Earlier this year, I had a chance to speak with multiple ASICS athletes ahead of the Tokyo Speed Race, a 5k and 10k event designed to break records and PBs while debuting the Metaspeed Sky Tokyo and Metaspeed Edge Tokyo. The athletes I had a chance to speak with were
Drew Hunter
Biya Simbassa
Matt Richtman
Emma Grace Hurley
Makenna Myler
Interview date: May 2025
I recently had the chance to visit Brooks HQ in Seattle, and while there, I spoke with the Brooks athlete who will be representing Team USA for the World Championships Marathon in Tokyo. And four of the six Team USA members are Team Brooks! Erika Kemp, CJ Albertson, Susanna Sullivan, and Jess McClain. We talked about how they'll be preparing for Tokyo, which shoes they'll be running and training in, and then we play a little game. 0:00 intro0:53 Erika Kemp14:28 CJ Albertson28:17 Susanna Sullivan38:58 Jess McClainInterview date: June 17, 2025Edited by Brandon Rossi
In this bonus episode, I’m talking with Betsy Saina, professional runner for ASICS, and one of the fastest American marathoners with a 2:19 PR. I had a chance to speak with Betsy at a media event in Tokyo, and we went over that 2:19 performance, her DNF at the US Marathon Trials just a month prior, and then her performance at the Chicago Marathon later that year. Betsy recently underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in December, and she’s still on the rebound. In the interview, I mainly wanted to get a read on whether Betsy was going to be vying for a spot on Team USA at World Championships in Tokyo later this year or if she’d be looking for a fall marathon. But Betsy surprised me with her long term vision answer. This was my first time speaking with Betsy Saina. I had a great time meeting her and speaking with her, and I hope you enjoy this conversation.Interview date: May 2, 2025
I had a chance to speak with 2025 Boston Marathon Champion Sharon Lokedi. We talked about seeing her mom at the finish, her relationship with Hellen Obiri, and why she hasn't run any of the flat and fast courses yet (but totally wants to)0:00 intro2:36 how does it feel to be called Boston Marathon Champion4:11 what gave Sharon confidence going into the race?7:39 winter training in flagstaff9:30 boston race plan11:17 running into her mom13:25 sharon vs hellen16:00 sharon and the Velociti Elite 19:49 nothing new on race day?21:34 where are the winning shoes now?22:30 sharon's running shoe rotation24:18 how about a flat and fast marathon?follow Sharon on IGhttps://www.instagram.com/shazrine/
In this episode, I talk with John Korir, your 2025 Boston Marathon Champion. We talk about meeting his brother at the finish line, the shoes he raced in, and the big ambitious goal he has his sights set on next.
In this Bonus Episode! I talk with Jess McClain, a professional marathoner for Brooks. She recently raced in the USATF Half Marathon Championships, which was her half marathon debut (kinda*). She finished 4th, which made her the 1st alternate for Team USA at the World Road Championships to be raced later this year.
0:00 intro
2:11 what shoes did she run in today
2:41 Jess's shoe rotation
3:24 Launch 11 vs Hyperion
4:39 debut half marathon
5:11 rock n roll half marathon
6:26 racing incognito
7:48 atlanta half marathon build
9:18 race plan for atlanta
12:26 was the cold a factor at the start line
14:30 very roomy start line
15:10 fast start
16:45 chasing an American Record Holder
18:48 finishing 4th
20:50 finish line
22:56 having fun
25:10 hyperion elite 4pb vs 5
26:51 why sign with brooks twice?
32:18 half marathon vs 10k or full mara
33:13 goals for The Ten
34:19 goals for boston
36:27 des linden
38:26 team McClain
I went to Atlanta to cover the USATF Half Marathon Championships. I was able to get into the mix zone and speak with athletes after the race, and those interviews have gone up individually on social media. But I wanted to provide an audio only version for listeners of the podcast. Hope you enjoy.
0:00 intro
0:50 Reed Fisher
2:34 Dakotah Popehn
3:59 Annie Frisbie
5:46 Emma Grace Hurley
8:16 Amanda Vestri
9:38 Habtamu Cheney
12:25 Clayton Young
16:59 closing thoughts
Allie Ostrander, professional runner for Oiselle, recently ran her half marathon debut in Mesa. In this bonus episode, we talk about her race, the shoes she races and trains in, her new contract with Oiselle, and where she sits on the Top 5 Fastest YouTubers: Half Marathon list
0:00 intro
1:05 race recap
5:42 shoe rotation
8:03 Oiselle
10:00 How much did Allie's variety of running come into contract discussions
11:30 How important is social media for pro runners
13:18 what kinds of running makes Allie excited
14:28 Top 5 Fastest YouTubers - Half Marathon
follow Allie!
youtube https://www.youtube.com/ @allie_ostrander
IG https://www.instagram.com/allie_ostrander/
Strava https://www.strava.com/athletes/111680667
Rory Linkletter is a pro marathoner for Puma who recently went to Japan with breaking the Canadian Half Marathon record as a B goal for the race. In this bonus episode, we talk about the depth of Japanese road racing, Pocari Sweat, and where Rory sits on the list of Top 5 Half Marathon YouTubers
0:00 intro
1:13 Pocari Sweat
2:18 why Marugame
4:18 how important was depth of field
6:07 race recap
8:59 how do you get through the rough patches
10:05 runner math
11:30 turning towards Boston
13:21 watch first or photo first?
14:29 participant medal
15:39 race shoes
17:06 fall marathon plans
18:16 Top 5 YouTubers List
Follow Rory on Strava https://www.strava.com/pros/9351341
Follow Rory on IG https://www.instagram.com/rory_linkletter/
Rory’s Marugame Reel https://www.instagram.com/p/DFoIMXQy4zO/
Rory’s Japan Running News Interview https://www.instagram.com/p/DFjgxhbPspv/
note: the Top 5 Half Marathon YouTubers list is an informal list I keep on a sheet of scrap paper. But there are some loose rules.
(1) Old PB's are ok, but the runner can't be retired
(2) the athlete must have their own YouTube channel. People who are on YouTube in other channels' videos don't qualify (like Conner Mantz). I also don't count group/team YouTube accounts, like Reed Fischer of Tinman Elite, but I may change my mind on that later
(3) the athlete needs to have posted at least once to their YouTube channel within the last 12 months
Yo, what's goin on. This is the intro episode for this new podcast, which really, is just a spinoff from the Kofuzi Run Club podcast. Over there, we had two main kinds of content, livestreams and athlete interviews, and the two audiences were sometimes quite different. So for the sake of clarity, I'm splitting out the athlete interviews to this new podcast. So if all you wanted was the bonus episodes, Bonus Episode! with Kofuzi is the podcast for you. Thank you for listening.
