Matt Mcdonald

Matt McDonald finished 10th at the Boston Marathon this past year in 2023. He was the 2nd American behind Scott Fauble. He lives in Boston and trains with the BAA. He placed 10th at the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials running 2:12:19. He has PR of 2:09:49 and a half marathon PR of 63:56. He is ... more »

Matt McDonald may very well be the smartest pro runner out there. He is both a 2:10 marathoner and working on a Postdoc at MIT in chemical engineering. Unlike most pro athletes that dedicate their entire day to training and recovery, Matt is working away in the lab and balancing big mileage with heavy research. He will be one to watch at Chicago, racing for the top American spot. Matt was 10th at the 2020 US Olympic Trials in the marathon and ran 2:10 at the 2022 Boston Marathon. He is based in Boston and trains with the BAA.

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It's taken me too long to release this episode but about a month ago, I hosted a live panel at the Atlanta Track Club's marathon weekend experience that lined up with the 2020 U.S. Olympic marathon Trials. I sat down and talked with Matt McDonald, Alyssa Bloomquist, Ann Mazur and Duriel Hardy about how they manage to balance their full workload and sometimes classes with training at a high level. The COVID-19 pandemic definitely has lots of us working from home and thrown us out of our routine but I hope that this episode brings you a little bit of inspiration into understanding the importance of balance in work, life and running for when things do go back to normal and that no dream is too big to chase.

Hailey Middlebrook of Runners World did a fantastic job profiling each of these guests in the leadup to Atlanta. You can find all of her stories below and their result:

Matt McDonald, Ph.D. student in chemical engineering at Georgia Tech (2:12:19 for 10th place) – https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a29578084/matt-mcdonald-olympic-trials-qualifier/

Duriel Hardy, Pediatric Neurology Fellow/MD at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (2:26:41 for 119th place) – https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a30286103/duriel-hardy-olympic-marathon-trials-qualifier/

Alyssa Bloomquist, Speech-Language Pathologist at Greenville County Schools - Stone Academy (2:45:20 for 129th place) - https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a29814117/alyssa-bloomquist-olympic-marathon-trials-qualifier/

Ann Mazur, Founder/owner of Runners Love Yoga &  teaches Running for Fitness and Yoga at the University of Virginia (2:51:53 for 260th place) - https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a30459353/ann-mazur-2020-olympic-trials-qualifier/

This episode was brought to you by the newest podcast in the CITIUS MAG family - Track and Field History with Jesse Squire. Get all the information about the show here: http://citiusmag.com/track-and-field-history-podcast-introduction/

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/track-and-field-history-with-jesse-squire

Bernard Lagat was the subject of a Sports Illustrated story that I wrote this week titled: "Before Attempt at History, Bernard Lagat Returned to His Roots in Kenya." The story shares how Lagat returned home to Kenya to train for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, where he will be vying to make his sixth Olympic team at age 45. He holds a marathon personal best of 2:12:10 from last year's Gold Coast Marathon and enters as one of the most intriguing dark horses in the men's elite race.

The story and conversation also examine how Lagat has made himself one of the faces of American distance running when it's less than 20 years since he made the allegiance switch from Kenya. He's the second-fastest 1,500 meter runner in history and owns two Olympic medals from his time competing as a Kenyan. He switched in 2004. What was the reaction by Kenyans? How was he received by Americans? And what was the importance and role of immigrants in the revitalization of U.S. distance running?

More also on: Growing up in a family with 12 siblings, his first running shoes, when he first returned to Kenya in 2007, training with Eliud Kipchoge, AlphaFlys and shoe technology and much more.

Read the story on SI here: https://www.si.com/olympics/2020/02/25/bernard-lagat-us-olympic-marathon-trials

Support for this episode comes from Stryd. They’re helping ensure that you nail the perfect pacing strategy so you can keep a consistent effort in challenging conditions - all in real-time. I’m digging all the data that it’s collecting and you’ll see a bunch of people wearing them on their shoes at the US Olympic Marathon Trials. Learn more by visiting STRYD.COM/CITIUS

ATL LIVE SHOWS INFO

FRIDAY - 9 a.m.

Guests: Keith and Kevin Hanson

Where: Switchyards Downtown - 151 Ted Turner Dr NW, Atlanta, GA 30303

We'll discuss their influential work with elite U.S. distance runners and their team over the past 20 years.

FRIDAY - 11:15 a.m.

Guests: Matt McDonald, Alyssa Bloomquist, Ann Mazur and Duriel Hardy

Where: America’s Marathon Weekend Experience - Georgia World Congress Center, Hall A3

We'll meet these 9-5'ers and talk about how they have found ways to run fast while being full time workers and students.

All CITIUS MAG in Atlanta information here: http://citiusmag.com/2020-us-olympic-marathon-trials-events-schedule/

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✩ Connect with Chris via Email: chris@citiusmag.com | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez