THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Dominic Schlueter

The Running Effect tells the best stories in running—and turns them into insight, inspiration, and tools to help competitive runners become greater.
Every week, host Dominic Schlueter sits down with the fastest, smartest, and most inspiring people in the sport—from Olympic medalists to breakthrough athletes—to unpack the stories, lessons, and mindset behind elite performance. Whether you’re chasing a personal best or looking to understand how greatness is built, The Running Effect will make you a deeper fan of the sport—and a better runner.

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743 episodes
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Episodes743

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June 23 · 47 min
Inside How Habtom Samuel Won 5 NCAA Titles: On His Closing Kick, the Mindset Shift, and Leaving the NCAA on Top
NEW MERCH OUT TODAY 5PM EST: https://luminarythreads.shop Five NCAA titles. One backwards hat. Zero apologies. Habtom Samuel is not a guy who talks much—he lets the track do it. The University of New Mexico junior just capped a historic 2025–2026 season by sweeping the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, becoming the most decorated athlete in Lobos history. In this episode, Dominic sits down with Habtom the week after the titles to find out what it actually feels like. The conversation covers the full arc: growing up in Eritrea, the culture shock of arriving in Albuquerque with no family nearby, and the quiet determination that carried him through a sophomore year of four runner-up finishes. Habtom opens up about that 2025 NCAA Cross Country final—the one where he lost his shoe midway through the race, kept charging, and still nearly caught Graham Blanks. He talks through the indoor DQ, the decision to work on his kick, and the precise moment in the outdoor 5,000m final where he knew it was time to move on Marco Langan. There is also real warmth here. Habtom talks about what it means to train alongside Josh Kerr, what the Hoka NIL deal has meant for his family back home, and why he refuses to let anything (a lost shoe, a disqualification, a trash-talk headline) pull his focus from what he can control. He is not a guy chasing a legacy. He is a guy who shows up, works, and lets the results speak. They have been speaking pretty loudly lately. Tap into the Habtom Samuel 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. S H O W N O T E S MERCH: luminarythreads.shop -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Behind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL Instagram: Habtom Samuel (@habtom_samuel_).
June 22 · 13 min
Launching LuminaryThreads: The 3-Year What-If Behind The Running Effect's Merch Brand
🔗 Shop drop one (early-access password: TRE): https://luminarythreads.shop Dominic goes solo to launch LuminaryThreads — a merch brand three years in the making, built on a simple idea: you pass roughly a thousand people a day, and what you wear is the one way to reach them. Every month, one drop. One short statement meant to inspire, challenge, or move whoever reads it. When it's gone, it's gone for good. Drop one is the motto that started it all: Turn Your What-Ifs Into Realities. Only 50 shirts exist. Dom breaks down why he waited three years, why he's taking a loss on the first drop, and what "impact over profit" actually means to him. 🔗 Shop drop one (early-access password: TRE): https://luminarythreads.shop 📷 LuminaryThreads on Instagram: @luminarythreadsmerch The Run Down by The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Behind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL
June 20 · 53 min
The Runner's Playbook on Knowing When to Quit a Workout, Optimizing What Actually Matters, and Surviving Summer Heat — With NIKE Pro Coach Alex Osberg
NEW MERCH OUT ON MONDAY: https://luminarythreads.shop Alex Ostberg doesn't waste your time—and this month's Rundown recap is proof. Dominic and Alex break down four newsletters that build on each other in ways that feel almost inevitable by the end: a framework for how elite programs fall apart, how coaches know when to pull the plug, and how summer heat can either wreck your confidence or become your secret weapon. The first piece, "Stop Optimizing Things That Shouldn't Exist," starts with a pattern Alex sees repeatedly when collegiate athletes go pro: the blank slate they've been waiting for becomes a trap. More practitioners, more supplements, more inputs—and performance drops. Someone has to own the whole system, not just be a piece in it. He calls it the difference between vertical and horizontal integration, and he believes coaches who act as master integrators (filtering what reaches the athlete) will always outperform those who don't. From there, Dominic and Alex get into "The Case for Quitting a Workout Early," a piece Alex traces back to his first day at the Bowerman Track Club, stopwatch in hand, with no script for when things went sideways. The final two newsletters take on summer heat as a pair. "The Heat Tax" lays out the physiology—why humidity is the real enemy; why the brain throttles the legs before the legs even know what's happening. "The Heat Adaptation Playbook" closes with the practical protocol: post-exercise sauna, effort-based training targets, and the mindset shift that turns miserable summer miles into a fall advantage. Same principles as the workout piece, Alex notes—protect the descent. Tap into the Rundown Recap 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. S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Behind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL
