Podcast
THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST
Hosted by Dominic Schlueter · EN
The Running Effect tells the best stories in running—and turns them into insight, inspiration, and tools to help competitive runners become greater.
Every week, host Dominic Schlueter sits down with the fastest, smartest, and most inspiring people in the sport—from Olympic medalists to breakthrough athletes—to unpack the stories, lessons, and mindset behind elite performance. Whether you’re chasing a personal best or looking to understand how greatness is built, The Running Effect will make you a deeper fan of the sport—and a better runner.
38episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
From a Year Without Leaving His House to a Guinness World Record: Mike Egan on Adversity, Repurposing Suffering, and Dragging His Chair Through the Mud at the BPN G1M Ultra
2w ago00:56:43Tap to summarizeHe gave everything for his country, came home without his legs, and then completed 110 miles anyway.Mike Egan is a Marine combat veteran who lost both legs to an IED in Afghanistan. In this conversation, he sits down with Dominic to talk about the G1M Go One More Backyard Ultra in Texas, where he completed 27 loops (110-plus miles in a wheelchair over 27 straight hours) finishing 27th in a field of able-bodied athletes. When heavy rain turned loop 27's course into thick mud and locked his wheels, Egan climbed out of the chair and crawled, dragging it behind him. He barely blinked.But the race is almost a footnote. What Mike actually delivers in this hour is a masterclass in how to think about suffering. He talks about the year he didn't leave his house, the slow crawl back out of isolation, and the realization that endurance sport wasn't about fitness—it was the first thing that forced him to face what he'd been packing down for years. He talks about repurposing pain, the discipline of not breaking promises with yourself, and why he never asks "what if," he just does. He also pushes back hard on one thing: don't compare your hardships to his. Your suffering is your own. How you respond to it is all that matters.This is one of the most direct, no-fluff conversations about identity and resilience TRE has ever produced.Tap into the Mike Egan 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.S H O W N O T E S-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffzBehind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZLuminaryThreads: luminarythreads.shopInstagram: @mike_egan88TikTok: @mike_egan88
Transcribe →Reflecting on a Record-Breaking Freshman Year: Jane Hedengren on What Year One at BYU Taught Her, Summer Base Training, and Chasing a Cross Country Title
2w ago00:25:25Tap to summarizeJane Hedengren doesn't do freshman years quietly. Coming off a breakout debut season at BYU, the Nike-sponsored phenom joins Dominic ahead of the Prefontaine Classic to reflect on a year that redefined her expectations of herself.Hedengren opens up about the whirlwind of transitioning from decorated high schooler to collegiate standout, describing her freshman year as less about the records and wins and more about the growth, the team bonds, and the hard-earned lessons that came with it.She talks through her simplified shoe rotation, what it's really like working alongside Nike's product teams, and how the "less is more" training philosophy from her Nike Elite days still affect how she approaches her buildup. She also opens up about periodizing a season that won't peak until November, the value of resting and reconnecting with family this summer, and how she's staying grounded as her siblings chase their own running success.The conversation turns reflective as Jane considers her long-term legacy in the sport, weighing the pull between cross country's singular, winner-take-all drama and the technical precision of track. Asked to choose between breaking four minutes in the mile or fourteen minutes in the 5K as the sport's next historic barrier, she doesn't hesitate to share her pick, while acknowledging both feel closer than ever. Through it all, Jane's answers land with a maturity beyond her years, a steady reminder that she's chasing greatness one present moment at a time.Tap into the Jane Hedengren 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.S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffzBehind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZLuminaryThreads: luminarythreads.shopInstagram: @janehedengren
Transcribe →12 Weeks. One Shot. Everyone Else Is Resting. The Mike Scannell Special That Will Set You Apart: Grant Fisher's Coach on the Summer That Separates the Fast From the Forgotten
