The CITIUS MAG Podcast | A Running + Track and Field Show

“No one's going to hustle or care as much as you do, and no one's going to understand you as well as you do. Being able to present the best picture in front of a brand and understand what they value has been really rewarding."

My guest for today's episode is a good friend of CITIUS MAG and one of the most thoughtful, transparent, and compelling figures in American marathoning. I'm talking about Clayton Young. He joins us with some major news ahead of the spring marathon season. After seven years with ASICS, Clayton is officially entering a new chapter as a Brooks athlete heading into the 2026 Boston Marathon.

This wasn't some quick, easy switch; this was months of conversations, lab testing, contract negotiations, and one of the biggest decisions of his professional career. He did it all while representing himself while coming back from a serious ankle injury and trying to get ready for Boston on a compressed build.

If you've listened to his previous appearances on this show, you know that Clayton is absolutely no stranger to betting on himself in every possible way as an athlete, as his own agent, as a creator, and as someone still chasing the biggest goals of his career.

He talks about why Brooks felt right, what he learned through the self-representation process, and how performance remains the center of every decision that he makes. We also get into the injury that derailed nearly five months of training, the breakthrough that got him running pain-free again, and how he's approaching Boston with a mix of curiosity, realism, and the same competitive fire that made him one of the top American marathoners in the world. He's still pushing forward even when things aren't necessarily going according to plan.

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Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez

Guest: Clayton Young | @_clayton_young_

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr

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SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

OLIPOP: Olipop’s Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠

XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

⁠The World Athletics Indoor Championships descend on Toruń, Poland this weekend. Here’s your event-by-event preview via Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia.

- Men’s 60m: Defending champion Jeremiah Azu faces the deepest field in recent memory, led by American Jordan Anthony (world list leader, 6.43) and Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson (6.46).

- Women’s 60m: Julien Alfred vs. Zaynab Dosso, both at 6.99 and both in career form. Alfred seeks history as a two-time world indoor champion; Dosso has silver and bronze but never gold.

- Men’s 60m hurdles: A three-way tie at 7.37 between Poland’s unbeaten home favorite Jakub Szymański and Americans Dylan Beard and Trey Cunningham, with three-time defending champion Grant Holloway absent for the first time in years.

- Women’s 60m hurdles: Devynne Charlton can become the first woman to win three consecutive world indoor titles in the event, having won in Glasgow and Nanjing. Swiss world champion Ditaji Kambundji has been just 0.01 behind her twice this season.

- Men’s 400m: Two of the three fastest short-track 400m runners ever, Khaleb McRae (world record pending, 44.52) and Christopher Morales Williams (44.49 all-time best, unratified), meet in a new split-final format using only lanes 3 to 6.

- Women’s 400m: Several top seeds are absent, opening the door wide for Norway’s Henriette Jæger and the Netherlands’ Lieke Klaver, who beat Jæger at last year’s European Indoors.

- Men’s 800m: Belgium’s Eliott Crestan enters as the top seed chasing history, but American teenager Cooper Lutkenhaus, just 17, set a world U20 short-track record of 1:44.03 last month and could become the youngest men’s 800m medalist in World Indoor Championships history.

- Women’s 800m: Keely Hodgkinson is the story of the meet. The British Olympic champion broke a 24-year-old world record last month, running 1:54.87 on the very day she was born. Three injuries have kept her from the World Indoors. She finally arrives healthy and dangerous.

- Men’s 1500m: World champion Isaac Nader looks to finally convert after two consecutive fourth-place finishes, chasing Portugal’s first title here since 2001. Dutch 800m specialist Sam Chapple brings a dangerous finishing kick.

- Women’s 1500m: Georgia Hunter Bell leads a deep field stacked against Ethiopia’s three-athlete squad, with Nikki Hiltz’s big kick a wildcard in the final lap.

- Men’s 3000m: The entire Paris Olympic 1500m podium, Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr, and Yared Nuguse, races together, making this arguably the meet’s marquee event.

- Women’s 3000m: Freweyni Hailu is chasing a third straight world indoor distance title, representing a broader Ethiopian dynasty that has won 10 of the last 12 world indoor 3000m crowns.

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Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | @preet_athletics

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

____________

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

OLIPOP: Olipop’s Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠

XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. ⁠⁠Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber unpack all of the action from this weekend.

We’re talking about a nineteen-year-old freshman from BYU who just walked into the NCAA Indoor Championships and dismantled the field in not one but two distance events. A triple crown is complete for Habtom Samuel. A DQ controversy that had coaches filing protests and athletes biting their tongues. Sprint performances so fast they’re rewriting the record books — again. And a 28-year-old Ethiopian woman who showed up to her first-ever marathon and basically said, ‘yeah, this is fine, I’ll take second all-time.’

