For the third time in three months, the cross country world will descend upon Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday, and the stakes couldn’t be any higher. 31 men’s teams and 31 women’s teams punched tickets last weekend and a handful of star individuals round out each field. Both team races feature heavy preseason favorites looking to reclaim their top spots after late season losses, while both individual races are deep at the top with a handful of runners eyeing national titles. Fans are planning to pack the course in Madison, and they could be treated to a picture perfect setting with snowfall potentially in the forecast. More information on how to watch the meet, with ESPNU coverage kicking off at 9:30am E.T. Below we break down all four races, with a few sleeper picks to keep an eye on amidst the chaos that is NCAA cross country.

You can read our official preview here: https://citiusmag.com/articles/ncaa-division-1-cross-country-championships-2024-preview

Chris Chavez and cross country expert Isaac Wood are back to recap conference weekend and preview each regional meet going down across the country this Friday. Join us for our thoughts and predictions on who will qualify for the big dance in Madison, Wisconsin on November 23rd.

You can listen to our last NCAA cross country season check-in episode here.

Hosts: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez on Instagram + Isaac Wood | @isaacew on Instagram

Time stamps:

1:51 - Conference weekend recap

4:34 - Isaac’s biggest takeaways from conference weekend

5:31 - Wake Forest’s men’s team looking strong heading into Regionals

6:59 - Big 12s men’s recap: thoughts on BYU, OSU

11:39 - Big 12s women’s recap: thoughts on BYU, West Virginia

16:05 - Oregon women looking to become a title contender

17:45 - Projected top teams at NCAAs

20:52 - Explanation on how to qualify for NCAAs

22:36 - Auto-qualifiers + at-large predictions: men

30:05 - Auto-qualifiers + at-large predictions: women

35:10 - Regions to pay most attention to on Friday

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Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia review the second season of the Netflix documentary series, SPRINT. We share our thoughts and analysis on all four episodes and break down the top storylines throughout the season. You can listen to our review of the first season of SPRINT here.

Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram + Preet Majithia | @prm_32 on X

Time stamps:

1:22 - Season 2 overview: cast, notable athletes missing

3:42 - Season 1 highlights

Episode 1: ALL AMERICAN

5:32 - Noah Lyles

10:21 - Fred Kerley

13:10 - Christian Coleman

15:40 - Gabby Thomas, Dennis Mitchell’s pro group

17:57 - Little focus on athletes’ personalities outside of track

19:48 - Highlights of episode 1

Episode 2: CHANGING OF THE GUARD

20:35 - Jamaican storylines

22:23 - Kishane Thompson, Oblique Seville

25:53 - Shericka Jackson

31:27 - Julien Alfred

Episode 3: GOING FOR GOLD: PART 1

33:45 - Series shifts to the Olympics

37:00 - Marcell Jacobs

39:01 - Sha’Carri Richardson, Melissa Jefferson, TeeTee Terry

44:10 - Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

48:17 - Shericka Jackson

50:24 - Julien Alfred

Episode 4: GOING FOR GOLD: PART 2

56:32 - Men’s 100m final

1:02:19 - Kenny Bednarek

1:03:50 - Letsile Tebogo

1:05:10 - Men’s 200m: Noah Lyles getting COVID

1:08:36 - Women’s 200m: Gabby Thomas, Julien Alfred

1:11:32 - How the series ends + U.S. men’s 4x100m relay

Final takeaways:

1:14:39 - Parting thoughts and final rating

1:17:53 - What comes next + will there be a Season 3?

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

WAHOO: KICKR RUN - a new revolutionary treadmill offering the freedom and form of outdoor running at home, from Wahoo Fitness. Run hands-free and focus solely on the joy of running with the innovative RunFree Mode - which adjusts to your stride and pace automatically. For the first time runners can now fully benefit from indoor training apps such as Zwift Run and the Wahoo app for an immersive training experience that delivers unmatched realism and results. Learn more at WahooFitness.com

OLIPOP: For the past year, we’ve redefined Olipop as more than just a healthy drink known for its gut microbiome with a low sugar content and a much better alternative to regular soda. You know there are more than 16 flavors, including classic root beer, cherry cola, and lemon-lime. You know it as The Runner’s Soda. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get 25% off your orders by using code CITIUS25 at drinkolipop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

“What made me sign on is just how it was pitched: the fastest people in the world. There’s not many leagues that sign you on as contracted racers. That’s new. And I like to be a part of change.”

Grand Slam Track has confirmed that Kingston, Jamaica will be one of four cities that will play host to the action in the professional track league's inaugural season. In 2025, the first slam will be held at the national stadium at Independence Park on April 4th, 5th and 6th.

Back in June when the league was first announced, Los Angeles was one of the four cities that was announced, but Kingston is the first city confirmed with dates. This is the same stadium that hosts the Racers Grand Prix and the same stadium that is packed for five days when it hosts the ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships in March.

Grand Slam Track’s events will take place over three days with athletes racing twice. Athletes will receive points for their finishing position in each race and then the athlete with the highest points total after both events will win the slam and the $100,000 grand prize.

So what does this mean for the league? Grand Slam Track will have a host city where the Diamond League has not tapped into with one of the most devout track and field fan populations in the world. The fandom around the sprints is a national tradition from the high school to the Olympic level and the league has already invested in Jamaican talent with three Jamaican racers in Roshawn Clark, who will contest the 400m and 400m hurdles; Ackera Nugent, who will run the 100m and 100m hurdles; and Rushell Clayton, who will run the 400m and 400m hurdles.

So to get excited about the league and the first slam in Jamaica, we caught up with two-time world championship medalist Rushell Clayton at the Grand Slam Track Racer Summit in Los Angeles.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram

Guest: Rushell Clayton | @rushellclayton on Instagram

Time stamps:

6:04 - Excitement for racing in Kingsport for GST

8:06 - Why she decided to sign on with GST

9:32 - When the 400m hurdles event rose to a new level

10:27 - What led to her 5th place finish at the Paris Olympics

12:30 - Chasing after a new 400m PB

13:05 - Thoughts on her competitors

14:21 - Goals for 2025

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

WAHOO: KICKR RUN - a new revolutionary treadmill offering the freedom and form of outdoor running at home, from Wahoo Fitness. Run hands-free and focus solely on the joy of running with the innovative RunFree Mode - which adjusts to your stride and pace automatically. For the first time runners can now fully benefit from indoor training apps such as Zwift Run and the Wahoo app for an immersive training experience that delivers unmatched realism and results. Learn more at WahooFitness.com

OLIPOP: For the past year, we’ve redefined Olipop as more than just a healthy drink known for its gut microbiome with a low sugar content and a much better alternative to regular soda. You know there are more than 16 flavors, including classic root beer, cherry cola, and lemon-lime. You know it as The Runner’s Soda. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get 25% off your orders by using code CITIUS25 at drinkolipop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

“We’re kind of on this journey to the marathon. The next logical step is a half marathon. That will be in the new year. We don’t know exactly where yet but we want to go attack a half marathon. That’s what all the training is focused on and that’s why it’s been so fun. Not that the training is easy but it’s the training that comes the most naturally to me.”

My guest for today's episode is U.S. Olympian Joe Klecker of the On Athletics Club. He joins us with some news that he’s gearing up for his half marathon debut in early 2025 after a challenging comeback from injury.

Joe is back and looking to tackle a new distance with a keen eye on Ryan Hall's American record in the half marathon. While his 2024 outdoor season was sidelined by a torn abductor, he's now fully focused on the 13.1 mile distance. He doesn't say it, but I think all signs point that it will likely be at the Houston Half Marathon in January, which is traditionally perfect weather and very fast. And while he's not quite ready to step away from the track just yet, Joe is already embracing the marathon mindset and this is one step forward to getting to the full distance with a personal best of 12:54 for 5K and 27:07 for 10K.

