THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

The holidays are in full swing, and we're pulling back the curtain on one of the most anticipated running-shoe launches of the year. 

The brand-new Brooks Glycerin Flex is here, and we have Nikhil Jain, Director of Product Line Management at Brooks Running–and the mind helping steer innovation behind the brand–joining us to break it all down.

The Glycerin Flex is an all-new, highly cushioned running shoe debuting in early 2026 that offers a smoother, more flexible ride compared to the standard Glycerin.

Nikhil Jain himself brings unmatched insight into the art and science of building world-class running shoes. From line planning to forecasting; from creative problem-solving to leading teams that shape what millions of runners feel underfoot; he offers a rare look into Brooks’ product engine. 

Whether you’re a shoe nerd, a data-driven athlete, or just curious about what makes the Glycerin Flex so different, this is required listening. If you’re interested in delving into the experience of the future of cushioning in running straight from the source, this is the place to be.

Tap into the Nikhil Jain Special.

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S H O W  N O T E S

-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs

-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run 

-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ

-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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TWO WEEKS OF FREE WITH CODE "RUNEFFECT" : https://kaizen.app.link/TRE

Dan Churchill has cooked for Lindsey Vonn at the Olympics, run five World Marathon Majors, survived Leadville 100, and built companies that fuse food, data, and performance. 

He isn’t just a chef, he’s a hybrid athlete rewriting what ‘fueling’ really means. He is self-effacing and humorous, whowants to help athletes cook better to optimize performance in their given area. 

Dan was on Series 5 of Master Chef, he self-published his first cook book before he ever stepped foot on Gordon Ramsey’s show, has a Masters in Exercise Science, has appeared on Good Morning America and The Food Network, and has his own restaurant in NYC: The Osprey, in Brooklyn. 

His newsletter is a terrific source for those looking to improve their food intake and ramp up their physical performance.He also hosts his own podcast, Epic Table, where he chats with guests about health and wellness, entrepreneurship, and much more.

He also recently won an age group HYROX in Dallas, and has run a 3:05 marathon (Boston in 2023), while completingLeadville in 2024. 

If you care about running, training, nutrition, or performing at your best, Dan Churchill is the blueprint. His career shows that you can chase big goals, build meaningful work, and still show up with joy every day.

Tap into the Dan Churchill Special.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. 

Comment the word “PODCAST” below and I’ll DM you a link to listen. 

If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend!

S H O W  N O T E S

-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs

-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run 

-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ

-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz

In a year packed with breakout stars, one name has refused to fade from the headlines: Jackson Spencer. 

Herriman High’s own just won the 2025 NXN Boys 5K championship with a time of 15:01.1, cementing himself as the top high school distance runner in the country and making a case to be in the mix with the best in the NCAA next year.

In 2025, Jackson became the name every prep distance fan needed to know. The Utah standout, who is headed to BYU next year, had an impressive spring season, where he unleashed a 4:02.56 mile and 3:46.22 1500m at the HOKA Festival of Miles–performances that placed him among the fastest prep milers in the country.

By late fall, Jackson was smashing the Woodward Park course record with a 14:16.9. Now, with an NXN title capping off a historic year, he stands at the edge of an entirely new chapter. The times, the records, the dominance–they’re all real. 

Whether you’re here for training insights, race breakdowns, or a front-row seat to the making of America’s next collegiate star, this episode delivers.

Tap into the Jackson Spencer Special.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. 

Comment the word “PODCAST” below and I’ll DM you a link to listen. 

If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend!

S H O W  N O T E S

-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs

-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run 

-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ

-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz

She built a real-food revolution. Now, she’s taking it global.

Elyse Kopecky is back: writing, running, and leading a movement bigger than ever.

She is the three-time New York Times bestselling co-author with Shalane Flanagan of Run Fast. Eat Slow., Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow., and Rise & Run. 

She is also a chef, speaker, and nutrition coach who studied at the Natural Gourmet Institute (a health-supportive culinary school).

Elyse is a former UNC distance runner, turned lifelong runner and trail retreat leader. She created the Run Fast. Eat Slow. brand which includes cookbooks, online classes, and women’s trail running & culinary retreats.

