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He built a dynasty in Flagstaff, and now, Mike Smith is bringing that same fire to Nike’s Swoosh Track Club.

After nearly a decade at the helm of Northern Arizona University, where he built a dynasty that captured five NCAA men’s cross country titles and earned him 41 Big Sky Coach of the Year honors, Smith made headlines in 2025 when he left collegiate coaching to join Nike’s professional network. 

From his Flagstaff base, he’s now guiding elite athletes through the same philosophy that made NAU unstoppable: a culture of belonging, relentless consistency, and daily excellence.

A Georgetown University All-American and 2007 U.S. Olympic Trials marathon qualifier, Smith’s journey from athlete to coach has always revolved around purpose over prestige. He founded Team Run Flagstaff, studied under the legendary Dr. Jack Daniels, and molded athletes like Nico Young and Luis Grijalva into global talents. 

Now, with the Swoosh Track Club, Smith’s vision extends beyond collegiate borders: building systems that connect performance, identity, and community on a global stage. He currently coaches talents of Galen Rupp all the way down to Donvoan Brazier and many inbetween.

From the mountains of Flagstaff to the global stage, Mike Smith continues to redefine what it means to lead, reminding us that true excellence starts with purpose, not medals.

Tap into the Coach Mike Smith Special.

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Sacrifice, grit, burnout, and the fight to be great: this month’s Rundown Recap dives into four stories that every driven person needs to hear.

The fellas kick things off with “Sacrifice Isn’t Sustainable,” a raw look at how constantly grinding and giving everything can start to take more than it gives. What happens when the thing you love starts burning you out?

Then, in “The Art of Championship Racing,” they unpack what separates the good from the great when everything’s on the line; the mindset, the confidence, and the quiet control it takes to rise in the biggest moments.

Next up is “Fuel for the Work Required,” a reminder that there’s no secret sauce, just consistency, simplicity, and showing up when no one’s watching. 

And finally, “Resist the Pull of Mediocrity” challenges all of us to fight against comfort, to refuse to settle for “good enough,” and to keep pushing toward what we’re truly capable of.

It’s one of those conversations that goes way beyond running,it’s about mindset, ambition, and how to build a life around doing hard things well. 

Tune in, this month’s edition might be the reset you didn’t know you needed.

Tap into the Rundown Recap Special.

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Claire Manley went from chasing PRs on the track to building a storytelling engine for athletes and running brands.

She is the co-founder of Meet @ 7 Studios, a women-led social media and personal branding agency designed for professional runners and endurance athletes.

Her work focuses on giving athletes Fortune 500-level strategy and visibility while helping them own their stories and reach new audiences.

Before becoming a strategist and agency founder, Claire carved out her own story on the track.

A walk-on at Gonzaga University, she battled her way to captaincy and scholarship status while setting a 5000m personal best of 16:31.06 at the Oxy Invitational (in May of 2019), along with collegiate bests of 10:04 for 3000m and 4:47 for 1500m, and qualifying for the NCAA West Preliminary Round that year.

Her career timeline includes stops at Nike-sponsored Bowerman Track Club, where she built global community programs and launched the BTC Summer Training Program that drew participants from across 40 states and eight countries.

Today, she runs Claire Manley Consulting in Brooklyn, continuing that momentum through her independent strategy work.

Most recently, Claire has been active in Gonzaga’s alumni ecosystem, engaging with career treks that connect current students to NYC’s marketing and branding scene.

While she may not be lining up for NCAA championships anymore, her presence in the endurance space remains sharp, shaping the way athletes connect, communicate, and thrive in an increasingly digital sport.

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Jess McClain has become the new face of American women’s marathoning: a symbol of resilience, balance, and belief in one’s own path.

A former collegiate standout at Stanford, she stepped into the pro ranks with Brooks, only to face years of injury, transition, and even stepping away from full-time running to build a life outside the sport. 

Jess never left the track mentally. In 2024, working full time and largely self-guided, she shocked the field by placing 4th in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, narrowly missing the team by seconds.

Not content to be defined by near misses, she went on to win the USATF 10K title (setting a course record), she ran a breakthrough PR of 2:22:43 as top American at the Boston Marathon in 2025, and earned her place on Team USATF for the World Championships.

In Tokyo this past summer, she finished 8th overall in the marathon, which was a stunning result on the biggest stage of all. This finish wasn’t a random burst; it was built on her modest-mileage, high-quality approach.

As of 2025, Jess blends stride sessions, strength work twice weekly, and intentional rest; she also rejoined a coach-athlete relationship with David Roche in 2025. Her story isn’t solely about PRs and race placings, it’s also about redefining what’s possible when you craft your own path and control your narrative.

Tap into the Jess McClain Special.

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Kristen Holmes has worn every hat in the world of performance, including athlete, coach, scientist, and innovator.

Today, she’s setting the standard at WHOOP.

At the University of Iowa, she was a two-time First-Team All-American, the 1996 Big Ten MVP, and even pulled double duty on the women’s basketball team. From there, she rose to the U.S. National Field Hockey Team, earning a spot as an Olympic alternate in 1996 and competing in the 1998 World Cup.

When her playing days concluded, Kristen turned her competitive fire into coaching. From 2003 to 2015, she led Princeton University’s field hockey program to a staggering 12 Ivy League titles, 11 NCAA tournament appearances, and the crown jewel of them all, first NCAA field hockey championship by an Ivy League team, in 2012. 

Then, in 2016, she joined WHOOP, where she’s now the Global Head of Human Performance and Principal Scientist. With a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Queensland, she’s helping athletes, executives, and everyday performers unlock their best through the science of recovery, sleep, and HRV.

In just the past few months, Kristen helped launch Project FASTT, a groundbreaking collaboration to close the research gap on female athletes. She’s sharing her knowledge on the WHOOP Podcast and Science & Soul.

Tap into the Kristen Holmes Special.

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Few athletes have risen as fast—or raced as fearlessly—as Gary Martin.

Now a senior at the University of Virginia, he has evolved into a consistent national contender with personal bests that rank among the fastest in collegiate history. His 3:32.03 1500m at the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships placed him sixth against the nation’s best, while his 3:48.82 indoor mile at the Millrose Games stunned the sport and highlighted his breakthrough season. 

He also anchored UVA to its first NCAA indoor distance medley relay title with a 3:48.12 split indoors; he is a runner with impressive range, holding PRs of 13:16.82 for 5000m and 1:47.46 for 800m.

Affiliated with UVA and Brooks Running through an NIL partnership, Martin credits strength-based training and heavy threshold work as the engine behind his speed. 

With the cross country season underway, he opened with a 22:51 8k at the Gans Creek Classic and was named ACC Performer of the Week, underscoring his momentum heading into the championship season. 

At just 21 years old, his trajectory reflects both resilience and the promise of a future star well beyond Charlottesville.

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Progress in running is rarely smooth, often unpredictable, and sometimes shaped most by the days we’d rather forget.

Alex Ostberg is back again to discuss ideas that every runner will recognize but few stop to articulate. The Run Down recap is here and full of gold once again.

From the unseen pitfalls that quietly derail progress, to the illusions we cling to about steady improvement, to the challenge of bracing for what we cannot predict. And when it comes to bad days, the ones we often wish away, Alex makes the case that they might hold more value than we think.

The beauty of these conversations lies not in polished answers, but in the back-and-forth exploration. Dominic pushes Alex to expand, clarify, and ground his reflections in the messy reality of training and racing, while Alex offers insights that invite listeners to look at their own running in a new light.

This is not just a recap: it’s an invitation to sit in on a thoughtful exchange between writer and reader, athlete and coach, runner and thinker. Press play, lean in, and expect to leave with more questions than you started with.

Tap into the The Rundown Recap Special.

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Dathan Ritzenhein has lived two lives in running: first as one of America's most decorated distance runners, and now as the head coach of the On Athletics Club (OAC). 

As a coach, Ritzenhein has been at the center of some of the sport's biggest moments in recent years. Under his leadership, Yared Nuguse set the indoor mile world record on Feb 8, 2025 (3:46.63) before it was lowered five days later by Jakob Ingebrigtsen and stormed down New York's Fifth Avenue to win the storied road mile that fall. 

On the roads, he's masterminded Hellen Obiri's back-to-back Boston Marathon victories in 2023 and 2024, and helped her remain a fixture at the front in 2025 when Sharon Lokedi's course-record run edged her for the win.

Before he was a world-class coach, Ritzenhein was one of the fastest Americans ever. A three-time Olympian, he set the U.S. record in the 5,000 meters in 2009 with a blazing 12:56.27, claimed bronze at the World Half Marathon Championships that same year in exactly one hour, and ran 2:07:47 for the marathon in Chicago in 2012.

From Boulder, Colorado, he now leads a team that competes and wins at every distance from the 1500 meters to the marathon.

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Fleet Feet CEO Joey Pointer has made a career of combining community-driven retail with cutting-edge data insights.

