Wesley Kiptoo

"The marathon is the longest event. You have to believe in yourself: 'I can do this.' It gets tough at the end. If you don't have that belief, if you don't believe in your training, it's going to get tough. It's just the mindset that, 'I can do this, but I need to be patient enough so that I can finish strong."

Wesley Kiptoo of NAZ Elite sits down with us for a live interview ahead of the 2024 NYC Marathon. He shares about transitioning from college racing to the marathon, his reflections from his debut marathon, how he prepared for the NYC course, and his race plan for tomorrow.

The race kicks off on Sunday, November 3rd with the women’s race starting at 8:35am E.T. and the men following at 9:05am E.T. (Don’t forget to set your clock back an hour the night before!) The race will be streamed nationally on ESPN and locally on ABC.

You can read our full NYC Marathon preview here.

CITIUS MAG is proud to partner with HOKA for our coverage of the 2024 NYC Marathon.

"It's more me against the distance instead of me against the field. That's how I like to think of the marathon."

Futsum Zienasellassie of NAZ Elite sits down with us for a live interview ahead of the 2024 NYC Marathon. He shares about how his training block for NYC compared to his training for the U.S. Trials, what it's been like training with teammate Wesley Kiptoo, how he hopes to improve upon his 2:09 PR, and his race plan heading into tomorrow.

The race kicks off on Sunday, November 3rd with the women’s race starting at 8:35am E.T. and the men following at 9:05am E.T. (Don’t forget to set your clock back an hour the night before!) The race will be streamed nationally on ESPN and locally on ABC.

You can read our full NYC Marathon preview here.

CITIUS MAG is proud to partner with HOKA for our coverage of the 2024 NYC Marathon.

"There was an academy called the Transcend Running Academy. That’s where I came through. It’s sponsored by (2012 Boston Marathon champion) Wesley Korir. I was working out with Wesley when I was in Kenya during high school. He taught me most of the things about running. I didn’t know I would make it in running but when he started talking to me about the benefits of going to school and continuing running, I started being serious in those two areas.”

Wesley Kiptoo is the 2021 NCAA Indoor 5000m champion and put together a third and second-place finish at the last two NCAA cross country championships. He was a standout star at Iowa State but now it’s time for a new chapter in his career. Wesley has decided to turn professional and sign with Hoka’s NAZ Elite. He will be training under coach Ben Rosario and he will be making his debut tonight in the 5000m at the Mt. SAC Relays. While in college, Wesley shows fierce competitiveness by pushing the pace from the front. He earned himself personal bests of 13:14.74 for the 5K and 27:37 for the 10K. In this episode, you’ll hear about his big goals as a pro but also a dive into his personal history with the sport. This signing is a dream come true as he hoped to be a pro runner while growing up in Kenya running and walking 40 kilometers to and from school most days. I hope you get to learn more about him and keep tabs on his future as a pro.

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Conner Mantz is a junior at BYU and just won the NCAA Cross Country Championships last month. Right from the start of the race, he went with the hot pace established early by Iowa State’s Wesley Kiptoo and eventually pulled away to win by 22 seconds. Mantz is the first American man to win the NCAA individual title since 2008. He was BYU’s first champion since 2006. 

Just two weeks or so after that race, he went on to run 13:24.78 for 5,000 meters in the men’s 5000m at the Hayward Premiere – the first meet held at the newly renovated Hayward Field. The time is a school record and a U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier. 

Hear more about his development at BYU (and way before that since he ran his first half marathon at 12 years old), his plans for the rest of the season, thoughts on turning pro and much more.

💪 Support for this episode comes from MOMENTOUS. I've been able to try Momentous' ArcFire Strength Recovery Proteinas one of the newest additions to my training regimen. Try it for yourself. CITIUS MAG Podcast listeners will generously receive 20% off their first order of Momentous by using the promo code CITIUS at checkout on LiveMomentous.com. That's CITIUS at checkout for 20% off your first order of plant protein, whey protein, sleep formula and more.

🥇 Support for this episode also comes from the Eugene Marathon. Register for the 5k, Half Marathon, or Marathon today and use code CITIUS25 to save 25% on your race entry!

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Gordon and Kevin discuss Wesley Kiptoo’s easy win, Oregon’s strong mid-distance performance, the collegiate records from Tyra Gittens and Tara Davis and all the other highlights from Fayetteville. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices