Ben and Jess are excited to bring Tyson Weiland back for another episode of "hijacking the crown!" In this episode, Tyson interviews Devin and Kelsey Allbaugh about their story of beginning the team Running Wild Elite.  They talk about their inspiration, vision, challenges and experiences. There is also conversation about goals and challenges for Crown Running, Runablaze and Weiland Racing. The theme of this conversation might be summarized by saying that the running community in Iowa is going places and is very supportive of each other.  Exciting stuff! Hope you enjoy!

In this conversation, Jess, Ben and Tyson talk about different approaches to creating a race schedule. They discuss their mentality about racing when it’s not their “A” race and benefits of doing them even if not at peak fitness. Through this discussion, it is obvious their is not one “right” approach and they hope you find parts you can integrate into your calendar.  They also review Jess’s Masters Grand Prix results and Tyson provides exciting details on a regional team racing series in the works!

Tyson Wieland is back with Jess and Ben for another Hijacking the Crown episode featuring Blake Whalen and Cody Baele.  

Blake and Cody are former teammates of Tyson’s at Iowa Central College and current teammates on Runablaze Iowa.  

Tune in to hear about Blake’s 4 min PR at the Houston Marathon, just barely missing qualifying for the Olympic trials! He talks about how it is his consistency in training that has allowed him to continue to improve over the years. His next attempt to qualify for the trials will be at Grandma’s marathon in Duluth, MN in June. He shares the tweaks he will make in his training and racing to ensure his success.

Cody shares his mentality in racing that allows him to excel, talks about his experience training with the group in Des Moines, and his future race plans. 

You’ll love the story about Tyson’s experience pacing Sara Hall for parts of her American Half Marathon record, while snagging a PR of his own!

Hear about Blake and Tyson's 10-year competition record book.

And there is one piece of cold weather gear that Blake can’t go without—a third sock!

Jess and Ben recap their race and experience at the Cross Champs, put on by Sound Running and Trials of Miles. The Cross Champs was a Men's Pro and mixed Women's Pro/Open races held on December 4th at the infamous Mt. SAC course in Walnut, CA.   Some claim this to be the hardest cross country course in the country.  In this episode, learn more about Sound Running and Trials of Miles, the Mt. SAC course and Jess's preparation for it, and The Film Festival put on by Alexi Pappas and Ciele Athletics!

https://www.soundrunning.run/crosschamps
https://cieleathletics.com/blog/2021/12/06/the-film-fest-2021/

Kassie Parker is a two-time DIII National Champion.  On November 20th, she won the 2021 DIII Cross Country National Championships in Louisville, KY by 17 seconds.  Her 6k time of 20:11 broke the DIII course record.  Kassie has come a long way since high school where, as a  volleyball player, she converted to being a cross country runner with a 5k PR of 20:20.  Listen to hear about Kassie's transition from being a University of Iowa Club runner to Loras College's perennial national title contender and champion.  During this change,  she had to navigate injuries and adjust from being self-coached to trusting her new coaches and program.  These challenges have developed a mature collegiate runner ready to threaten the DIII records over the course of her remaining eligibility.  

Nick  Hauger is a professional runner for HOKA Northern Arizona Elite and a co-host of the Running Rivals Podcast, both based out of Flagstaff, AZ.  In this episode, we talked about Nick's build to his debut marathon , CIM (California International Marathon), which is this Sunday December 5th.  Coming off a summer foot injury, Nick feels that doing the little things and leaning on his team have made a huge difference in his training consistency.  This consistency has put him in the best shape of his life and helped him recently achieve a top 10 finish at the USATF 25KM championships.  Nick is a plant-based athlete and shared how it has a positive impact on his health and running!  Listen to learn more about Nick, including his current favorite Athletic Brewing beer and who has the better facial hair between him and his fellow teammate, podcast co-host, and CIM competitor, Rory Linkletter.   This episode is extra special because we met Nick at Bruce Camp this past summer and Nick is now Jess's new coach.  We hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we did!  Who let the Haugs out?  

Welcome to season two!  This is the time of year that many people have just finished a cross country season, goal marathon or ultra event and are in a transition period. We talk about post race blues and our approach to dealing with them as well as setting up our next season or training cycle.

In this episode, Coaches Jess and Ben recap their experiences at the 2021 Boston Marathon.  Have a listen to learn about the course, their training and tips to make the most of the incredible experience that is the Boston Marathon!