Zach Panning Still Proud Of His Effort After Finishing Sixth At The 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials (2:10:50) + What's Next | Race Recap + Reflection

"I was in Atlanta (for the 2020 Olympic Trials) watching on the sidewalks. Here, I was a player in the race. And now it's just focusing on 2028 and just continuing to get better each and every day. That's been my focus since I started running – just being faster today than I was yesterday and just checking off all those boxes to do that. Focusing on the process makes the outcome not easy to get over, but it makes it more bearable knowing how far you've come and how far you still have to go."

My guest for today’s episode is Zach Panning – a marathoner for the Hansons Brooks Distance Project. He just finished sixth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando but that doesn’t tell the full story. He went for it and found himself at the front of the race by Mile 5 and led for about 17 miles of the whole thing. Eventually, Conner Mantz and Clayton Young pulled away and Panning was left on his own to fend off a challenge from a charging Elkanah Kibet, Leonard Korir and CJ Albertson. Those three guys managed to pass him in the final three miles.

Panning made that race. He fell short but he was still super proud of the effort in his interviews afterward. Almost two weeks since the race, we checked in to see how he was feeling and how he’s going to take that as a major learning opportunity for future marathons.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Zach Panning | ⁠⁠⁠⁠@zachpanning on Instagram⁠⁠

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