June 18 · 51 min
What It Takes to Run 1:45 in the 800: Niko Schultz on the Training, the Environment, and the Mindset That Got Him There
NEW MERCH OUT ON MONDAY: https://luminarythreads.shop From 1:54 and zero Division I offers to sixth at NCAAs in 1:45, Niko Schultz didn't sneak up on anybody, he just refused to stop showing up. This year, in his first campaign at Penn State, he finished sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and earned First-Team All-American honors. That arc doesn't happen by accident. Niko sits down with Dominic to unpack everything behind that leap: the decision to enter the transfer portal as a guy most coaches didn't want; the culture shock of arriving at Penn State and not winning a single training rep for three months straight; and what it felt like to be working server shifts after practice just to cover rent. Coach Ryan Foster's philosophy comes up early–-how he treats athletes like professionals; doesn’t micromanage the warm-up; and builds an environment where the training group does the coaching. The conversation goes well beyond the track. Niko is candid about what drove him to start posting: a stress fracture freshman year and a high school coach asking what he was worth outside of running. He sat through two years of getting roasted in the comments before anything clicked. Now he's building toward a million followers with the same intentionality he brings to dropping time on the track, and he sees the two pursuits as feeding each other. He also explains why he switched his international allegiance from the U.S. to Puerto Rico and what the road to the 2028 Olympics looks like from where he's standing. Tap into the Niko Schultz 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. S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Behind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL Instagram: @nikoschultzzz TikTok: @nikojschultz YouTube: Niko Schultz
June 16 · 59 min
From Losing Her Arm at 14 to Six Years of Success in the NCAA: Ashley Jones on Grief, Faith, Victim Mentality, and What Running Gave Her Back
Ashley Jones competed for six years in Division I distance running with one arm—and she insists that was never the point. If all running taught her was how to go faster in a race, she missed everything. Fresh off a trip marking ten years since the ATV accident that took her right arm at 14 (three months after losing her father), Ashley joins Dominic to discuss her farewell to college running. Across three programs in six years–from High Point's humble grind; to Tennessee's private jets; to a homecoming at Colorado–-she lived what she calls three different lives. She walks us through each chapter: the mistakes and identity-building at High Point; the leap of faith and breakout performances at Tennessee; and a final injury-riddled Colorado season she nearly walked away from over the winter before deciding to finish the race. Along the way she gets candid about the parts of her story most people never ask about: why she has never covered her arm or worn a prosthetic; what it costs to share the most vulnerable thing about yourself with strangers; why she stopped training on Sundays in one of the most competitive environments in sport; and why victim mentality, in her words, robs people of life and opportunity. She challenges an NCAA team culture fading toward semi-pro. She tells rising freshmen to build community fast and advocate for themselves. And she hints at what comes next: writing, speaking, an email list, and saying yes to crazy adventures—because running was the vessel, never the destination. Tap into the Ashley Jones 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. S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Behind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL Instagram: @ashley_carolinej
June 14 · 28 min
25 Miles a Week. Two Years of Training. 3:59 in the Mile. Carter Smith on the Fairy Tale Season Making Him Pennsylvania's Next Sub-4 Star
