The CITIUS MAG Podcast | A Running + Track and Field Show

“A big part of it was finding the right environment, the right people, and the right team that I was excited to be a part of.”

My guest for today's episode is someone we've had a great joy of watching develop from high school through the collegiate ranks. Gary Martin is now a professional runner. He's signing with Brooks and joining the Brooks Beasts, and it feels like it was just yesterday that we were sitting down with him at the Armory after his New Balance Nationals mile victory.

For those who've been following along with CITIUS over the last couple of years, you know that Gary is an athlete that we've propped up and he's even written for CITIUS MAG. So now, four years later after competing for the University of Virginia, his resume speaks for itself. He has a 3:48 mile PB from the Millrose Games (second fastest in collegiate history), he has an ACC cross country title, and a DMR national championship.

In this conversation, we get into why he chose the Beasts, what he asked Danny Mackey about in his first meeting with him, the move to Seattle, the training progression in college, and the self-belief that will suit him as a professional runner. Plus, we also get into what his hopes and expectations are for his pro debut this weekend in the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic.

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Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Gary Martin | @gary.martin20

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

BANDIT: For 2026, Bandit is providing support for any Unsponsored athletes competing at the USATF Outdoor Championships. Every contract includes a release clause so an athlete can sign with a bigger brand the moment an offer lands. 11 Unsponsored alumni have already gone on to deals with some of the largest footwear brands in the world. Competing at USATF Outdoors? Interested? Contact: ⁠⁠timrossi@banditrunning.com⁠⁠

CORE: The CORE 2 Thermal Sensor takes the guessing out of heat training. It reads your core body temperature in real time - no thermometer, nothing invasive, and you can actually see what's happening inside your body while you train. ⁠⁠⁠Take 10% off the CORE 2 with code CITIUS10 at checkout when you visit corebodytemp.com.⁠⁠⁠

VELOUS: VELOUS makes recovery footwear designed to help runners bounce back faster between sessions. Their sandals feature Tri-Motion™ Technology: a technical three-density foam system and contoured footbed engineered to cushion impact, support your arches, and help your toes stretch and relax on every step. Run. Recover. Repeat. with VELOUS! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get 20% off your VELOUS order with code CITIUSMAG20 at checkout including FREE Shipping!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Prefontaine Classic is this weekend at Hayward Field in Eugene, and CITIUS MAG will have a live pre-show on both days streaming on our YouTube channel.

This episode is the full breakdown of every event on the card:

– Men’s 800m (Friday): Cooper Lutkenhaus makes his Pre Classic debut as a professional alongside last year’s World Championship team — Donavan Brazier and Bryce Hoppel.

– Men’s 2 Mile (Friday): Grant Fisher is coming off his 5000m victory at the Paris Diamond League to go up against Andreas Almgren and Parker Wolfe.

– Women’s 100m (Saturday heats + final): The best women’s 100m field assembled all year featuring The Clayton twins, Adaejah Hodge, Shericka Jackson, Sha’Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.

– Men’s 400m (Saturday): USA vs. Collen Kebinatshipi.

– Men’s 200m (Saturday): Letsile Tebgogo should have this one.

– Men’s 110m Hurdles (Saturday): Ja’Kobe Tharp returns to the exact track where he ran 12.75 for his first Diamond League race as the world record holder.

– Women’s 2 Mile (Saturday): Likely a world record attempt and 8 of the 14 entrants are Ethiopian.

– Men’s 100m (Saturday): Oblique Seville, reigning world champion, is the clear favorite — one of only two men in the field who have broken 9.90 this season.

– Women’s 3000m Steeplechase (Saturday): The three fastest women in the world this season — Chemutai (8:51.06), Cherotich (8:51.48), Yavi (8:51.54) — are all here. Just 0.48 seconds separates the top three. Eight Americans in the field. Doris Lemngole is the wild card.

– Women’s 100m Hurdles (Saturday, straight final): All five of the world’s top five this season on one start line.

– Women’s 800m (Saturday): Keely Hodgkinson pulled out of the British Championships 400m after one or two strides when something felt off — a smart call. She’s in Eugene and we’ll see where she’s at.

– Women’s Mile (Saturday): Faith Kipyegon is back! Georgia Hunter Bell (3:55.63, second in the world) is her primary rival. The subplot will be if the American record falls to Nikki Hiltz or Emily Mackay.

