Vincent Ciatti returns to the podcast today!

Vince most recently placed 5th in the 2k race at the U.S. world cross country championships and then followed it up with a road mile in Hawaii.

Since placing 4th at the Olympic trials in the 1500 in 2024 and narrowly missing a few other world teams, Vince has been putting in the work to get where he wants to be and is gearing up for a big indoor season.

Tune in to hear about Vince’s experience at the U.S. cross country championships and his time working with a sports psychologist recently. As we tackle the question of what will set above his competitors in this golden age of mid distance and distance running

Follow me on instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/runningincircles.podcast?igsh=MWtwN2Fma2V5NHI3MA==

Follow Vince on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vincentciattei?igsh=ZjV4cXppMDRzdGNt

Bethany Michalak just played a huge role in helping NC State win the cross country national title where she was an all American with a 29th place finish as a sophomore.

She improved by over 100 spots this year from her freshman year cross country finish  and is one of the most promising up and coming runners in the NCAA.

Bethany was a very successful high school runner, leading her team to a nike cross national title and winning Colorado State Championships.

In this episode Bethany takes me through her transition to college running and gives the inside scoop on NC State's national title team.

Maddie Gullickson finished 7th at Nike Cross Nationals where she led her team Wayzata to the national championship. A week later she finished 6th at the Brooks cross country championships.

Maddie is a senior in high school committed to run cross country and track at NC State next fall where she will run alongside the defending national champions.

Along with all her cross country accolades she holds personal best of 4:44 in the 1600 and 10:18 in the 3200.

Tune in to hear about Maddie’s skiing in the off season and the story behind her dominant cross country season.

Follow Maddie on instagram- https://www.instagram.com/maddie_gully7?igsh=cHRreXkxZWVod29z

Follow me on instagram- https://www.instagram.com/runningincircles.podcast?igsh=MWtwN2Fma2V5NHI3MA==

Colton Sands just led the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill at Cross country nationals and then ran a personal best of 13:17 in the 5k.

Colton has been the model of growth and a successful progression throughout his time in the NCAA. He finished 229th at cross country nationals in 2023 and finished 42nd this past November. He’s made multiple appearances on the national stage and holds a personal best of 7:39 in the 3k.

Tune into my interview with Colton Sands to hear all about his time at UNC and how he’s developed as an athlete and as a person.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/runningincircles.podcast?igsh=MWtwN2Fma2V5NHI3MA==

Follow Colton on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/c.j.sands?igsh=NTYwb2Q0Nm82aWNm

Riley Chamberlain just finished 4th at NCAA cross country Nationals, playing a huge role in BYU’s runner up team finish and then she ran a personal best of 14:58 in the 5k at Boston university.

She’s become one of the most talented distance runners in the NCAA after anchoring BYU’s DMR to a national title last year and setting personal best of 4:26 in the mile, 8:40 in the 3k, and 4:02 in the 1500m, putting her #6 on the collegiate all dates list for the 1500.

Tune in to my podcast with Riley to hear how she got to where she is now and exclusive insights on her National titles at BYU.

Follow Riley on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/riley_chamberlain04?igsh=MXE5NzFjMTB6cTRqNA==

Follow the podcast on instagram- https://www.instagram.com/runningincircles.podcast?igsh=MWtwN2Fma2V5NHI3MA==

Josh Hoey just opened up his season with an indoor world record of 1:12.84 in the indoor 600 meters.

Last season he went on a tear, setting the American 800m record indoors and becoming the indoor 800m world champion. He finished 4th at the U.S. Championships missing the world championship team by one spot but he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Tune in to hear how one of the greatest 800m runners in the world right now is preparing for the season and the behind the scenes of how he just set a world record in his season opener.

- Follow me on instagram @Runningincircles.podcast to help me get to 2,000 followers before the end of the year

- New episode every week!

- Follow Josh on instagram @Joshhoey21

Today I’m joined by Marcelo Mantecon!

Marcelo just led his team Belen Jesuit to their 10th consecutive Florida State Championship by getting the win individually.

This weekend is Nike Cross Nationals and next weekend is Brooks Nationals, both of which Marcelo will be competing in. He didn’t compete at the Nike regional meet due to it being on the same day as his State meet but received an at-large invitation.

He’s been a dominant force this season in the South, winning the Great American XC festival and the Southern showcase, arguably the two most competitive regular season races the south has to offer.

He’s coming off a national title in the indoor 5k with a time of 14:14 at Nike nationals and will look to improve on his 15th place finish at NXN last year.

Oh and did I mention that he’s only a junior…

Today I’m joined by Ben Balazs!

Beni runs for the University of Oregon and won a national title in the 2k steeplechase in high school.

Last year he won the Big Ten title in the steeplechase, placed 7th at NCAA’s in the steeplechase, earning All-American honors and followed that up with a 7th place finish in the steeplechase at the U.S. Championships.

Most recently he won the Dellinger invite, leading the way for Oregon and then placed 12th at the Big Ten Championships.

This conversation is a look inside what it’s like to train at the University of Oregon and Beni’s journey towards the top.

Today I’m joined by Brett Gardner!

Brett transferred to the University of Virginia this fall to finish up his eligibility after competing for NC State.

On this episode Brett discusses how he felt about a second place team finish and 32nd individually against a stacked field at the Gans Creek Classic which will be the scene where Nationals will be held later this year.

He also shares some hot takes about food and more.

While at NC State Brett won an ACC title in the 3k steeplechase and placed 8th in the 5k in 2025.

He also placed 16th at the NCAA championship in the steeplechase in 2025.

He holds personal bests of 8:29 in the 3k steeplechase and 13:36 in the 5k.

Brett will look to help Virginia fight for an NCAA title in November.

My instagram- https://www.instagram.com/runningincircles.podcast?igsh=MWtwN2Fma2V5NHI3MA==

Brett’s instagram- https://www.instagram.com/brettpgardner?igsh=YnE4bWlkMGtqeTZj

Today I’m joined by Iowa distance star, Marissa Ferebee!

Marissa is currently a senior in high school and will run for Arkansas next fall.

She’s had a quiet start to her season because of a long track season but will defend her NXR Heartland title later this year and will be a key piece for her team as they try to qualify for NXN.

Last year Marissa broke the Iowa State record with a time of 16:30, becoming just the second ever high school girl from Iowa to run under 17 minutes for the 5k and placed top ten at Nike cross Nationals.

In this episode we discuss some adjustments she’s made her training, how she went from a middle of the pack runner to one of the best in the country, her commitment to Arkansas and much more.

Follow me on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/runningincircles.podcast?igsh=MWtwN2Fma2V5NHI3MA==

Follow Marissa on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/marissa.ferbs?igsh=MXY5dzVleTBleGZvZw==