While his rivals stack hundred-mile months, senior Carter Smith has built one of the fastest high school seasons in America on simplicity, sleep, and a kick nobody saw coming. Fresh off the wildest stretch of his life—a 3:59.00 mile at the HOKA Festival of Miles; then a 1:48 win in the Brooks PR 800m days later in Seattle—Smith sits down with Dominic to explain how a kid from small-town Pennsylvania got here in barely two years of real training. Carter didn't run cross country until his junior year, when he won a state title after being told it was impossible. As a freshman, he was a 54-second quarter-miler while logging ten miles a week and staying up until 3 a.m. grinding Fortnite. By sophomore year, running twenty miles a week, he split 4:07 at New Balance—and the big schools came calling. Smith breaks down the training that defies convention: thirty-mile weeks; six 200s the Tuesday before his sub-four; bodyweight strength work; chicken-rice-and-broccoli dinners; and eight or nine hours of sleep—because what you do outside the running, he argues, matters most. He talks about chasing the Pennsylvania sub-four-mile lineage of Gary Martin and Drew Griffith. He gets into the 800m state record that is in his sights when he races Josh Hoey on July 9, and why anything short of aiming for Olympic goldisn't worth lacing up for. When talent works hard, he says, crazy things happen. This episode is the proof. Tap into the Carter Smith 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. S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Behind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL Carter’s Instagram: @carterj_smith
June 12 · 43 min
24 Hours. 133 Miles. One Treadmill. Ed Martin on the Text That Saved His Life, Running So Others Keep Going, and Why "I Got This" Are the Worst Words You Can Say
Edwin Martin didn't start running to become an ultra-athlete—he started because life had gotten so dark he almost didn't start anything again at all. At 21, Martin hit rock bottom. Consumed by a gambling addiction and drowning in purposelessness, he was on his bathroom floor, ready to end his life, when a text from a friend (just three words: I love you) pulled him back. That moment became the foundation for everything that followed. He has since lost two close friends to suicide, and the grief and guilt that came with those losses sharpened his mission—use running to make sure people know they are seen, loved, and not alone. In this episode, Edwin walks Dominic through the full arc: from a COVID-canceled marathon run on a trail; to a full-distance Ironman with a partially torn Achilles; to 30 consecutive half marathons in August 2024; to a 2:50 marathon finish in early 2025; and ultimately, Project 24:70–the 24-hour treadmill run covering 133 miles to honor the 70 lives lost to suicide in Charleston County. He also breaks down the Stoney 100 (403 laps around a track) and what the monotony of that format does to the mind. Beyond the miles, Edwin and Dominic dig into identity, faith, men's mental health, the danger of making sport your God, and why Edwin believes the three worst words anyone can say are: I got this. His platform is growing fast, and his answer for why is simple: he never built it for himself. Tap into the Ironsned 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. S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Behind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL Find Edwin on all platforms at @ironsned.
June 10 · 41 min
From 1:57 in the Tokyo Olympic 800m Final to 69:15 in the Half-Marathon: Alex Bell on Burnout, Reinvention, and Chasing the LA 2028 Marathon
She ran 1:57 in an Olympic final as an afterthought—then walked away, rebuilt everything, and came back faster. Alex Bell isn't just reinventing herself; she's finally becoming who she was supposed to be. In this conversation, Alex takes Dominic through one of British running's most unlikely second acts. She opens about the moment she crossed the finish line in Tokyo and knew (lying on her back; a million feelings at once) that she would never run 1:57 again. She talks honestly about the mental health toll of years spent as an unfunded elite, working police shifts and retail while competing at Diamond League level–and why she needed to step away from the sport entirely before she could fall back in love with it. Now, under coach Andrew Henderson at Leeds Beckett, she's averaging 85 miles a week (double what she ran at the peak of her 800m career) and her body has never felt better. She breaks down the training shift in real terms: double threshold days, long canal runs with 20-plus athletes on Sunday mornings, and the kind of joy she says she never once felt standing on a track start line. She describes pacing the 2026 TCS London Marathon, watching the world record fall from the inside, and coming home the next day to hand in her notice. The marathon debut is coming in February. LA 2028 is the dream. And she is, by her own admission, just getting started. Tap into the Alex Bell Special. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Instagram: @alexbell1992
June 8 · 39 min
From Selling T-Shirts at Motocross Tracks to a $100M Global Brand: Jason Daniel on Building LSKD, the 1% Better Mission, and Running a Sub-3 Marathon
