Mary Ngugi-Cooper has been a formidable force in the Kenyan marathon scene within the past decade.
Mary's journey is not just about her remarkable achievements on the roads; it's about her unwavering commitment to empowering women through the sport she loves. In the wake of a tragic loss that shook the running community to its core, Mary took action by responding to the heartbreaking murder of Agnes Tirop by founding Nala Track Club in October of 2022. Named after the Swahili word for a powerful, successful woman, Nala Track Club is a sanctuary for female athletes. 
But it's more than just a club; it's a beacon of hope. Mary's vision extends beyond the finish line, providing not only a safe haven for young women to train but also covering housing and education costs for those in need. Additionally, Nala Track Club has pioneered a groundbreaking coaches training program, empowering women to lead and mentor the next generation of Kenyan athletes. Nike has come on board with the to assist with funding the girls’ basic needs and in-residence scholarships to remove financial barriers
Her story is one of resilience, determination, and the transformative power of sport. It was super nice to chat with her just days before she went on to finish sixth in the Boston Marathon in 2:24:24.
Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Host: Mary Ngugi-Cooper | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@maryngugi on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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Mary Ngugi-Cooper's Unwavering Commitment to Empowering Women In Kenya With Nala Track Club

Track and field's biggest names on the track, in the coaching ranks and within the industry sit down and open up in-depth to share brilliant insights and vivid snapshots from their professional/personal accomplishments and experiences in the sport. 

Hosted by CITIUS MAG founder Chris Chavez.

The show was named one of "The Best Running Podcasts" by Runner's World.

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"My name is “Sintayehu” which means “Someone who saw a lot”... With age, I'm more proud of the meaning of my name. It means what I’ve seen a lot and it's true from an Ethiopian orphanage to a beautiful life, adoption and a beautiful family and then I decided to go to Florida, Mississippi, and now I ended up here (in Boulder) with the best team, living the best life."
Sinta Vissa is a member of the On Athletics Club and just opened up her season this past weekend at the Penn Relays.
Before turning pro last year, she was the 2022 NCAA 1500m champion and has now competed at two World Championships for Italy. She was last year’s Italian 1500m champion and then had the bad luck of drawing one of the fastest heats in Budapest but did not advance to the semifinals. She did run a 4:01.66 personal best, which also got her the Olympic standard for this year. She’s in a good position to be selected by the Italian Athletics Federation with some good performances this season. 
What I like about Sinta is that her story goes way back to growing up in Ethiopia and then being adopted by an Italian family. She shares her whole story candidly on this podcast about what it was like finding herself in Ethiopia, Italy and then eventually the United States.
Recommended Read | 'Seeing is believing for Italy’s Vissa' by Hannah Borenstein for World Athletics 
Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Host: Sinta Vissa | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sintavissa on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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OAC's Sinta Vissa Has Seen A Lot: Growing Up In Ethiopia, Being Adopted In Italy & Arriving In America To Run And Nurture A Dream

Chris Chavez survived his bachelor party for a track-free weekend as Anderson Emerole updates him on his highlights from the 2024 Penn Relays + takeaways from the Shanghai Diamond League.
PENN RELAYS
– 16-year-old Quincy Wilson split 44s on the high school boys' 4x400m relay twice and put his Bullis Academy (MD) team in contention against some of the top Jamaican squads.
– Harvard's women's team clocked the fastest collegiate DMR in history with a 10:37.55 to win the Championship of America and were anchored in 4:21 by Maia Ramsden.
– Villanova's men destroyed the NCAA 4 x mile record of 16:03.24 by Oregon's 2009 squad as they led two other schools under 16:00. The Wildcats won in 15:51.91 capped by a 3:54.32 anchor from Liam Murphy.
– Yared Nuguse opened up his outdoor season with a 3:51.06 mile victory and tried to get his teammate Olli Hoare under the Olympic standard but he finished in 3:51.28.
SHANGHAI DIAMOND LEAGUE
– South Africa's Akani Simbine beat Christian Coleman and Fred Kerley in 10.01.
– Great Britain's Daryll Neita won the women's 200m in 22.62 as Sha'Carri Richardson finished third in 23.11.
– Kenya's Beatrice Chepkoech won the women's steeplechase in 9:07.36. Emma Coburn dropped out with 1000m remaining due to a ankle tweak. Gabbi Jennings notched a 9:19.39 personal best for fifth place.
+ more takeaways here https://citiusmag.com/articles/shanghai-diamond-league-key-takeaways
Alexis Ohanian Introduces the 776 Invitational This September
Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas and Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder who now heads the venture capital firm 776, have announced plans for the 776 Invitational – a women’s-only track event in September. Read more about it here: https://citiusmag.com/articles/gabby-thomas-reddit-founder-alexis-ohanini-776-invitational
Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Host: Anderson Emerole | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@atkoeme on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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This Week In Track and Field: Quincy Wilson Electrifies Penn Relays; Shanghai Diamond League Highlights + Reddit Co-Founder Introduces All-Women's Track Meet Coming Soon

