3:58 Mile. 8:31 3200m National Record. Two Cross Country National Titles. Jackson Spencer on the Senior Year That Made Him the Fastest Distance Runner In Recent History & The Training Behind It

About this episode

Jackson Spencer discusses his remarkable senior year as a distance runner, including breaking the four-minute mile and setting a national record in the 3200m.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Dominic Schlueter

Guest: Jackson Spencer

Topics covered

• high school running
• national records
• training techniques
• race strategy
• athlete mindset

Keywords

• 3:58 mile
• 8:31 3200m
• national record
• high school running
• training
• race strategy
• Jackson Spencer

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: HOKA, Coach Soles

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