Logan, Queensland, doesn't typically produce global empires. Jason Daniel didn't get that particular memo. The founder and CEO of LSKD built a self-funded, $400M global activewear brand from a BMX nickname, a carpenter's apprenticeship, and five years stuck at $3 million in annual revenue—and he did it without a single outside investor. What broke the plateau wasn't a strategy. It was books, a self-development course called Landmark Forum, and the birth of his son Hendrix six months before he scrapped everything and rebranded. In this conversation, Jason talks about what the plateau actually feels like from the inside—the canceled orders, the weeks he couldn't pay himself, the quiet question of whether he'd have to go back to the job site. He talks about why he trademarked "1% better every day," how a mission that started as an internal team value became the spine of a 700-person company operating across three countries, and what it actually takes to scale a culture without hollowing it out. He also gets into his own running journey: from a sub-1:30 half marathon that nearly broke him, to chasing a sub-three-hour full—and why he believes the grind of distance running and the grind of building a brand are teaching him the same thing. Some brands sell a lifestyle. LSKD built one first. Tap into the Jason Daniel Special. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Instagram: @jasondaniel_ Website: lskd.co
June 5 · 33 min
How Sharon Lokedi Won Two Straight Boston Marathons: The 130-Mile Weeks Mileage, the Visualization, and Inside the Doubt She Fights Before Every Race
She grew up running miles to school through the hills of Burnt Forest, Kenya—and now she owns the streets of Boston. Sharon Lokedi, two-time Boston Marathon champion and one of the most quietly dominant forces in the sport, joins the show for a wide-open conversation about what it actually takes to run 2:17 twice, back-to-back, on the most unforgiving major marathon course in the world. Sharon doesn't carry herself like someone who knows she's going to win. She carries herself like someone who has decided, at the start line, to simply see what happens. That mindset—grounded, process-driven, almost stubbornly present—runs through everything she shared in this episode. She talks about how Heartbreak Hill still hurts every single year; why the pre-race pressure has only grown harder to manage with each title; and how she leans on meditation, music, and the psychology of staying present to quiet the voice in her head that tells her she isn't ready. She opened up about the real weight of elite marathon training—the 120-to-130-mile peak weeks; the relentless repetition; the sacrifice of ordinary life—and what it feels like to pour three months of work into two hours on race day, not knowing if it will land. She reflects on Paris 2024, finishing fourth by four seconds, and what that near-miss lit inside her. And she talks about where she's headed next: a different major marathon on the horizon, and an Olympic medal that remains the one thing still unchecked. Tap into the Sharon Lokedi 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 the friend who you think will benefit from it. SHOW NOTES The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run The Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Behind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@Dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL Instagram: @shazrine
June 3 · 40 min
Exclusive: Simeon Birnbaum On Going for the NCAA 1500/5K Double Title: Inside the Marco Langon Beef, the 3:31 Record Training, and Why He's Next Up
Simeon Birnbaum, the NCAA 1500m record holder, is heading into NCAAs hungry, healthy, and ready to hurt people. Dominic sits down with the Oregon junior days before the outdoor National Championships, where Birnbaum is eyeing a 1500m/5000m double on his home track in Eugene. The guys cover the full arc of his breakthrough season: from the December 3000m that broke Edward Cheserek's Oregon school record; to the Big Ten indoor sweep; to a 3:31.69 at the Oregon Team Invitational that rewrote the collegiate record book by over a full second. Simeon breaks down the workout that tipped off head coach Jerry Schumacher that something special was coming; why he still refuses to train in super shoes; and what it felt like to watch the DMR fall apart at indoor nationals before channeling that fury into a runner-up finish in the 3000m the following day. The conversation gets into the strategic chess match of championship 1500m racing; the physical toll of the 1500/5000m double at regionals in brutal humidity; and what it means to finally arrive on the national stage as the favorite rather than the chaser. Simeon also reflects on the Penn Relays DMR redemption, his rivalry with Diadora teammate Marco Langon, and a 1:44 800m PR he ran more or less for fun. With NCAAs at Hayward Field, he's not hiding the goal: walk away with two titles in front of the home crowd. Tap into the Simeon Birnbaum 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. S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Behind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL
June 2 · 38 min
Brian Burns on Chasing 3:57 at Festival of Miles: the Training Behind the Breakthrough, the Nerves of One Final High School Mile, and a Shot at History
