The XC Podcast

Host Alex Cyr is joined by Eugene, Oregon correspondent Caela Fenton, and together they will each draft their fantasy team for this weekend's U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials.

DISCLAIMER: This podcast was recorded before Shelby Houlihan tested positive for a banned substance and was handed a four year ban. We also recorded before Evan Jager pulled out of US Trials due to injury.

On this week's episode, I chat with Kitchener, Ontario's Ben Flanagan, who lives and trains in Virginia as part of the Reebok Boston track club. The 26-year-old Flanagan has forced his way into the consciousness of Athletics Canada's Olympic team selection committee by posting solid results across in the 5,000m and 10,000m this year. Most recently, Flanagan set a new 5,000m PB of 13:20 at Tracksmith's Platinum PT qualifier in Boston last week, winning the race in the process.

Ben and I talked about how he hopes to punch his ticket to Tokyo, high mileage vs low mileage, Ben's fascination with Utah, what it felt like to beat Ben True, and more.

Today's guest on The XC Podcast is Canadian marathon record holder and Hoka One One athlete Cameron Levins. Last week, some would have called the best Canadian athlete without Olympic standard. Then, on Sunday, with just a week remaining in the Olympic marathon qualification period, that changed. Between raindrops and nine time zones away from his residence in Portland Oregon, Levins won the S7 marathon in Loipersdorf, Austria in a time of 2:10:14 - comfortably under Olympic standard of 2:11:30.

In this episode the 32-year-old takes Alex Cyr through his latest race in great detail, he shares the wise advice American track star Jenny Simpson gave him back in 2012, and at one point he admits to having a soft spot for Korean dramas.

Welcome to "The Rings," a weekly update on all things about the upcoming Olympics, brought to you by The XC.

This week, we talk all about Canada's Olympic marathon squad — who we think will be selected, including Cameron Levins, who qualified in dramatic, last-minute fashion over the weekend in Austria, of all places.

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Host: Alex Cyr

Welcome to the kick-off episode of The Rings, a weekly podcast and newsletter updating you on all things related to the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, including who's qualified, who hasn't, and other storylines as they break. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter, as The Rings will go out each Monday straight to your inbox, along with a link to this podcast.

On this week's pod, just days after winning the 5,000m at USATF’s Golden Games in Walnut, California in a personal best of 15:02, Julie-Anne Staehli chats with Alex Cyr about what went through her mind as she smashed Olympic standard of 15:10. The 27-year-old runner from Lucknow, ON also shares her thoughts about how she developed from a strong varsity runner into an Olympic-level athlete.

Host: Alex Cyr

Guest: Julie-Anne Staehli

The Kipper is back! Alex Cyr and Michael Doyle react to Eliud Kipchoge's triumphant (if perhaps highly choreographed) return to marathon dominance. They look at all the action from the NN Mission Marathon event in The Netherlands, including the surprisingly fun storylines that unfolded behind Kipchoge's comfortable 2:04 win, and the implications the event will have on the Olympic picture.

Eliud Kipchoge will be racing on a converted airport in the Eastern Netherlands Sunday morning (at 2:30 a.m. ET). Alex Cyr and Michael Doyle break down what to expect, what's not yet known, and the each make their bold predictions for Kipper and the gang.

And check this feed on Sunday for our instant reaction pod right after the race wraps up!

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Hosts Alex Cyr and Michael Doyle discuss what's known (and unknown) about next week's NN Mission Marathon, which has been moved to the Netherlands. They then break down a pair of impressive world records, and why one of them won't count in the end.

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It's been a year of almost no real races for many of us, so this week Alex Cyr and Michael Doyle chat about the races they've missed and why they've missed them; then they are joined by contributor John Lofranco to do a sort of fantasy draft, where they each pick one of the following in order to create their post-pandemic bucket list: a marathon, a track event, an ultra/trail or cross-country race, a non-marathon road race and "wild card" pick. A few pretty legendary races get left on the board!

The Top 5 Running Show is back. This week, we take a look at a more intimate and autumnal Boston Marathon, Chris Thompson's UK Olympic Trials triumph, high schooler Hobbs Kessler's mind-bending two miler, and ASICS' attempt at creating two new "Vaporfly Killers"

Each week, two of our contributors or special guests face off in The XC's Top 5 Running Show, dissecting five stories from the week in the world of distance running and track and field. They offer their best and hottest takes in order to score points.