This one's for the real running/T&F nerds!

Amy Begley, USA Track & Field's general manager of high performance, and Rob Mullett, USATF's director of long distance running programs, talk to Sarah Lorge Butler about some of the initiatives they're currently working on.

Amy discusses the recently-announced USATF Tour and Rob discusses the fact that USATF is now scheduling and announcing its championships much farther in advance than it has in the past. 

And they also talk about the status of the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. As of this conversation, on December 17, 92 athletes have hit the women's qualifying standard of 2:37:00 and 77 have hit the men's standard of 2:16:00.

There's also discussion of making it easier to find where to watch various track & field events, and you can see USATF's 2026 broadcast schedule here: https://www.usatf.org/events/event-resource-pages/television-webcast-schedule And USATF's events calendar is here: https://www.usatf.org/events

Amy mentions in passing that she competed in 10 events at the 2017 USATF Masters Outdoor Championships to help the Atlanta Track Club win the national title. We had to look those results up, because it's not every day that a 10,000m Olympian competes in the shot put, long jump, discus, and 4x100m relay. https://mastershistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/2017outdoors.pdf

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

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Sarah Lorge Butler catches up with Katie Izzo after her runner-up finish at the USATF Cross Country Chamionships earlier this month. By finishing in the top six, Izzo earned a spot on the team that will represent the U.S. at the World Cross Country Championships on January 10 in Tallahassee, Florida. 

Katie discusses what makes her so good at cross country, how she's preparing for Worlds, and tells the story behind the titanium rod in her tibia.

Katie Izzo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katieizzo/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

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Host Sarah Lorge Butler talks to Ben Rosario, CEO of the Marathon Project, about the return of the race, which takes place December 20-21 in Chandler, Arizona. 

Ben discusses what fans and runners should expect from the race, and how things have gone so far in year one. He also discusses as well as his decision to leave NAZ Elite, and how he's balancing his new role with teaching middle school.

Marathon Project website: https://www.themarathonproject.com/

The Marathon Project on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marathonproj/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

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Sarah Lorge Butler talks to longtime NC State coach Laurie Henes, coming off the team's fourth NCAA cross country title in five years. Laurie discusses teamwork, managing nerves, what she's looking for in recruiting, the dynamics behind coaching some of the best collegiate runners, and much more.

Laurie was an eight-time All-American at NC State and went on to run professionally, and she's now in her 34th year of coaching at the school. That kind of longevity at one school is very rare in the NCAA.

NC State T&F and XC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wolfpack_tf_xc/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

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Sarah Lorge Butler talks to Mike Smith about his transition from coaching cross country and track & field at Northern Arizona University to coaching Nike's Swoosh TC Flagstaff hub. 

Mike discusses his decision to leave NAU, work-life balance in coaching, how building a pro team is different from building a college team, the impact of NIL and the transfer portal on collegiate running, and much more.

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

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Two-time Olympian Elise Cranny discusses her decision to join the M11 Track Club, which is based in Manchester, England. The team is coached by Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows and includes Olympic medalists Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell.

Thank you to Aletheia Run for sponsoring this episode. Visit aletheia.run to start your free, no obligation 30-day trial.

Elise Cranny on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elise.cranny/

The M11 Track Club on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m11_trackclub/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

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Sarah Lorge Butler talks to Minnesota Distance Elite coach Chris Lundstrom, whose athletes just had a great showing at the New York City Marathon. Annie Frisbie finished fifth in 2:24:12, Joel Reichow was sixth in 2:09:56, and Elena Hayday placed 12th in 2:31:22. 

Chris discussed his team's recent success, a key workout they did leading up to the race, what makes a good coach, and offered some advice for those who might be cramming for their upcoming turkey trots.

And a big thanks to Aletheia Run for sponsoring this episode. Visit aletheia.run to start your free, no obligation 30-day trial.

Chris Lundstrom on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachlundo/

Minnesota Distance Elite on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minnesotadistanceelite/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

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Host Sarah Lorge Butler catches up with Olympian and professional runner Aliphine Tuliamuk days before she's scheduled to give birth to her second child. Aliphine discusses her return from hamstring surgery, signing with Brooks while she was injured, the timing of her pregnancy and delivery, her group chat with other pro runner moms, and much more.

Aliphine Tuliamuk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aliphine/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

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Emily Sisson holds the American marathon record of 2:18:29, but she has yet to take on the New York City Marathon. That will change on November 2, when she lines up with a stellar field on Staten Island. 

Fast People host Sarah Lorge Butler caught up with Emily shortly after she set an event record of 31:05 at the Boston 10K for Women to find out how the buildup has gone.

Emily Sisson on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/em_sisson_/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

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Helen Schlachtenhaufen talks to host Sarah Lorge Butler about walking on to the cross country team at Dartmouth, having a big breakthrough her senior year, and becoming a professional runner. 

Helen is now eight years into her pro career, and despite running her fastest times ever last year, she found herself without a sponsor this season. Her 2025 track season was off to a promising start when an unavoidable fall at the USATF Outdoor Championships took her out for most of the rest of her season.

Earlier this week, she was able to run one final race to end the season, and she pulled off a win. 

Helen also discusses the fact that speed runs in her family. In the 1920s, her maternal great-grandmother was one of the best 220 yard runners in the world.

Cindy Kuzma's Runner's World article about Helen and her husband, Brian Shrader:  https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a62573906/brian-shrader-helen-schlachtenhaufen-chicago-marathon/

Helen Schlachtenhaufen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helenschlach/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

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