She previously landed a dream job in Nike Running marketing, while her college teammate Shalane Flanagan turned pro with Nike. From the outside, it was the perfect running-adjacent career.

Elyse is here not just to reflect on a decade of bestselling books; she’s charting a powerful new path for runners everywhere. From her expanded role as a coach and educator to her trail retreats in Bend, Chamonix, and Zermatt, she’s proving that performance and joy can grow with time, not fade.

Tap into the Elyse Kopecky Special.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. 

Comment the word “PODCAST” below and I’ll DM you a link to listen. 

If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend!

S H O W  N O T E S

-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs

-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run 

-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ

-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz

TWO WEEKS OF FREE WITH CODE "RUNEFFECT" : https://kaizen.app.link/TRE

Most training apps tell you exactly what to do every day. Josh Sambrook helped to build one that tells you your weekly target, and lets you train however your life demands.

It’s the system that helped him run 120-mile weeks, cut his marathon time to 2:28 by age 23 (he ran his first marathon at 17), and reinvent how thousands of runners train.

Josh and Michael Keskerides are the co-founders of the Kaizen app for runners. The app is a flexible and dynamic training system that sets a training load target at the start of the week, and then the user is free to achieve this goal through whatever combination of runs works best for their lifestyle. 

With the app and this training system, athletes can “trade” intensity for distance. Kaizen is the Japanese business principle of continuous improvement; discrete, ongoing, small changes can lead to significant benefits, and they used this as their model. 

The two co-founders host the Miles Better Podcast, where they discuss running and how they use the app for training.

Josh himself is a sports scientist, builder of training systems and prediction engines, a running coach, writer, and podcaster–and he’s here to bring clarity to a sport drowning in noise.

Tap into the Josh Sambrook Special.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. 

Comment the word “PODCAST” below and I’ll DM you a link to listen. 

If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend!

S H O W  N O T E S

-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs

-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run 

-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ

-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz

We’re living in the golden era of NCAA middle distance running, and Elliott Cook is right in the center of it. 

Elliot is the NCAA Outdoor 1500m runner-up (3:39.57) from 2024, while also coming in 8th at the US Olympic Team trials that year, running a career best 3:33.84. His other PRs include a 3:55 mile and 1:45.26 in the 800m.

In high school he was a four-time Ohio D1 Central District champion, a state indoor 1600m champion in 2020, and nabbed district titles in the 800m and 1600m; he also had a top-10 finish at Nike Cross Midwest. 

Now a senior at Oregon finishing up his last days as a collegiate runner, Elliot battled a hip injury throughout the winter, but was able to compete this spring and summer, where, in July he ran his 800m personal best. He competed at the US Olympic Trials again this past summer, running a strong 3:35.36 to finish fourth in his heat, but missed the finals in a stacked field. 

Elliott’s rise reminds us that progress doesn’t always announce itself, sometimes it builds quietly until the moment everything clicks. If you’re chasing something big, take a page from his story. Stay patient. Stay consistent. Your breakthrough might be closer than you think.

Tap into the Elliot Cook Special.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. 

Comment the word “PODCAST” below and I’ll DM you a link to listen. 

If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend!

S H O W  N O T E S

-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs

-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run 

-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ

-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz

Joseph Miuccio spends his life at 35,000 feet, and somehow still logs the training hours for Leadville, Ironman, and marathon racing. 

Joey has run a 2:56 marathon, a 4:45 half ironman, and he’s a Leadville 100 finisher. Now, he can add Ironman finisher to his resume, as he recently completed the Ironman Arizona in 9:46:37, an extremely impressive sub 10 hour feat coming in 136 overall in a field of over 1,200 racers. 

Online, he has an impressive following of over 455,000 on Instagram where he documents his racing, lifestyle, and career as a flight instructor and commercial pilot. He also offers 1-on-1 fitness coaching via his online profile. 

He’s polished, competitive, and backs it up with impressive results in multiple domains. Growing up, sports were a key component in his fitness journey. He grew up playing every sport imaginable: baseball, soccer, basketball, football, wrestling, surfing and even bowling. When in high school, he focused on wrestling, which likely built in his work ethic for the future.