The clock has beaten Brian Burns twice. June 4th at the HOKA Festival of Miles, he plans to return the favor. Burns, a senior at Bentonville High School and committed to UNC Chapel Hill, joins the show eight days out from Festival of Miles—fresh off a ladder workout that confirmed what his coaches have been telling him all spring: he is in 3:57 shape. The gap between where he is and where he needs to be is not fitness, it's a finish line. The episode traces the full arc of how Burns got here. Growing up in Missouri, watching his older brother Connor run 3:50 at Festival of Miles as a junior. A DNF at the Midwest XC regionals that humbled him and quietly redirected him. The mid-year transfer to Bentonville and what it meant to walk into a program run by Coach Mike Power, a former Olympian who has since become one of his most important influences alongside his father, Marc, who coaches the University of Arkansas women's cross country program. Underneath all of it runs one goal: becoming the first pair of brothers in high school history to both break four minutes in the mile. Connor did it in 2023 at this exact meet. Brian was there. He watched their dad sprint toward the finish line and followed without really knowing why. This time, he knows exactly why. Last year at the Festival, Burns finished last in 4:10. This year, things feel different. Tap into the Brian Burns 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. S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Instagram: @brianburnsy_
May 31 · 36 min
Inside the Training of a High Schooler Chasing 1:47 in the 800: The Unconventional System of No Speed Work, High Mileage, and a Shot at History At Festival of Miles
Austin Plewe ran a 1:49 at altitude and never trained faster than two-mile pace to do it. The American Fork senior joins the show ahead of his Festival of Miles 800m debut to explain exactly how that's possible—and why his roughest year ended up being the thing that made him. Plewe is a product of one of the most consistent programs in the country. Coach Timo Mostert has been running the same aerobic-first philosophy at American Fork for over two decades, and it has produced Clayton Young, Danny Simmons, Casey Klinger, and now Plewe. No 800-specific sessions. No reps faster than mile pace. The speed is just there, evidenced by a sub-49 400 leg he threw down at the state 4x400 a few weeks ago. What makes this conversation worth listening to is how honest Plewe is about what it cost him to get here. His senior cross-country season came apart at the seams—a stress fracture, an emergency appendectomy two weeks before statemeet, then an illness before NXR. He didn't have one good race all fall. What got him through was perspective, teammates, and a faith that the other side of that stretch had something better waiting. It did, in the form of a Simplot Games title, a US number-one ranking in the 800, and a fifth straight Arcadia 4x1600 title for the Cavemen. Now he's in St. Louis targeting 1:47, maybe 1:46—and he's already got a post-race alligator po'boy locked in if it goes his way. Tap into the Austin Plewe 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. S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Instagram: @austin_plewe
May 29 · 1 hr 18 min
From 7 Years of Chronic Illness to a Half Marathon in 14 Months: Josh Blatchford on Bioenergetics, Predicting Injuries Before They Happen, and the Science That Saved His Life
Josh Blatchford couldn’t stand long enough to brush his teeth—and he was a personal trainer. After years of chronic illness nobody could diagnose, Josh hit rock bottom in 2020. He was bedridden, losing function on the left side of his body, and spending $30,000 a year on care that kept symptoms at bay for maybe six months before they came back harder. He had a two-year-old daughter he couldn’t lift. His mother-in-law found something called bioenergetic testing on a Facebook forum. Fourteen months after his first round of remedies, Josh ran the Columbus Half Marathon. He signed up to prove to himself he’d actually healed. He didn’t let himself believe it until he turned the corner toward the finish line. Now Josh is the founder and CEO of Attuned, the company he built around the technology that gave him his life back. On this episode, recorded in person in Columbus, Josh and Dominic get into how bioenergetic scanning works (hair and saliva samples; 60-plus years of science; and why it can flag a stress fracture weeks before symptoms appear), what separates the Endurance Scan from wearable data, how Dominic’s own scan caught his adrenal issues and flagged his achilles before he mentioned either, and why Josh won’t recommend a blanket supplement stack to anyone—even after taking 52 a day at his sickest. One of the most honest and unusual founder stories to come through the TRE universe. Tap into the Josh Blatchford Special. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Behind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL Instagram: @joshuablatch Website: attuned.health
May 27 · 1 hr 12 min
Why Running Slower And Doing Less Will Make You Faster: Mario Fraioli On 22 Years Of Coaching Lessons, The B+ Workout Rule, And The Insecure Overachiever Trap