His journey into running retail wasn't a straight line. Raised on a North Carolina farm, he began his professional life in accounting at Ernst & Young before joining Fleet Feet in 2004 as a financial manager. 

Over the next decade, he rose through the ranks: Director of Operations, CFO, and ultimately CEO in 2017. Along the way, he transformed Fleet Feet from a small specialty chain into a national leader with nearly 300 stores.

What sets Pointer apart is his conviction that data can differentiate running retail. Under his leadership, Fleet Feet launched fit id® 3D scanning across its stores in 2017, collecting millions of scans to personalize footwear like never before. 

Of course, growth hasn't come without challenges. Pointer has been candid about navigating competitive pressures from powerhouse brands like On, Nike, and Hoka, while also integrating major acquisitions like JackRabbit and Marathon Sports.

In recent months, Fleet Feet has kept expanding, marking anniversaries across nearly 300 shops in 2025 and pushingforward with its goal to make community-based retail thrive in the digital age. 

Pointer also deepened his community ties, joining the national board of Girls on the Run International, reflecting his belief that running should be a force for good.

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Andreas Almgren returns to the show, this time fresh off a bronze in the 10,000 meters at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.

This marked Sweden’s first World Championships medal in a long-distance track event—and the nation’s first ever in the 10,000m. For Almgren, it was the culmination of a journey from middle-distance prodigy to one of Europe’s most versatile runners.

He burst onto the scene with a World U20 bronze in the 800m in 2014, followed by a 1:45.59 personal best in 2015 after setting the Swedish U20 record (1:45.65) in 2014.

In January 2025, Almgren became the first European to break 27 minutes for 10,000m on the road, clocking 26:53 in Valencia. Months later, he ran 12:44.27 in Stockholm to break the European 5,000m record. He also holds Swedish records of 13:05 in the 5,000m on the road and 59:23 for the half marathon.

His Tokyo bronze now sits alongside these marks, proof he can pair records with championship hardware.

As of September 2025, Almgren is preparing for Valencia again, this time to chase the European half marathon record of 59:13. At 30, he stands at the peak of his powers, showing how patience and adaptability can redefine both an athlete and the record books.

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Amid a pro reset in Eugene and a new flag next to his name, Charles Hicks is aiming his firepower at the marathon.

Stanford’s first NCAA individual cross-country champion turned Nike pro joins the show amidst a change. He’s shifting his firepower to the roads and is making his marathon debut at the TCS New York City Marathon on November 2, 2025.

He trains in Eugene with Nike’s Swoosh TC (launched Feb. 7, 2025) and has been based there since 2023. He’s also fresh off a USATF 10 Mile title in Washington, D.C., set in course-record time. 

On the track, you’ve seen the range: 13:09 indoors for 5k and 27:33 for 10k at “The Ten.” Now, he’s translating that speed into 26.2 on one of the world’s toughest courses.

He’s also a two-time European U23 XC champion (’21 Dublin, ’22 Turin) and the European U23 5000m champion (’23 Espoo). 

And there’s a timely wrinkle: World Athletics now lists him under the United States after switching from GBR, opening fresh conversations about U.S. teams and majors.

Charles also co-founded Scholarly, a platform that links applicants with successful students’ essays and insights. Between the racetrack and the startup world, he’s clearly on the rise.

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Few coaches have reshaped a running program the way Laurie Henes has.

For more than three decades, she’s been at the heart of NC State running, first as a competitor, then as a builder of champions.

As an athlete, Laurie was an eight-time All-American, the 1991 NCAA 5,000-meter champion, and later competed for the U.S. at the 1995 World Championships (10,000m).

She had personal bests of 15:31 for 5,000 meters and 32:05 for 10,000 meters.

She knows the grind of the sport firsthand: the glory of winning and the sting of just missing an Olympic team by two places at the 1996 Trials in the 10,000m.

That perspective carried seamlessly into her coaching career.

Since joining the Wolfpack staff in the early ’90s, Laurie has shaped the program into a national powerhouse.

She became the women’s cross country head coach in 2006, and in 2019, she was elevated to head coach of women’s track & field.

Since summer 2023, she has served as Director of Track & Field and Cross Country.

The results speak for themselves: under her leadership, NC State women’s cross country teams captured three straight NCAA titles from 2021 through 2023.

She’s coached NCAA champions like her daughter Elly Henes and Katelyn Tuohy, as well as countless All-Americans.

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Cordell Tinch just struck gold in Tokyo, and he’s back on the show to tell us how it happened.

