Running Things

Tim Rossi talks with Jess Hull before she runs the 1500m at the Lilac Grand Prix.

With a healed leg and a new indoor 400 PR, Donavan Brazier is healthy and ready to defend his World 800m title in 2022. But first, he takes on the 600 at the Lilac Grand Prix. By the way, his 1:13.77 PR happens to be the Indoor World Record. How fast will this race go? Tune in Friday from 12.50pm PST.

The Lilac Grand Prix happens February 11 in Spokane, Washington. Tempo host Tim Rossi talks to Tracklandia chief intern Jeff Merrill about the inspiration for creating a world-class indoor meet, an athlete-centric approach, the grand prix’s innovative revenue sharing program, creating a custom pay-per-view platform and new horizons for the format. Most importantly, they cover how Jeff uses storytelling to create a new way to communicate his bone-deep passion for running.

This episode guest host Sean Whipp crosses to Boulder, Colorado and catches up with On Athletic Club's Ollie Hoare.

This week on the show Riley speaks to Sydney based ultrarunner Michaela McDonald, ahead of this week’s ‘Coast 2 Kosci’ – a 240km ultramarathon finishing at Mt Kosciuzsko.

We’re rolling out a massive summer preview today on Running Things with one of the finest athletics minds in Australia: Sean Whipp. Sean joins us to run through all the must-see events on the calendar over the next couple of months – there’s a stack of events in Australia and a few notable races overseas.

In an absolute treat for the show, we have legitimate superstar of Australian athletics Stewy McSweyn joining us this week. Stewy is coming to us from his hotel quarantine in Brisbane, where he has had a chance to (finally) reflect on an incredible season in Europe – a season where he broke the long held Australian 1500m record in the Doha Diamond League (his first Diamond League win). Stewy also broke the Aussie record in the 3,000m, to go with his 10,000m national record from December 2019. The biggest takeaway for Stewy from this season was confidence that he can compete on the world stage, and the knowledge that he has made another significant improvement from where he was in 2019 – and he says that’s the key for 2021 as well, to find another 10% improvement in his development. Stewy also says he doesn’t necessarily have a preferred distance to race – his preference is whatever he’s doing best in – something that changes throughout the season. He credits his Melbourne Track Club team for helping him develop that range from the 1,500m to the 10,000m – the squad has talented athletes at all distances, meaning Stewy can always be pushed and tested in training. Finally, we get a bit of a look into Stewy’s plans for the summer – including potentially opening up his season at the Christmas Carnivals in Tasmania.

Jess Hull joins the show from hotel quarantine in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. Jess is fresh back in Australia after an incredible 2020 season that saw her break three national records – she now holds the 1500m, 3000m, and 5000m national records at the age of just 23.

On this episode, Riley chats with sprint phenom Sha’Carri Richardson. Sha’Carri made world headlines in June 2019 when she ran a 10.75 100m as a freshman at LSU, smashing the collegiate record and paving the way for her to turn professional shortly after. Riley speaks with Sha’Carri about her transition from college into the pros, and the higher stakes involved with being a professional athlete in a professional training environment. Sha’Carri talks about the Olympics postponement to 2021 and how that might benefit her as a new professional - another year in the system and another year with her new coach, Dennis Mitchell. Riley also asks Sha’Carri about her source of energy – she’s known for her high intensity in practices and has a contagious exuberance.

This episode is a special London Marathon edition brought to you by Nike Running featuring Australian stars Brett Robinson and Sinéad Diver.

This week we're joined on the show by 400m hurdler and US Olympic gold medallist and world record holder, Dalilah Muhammad. Checking in from LA, Dalilah talks about her rise from unheralded collegiate athlete to becoming a professional, and ultimately becoming the greatest 400m hurdler in the world. After a long 2019 in which Dalilah set the WR in July, and then broke it in October, Dalilah has enjoyed a lower intensity season in 2020 and is using the year to refresh herself for the 2021 season. Of note, Dalilah talks about her first WR in July 2019 - about blocking people out so she could focus in the days leading up to the race, and about the plan her coach gave her. Going for a WR in a selection race for the World Championships is risky – but that's what makes champions different. Dalilah also talks about her professional relationship with 800m star Donavan Brazier. Away from the track, Dalilah shares how she spends her downtime – including watching a lot of track, eating popcorn, and immersing herself in fashion.

We start episode two briefly discussing the upcoming London Marathon and looking at the main contenders – and also wondering why Mo Farah being a pacer is getting so much airtime. We have another big name guest on Running Things as Riley interviews 2016 Rio Olympian and Bowerman Track Club member Marielle Hall. Marielle talks about how she took decisive action in the 10,000m world championships in Doha, choosing to be an active participant in her fortunes rather than letting the race happen around her. She also talks about a possible foray into marathoning in the future, although acknowledges the grind of solo training for a marathon. We also get to hear about the realities of training in a group like Bowerman, and managing the complex duality of camaraderie and competitiveness. Marielle also offers great insight into the process of writing her guest column in Runner’s World and discusses the reaction from her teammates and the running public. Finally, Riley announces next week’s guest on the show, trail athlete David Laney.