Oh, and New York City threw the biggest half marathon in American history, and we somehow need to talk about Grant Fisher’s debut...which, depending on who you ask, was either a totally reasonable first step or terrible.

In this week’s episode:

– Intro & headlines

– Habtom Samuel’s triple crown is complete: men’s 5,000m

– DQ controversy: men’s 3,000m

– Jane Hedengren makes history: 3K & 5K double

– Carter Cutting seizes the moment: men’s mile

– Back-to-back for Wilma Nielsen: women’s mile

– Chepngetich’s redemption arc & Arkansas 1-2

– Record night in the sprints: three collegiate records fall

– Fotyen Tesfay: second-fastest women’s marathon ever, on debut

– NYC Half recap

– Grant Fisher’s NYC Half debut: hot takes and cooler heads

– The Adeajah Hodge doping suspension explained

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Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Kyle Merber | ⁠⁠⁠@kylemerber⁠⁠⁠

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

____________

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

OLIPOP: Olipop’s Tropical Punch tastes like a vacation in a can. It has the perfect balance of pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin, and apple. You get that nostalgic fruit punch flavor, but way more crisp and way more refreshing. Every can contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about! Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

XENDURANCE: When you finish a hard workout, the work isn't actually done. That's when recovery starts. Xendurance Protein is designed specifically to help your body recover, rebuild, and get stronger after training. It combines four different types of protein, so your body gets both fast absorbing protein for immediate recovery and slower release protein to support muscle repair over time. Check it out at Xendurance.com and use code CITIUS for 25% off your first order.

This week, Chris Chavez, Mac Fleet, and Kyle Merber break down the biggest highlights from the LA Marathon, Jacob Kiplimo’s new half marathon world record, Fred Kerley’s suspension, the most anticipated events at the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend, and lots more.

Discussed in today’s episode: 

- Nathan Martin closed out a heroic final sprint and big negative split to win the LA Marathon in 2:11:18, just 0.18 seconds ahead of runner-up Michael Kamau. He split 66:18-65:00 to reel in Kamau. 

- Jacob Kiplimo returned to the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon (the same course where he first made history in 2021) and broke the half marathon world record again with a 57:20 victory. He took 10 seconds off the previous record held by Yomif Kejelcha (57:30).

- The AIU announced 2x Olympic medalist and 2022 World champion Fred Kerley received a two-year ban for whereabouts failures, sidelining him through August 2027. Results from Dec. 6, 2024 – Aug. 12, 2025 have been disqualified.

- The most anticipated distance events at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend.

+ More 

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Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Mac Fleet | @macfleet + Kyle Merber | ⁠⁠@kylemerber⁠⁠

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

____________

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop’s Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop’s flavors ⁠⁠⁠⁠at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.

“I’ve gone into this year with less pressure on myself and have not been afraid to put myself in a vulnerable situation. I’m not afraid to lose anymore and I’m not scared to put myself in a situation to lose. I don’t mind getting to the front of the race and pushing it or trying to control it so that it suits my needs a bit better than other people’s. That’s been the biggest change this year.”

My guest for today's episode is Gracie Morris. If you watch the final 100 meters of the USATF Indoor Championships 1500m final, you know exactly why she's here. With 100 meters to go, Gracie was sitting in 4th place. A World Indoor team spot looked just out of reach, but when that inside rail opened up on the final turn, she didn't hesitate.

She surged through on the inside, closed in 14.3 seconds for her final 100 meters, and crossed the finish line in 4:11 to claim second place and her first World Championships berth on the track. Nikki Hiltz won yet another U.S. title, so that's your team for this month's World Championships.

What makes Gracie Morris's rise even more impressive is her trajectory. At TCU, she qualified for NCAAs twice but never made a final. Fast forward a year and she's a member of Puma Elite and has transformed into a dangerous miler in the United States. In 2025 alone, she won the Sir Walter Mile and the Fifth Avenue Mile. She also claimed the U.S. 2K cross country title and dropped her 1500m personal best from 4:08 to 4:04. This year, she's already run 4:02.

In this conversation, we talk about that decisive final lap, the lessons she's learned about racing instincts, and the steady belief that got her through years of injuries in high school and college.

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Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez

Guest: Gracie Morris | @ggraciemorris

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr

____________

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

OLIPOP: A blast from the past, Olipop’s Shirley Temple combines smooth vanilla flavor with bright lemon and lime, finished with cherry juice for that nostalgic grenadine-like flavor. One sip of this timeless soda proves some flavors never grow old. Try Shirley Temple and more of Olipop’s flavors at DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.