Joe's incredible speed and dedication are setting him up for a strong entry into the longer distance. So in this episode, we'll hear about his approach to injury recovery, his plans for that debut, all with the guidance of his coach Dathan Ritzenhein and the support of his training partner and Olympic medalist, Hellen Obiri. He also shares why he's hoping for one more team on the track.

Many thanks to New York Road Runners for allowing us to host this conversation in front of an audience at the Citizens Bank stage at the TCS New York City Marathon Expo.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠

Guest: Joe Klecker | ⁠@joe_klecker on Instagram ⁠

Time stamps:

3:43 - Getting to ride on the lead vehicle at the NYC Marathon

5:21 - Thoughts on racing the marathon himself in the future.

5:19 - Thoughts on teammate Hellen Obiri’s build leading into NYC

7:09 - Details on Hellen’s workouts

9:30 - Coming back from injury this summer

11:04 - How his training has evolved since graduating college

12:16 - Future races on the calendar

15:03 - Going after the half marathon American record

17:14 - OAC’s team culture

22:30 - What keeps training exciting

23:37 - How he approaches his future career in the marathon

24:34 - Why track and the marathon feel like different sports

25:48 - Overrated/underrated: training methods

32:51 - Goals for 2025

34:29 - Why now is a good time to shift to the marathon

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

WAHOO: KICKR RUN - a new revolutionary treadmill offering the freedom and form of outdoor running at home, from Wahoo Fitness. Run hands-free and focus solely on the joy of running with the innovative RunFree Mode - which adjusts to your stride and pace automatically. For the first time runners can now fully benefit from indoor training apps such as Zwift Run and the Wahoo app for an immersive training experience that delivers unmatched realism and results. Learn more at ⁠WahooFitness.com⁠

OLIPOP: For the past year, we’ve redefined Olipop as more than just a healthy drink known for its gut microbiome with a low sugar content and a much better alternative to regular soda. You know there are more than 16 flavors, including classic root beer, cherry cola, and lemon-lime. You know it as The Runner’s Soda. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get 25% off your orders by using code CITIUS25 at ⁠drinkolipop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

“I think as I run more and more and get more miles on my legs, I'll be able to hang with that lead pack later and later. But I stuck to my guns. I didn't really have a race plan going in other than taking the first few miles to feel it out. Then really just believing that I belonged in that lead pack for as long as I could hang with them.”

My guest for today’s episode is Jess McClain, who just wrapped up a heck of a year with an eighth-place finish at the New York City Marathon, running 2:27:19 and finishing as the second American.

It was Jess’s first World Marathon Major, and she showed incredible grit, moving steadily from 11th to 8th in the final miles and securing a spot among the top marathoners in the world.

As we’ve explored on this show with her in January, Jess’s journey to the marathon stage has been anything but typical. A former Stanford standout who took a hiatus from professional running, she’s reemerged with stunning results. Earlier this year, she finished fourth at the Olympic Marathon Trials, making her the alternate for Team USA and nearly earning a spot at the Paris Olympics. She’s since signed with Brooks and built a strong racing resume, including wins at the USATF Road 10K Championships and a second-place finish at the USATF 20K Championships.

Today, we’ll dive into her self-coached approach, her bold comeback, and what drives her heading into 2025.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram

Guest: Jess McClain | @jesstonn

Previous episodes with Jess McClain:

Jess McClain On Signing With Brooks Running (Again) + Deciding To Return To The Track

Jess McClain After Finishing Fourth At The 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials (2:25:46) + How She Did It Self-Coached and Unsponsored | Race Recap

Time stamps:

