THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

What does it mean to be a prodigy who has to start over?  Drew Hunter knows.  Once hailed as the future of American distance running (he was the high school phenom who turned pro at 18 instead of going to college), his path has been anything but straightforward.  The early years brought headlines and expectations, but also injuries, setbacks, and the sobering reality that talent alone doesn’t guar...

Kim Gottwald is back on the pod, this time in person at BPN HQ in Texas. If you haven’t heard of Kim yet, you will. He’s making a name for himself in the ultra-endurance world, and he’s the founder of Rappid Runs. He co-won the Go One More Backyard Ultra at Bare Ranch, pushing 234 miles over 56 brutal loops before a storm shut it down. Kim is someone who offers raw honesty and dark humor. And he’s...

How do you build a running shoe brand that feels rebellious, authentic, and different in a market dominated by giants?  For  Bryan Poerner, President & CEO of Diadora USA , the answer lies in blending a punk-inspired do-it-yourself ethos with Italian craftsmanship and a deep respect for the running community.  From his roots as a Division III steeplechaser to leading Diadora’s return to the U....

The road to greatness rarely runs smoothly.  For Parker Wolfe, the path has twisted through injury, disappointment, and resilience. Over the past year, the NCAA champion, Olympic Trials finalist, and now Nike pro has faced some of the toughest setbacks of his young career. Whether it’s a foot injury that threatened to derail his season, or the heartbreak of missing the Paris Olympics, he keeps fin...

Coach Ian Moini is not just building a strong running program at UNC, he’s building a pipeline of success. In just his mid-20s, Ian has gone from standout athlete to one of the youngest and most effective associate head coaches in NCAA distance running.  Since his last appearance, North Carolina’s distance squad has leveled up in a big way: ACC titles, school records, and a national 5,000m champio...

Part coach, part storyteller, and part entertainer, Zack Telander shows that serious training doesn’t have to be boring—or stuck in one lane. A former Division I lacrosse player at the University of Vermont (2011–2013), Zack built his athletic base in a team sport before transitioning into Olympic weightlifting as both an athlete and coach. But recently, his followers have been watching a differen...

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER:  https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs What does it really take to peak, push through plateaus, and build a championship culture? Alex Ostberg returns to unpack the latest four installments of  The Run Down , beginning with “The Science of a Taper,” where the guys explore how dialing back training at just the right moment allows fatigue to fade while fitness shines through, unl...

Maggi Congdon is blowing past expectations and Olympic medalists on her way to the world stage. In June, she grabbed NCAA bronze in 4:09.31. Just weeks later, she was dropping under two minutes in the 800, running 1:59.39 to earn silver at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene. Her run through the rounds in Eugene was just as electric. In the semifinals, Congdon clocked a lifetime best of 1:58...

Final Surge: https://www.finalsurge.com (RUNNINGEFFECT20) From Division III runner to one of the most respected coaches in the NCAA, Sean Carlson has never stopped leveling up. Heading into his second season as  Director of Cross Country & Track and Field  at the University of Colorado, his journey is a story of persistence, vision, and transformation.  From his days as a Division III All-Amer...

Undertrain now, dominate later.  That philosophy–his dad’s choice to undertrain him in high school–turned a patient Wisconsin high schooler named Drew Bosley into one of the NCAA’s fiercest finishers. At Northern Arizona University, Bosley became an NCAA cross country podium finisher, broke the collegiate indoor 3000m record in 7:36.42 (which has since been broken), and stacked All-American honors...

He made history in college. Now he’s rewriting it on the world stage. From Ivy League dominance at Harvard to lighting up the Diamond League,  Graham Blanks  is one of America’sbrightest young stars in distance running. He was the first Ivy League male to ever win the NCAA Cross Country title —  not once, but twice . In college, he set a then-NCAA indoor 5000m record of  13:03.78 , ran  3:56.63  f...

Final Surge: https://www.finalsurge.com (RUNNINGEFFECT20) Coach Chris Miltenberg has built champions, broken records, and rebuilt entire programs. But his real gift? Preparing athletes for what comes next. Coach Milt returns to the show with a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most pivotal phases in any runner’s career: the leap from college to pro. As the architect of UNC’s rise, he’s been the...

What if the way you breathe is holding you back? In this episode, we chat with  Adam Ludwin , founder and CEO of  FivePointFive , a science-backed breathwork app built for athletes and everyday high performers.  Before launching  FivePointFive , Adam scaled his first company, Captify Technologies, to 300 employees across 13 countries and led it to a 9-figure exit. But after facing personal burnout...