2w ago01:04:23Tap to summarizeMike Scannell doesn't believe in mileage—he believes in how you run it. Back on the show for another appearance, the architect of Grant Fisher's Olympic campaign sits down with Dominic to talk about something every serious runner faces and most get wrong: the summer training block. Scannell makes the case that the six weeks in the dead heat of summer are the truest measure of who an athlete is going to become. When the training gets long, boring, and hot, most kids quit. The ones who don't are the ones worth coaching.The conversation moves from training philosophy into the psychology of competition. Scannell breaks down how he handles disappointment with athletes and why he refuses to let any kid internalize a bad race as a reflection of who they are. He talks about goal-setting with the same directness: limit them to three or four; share them only with people qualified to help you reach them; and let your daily actions do the announcing. He also goes after the mileage obsession head-on. Most kids are addicted to a number on Strava instead of the quality of the miles that produced it. Scannell has seen it at every level, and his prescription is simple: rest, hydration, and mild but honest training—in that order. The summer doesn't need to be heroic. It needs to be consistent.Sharp, direct, and full of the practical coaching wisdom that's made him one of the most respected voices in American distance running.Tap into the Coach Mike Scannell 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.S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffzBehind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZLuminaryThreads: luminarythreads.shop
Transcribe →pov: you are a fly on a wall for a convo between 4 running friends like they're on a long run
2w ago01:35:40Tap to summarizeThe boys are back, and nobody came to talk about running. Dominic welcomes Scotty, Danny, and Chris from the Life in Stride podcast for their fourth appearance on TRE, and within minutes the conversation has already covered protein powder side effects, dry needling in uncomfortable places, and Dom's near-date with one of the most famous athletes on the planet.Before things go completely off the rails, Dom shares the story behind his role as a strategic advisor for Attuned—a bioenergetics company whose health scanning technology helped his sister recover from over a decade of chronic illness. From there the group runs through their list of overhyped running products, with Dom going on record as a full Ketone IQ skeptic, and the guys trading takes on cold plunges, Normatec boots, and Firefly devices.The rapid-fire segment produces some of the episode's best moments, including a spontaneous revelation about his DM history with Olympic snowboarder and cultural phenomenon Eileen Gu, in addition to a detailed accounting of what Dom would actually cook for you if you showed up hungry at his door tonight. The episode closes with a lively argument about whether Dom's brother's daily mileage challenge is more impressive than running a 2:34 marathon, the crew announcing plans for a live podcast marathon, and all four sharing genuine closing words about making the most of your days before the summer slips away.Tap into the Life in Stride 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.S H O W N O T E S Attuned 20% off: https://attuned.health/discount/TRE20?ref=TRE20-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffzBehind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZLuminaryThreads: luminarythreads.shop Instagram: @lifeinstridepodcast YouTube: Life In Stride
Transcribe →Coach Chris Miltenberg on the Crisis Inside College Running: The Foreign-Talent Surge Reshaping Recruiting, the Age Gap No One Will Touch, and Whether the NCAA Can Still Develop American Stars
3w ago00:59:52Tap to summarizeThe NCAA isn't broken: it's been bought, and Coach Chris Miltenberg is one of the last ones willing to say so out loud.Miltenberg returns to the show fresh off an NCAA Championships in Eugene where the women's 5,000 and men's 10,000 runners were swept nearly clean by international athletes funneled in through university-funded recruiting services. He called it what it is: a paradigm shift, driven by two forces—an age gap that routinely pits 18-year-old Americans against 26- and 27-year-olds, and a recruiting model that has traded relationship-building for transactional delivery. What separates Coach Milt from the noise is that he's not talking about this from the outside—UNC was largely absent from the results in Eugene, too, and he said so plainly. But he's not wringing his hands either. He's choosing to double down: develop elite American talent the long