Sarah Lorge Butler talks to Hawi Keflezighi about celebrating 20 years as a track & field agent. He discusses how he got his start, whether he ever doubted the agency would make it, and some of the highs and lows he's dealt with over the years. Hawi also discusses the role agents play in combating doping, whether some agents have too many clients, and agents who promise more than they can deliver. HAWI Management on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hawimanagement/ Sarah Lorge Butler o...

Sarah Lorge Butler talks to Courtney Frerichs, 2021 Olympic silver medalist and the American record holder in the steeplechase. In April 2024, Courtney tore her ACL and both her medial and lateral menisci while going over a water barrier during practice. She thought that might be the end of her professional running career, but over the past year, she has worked her way back. In May, she finished third at the USATF 5K Championships in 15:18. Courtney talked about considering retiring, wo...

Sarah Lorge Butler talks to Kenya's Sharon Lokedi, who recently won the Boston Marathon in a course record of 2:17:22. Sharon came to the U.S. for college, and became 10-time All-American and the 2018 NCAA 10,000m champion for the University of Kansas. She signed with her current sponsor, Under Armour, right out of college and learned that she really excels on the roads, particularly in the marathon. In her debut at the distance, she pulled off a surprise win at the 2022 New York City Maratho...

Drew Hunter was 18 when he signed his first pro running contract, and now, at 27, he's already a seasoned veteran. He talked to Sarah Lorge Butler about what his parents did right in supporting him as a young runner, being coached by his mom as a pro, NIL and the business side of the sport, switching from Adidas to Asics, becoming a parent, and his stroller sponsorship. After thinking it might be his final year as a professional runner, Drew had a breakthrough year in 2024, running personal b...

Big changes are coming to the NCAA and Sarah Lorge Butler spoke with Victoria Jackson to help make sense of it all. Jackson was the 2006 NCAA champion in the 10,000m and she went on to run professionally. Now she's a sports historian and clinical associate professor of history at Arizona State University. Jackson discusses how we got here, what changes are likely coming, and why they aren't all bad. And she encourages cross country and track & field coaches to think creatively. Watc...

The morning of the 2025 Boston Marathon, Des Linden announced via a full-page ad in The Boston Globe that the race would be her final professional marathon. And then she went out on a high note, finishing 17th in 2:26:19, and winning the masters' division. She'll continue to run professionally, but she plans to focus on different events. Sarah Lorge Butler caught up with Des two weeks after that announcement to discuss her career so far, and what's next. See the chapter markers for more...

Jess McClain discusses finishing seventh at the 2025 Boston Marathon, where she ran 2:22:43, was the top American woman, and PRed by 3:03. She discussed hiring David Roche as her coach, as well as some of the training and fueling changes she made leading up to the race. Jess lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and runs professionally for Brooks. But she also has a full life outside of running. She discussed her work with foster youth and rescue dogs, and how she balances that with her training. ...

Emily Infeld, 35, recently set a 10,000m personal best of 30:59.38. Three days later, she unexpectedly got a call asking if she would like to take part in Grand Slam Track's first Slam, in Kingston, Jamaica. She flew out 13 hours later. Despite the late notice, she held her own, finishing fifth overall and leading the way for the Americans. Emily won a bronze medal in the 10,000m at the 2015 World Athletics Championships, and she's been through many ups and downs since then. After...

Sarah Lorge Butler caught up with Ahmed Muhumed shortly after he ran a 53-second personal best of 27:03.19 for 10,000m at The TEN, which puts him third on the U.S. all-time list. Ahmed was born in the Somali region of Ethiopia and moved to Oregon in 2011, when he was 13 years old. Though soccer was his first love, a PE teacher discovered his talent for running and encouraged him to go out for cross country and track. In addition to balancing his academics and athletics, Ahmed worked sev...

Juli Benson discusses her journey from barely making it to the NCAA Track & Field Championships her senior year to becoming an Olympian, and her subsequent transition into coaching. Juli coached Jenny Simpson to 1500m gold at the 2011 World Athletics Championships, and she now coaches runners of all abilities. Juli got a flurry of attention after Nikki Hiltz, currently the U.S.'s top 1500m runner, announced last month that they are now working with Juli. But Juli coaches a number of high ...

Molly Seidel, the 2021 Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon, provides an update on her running, health, and non-running pursuits. And she shares some big news about her sponsorship status Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/ Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/ Thanks for ...

Mike Scannell talks to Sarah Lorge Butler about coaching Grant Fisher to Olympic Bronze medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m last year, as well as two indoor world records in February. Some Highlights: Discussion of Grant and Mike's post-Olympic recoveryThe importance of pacers maintaining rhythm in high-stakes racesGrant thanking his pacer mid-race, while setting the indoor 5,000m world recordWhat makes Grant unique, from a mental standpointOn whether it's harder to get high school kids to commi...

Professional track & field athlete Valery "Val" Tobias recently had a breakthrough race to run 1:59.55 and finish second in the 800m at the USATF Indoor Championships. That qualified her to represent the U.S. at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, which take place March 21–23 in Nanjing, China. Val was born in Texas but lived in Mexico until middle school, when she moved back to the U.S. Her teachers discovered her talent for running during a gym class mile, and she's been on ...

Heather MacLean shares her remarkable journey from growing up in a low-income family to becoming one of the best runners in world. This one is for anyone who loves an underdog story. She discusses growing up with seven siblings and a single mother, joining her high school track & field team by chance, and becoming the first person in her family to graduate from college. She also talks about navigating her early professional running years while often working full-time. Heather discus...

Professional marathoner Keira D'Amato discusses her upcoming book "Don't Call it a Comeback: What Happened When I Stopped Chasing PRs, and Started Chasing Happiness." She also discusses overcoming her fear of failure, her move to Utah to train under coach Ed Eyestone, the supportive running community she's found there, and how her Boston Marathon training is going. Preorder Keira's book: https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/dont-call-it-9781250344946/ (Available September 9, 2025) Fo...