This isn’t just about a gold medal. Cordell’s career is about resilience, reinvention, and the razor-thin line between heartbreak and glory. Just a year ago, he missed making the U.S. Olympic team by one place after undergoing mid-season surgery.

Fast forward to 2025, and he’s running 12.99 to capture the World Championship title in Tokyo, only weeks after becoming Diamond League champion with a blazing 12.92, equaling the meet record in Zurich. Earlier this season, Cordell clocked 12.87 in Keqiao, a performance that made him the fourth-fastest 110m hurdler in history.

His journey has been anything but linear. From winning the Big 12 title as a Kansas freshman in 2019, to leaving the sport for nearly three years, to storming back at Pittsburg State with a world-leading 12.96 in 2023, Cordell’s arc is one of resilience and belief.

Now, after sharpening his rhythm and composure to consistently break the 13-second barrier, he’s here to unpack the mindset shift that turned him from nearly quitting the sport into a global champion.

Because of that, this isn’t another victory lap. It’s a raw and dynamic inside look at how belief, resilience, and technical mastery can transform an athlete’s career and inspire a generation.

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At just 18, Sadie Engelhardt has lived the kind of running career most athletes dream about: national records, Olympic Trials, and head-to-head battles with pros.

Now, she’s back on the show as her next challenge looms: the grind of NCAA competition at NC State.

Sadie’s remarkable journey from rewriting the record books to embracing the challenges of collegiate running are sure to be primetime viewing. This is coming from the girl who set the high school outdoor mile record at 4:28.46 in St. Louisthen lowered it again indoors with a 4:27.97 at the Millrose Games.

She’s already left an indelible mark on prep distance running. Along the way, she gained invaluable experience racing the pros; competing at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing 7th at the Sir Walter Miler, and running a 4:07.78 1500m personal best this summer.

Sadie has talked about bringing a “free feeling” approach into one of the most competitive NCAA programs, even after setbacks like managing an achilles issue late in her high school career.

With a new NIL partnership with Brooks Running, her debut as a freshman at NC State, and fresh goals on the horizon, Sadie Engelhardt is redefining what’s possible at the next level.

Tap into the Sadie Engelhardt Special.

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Final Surge: https://www.finalsurge.com (RUNNINGEFFECT20)

Tim Surface’s path runs straight through the heart of the sport of running.

Tim is a University of Tulsa Academic All-American who kept competing after college, carving out a 2:24:39 marathon at Chicago and logging PRs of 1:09:12 for the half and 30:35 for 10,000m, before channeling that discipline into coaching and product building. 

Today, from Raleigh, he wears two hats: that of a high-school coach at North Raleigh Christian Academy and co-founder/CEO of Final Surge, where he’s bringing an athlete’s empathy and a coach’s realism to endurance tech.

His north star is simple: save coaches time so they can spend it with athletes. That philosophy shows up in practical tools like attendance and roster features for teams, deep device integrations, and a mobile Structured Workout Builder that letscoaches create, edit, and sync sessions on the fly. 

Tim is here to help guide coaches on how to communicate clearly and keep the human side of coaching front and center. 

Tim has a great perspective on what high-school athletes truly need in 2025, how to cut noise from data, and where endurance technology is headed next. 

This is a story of mileage becoming momentum—of a runner who never stopped building—and a playbook for coaches and athletes who want their tools to work as hard as they do.

Tap into the Tim Surface Special.

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If you smash together courtroom precision with marathon coaching, you get Jeff Cunningham.

Jeff is a licensed Texas attorney turned creator of Austin’s Bat City Track Club, and he is here to open up the playbook behind one of America’s most quietly effective pro-development groups.

From Haftu Knight’s 2:09:38 breakthrough to Lindsey Bradley’s Indy Monumental course record, Bat City’s 2024–25 results are proof that Jeff’s gritty, repeatable systems scale from first-timers to elites.

Jeff is a man who can talk about the weeks that lead to a 2:09 marathon, the indicators that signal a breakthrough, and how to keep joy and accountability in balance. He’s also coached entrepreneur and hybrid athlete Nick Bare, proving that Bat City’s principles work just as well for high-performing professionals as they do for pros chasing the Olympic Trials. 

In this episode, Jeff explains his unorthodox “one big workout a week” approach tailored to busy working athletes, why monotony beats flash, and how Bat City grew from two athletes in 2018 to a deep roster—all while he still practices law and coaches before dawn. 

Mentored by legends and intent on paying it forward, he frames marathon prep as patient, evidence-based work and reminds athletes their ceiling is far higher than they think.

