursuit within sport and life. While it may be deeper and more philosophical than most of my podcasts, you'll walk away from this conversation thinking about how you view success specifically as it pertains to running completely different. My close frie...

Episode 9 of  The Call Room With Connor Burns & Simeon Birnbaum ! In this episode, Connor and Simeon recap their state championship races, where they racked up even more state titles to their name. We also discussed the Hoka Festival of Miles meet that will be happening this Thursday, June 1, where they will be going after Alan Webb's National Record in the Mile. We also discuss Connor&#39...

Today on "The Road To Hayward" are Lex and Leo Young and their teammate and friend Brayden Seymour. For those unfamiliar with these three, Lex and Leo Young are the fastest high school twins in the world. Over the past four years of high school, they have broken national records, won championships, and forever cemented their legacy as some of the greatest high school runners ever. Their...

Today on the podcast, I have the privilege of speaking with artist and accomplished runner Zach Litoff! Zach is the man behind the cover art for The Running Effect and has worked with clients such as Nike and New Balance. He started Litoff Studio's where he carries his passion for the intersection of art and running, leading the charge in this arena. When he's not cooking up some incredibl...

Today on the podcast series "The Road To Hayward" is Irene Riggs and Sophia Kennedy, friends and future teammates at Stanford University this fall! Irene Riggs and the word "history" belong in the same sentence. Over the past year, Irene has made history in her home state of West Virginia and on the National Stage. Irene became the first athlete from West Virginia ever to win a...

Every few months, I have a conversation that blows me away; today is one of those conversations. From the minute Andy hopped on the call, I knew we were in for a good one. Today on the podcast, I have the great privilege of speaking with the one and only Andrew Wheating. Andy is currently the Operations and Content Manager at the On Athletics Club. But long before Andy was working for On to push f...

The most listened-to man in the history of The Running Effect makes his return to the podcast. His name is Yaseen Abdalla. For those who aren't familiar with Yaseen, he went from a 24:42 5k in high school to NCAA Champion at the University of Texas. His story is nothing short of inspiring and impactful. Yaseen is a man who works harder than almost everyone I know and has a smile on his face wh...

Episode 8 of  The Call Room With Connor Burns & Simeon Birnbaum ! In this episode, Connor recaps the craziest race of his career, where he played rock-paper-scissors mid-race, Simeon talks through his hamstring strain, and they both go through their recent training and workouts. Is there beef with L&L, coaches, and Galen Rupp? You'll have to listen to find out! This episode is yet anot...

I have the great privilege of welcoming Hobbs Kessler to the podcast today. Hobbs competes professionally for Adidas, having turned professional directly after high school. He holds the North American U20 record in the 1500 meters, having run 3:34.36 at the Portland Track Festival in May 2021. He also holds the American high school record for the indoor mile, with a time of 3:57.66 set in February...

Back like she never left, Sadie Engelhardt returns to the podcast! For those who aren't familiar with Sadie, just as a Freshman last year, Sadie ran 4:35.16 in the mile (a U16 World Record), won Nike Outdoor Nationals, broke the state record in the 1500 by clocking a 4:11.79 at the Portland Track Festival and this past cross-country season won a state championship and ran a record-breaking tim...

The one and only Cole Sprout returns to the podcast. Cole is a junior at Stanford University, where he has slowly cemented himself as one of the top runners in the NCAA. This past indoor season, Cole ran 3:56 in the Mile, 7:43 in the 3k, and 13:24 in the 5k. Just a few weeks ago, Cole ran 28:30 in the 10k to open up his outdoor campaign. Cole is also a multi-time All-American both on the track and...

CONNOR FREAKING BURNS. Episode 7 of  The Call Room With Connor Burns & Simeon Birnbaum ! In this episode we document Connor running 13:37.30 to set a new HS National Record in the 5k, Simeon owning the Howard Wood Dakota Relays, future training and races coming up, and much more! I hope you all enjoy this much as we did recording it. Consider dropping a comment on Spotify of how you enjoyed th...