Mario Fraioli has coached hundreds of athletes and written over half a million words about running—and his most important lesson is to do less. He is the founder of The Morning Shakeout, a weekly newsletter read by tens of thousands of runners since 2015, a longtime running coach, and a Masters competitor still toeing the line himself with a 4:09 mile to his name. Two days after the 2026 Boston Marathon, Mario sat down with Dominic to break down what he witnessed, what the sport is getting wrong, and what keeps him coming back every single year. In this conversation, Mario makes the case for his "Go One Less" philosophy and why the athletes most motivated to push are the ones most likely to break—a lesson he learned the hard way through stress fractures and disordered eating. He shares what it was like training alongside some of the best runners in the country and being stunned by how slow their easy days were. And he talks about what curiosity (not ambition) has driven everything he's built, from his first newsletter issue sent to 200 people to the coaching business he never planned to have. Take the pursuit seriously. Don't take yourself too seriously. And just get started. Tap into the Mario Fraioli 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. S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Instagram: @mariofraioli The Morning Shakeout Newsletter: https://themorningshakeout.substack.com/ Website: https://mariofraioli.com/
May 25 · 32 min
From the Shadows to HOKA Festival of Miles: Chiara Dailey on Being Overlooked, Training Like A Pro, and Chasing a Sub-4:30 Mile In High School
Braelyn Combe listed five girls she expected to contend with at Festival of Miles. Chiara Dailey's name wasn't one of them. That detail sits right at the center of this conversation: not as a grudge, but as fuel. Chiara has been one of the best prep distance runners in the country for four straight years: three consecutive California state cross country titles, a sub-4:40 mile PR, four straight national qualifications. She'll be the first to tell you she hasn't had that race yet. The one that changes the conversation. June 4th is where she's been pointing all spring. This episode goes inside what that actually looks like. She talks about working this season with Eric Avila (a former professional runner and longtime family friend) who shifted the texture of her training: more threshold, consistent lifting,a real focus on form she'd quietly been embarrassed about for three years. She describes her hardest workout of the spring, why she doesn't learn her sessions until after her warmup, and how she's been training her kick at every smaller meet in the postseason—going out in 32 and closing in 31. She also goes deep on what winning actually means to her. Her moonshot goal for FOM is sub-4:30 (nine seconds faster than her current PR) and she explains, calmly and without hesitation, why she'd rather win in 4:40 than run 4:29 and finish second. She signs off with a direct message to Braelyn: "I'll see you in Fresno and I'll see you in St. Louis." She's been around. She's done being overlooked. Tap into the Chiara Dailey Special. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Behind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL Instagram: @chiaradailey
May 23 · 1 hr
From the Soft-Surface Myth to the Sub-2 Marathon: Nike Coach Alex Osberg on Training Science, Injury Comebacks, and The Secrets Of Elite Fueling From A Sub-2 Marathon
-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs The myths runners live by are surprisingly hard to kill. Alex Ostberg is back with Dominic to dismantle four more of them. First up: the soft surface myth. Alex explains how the brain anticipates soft terrain and stiffens the legs before foot strike, largely canceling out whatever cushioning the ground provides. The real injury variable isn't surface, it's pace. Slowing from a 7:40 to a 10:44 mile can cut tibial stress injury risk by over 50%. Variability across surfaces beats avoidance of any one of them. From there, the conversation moves into the "8 Questions" edition and a broader critique of optimization culture. Only about 10 to 15 percent of runners, Alex argues, should even be thinking about supplements, sleep protocols, or anabolic windows. The rest need to nail the basics first. The injury comeback piece brings the most personal material. Alex draws on his own two-year loop of reinjury at Stanford and UNC to argue that healing and readiness are not the same thing. Pain-free is a starting point, not a finish line. Two rules stand above the rest: invest fully in the protection phase, and pass a stimulus twice before progressing it. The episode closes on London 2026 and the fueling science behind the first sub-two. Sawe averaged 115 grams of carbohydrate per hour—a number that would have been considered reckless a decade ago. Alex breaks down the carbolution (dual-source transport, hydrogel delivery, gut training) and asks the question the finish line footage raised: have we eliminated the bonk? Tap into the Alex Ostberg Rundown Recap Special. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz
May 21 · 1 hr 1 min
From Walking Away From Pro Running in 2018 to the Fastest American EVER at Boston: Jess McClain on the Greatest Comeback in American Marathon History