Whether you're a first-time marathoner or an aspiring Trials qualifier, this episode is a masterclass in translating big goals into durable training—and results.

Tap into the Jeff Cunningham Special.

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Most runners think their biggest limiter is training volume, paces, or genetics. 

Cortney Berling says it’s something much simpler: you’re not eating enough.

Fresh off a 2:52:49 finish at the 2025 Eugene Marathon and armed with her credentials as a Registered Dietitian (MPH, RD, CDE), Cortney sits down to unpack RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport): what it is, why it matters, and how to fix it before it derails your running and your health.

Cortney’s perspective is unique because she’s lived it on every stage: from a 3,000m steeplechase PR of 11:05.95 at the University of Cincinnati, to a 1:22 half marathon in Portland (2024), to road wins like the Old Port Half in Maine (2017), to her current life as a sub-3 marathoner in Oregon. 

Along the way she’s been a board member and elite athlete coordinator with WMDP, coached high school runners, and led community seminars with OHSU Sports Medicine.

She knows firsthand how under-fueling can lead to injuries, stalled progress, and experienced fertility challenges linked to under-fueling in her own journey — and how the right fueling strategy can flip the script.

If you’ve ever bonked, felt flat despite training hard, or struggled to balance nutrition with performance, this episode is your wake-up call. 

Tap into the Cortney Berling Special.

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Mitch Ammons is living proof that small, steady habits can transform a life.

Just a few years removed from barely jogging half a mile after rehab, the Austin realtor has run 2:16:01 in the marathon, joined Bat City Track Club, won his hometown half in 1:08:32, and even stood on the start line in Boston’s Professional Open Men’s Field–all without ever running in college.

What’s his secret? Nothing flashy.

Mitch leans on simple, controllable routines, like stacking threshold-heavy weeks, looped courses to calm race-day chaos, and dialing in a fueling plan he trusts.

In training, he’s learning to check his old “race every rep” instinct, following coach Jeff Cunningham’s mantra to stay in control and always leave one in the tank.

And the big dreams still burn for him, like dipping under the 2:16 Olympic Trials Qualifier, a mark he missed by seconds on a circular “micro marathon.”

He’s also caught the ultra-marathon bug.

From a last-man-standing test of grit, to his first-ever DNF after an ankle sprain, to the belief that marathon fitness carries into the 50K distance and beyond.

Running is both anchor and amplifier for Mitch, as he believes PRs matter no matter the level, and embraces being “a little nuts.”

Because in the end, loops, thresholds, and habits aren’t just for racing...they’re for living.

Tap into the Mitch Ammons Special.

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As the Toledo Marathon looms just six days away, Dominic hits record for a rare solo jam session on grit, growth, and chasing what matters most.

From winging his first marathon off just two weeks of training to preparing for Toledo with modest mileage and plenty of gym sessions, he’s here to share the highs, doubts, and lessons running continues to teach him. 

Along the way, he opens up about why the marathon holds such a special place in his story, how Garmin has leveled up his training with their newest watch, and what it’s like to squeeze in a trip to Meta’s HQ just days before race day. 

More than splits or gear, this is about grit, growth, and finding meaning in the grind.

So whether you’re running your first 5K, gunning for a PR, or simply looking for a reminder that hard things are worth doing, this is a fresh take from the man behind The Running Effect.

Tap into the Solo Episode Special.

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We’re going full scientist mode today, because Jonah Rosner is back on the show.

If you don’t know Jonah, he’s the applied sport scientist who went from the Houston Texans to the streets of Brooklyn, translating lab data into PRs for everyday runners.

He’s walked the talk—he ran 2:57:22 at the Chicago Marathon on October 13, 2024—and he’s been on a tear since on social media. He has unpacked what 99% of runners are missing, and then he dropped a durability framework with Stryd (plus a free 10-week plan) to help you fade less and finish stronger in races.

In June he launched Brooklyn Running Company’s Beginner’s Pre-Run Fuel Playbook to make pre-run nutrition stupid-simple. Jonah continued breaking down exactly how he used caffeine to run 2:57, and expanded the fueling playbook with a Science in Sport piece on in-race carbs.

If you coach, this is a blueprint you can deploy this week. If you’re building for a fall race, this is the clarity you’ve been hunting: what to measure, what to ignore and what to change by your next long run.

Grab a notebook. By the end, you’ll have a simple checklist to move the ceiling on your performance—and a plan to chip away at it, session by session.

Let’s get surgical about speed.

Tap into the Jonah Rosner Special.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. 

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S H O W  N O T E S

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