Today's podcast is a short exploration into the world of mental performance and simple practical ways in which you can improve it to ultimately improve yourself as a runner and in every day life. We go through this exploration with the one and only Shannon Thompson MAPP, NCCP. Shannon is the mental performance counselor who works closely with NAU, NAZ Elite, UA Dark Sky Distance, and a plethor...

Today on the podcast is the latest high schooler to break four minutes in the mile, Rocky Hansen! On the final day of April 2023, Rocky ran 3:59.56 to win the mile against collegiate athletes at the Virginia High-Performance Meet. Hansen becomes the first North Carolina prep to accomplish the feat. Breaking records and making history, Hansen joins an exclusive group of only 18 high schoolers who h...

Episode 6 of  The Call Room With Connor Burns & Simeon Birnbaum ! In this episode, Simeon recaps, taking down the King of Iowa, Connor's mindset and preparation leading into The Track Meet this Saturday, Track DQs, Strava War, and much more. With every episode comes a new level of entertainment, insights, and of course, banter (: ABOUT THE CALL ROOM:  Introducing The Call Room With Connor...

Today Mia Barnett joins the podcast! Mia is a sophomore who attends and competes for The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), where she has cemented herself as one of the top female distance runners in the NCAA. Prior to transferring to UCLA, Mia ran for the University of Virginia, where she was an All-American and one of the top runners in the ACC. She became just the second athlete in UV...

Today on the podcast is the one and only Amy Bunnage! Amy is an incredibly talented and hard-working individual who has rewritten the history books over the past few years. Amy has run 2:09 in the 800m, 4:14 in the 1500m, 8:51 in the 3k, and 15:31 in the 5k, all as a high schooler. She has won more Australian championships than I can keep track of. She will be competing for Stanford University thi...

Today's conversation is one I've been wanting to have for a while. Sam Gilman joins the podcast! Sam is a Cadet at the United States Air Force Academy, where he has also become one of the top runners in the NCAA. Sam is a 3xAll-American and holds five Academy Records (Mile, 1500m, 3000m, 5000m - I/O). Sam has run 3:40.39 (1500m), 3:57.52 (Mile), 7:43.7 (3k), 13:25.17 (5k). He is looking to...

Episode 5 of  The Call Room With Connor Burns & Simeon Birnbaum ! In this episode, Connor and Simeon dive into their recent training, including incredible workouts; Connor recaps a 4x400 race, Simeon gives his thoughts on his mile matchup with The King of Iowa, and we discuss the high schooler Isaam Isinga taking down Noah Lyles. ABOUT THE CALL ROOM:  Introducing The Call Room With Connor Burn...

After a year of getting requests to get this man on the podcast... THE COLIN SAHLMAN SPECIAL becomes reality. Colin Sahlman was undoubtedly one of the greatest high school runners of all time. Colin held PRs of 50.26 (400m), 1:48.07 (800m), 3:39.59 (1500m), 3:56.24 (Mile), 8:33.32 (3200m), and 14:03.29 (5k XC). He holds the National record in 3200m and 5k, is a 2-time Gatorade State Player of the...

Back for her third appearance and straight off of a hair crisis (iykyk) is my good friend, Emily Cole! For those who aren't familiar with Emily, she is an accomplished runner who competes for Duke University. She is also an author and positive light on social media, impacting millions of lives every single month. Behind all the accolades, is a genuinely amazing human being who I always thoroug...

Episode 4 of  The Call Room With Connor Burns & Simeon Birnbaum ! Episode 4 is a recap of their short races, training updates, listener questions, and the Hoka Festival Of Miles, where they will be going after Alan Webb's Mile Record. Then we top off the episode with a few humorous listener questions.  ABOUT THE CALL ROOM:  Introducing The Call Room With Connor Burns & Simeon Birnbaum....