Nathan Green

Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia break down a chaotic weekend in American track and field headlined by a lead vehicle disaster at the USATF Half Marathon Championships and a slate of big results at the USATF Indoor Championships.

Discussed:

– The 2026 USATF Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta were thrown into chaos when a lead vehicle guided the top women off course in the final mile with Jess McClain holding a big lead at the time. Molly Born, who stayed on course, won in 69:43. McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat all filed appeals immediately after.

– USATF’s jury of appeals acknowledged the course was inadequately marked but said it had “no recourse within the rulebook” to alter the results, which was a ruling that drew widespread backlash. Atlanta Track Club CEO Rich Kenah took full responsibility.

–  Because the race served as the selection event for the 2026 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, the wrong turn didn’t just cost the leaders prize money but also potentially cost them spots on Team USA. The selection situation is a tangled mess with no clean fix under current rules.

– Cole Hocker won the men’s 3,000m in a blanket finish in 7:39.25. Young missed the World Indoor team by .01 to Yared Nuguse after drifting off the rail in the home straight.

– Emily Mackay won the women’s 3,000m in a five-second personal best of 8:30.01, outkicking Elle St. Pierre in the final stretch for her first US title.

– Hocker and Yared Nuguse then faded to 5th and 4th in Sunday’s 1500m, won by former UW teammates Nathan Green and Luke Houser.

– 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus went 5-for-5 as a professional, winning the men’s 800m in 1:46.68 with a tactically sharp performance.

– Nikki Hiltz extended their US title streak to eight, winning the women’s 1500m in 4:11.34.

– Jordan Anthony won the men’s 60m in 6.45, beating Trayvon Bromell and Noah Lyles.

Plus: Tokyo Marathon recap, the Louis Hinchcliffe NCAA return and the Iowa State/Seth Clevenger doping investigation.

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Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Fresh off his thrilling victory in Virginia, brand-new NCAA Mile Champion Abel Teffra joins the show today to break down his epic performance.

Abel, currently a graduate student at Georgetown, set an NCAA meet record with his 3:53.60 mile at the 2025 Indoor Championships, becoming the second Hoya to win the event in program history. Abel secured the win with a decisive and exciting move to overtake the stellar Nathan Green on the home straight of the final lap. 

Abel has been slowly and methodically moving his way up the rankings: in cross country alone he has improved from 250th to 65th on the National Championship scene.

During the 2023-24 season Abel won the Big East Indoor mile and was a member of the winning 4x800m relay team during that season. He finished fifth in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships last March with a 4:02.57.

His breakout came this year on February 8 when he ran 3:37.70 in the 1500m and 3:52.44 in the mile at BU. His big NCAA title should come as no surprise to those following the sport. 

Abel attended Central High (East Campus) in Fresno California, where he ran PRs of 4:14.80 in the 1600m and 9:32.25 in the 3200m. 

In today’s conversation, Abel takes me through insights from his first-ever NCAA Championship win, what went into this win, his relationship with his coach and teammates, his ambitions for the future, and so much more. 

If you're curious of the journey to win an NCAA title, this one is for you. 

Tap into the Abel Teffra Special.

  

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Back on the podcast is the one and only Nathan Green! 

If you're not familiar with Nathan, he was the 2023 NCAA Outdoor 1,500m Champion and the 2023 Pac-12 1,500m Champion. In 2023 he also was All-America First Team (1,500m, Outdoors | Mile and DMR, Indoors). 

This year, Nathan placed 5th at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 1500m, running a PR of 3:32.2 in the final and becoming the top collegiate. 

Back in 2022, Nathan was the U.S. Junior 1,500m Champion! 

In today's conversation, Nathan takes me behind the scenes of the 2024 XC UW team, joining the B1G, what makes a good teammate, his upbringing and how it's shaped his pursuit of sport, and so much more!

This conversation was actually world-class and one of my favorite conversations I've recorded in the past few months. 

Tap into the Nathan Green 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. 

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

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Today on the podcast is NCAA Champ Nathan Green! 

Nathan was the 2023 NCAA Outdoor 1,500m Champion as well as the 2023 Pac-12 1,500m Champion. He's a 4xAll-American through his efforts indoors and out. He placed 7th at the US Championships in the 1500m this year. Back in 2022, Nathan became the U.S. Junior 1,500m Champion. 

Nathan holds PRs of 1:46.99 in the 800m, 3:36.29 in the 1500m, and 3:52.76 in the Mile. 

In high school, Nathan was one of the top recruits in the country, rated the No. 1 recruit in the nation by MileSplit. He was a five-time Gatorade Idaho Athlete of the Year and a nine-time Idaho State Champion. He set the Brooks PR Invite mile record in 2021 with a time of 4:01.76 … just 24 hours after the Brooks PR win in Renton, Wash., traveled to Hayward Field in Eugene and won the Nike Outdoor Nationals mile title for two national Mile wins in two days. He set a mile PR of 4:00.97 at 2,700 feet of elevation. 

In today's conversation, Nathan and I document his journey in the sport, the unknown culture of UW, how much that culture and friendships mean to him, the power of friendships, winning NCAAs, his future ambitions in the sport, and so much more!

Tap into the Nathan Green Special. 

You can listen wherever you find your podcasts by searching, "The Running Effect Podcast." 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. 

The podcast graphic was done by the talented: Xavier Gallo.

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