“I think it’s wide open. I think it’s hard to compete when you know that people have been at that level and they know what it takes to be at that level. That’s one thing that’s super hard about it. When you've been there before, you know it’s a little bit easier to get back there because you’re like, “OK. I know exactly what I need to show up and how I can do it.” But I haven’t been thinking about the big ‘few’ quite as much as maybe in 2021 when I was just starting to run the 800m at this level. I want to sort of like rely and think about ‘Who am I as a runner?’ as opposed to trying to play whoever else’s game or emulate someone. It’s what works best for me.”
I really enjoy watching Sage Hurta-Klecker race because each time out, she’s going to put herself in the mix and take big swings. She’s done that each of the last three years since turning pro and joining the On Athletics Club in 2022. She’s fully committed to breaking through and make a U.S. team in the 800m, which is one of the toughest teams to make. The commitment is admirable.
We chatted just days after she got into the blocks and opened up her outdoor season with a local 400m in Boulder. It was a tiny PR of 54.78. It speaks to her range with a 1:57 personal best for 800m and 4:25 for the mile.
Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Host: Sage Hurta-Klecker | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@hellenobiri on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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OAC's Sage Hurta-Klecker On Her Commitment And Dedication To Making Team USA In The 800m

"The way I run is my biggest strength but I also think it’s pretty entertaining and I want to be remembered not just for winning but for how I win races. I want people to think like this race is going to be entertaining because he’s in it."
2024 1500m World Indoor Champion George Beamish, who was also just named to New Zealand's Olympic team for Paris in the steeplechase, finally makes his debut on The CITIUS MAG Podcast. 
He is coming off the best season of his career. In 2023, coach Dathan Ritzenhein decided it was time to go all-in on the steeplechase and it was a season-long experiment. He managed to get his personal best all the way down to 8:13 at the Monaco Diamond League and then put together one of the best performances of his career by finishing 5th in the World Championship final and third in the Diamond League final. Heading into 2024, he has a chance at the medals in the steeplechase. 
Mac Fleet and George talk about how he's developed in the event, his lethal Textbook George kick and what would make for a successful 2024 for him.
Host: Mac Fleet | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@macfleet on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Host: George Beamish | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@georgebeamish on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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George Beamish On Becoming A World Champion, Shifting His Focus Toward The Olympics After Being Officially Named For Team New Zealand

Chris Chavez and Anderson Emerole unpack the first big weekend in track and field as the Diamond League and Continental Tour kicked off.
In this week's round-up of performances, they discuss:
Xiamen Diamond League
– Mondo Duplantis’ 6.24m world record and what it could mean for the rest of the season
– Gudaf Tsegay nearly breaks the 1500m world record with a 3:50.30; Did the women’s 1500m suddenly get more interesting?
– Torrie Lewis beats Sha’Carri Richardson in the 200m; Is there reason to be concerned?
– Marco Arop vs. Emmanuel Wanyonyi needs to be a thing to bring back the men's 800m to prominence
– Is the U.S. having a moment in the men’s high jump? Shelby McEwen wins in Xiamen, JuVaughn Harrison jumps a world lead at LSU
– Paulino wins 400m and says this may be the year to break the 400m World record
– Christian Coleman wins the 100m in only 10.13s ahead of Fred Kerley; another slow year for the 100m?
Results from around the world
– Courtney Lindsey beat Letsile Tebogo in a 200m at the Kip Keino Classic
– Gabby Thomas ran 50.37 at LSU
– Christine Mboma, competing for the first time since August 2022, runs 12.32 and finishes last in the women's 100 at the Kip Keino Classic
– Mary Moraa opened up her 2024 800m campaign with a 1:57.96 at the Kip Keino Classic
– 17-year-old Christian Miller drops a 9.93 for 100m at a small meet in Clermont, Florida to take the world lead and break the U.S. U20 record.
London Marathon
– Peres Jepchirchir breaks the women’s-only marathon record In 2:16:16
– Alexander Mutiso Munyao wins his first Major in 2:04:01
– Kenenisa Bekele smashes his own Masters record In 2:04:15
– So who is the Kenyan Olympic marathon team?
Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Host: Anderson Emerole | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@atkoeme on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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This Week In Track and Field: Mondo Duplantis Breaks His Own WR For An 8th Time, Gudaf Tsegay Scares The 1500m WR, Sprints Madness Highlighted By A 17-Year-Old Running 9.93 For 100m + London Marathon

Mary Ngugi-Cooper's Unwavering Commitment to Empowering Women In Kenya With Nala Track Club

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