Jess McClain went from anonymous to American course record holder in about two years. She'll tell you that it’s not actually that simple. The 2024 Olympic Trials were the moment the running world met Jess when she finished fourth in Orlando, out of nowhere—or so the story went. In this episode, she explains what that looked like from the inside: going in without expectations, with her husband Connor by her side, determined to be the person at the start line who was having the most fun. She'd been running at a high level since she was 12; the crowd just hadn't been paying attention. What followed (a Brooks contract renegotiated entirely without an agent; a 2:20:49 at Boston; a fifth-place finish with enough left in the tank to run down the woman in front of her on Boylston) was the product of four years of uninterrupted health, a weekly appointment with a bodywork therapist named George, and a training partnership with coach David Roche built on collaboration and gear-change work. She describes going from 5:18 pace to 4:56 at mile 16 of a long run like it's the most natural thing in the world. She also gets honest about what the early pro years actually cost her—financially, physically, and mentally—and why being able to support herself outside of running completely changed her relationship to racing. Eat enough, occasionally eat too much, but never eat too little—that's the philosophy. She's running the best marathons of her life on it. Two years out from LA and she's not rushing anything. Tap into the Jess McClain Special. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Instagram: @jesstonn
May 19 · 59 min
From 4:18 To 3:59 In The Mile: How Riley Witt Built Bicarb 3.0 From His Dorm, The Talent Myth, And Why If You're Not Willing To Spend $2,000 On Your Running, You're Not Serious
Website: ⁠bicarb.shop Riley Witt doesn't think you need talent to break four minutes in the mile—he just thinks you need to want it bad enough to spend $35. The Northwest Missouri State senior came on to break down the philosophy behind that take, and what followed was one of the more honest conversations about athletic ambition, economic reality, and the compounding edge of doing everything right. Witt grew up in a class of 36 students in Osage, Iowa, ran a 4:40 mile his freshman year of high school, and genuinely believed that was fast. He didn't have the training partners, the competition, or the context to know otherwise. What he had was an Exercise Science background, an obsessive attention to marginal gains, and a willingness to do things differently. That's where Bicarb comes in. Witt launched Bicarb 3.0 out of necessity (he wanted a sodium bicarbonate product that actually worked without the GI catastrophe), and built it into a business from his dorm room after going from a 4:11 mile to a 4:03 in two weeks on his first homebrew version. He walks Dominic through the science of how bicarbonate buffers hydrogen ions at the cellular level, why the longer distances are starting to adopt it, and what his proprietary kinetic gradient matrix technology does differently than anything else on the market. Underneath all of it is a runner who just ran 1:48 at the MIAA Outdoor Championships, holds a 4.0 GPA, and has one box left to check: a Division II national title. He's currently ranked second in the country in the 800m. The clock is ticking. Tap into the Riley Witt Special. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Instagram: @riwitt03 Website: bicarb.shop
May 17 · 54 min
From Three Jobs and Minnesota Winters to 306 Miles & 73 Loops at BPN: Mark Dowdle on Winning G1M Ultra, the 2 AM Decision, and the Voice That Got Him Through
Mark Dowdle ran 306.6 miles in 73 hours, drove 20 hours home, picked up a puppy, and was back umpiring youth baseball the next week. That's either the most unhinged post-race recovery plan in endurance sports history, or it's the most honest thing anyone's said about who he actually is. This is the conversation Dominic was saving for after the race—and it delivered on the hype. Mark walks through the G1M Ultra from the inside: the moment on the first night at 2 or 3 a.m. where he made the irreversible decision not to quit; the loop where he noticed Kim and Harvey were off their timing and knew what was coming; and the final miles walking with Kendall as both men quietly sensed the race was ending. The 13-second lap finish wasn't a dramatic sprint—it was two men who'd been through three days of mud and rain and dark deciding, together, to keep going one more time. What makes this conversation different from a typical winner's debrief is what Mark keeps returning to: the idea that who you are at a youth baseball game is exactly who you are at mile 290. His sister-in-law Lily's voice was in his earbuds pulling him through the low loops. The internal battle between wanting the race to end and wanting to see how far two people can actually go together. And the realization, standing upright after 73 hours, that he didn't have to perform for anyone. He also quietly drops that he's now officially a BPN athlete. The chapter he'd title What It Looks Like to Walk in Faith is just getting started. Tap into the Mark Dowdle Special. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz Instagram: @mark.dowdle