THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Jonny Davies ran 119 miles on a Texas ranch, vomited up half a bottle of water, and still had to be talked out of going back for one more lap.Fresh off his second BPN Go One More Last Man Standing Ultra (and 17 more miles than the year before), Jonny sits down with Dominic to unpack what really happens when the race strips everything away.He gets into the brutal physics of surviving Texas heat at 105°F as a 6'4", 220 pound guy from the UK, the moment his crew drew the red line and pulled him from the race, and the stat that stopped him cold before his first G1M: 80% of people who quit a backyard ultra quit in the chair, not on the course. He wasn't going to be one of them.But this conversation moves well beyond race day. Jonny traces the philosophy that carried him through a devastating breakup right after Run the Capitals—his 596 mile, 11-day run through every UK and Ireland capital—and explains how the same stubbornness that kept him moving on broken feet is the thing he now leans on in ordinary life. His dad's voice from the rugby pitch cuts through every dark moment: you can't play rugby on the floor. His work with CALM, the UK suicide prevention charity, gives everything else its weight. And when Dominic asks who he's trying to become, Jonny's answer is disarmingly simple: just better than yesterday, every day, no destination required.Tap into the Jonny Davies 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/3ua62ffzINSTAGRAM: @jonnyrdavies TikTok: @jdrunsfar 

He ran 3:58 off early-season training, and he's not done yet.Jackson Spencer sat down with Dominic just days after becoming one of roughly 32 high schoolers in American history to break four minutes in the mile, and the conversation is exactly what you'd hope from a kid with this kind of season: honest, grounded, and full of detail that never shows up in a results column.He walks through Arcadia blow by blow—targeting sub-8:30, counting splits through the mile, then letting the race take over—only to flash back to Brooks XC in the final 100 meters when Marcelo Mantecon nearly caught him again. He talks about what running a national-record 8:31 off early-season fitness means for the eight weeks still ahead, and why Coach Soles has to hype him up before races because Jackson keeps trying to stay humble.The upcoming HOKA Festival of Miles gets its own chapter: Jackson and Quentin Nauman are both confirmed, and Jackson has one request going in: a 1:57 first 800m. He thinks sub-3:54 and a shot at Alan Webb's high school record are possible if the pacing is honest, and he's willing to commit to that on record.He also gets into the daily doubles, the beet root powder ritual on race day, averaging 60 miles per week through track season, and what staying consistent has done for him beyond the times—including what he actually wants to be remembered for when this is all over.Tap into the Jackson Spencer 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/3ua62ffzInstagram: @jackson.spencer207

Vinny Mauri was working the floor at a running shoe store in Ohio. Then he ran 2:05:54 and became the fastest American marathon debutant in history.Nobody was watching. That's not hyperbole.  While the running world was fixated on Sabastian Sawe's sub-two-hour performance in London, a 25-year-old from Warren, Ohio quietly dismantled the record books at the Glass City Marathon in Toledo—running solo, without a sponsor, without a pacer, and without anyone outside his circle knowing what was coming. Vinny Mauri's 2:05:54 didn't just break Ryan Hall's American debut record of 2:08:24. It shattered it by nearly three minutes.Dominic sat down with Vinny just two days after the race; before the contracts, before the headlines fully caught up, before the moment had time to calcify into legend. What you get is the raw version: how Vinny built this alone in Ohio, grinding 5:40 and 5:50 pace every day, ripping 20- and 22-mile long runs at five-minute pace with no team, no coach, and no fanfare. A former Arizona State and Notre Dame runner with a 13:34 5K under his belt and a moderately successful collegiate résumé, Vinny never announced himself as a marathon talent. He just trained, showed up in Toledo, won by fifteen minutes, and then talked about what comes next.This is the conversation that happens before everything changes. Share it with one person who needs to believe in what's still possible.Tap into the Vinny Mauri 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

Charles Hicks ran 2:04:35 at Boston in his second marathon. His coach was watching from Eugene, trying not to lose his mind. Alex Ostberg and Charles Hicks were Stanford teammates for exactly one year: Ostberg a fifth-year senior, Hicks a freshman who wasn't even first on the depth chart in his incoming class. Five years later, they're coach and athlete inside Nike's Swoosh Track Club, and they just executed one of the most stunning American marathon performances in history.In this conversation, they pull back the curtain on the full arc: the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler that first convinced Jerry Schumacher the marathon was Charles's calling; the abbreviated eight-week build into New York that exceeded everyone's expectations; and the 16-week Boston block where Charles never dipped below 105 miles in a single week. They talk about what it actually means to train under Schumacher—workouts revealed 10 minutes before, plans built in two-week cycles, and a phone call every night at 9:30 PM—and why Ostberg's role is less about designing sessions and more about being a steady hand when the experiencing self and the remembering self stop agreeing. Charles also explains the text he sent Ostberg after a disappointing half marathon in Atlanta that became the quiet thesis of the entire Boston build: I will navigate my failure points more effectively than my competition. Affirm the past. Appreciate the present. Inject ambition into the future.Tap into the Charles Hicks and Alex Ostberg 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/3ua62ffzInstagram: _charleshicks

He won Olympic gold in 2016, more with his brain, not his legs—and the running world never forgot it. Matthew Centrowitz Jr., the only American man to win Olympic 1,500m gold since Mel Sheppard in 1908, sits down with The Running Effect for a wide-open conversation about what it took to become the most decorated American miler of his generation.From his 2011 NCAA title at Oregon to three World Championship medals, five national outdoor crowns, and that unforgettable Rio final—Centro built a decade-long résumé that no American middle-distance runner has touched. His 3:30.40 PR at Monaco still stands as the benchmark. His tactical IQ was something no training plan could manufacture.This is a conversation about how you build a career like that—the coaching systems, the rivals, the near-misses, and the one race that made it all permanent. From Alberto Salazar's Oregon Project to the Bowerman Track Club under Jerry Schumacher, Centro navigated the highest-pressure environments in American distance running and came out the other side with gold.We want to know what it actually felt like to sit in a field of the world's best 1,500m runners and know—before the bell—that you had already won. And how a decade of that kind of focus shapes a man long after the spikes come off.The legend of Centro, here at The Running Effect.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. If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend!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