way, backed by institutional alignment and a recruiting pipeline that he and his assistant have quietly rebuilt around the next wave of domestic standouts. He also addressed what this moment means for the American high schooler with D1 dreams —the 4:10 miler, who, five years ago would have been a priority recruit and today might not crack a Power Five roster. His advice was blunt: go where you matter. Find the coach who's invested in your development, not your opening time.Coach Milt also touched on Michaela Page's continued rise, the Penn relay rivalry, Simeon Birnbaum's 1500 in Eugene, and what it feels like every June to watch another senior class walk out the door. Tap into the Coach Milt 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.S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffzBehind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZluminarythreads.shop Instagram: @chris.miltenberg
Transcribe →From a Down Year to 1:57 — 2nd-Fastest in NCAA History: Hayley Kitching on the Comeback, Confidence, and the "I'm Her" Mentality
3w ago00:36:51Tap to summarizeRunning a 1:57 doesn't happen by accident. And for Hayley Kitching, it almost didn't happen at all.A year ago, the Penn State senior was in Austin nursing plantar fasciitis while watching the sport move without her. Hayley is here to unpack the full arc: the injury, the comeback, and the NCAA Outdoor final at Hayward Field where she ran the second-fastest 800 meters in collegiate history—and still finished second. Hayley and Dominic go deep on what actually drove the jump from 2:20 in high school to 1:57 on the biggest stage. Her answer isn't a secret workout or a revolutionary training block. It's consistency—a Monday steady run and showing up even when the motivation isn't there.She also opens up about the nutritional wake-up call that changed her freshman year, her three-day-a-week lifting program that includes a leg circuit she calls "leg day on crack," and the afternoon nap that she considers non-negotiable.The conversation gets equally honest about the mental side: the confidence she's carried since her junior days in Coffs Harbour; how she thinks about the difference between confidence and pride; and why she'd tell her younger self to get off Instagram and stop comparing results. She also reflects on the NCAA Indoor fall in March, what it felt like to sprint the fastest final lap of the day and still not make the final, and why she came out of Eugene happy despite leaving without the win.Hayley is heading pro. This episode is the perfect send-off.Tap into the Hayley Kitching 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.S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffzBehind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZluminarythreads.shop
Transcribe →Inside How Habtom Samuel Won 5 NCAA Titles: On His Closing Kick, the Mindset Shift, and Leaving the NCAA on Top
3w ago00:47:04Tap to summarizeNEW MERCH OUT TODAY 5PM EST: https://luminarythreads.shopFive NCAA titles. One backwards hat. Zero apologies.Habtom Samuel is not a guy who talks much—he lets the track do it. The University of New Mexico junior just capped a historic 2025–2026 season by sweeping the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, becoming the most decorated athlete in Lobos history. In this episode, Dominic sits down with Habtom the week after the titles to find out what it actually feels like.The conversation covers the full arc: growing up in Eritrea, the culture shock of arriving in Albuquerque with no family nearby, and the quiet determination that carried him through a sophomore year of four runner-up finishes. Habtom opens up about that 2025 NCAA Cross Country final—the one where he lost his shoe midway through the race, kept charging, and still nearly caught Graham Blanks. He talks through the indoor DQ, the decision to work on his kick, and the precise moment in the outdoor 5,000m final where he knew it was time to move on Marco Langan.There is also real warmth here. Habtom talks about what it means to train alongside Josh Kerr, what the Hoka NIL deal has meant for his family back home, and why he refuses to let anything (a lost shoe, a disqualification, a trash-talk headline) pull his focus from what he can control. He is not a guy chasing a legacy. He is a guy who shows up, works, and lets the results speak. They have been speaking pretty loudly lately.Tap into the Habtom Samuel 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.S H O W N O T E S MERCH: luminarythreads.shop-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffzBehind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZLInstagram: Habtom Samuel (@habtom_samuel_).