He has shown what’s possible while holding down a demanding career, exploring ultras, and going sub-10 in an Ironman. The question now is: what’s your version of that? 

Tap into the Joseph Miuccio Special.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. 

Comment the word “PODCAST” below and I’ll DM you a link to listen. 

If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend!

S H O W  N O T E S

-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs

-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run 

-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ

-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz

From walk-on to Olympian, Emily Mackay has rewritten every expectation.

Now, she’s back on the show to open up about the reinvention that’s powering the best chapter of her career.

Emily ran collegiately at Binghamton University, where her best NCAA finish was 6th in the 1500m as a senior in 2022. She joined New Balance Boston that summer of 2022, while training under coach Mark Coogan. What followed was a rapid improvement as a professional, lowering her 1500m personal best from 4:08.97 to 3:59.99 in 2023. 

Emily was then one of America’s best female middle distance runners in 2024. In addition to her 1500m exploits, her 800m season’s best of 1:57.87 ranked sixth in the US that year. She also ran in the 1500m semifinals in the Paris Olympics. 

In 2025, Mackay finished 4th in the 3,000m at the US indoor championships in February, and took 10th at Tokyo in the 1500m semifinals with a 4:08.19. Emily signed with New Balance in 2022, and while she was formerly part of Team New Balance Boston, she has since left the team. 

Emily’s rise is proof that belief, resilience, and reinvention can take you anywhere. If her journey fired you up, share this conversation and follow along, because her story is only getting better

Tap into the Emily Mackay Special.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. 

Comment the word “PODCAST” below and I’ll DM you a link to listen. 

If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend!

S H O W  N O T E S

-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs

-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run 

-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ

-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz

America’s next great distance runner might not be a pro, he might be a junior at Wake Forest.

At the 2025 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on November 22, Rocky Hansen delivered the race of his life, finishing second overall and coming within striking distance of the national title. Last year, Rocky placed 100th at this same meet, so his surge is proof that he’s putting himself up there with the best who can do it right now.

But rising to the front at the national championship level is nothing new for Rocky.

Before Wake Forest, he was a three-time North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year (twice for track, once for XC) and a 10-time state record holder, including 3:58.23 for the mile, becoming the first in North Carolina to break the 4:00 barrier in high school.

At Wake Forest, Rocky has only continued to elevate. He holds PRs of 3:38 (1500m), 3:57 (mile), 7:56 (3000m), and a stunning 13:07 5000m, which broke the Wake Forest school record and established him as one of the fastest collegiate 5K runners in NCAA history. He also placed 5th in the NCAA Outdoor 5000m last year.

Rocky Hansen’s story is still being written, but after finishing second on the biggest stage in the NCAA and making a massive leap from last year, it’s clear he’s ready for the spotlight.

Tap into the Rocky Hansen Special.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. 

Comment the word “PODCAST” below and I’ll DM you a link to listen. 

If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend!

S H O W  N O T E S

-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs

-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run 

-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ

-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz

Enter Oliver Horton, the high school Colorado phenom everyone will be talking about this season.

At just 17 years old and a high school junior at Coronado High School (in Colorado Springs), he is already a state champion, a sub-14:30 performer, and a name climbing the national rankings, having just become the 2025 Colorado 4A state XC champion.

He didn’t just become the first Colorado runner to break 15 minutes on the tough Norris Penrose course in Colorado, he obliterated the previous course record, clocking 14:48. (For comparison, 2024 NCAA 5,000 National Champion Parker Wolfe ran 15:10 in 2020).

He has benefited from the consistency of running for coach Lisa Rainsberger for the previous 10 years.

Oliver’s PR on the grass is a sizzling 14:23.9, which he ran this past September. On the track he ran 4:08.93 in the mile outdoors and 8:54.94 in the 3200m. 

Every generation has its defining runner. For Colorado, for 2025, and maybe for the nation, Oliver Horton is making his case. 

The records speak. The rankings confirm it. But the story behind it all? That’s what we’re digging into.  

Tap into the Oliver Horton Special.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. 

Comment the word “PODCAST” below and I’ll DM you a link to listen. 

If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend!

S H O W  N O T E S

-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs

-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run 

-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ

-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz