In this episode, we chat with Alistair Cragg, coach of the highly successful Puma Elite Running team based in the Research Triangle of North Carolina. Cragg was a 3-time Irish Olympian with a lifetime best of 13:03 for 5000 meters. His wife and co-coach, Amy Hastings Cragg, represented the U.S. in the 2016 Olympic Marathon after winning the Olympic Marathon Trials that year. 

In February, 2024, Puma runner Fiona O'Keeffe won the Marathon Trials in Orlando in her very first marathon (she qualified with a fast half-marathon time. In early 2025, Puma runners continued to excel on the roads.

At the USA Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta, both Taylor Roe and Alex Maier took the individual titles. Roe subsequently ran an eye-popping 49:53 in the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile, while Maier won the Dusseldorf Marathon in 2:08:33.

Meanwhile O'Keeffe has healed from the injury that sidelined her at the Paris Olympics, and is training hard again. In our conversation with Alistair Cragg, he said that he could see her getting down to 2:15 in the marathon.

Podcast segments include:

Introduction to Alistair Cragg

01:26

Life as a Co-Coach and Family Man

04:41

Building the Puma Elite Running Team

06:10

Spotlight on Fiona O'Keeffe

12:16

Challenges at the Paris Olympics

19:05

The Future of Puma Athletes

25:31

Fiona's Journey and Team Dynamics

27:38

Success of Male Athletes in Dusseldorf

28:45

Alex Maier's Potential and Training Philosophy

31:27

The Impact of Shoe Technology on Performance

36:07

Balancing Training and Injury Prevention

39:56

Training Philosophy and Building Strength

46:25

The State of Distance Running

49:44

Puma is now claiming to have ⁠the world's fastest running shoe.⁠ Its athletes appear to be equally fast.

For more about the Puma Elite runners, check out ⁠PumaEliteRunning.com⁠ and follow the team on ⁠Instagram.

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"Running: State of the Sport" is brought to you by MarathonHandbook.com and RunLongRunHealthy.com. Marathon Handbook is the world’s leading marathon website, with a special focus on trustworthy running information and free, runner-tested training plans for all ability levels.

"Run Long, Run Healthy" is a weekly newsletter focused on the newest, most scientific, and most useful training advice for runners. It was launched by Amby in 2021, and is now edited by Brady Holmer, exercise physiologist and 2:24 marathon runner.