Jack Fleming is more than just a figure in running history. He’s shaping its future.  As President and CEO of the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), Jack leads with a mission: make running accessible to everyone, all year round. After joining the B.A.A. in 1992, he’s worked nearly every role and now sets the course for a more inclusive, community-focused organization. That vision was clear at t...

Cooper Lutkenhaus isn't just the greatest high school athlete alive. He might be the greatest high school athlete ever. Most 16-year-old track stars are making noise at their state meet. Cooper Lutkenhaus is making history on the national stage—running 1:42 against the pros and smashing records. This comes after a 1:46.86 high school indoor 800m record at Millrose in addition to a 1:45.45 outdoor...

What do you do after running 2:05 at the Boston Marathon? If you’re Conner Mantz, you get back to work. The American half-marathon record holder (59:17 in Houston) and the fastest American ever on Boston’s storied marathon course (2:05:08) is locked in on Chicago this fall. Earlier in 2024, Conner made his Olympic debut in Paris, where he delivered a gutsy, top-10 finish in brutal conditions—provi...

Angelina Napoleon is 20, but she’s already shaking up the NCAA and U.S. elite running scene like a veteran. She is a World U20 medalist, NCAA runner-up, Olympic Trials finalist, and the owner of more national records than most people rack up in a lifetime. Let’s talk numbers: She ran  9:32  for the 3000m steeplechase this summer, a personal best that put her within a heartbeat of the Paris Olympic...

Shelby Houlihan isn’t running from her past. She’s running straight into whatever comes next. With a late-race surge and her trademark finishing kick, Shelby captured the 5,000m U.S. title at Hayward Field. She proved it: she’s not done. Not even close. Just a few years ago, her career looked over. For an athlete at the height of her prime, it was a devastating blow. Before that, Houlihan had been...

Ethan Strand isn’t a prospect anymore: he’s the problem everyone else is trying to solve.  Just months after rewriting the NCAA record books with blistering indoor times in the mile (3:48.32) and 3,000m (7:30.15), Ethan took another quantum leap—this time on the pro stage. In only his second race as a professional, he lined up at Hayward Field for the U.S. Championships and ran 3:30.25 in the 1500...

Straight out of Melbourne, Adam Spencer is bringing a new level of hunger and hustle to global middle-distance running. Adam is one of the brightest new stars in global middle-distance running. Raised in Melbourne, Australia, he started outas a promising soccer player before discovering his natural talent on the track as a teenager. Since then, Adam’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. At ju...

What happens when you blend world-class wisdom with small-town humility? When a coach chooses joy over burnout, purpose over pressure, yet still builds champions from high school tracks to the Olympic stage? You get Coach Mike Scannell. Yes, he’s the architect behind Grant Fisher’s rise: from Arizona high school prodigy to Olympic double bronze medalist and six-time American record holder. But Sca...

There are legends in running, and then there are people who make legends possible. Returning to the show is Deena Kastor: Olympic medalist, former American record-holder in the marathon, and one of the most decorated distance runners in U.S. history. But beyond the stats and finish lines, Deena’s journey has always been rooted in resilience, reinvention, and  deep mentorship . Today, she’s here to...

While other pros are napping in NormaTecs, Matthew Marquardt is doing rounds in med school while still torching Ironman courses.  Matthew is a two-time Ironman champion who just shattered the Lake Placid course record with a blistering 7:50:08. A month earlier, he dominated Ironman Cairns, closing the marathon with a fearless 2:39:47. And here’s the kicker, he’s also a full-time medical student at...

Alex Ostberg is back again, ready to unpack the powerful, and often overlooked, mental side of training.  In this July roundup, Alex breaks down the four most impactful lessons from his newsletter  The Rundown : covering everything from tapering tweaks to placebo power. If you’ve ever second-guessed your workouts, tried to copy what the pros are doing, or sabotaged yourself before race day—this  e...

If you follow high school distance running, you already know the buzz is real. Caden Leonard has emerged as  one of the most dominant prep runners in the country , and his résumé is growing almost as fast as his closing kick. Let’s start with the highlights: he’s a two-time Texas 6A Cross Country State Champion; he was the 2025 Texas 6A State Track “Double Gold” winner in the 1600m and 3200m; he c...