Transcribe →Launching LuminaryThreads: The 3-Year What-If Behind The Running Effect's Merch Brand
3w ago00:13:33Tap to summarize🔗 Shop drop one (early-access password: TRE): https://luminarythreads.shopDominic goes solo to launch LuminaryThreads — a merch brand three years in the making, built on a simple idea: you pass roughly a thousand people a day, and what you wear is the one way to reach them. Every month, one drop. One short statement meant to inspire, challenge, or move whoever reads it. When it's gone, it's gone for good.Drop one is the motto that started it all: Turn Your What-Ifs Into Realities.Only 50 shirts exist. Dom breaks down why he waited three years, why he's taking a loss on the first drop, and what "impact over profit" actually means to him.🔗 Shop drop one (early-access password: TRE): https://luminarythreads.shop📷 LuminaryThreads on Instagram: @luminarythreadsmerchThe Run Down by The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rsOur Website: https://therunningeffect.runTHE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQMy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=enTake our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffzBehind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL
Transcribe →The Runner's Playbook on Knowing When to Quit a Workout, Optimizing What Actually Matters, and Surviving Summer Heat — With NIKE Pro Coach Alex Osberg
4w ago00:53:29Tap to summarizeNEW MERCH OUT ON MONDAY: https://luminarythreads.shopAlex Ostberg doesn't waste your time—and this month's Rundown recap is proof. Dominic and Alex break down four newsletters that build on each other in ways that feel almost inevitable by the end: a framework for how elite programs fall apart, how coaches know when to pull the plug, and how summer heat can either wreck your confidence or become your secret weapon. The first piece, "Stop Optimizing Things That Shouldn't Exist," starts with a pattern Alex sees repeatedly when collegiate athletes go pro: the blank slate they've been waiting for becomes a trap. More practitioners, more supplements, more inputs—and performance drops.Someone has to own the whole system, not just be a piece in it. He calls it the difference between vertical and horizontal integration, and he believes coaches who act as master integrators (filtering what reaches the athlete) will always outperform those who don't. From there, Dominic and Alex get into "The Case for Quitting a Workout Early," a piece Alex traces back to his first day at the Bowerman Track Club, stopwatch in hand, with no script for when things went sideways. The final two newsletters take on summer heat as a pair. "The Heat Tax" lays out the physiology—why humidity is the real enemy; why the brain throttles the legs before the legs even know what's happening. "The Heat Adaptation Playbook" closes with the practical protocol: post-exercise sauna, effort-based training targets, and the mindset shift that turns miserable summer miles into a fall advantage. Same principles as the workout piece, Alex notes—protect the descent.Tap into the Rundown Recap 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.S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffzBehind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZL
Transcribe →What It Takes to Run 1:45 in the 800: Niko Schultz on the Training, the Environment, and the Mindset That Got Him There
4w ago00:51:11Tap to summarizeNEW MERCH OUT ON MONDAY: https://luminarythreads.shop From 1:54 and zero Division I offers to sixth at NCAAs in 1:45, Niko Schultz didn't sneak up on anybody, he just refused to stop showing up.This year, in his first campaign at Penn State, he finished sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and earned First-Team All-American honors. That arc doesn't happen by accident. Niko sits down with Dominic to unpack everything behind that leap: the decision to enter the transfer portal as a guy most coaches didn't want; the culture shock of arriving at Penn State and not winning a single training rep for three months straight; and what it felt like to be working server shifts after practice just to cover rent. Coach Ryan Foster's philosophy comes up early–-how he treats athletes like professionals; doesn’t micromanage the warm-up; and builds an environment where the training group does the coaching.The conversation goes well beyond the track. Niko is candid about what drove him to start posting: a stress fracture freshman year and a high school coach asking what he was worth outside of running. He sat through two years of getting roasted in the comments before anything clicked. Now he's building toward a million followers with the same intentionality he brings to dropping time on the track, and he sees the two pursuits as feeding each other.He also explains why he switched his international allegiance from the U.S. to Puerto Rico and what the road to the 2028 Olympics looks like from where he's standing.Tap into the Niko Schultz 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.S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffzBehind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZLInstagram: @nikoschultzzz TikTok: @nikojschultz YouTube: Niko Schultz
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