3:15 - Reflections on her 8th place finish at the NYC Marathon

5:58 - Rediscovering her love for racing

8:03 - Why she decided on racing NYC as her fall marathon

10:34 - Details on her training throughout her build

13:34 - Importance of being grounded outside of running

16:31 - How her training setup has evolved + what she wants to change next

19:39 - How she strikes the balance between working and training

24:01 - Nerves before the race

27:35 - Starting line + first few miles

29:37 - Story about accidentally reversing her bibs

35:49 - Thoughts when the big move was made during the race

43:07 - Feelings after crossing the finish line

45:38 - Looking ahead to future marathons

49:01 - Thoughts on racing a track 10K next year

51:16 - Overrated/underrated: training methods

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

WAHOO: KICKR RUN - a new revolutionary treadmill offering the freedom and form of outdoor running at home, from Wahoo Fitness. Run hands-free and focus solely on the joy of running with the innovative RunFree Mode - which adjusts to your stride and pace automatically. For the first time runners can now fully benefit from indoor training apps such as Zwift Run and the Wahoo app for an immersive training experience that delivers unmatched realism and results. Learn more at WahooFitness.com

OLIPOP: For the past year, we’ve redefined Olipop as more than just a healthy drink known for its gut microbiome with a low sugar content and a much better alternative to regular soda. You know there are more than 16 flavors, including classic root beer, cherry cola, and lemon-lime. You know it as The Runner’s Soda. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get 25% off your orders by using code CITIUS25 at drinkolipop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

“I’m not in charge of how fit those guys are. No matter how hard I work, they could be working harder, they could be doing something better, they could be more talented. I was trying to take that out. My main goal in this race was just to execute. Execute my race plan, make sure I ran a race that afterward I felt good about. I think I did really well for most of the race.”

My guest for today's episode is Conner Mantz, the American Marathoner who just capped off an extraordinary year by setting an American course record at the New York City Marathon. He placed 6th overall in 2:09:00. Conner was the top American as usual and he showed us his relentless competitiveness.

He pushed through a conservative start and a fierce mid-race surge led by Evans Chebet, the 2022 New York City marathon champion, that splintered the rest of the field. Conner hung tough and ultimately finished with the fastest closing mile among all of the runners in the top ten.

In his young marathoning career, Conner has already established himself as the top American in Boston, Chicago, the Olympic Trials and an 8th place finish at the Olympics. Now he's setting his sights on closing the gap between being the best in America and being among the best in the world.

In this episode, we dig into his journey, his strategic approach under coach Ed Eyestone's “deploy, enjoy and destroy” race plan, and how he handles a little bit of friendly competition with training partner Clayton Young.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠

Guest: Conner Mantz | ⁠@connermantz on Instagram⁠

Time stamps:

4:03 - Why he wasn’t satisfied with his performance at the NYC Marathon

5:46 - What would’ve made it a satisfying race

7:43 - Overall fitness heading into the race

8:17 - Best workouts leading into the race

13:07 - Going after the half marathon American record at the Houston Half in 2025

16:09 - Pre-race chat with coach Ed Eyestone: deploy, enjoy, destroy

19:30 - Responding to moves during the race

25:40 - Sharing bottles during the race, Evans Chebet makes his move

34:19 - Clayton catching up to him, snapping back into the race, final few miles

42:40 - Feelings after crossing the finish line

47:27 - Grading his marathons throughout 2024

52:50 - Looking ahead to spring marathons

54:35 - Future training plans with Clayton

58:53 - Thoughts on joining Grand Slam Track as a challenger

1:03:34 - Overrated/underrated: training methods

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

WAHOO: KICKR RUN - a new revolutionary treadmill offering the freedom and form of outdoor running at home, from Wahoo Fitness. Run hands-free and focus solely on the joy of running with the innovative RunFree Mode - which adjusts to your stride and pace automatically. For the first time runners can now fully benefit from indoor training apps such as Zwift Run and the Wahoo app for an immersive training experience that delivers unmatched realism and results. Learn more at ⁠WahooFitness.com⁠OLIPOP: For the past year, we’ve redefined Olipop as more than just a healthy drink known for its gut microbiome with a low sugar content and a much better alternative to regular soda. You know there are more than 16 flavors, including classic root beer, cherry cola, and lemon-lime. You know it as The Runner’s Soda. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get 25% off your orders by using code CITIUS25 at ⁠drinkolipop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.