– Men’s Bowerman Mile (Saturday): The grand finale! Cam Myers (3:28 world leader, Australian record), Yared Nuguse (two Diamond League wins, American record), Azeddine Habz (3:29), Timothy Cheruiyot (looking like himself again), Niels Laros (1:43 800 speed, devastating kick), Cole Hocker (Olympic champion, fitness question mark after a niggle and a lost 3K). Who ya got?

– Where to watch: Saturday on NBC and Peacock, 12:30 PM Pacific / 3:30 PM Eastern.

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Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Kyle Merber | @kylemerber

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

BANDIT: For 2026, Bandit is providing support for any Unsponsored athletes competing at the USATF Outdoor Championships. Every contract includes a release clause so an athlete can sign with a bigger brand the moment an offer lands. 11 Unsponsored alumni have already gone on to deals with some of the largest footwear brands in the world. Competing at USATF Outdoors? Interested? Contact: ⁠timrossi@banditrunning.com⁠

CORE: The CORE 2 Thermal Sensor takes the guessing out of heat training. It reads your core body temperature in real time - no thermometer, nothing invasive, and you can actually see what's happening inside your body while you train. ⁠⁠Take 10% off the CORE 2 with code CITIUS10 at checkout when you visit corebodytemp.com.⁠⁠

VELOUS: VELOUS makes recovery footwear designed to help runners bounce back faster between sessions. Their sandals feature Tri-Motion™ Technology: a technical three-density foam system and contoured footbed engineered to cushion impact, support your arches, and help your toes stretch and relax on every step. Run. Recover. Repeat. with VELOUS! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get 20% off your VELOUS order with code CITIUSMAG20 at checkout including FREE Shipping!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In near-perfect conditions following a week of brutal French heat, Sunday’s Paris Diamond League produced three Diamond League records.

In this episode:

– Audrey Werro came to Paris explicitly targeting the women’s 800m world record and ran a personal best of 1:53.80 — a Diamond League record, meet record, world lead, and Swiss national record. She’s now the only woman ever with multiple sub-1:54 performances (three of them, all this season). The world record is 1:53.28, set by Jarmila Kratochvílová in 1983. Werro is 0.52 back.

– Femke Broeders-Bol’s 800m transition is real. The reigning 400m hurdles world champion ran 1:55.60 in the 800m — a massive personal best — finishing second behind Werro’s Diamond League record. Her move to the 800m is no longer an experiment.

– Cam Myers ran 3:28.00 in the Paris Diamond League 1500m — a personal best by over a second, the 27th fastest time in history, and faster than Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the same age (Jakob ran 3:28.68 at 20). Myers beat a field that included 3:27 man Azeddine Habz and 2025 World Championship medalists Jake Wightman and Reynold Cheruiyot

– What it all means for the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic

– Grant Fisher won the Paris Diamond League 5000m in 12:54.80, edging Jacob Krop (12:55.22) and Andreas Almgren (12:55.38) in a stacked field where ten athletes broke 13:00. The win also marked the fifth Diamond League victory by an American men’s mid-distance runner in 2026 — the most ever in a single year, with seven meets still remaining.

– Marco Arop dominates the men’s 800m. He confirmed after the race that he intends to go for the record this year: “Clearly I’m in shape for it”

– Trayvon Bromell beats Noah Lyles and there’s Twitter comments afterward by the Olympic champion

– Jamal Britt runs 12.89 PB in Paris — his 10th win of 2026, his 12th meet since April

– Collen Kebinatshipi runs 43.54 Diamond League record in Paris.

+ More highlights and shout-outs from around the running world including Western States.

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Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠ + Mac Fleet | @macfleet

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

BANDIT: For 2026, Bandit is providing support for any Unsponsored athletes competing at the USATF Outdoor Championships. Every contract includes a release clause so an athlete can sign with a bigger brand the moment an offer lands. 11 Unsponsored alumni have already gone on to deals with some of the largest footwear brands in the world. Competing at USATF Outdoors? Interested? Contact: timrossi@banditrunning.com

CORE: The CORE 2 Thermal Sensor takes the guessing out of heat training. It reads your core body temperature in real time - no thermometer, nothing invasive, and you can actually see what's happening inside your body while you train. ⁠Take 10% off the CORE 2 with code CITIUS10 at checkout when you visit corebodytemp.com.⁠

VELOUS: VELOUS makes recovery footwear designed to help runners bounce back faster between sessions. Their sandals feature Tri-Motion™ Technology: a technical three-density foam system and contoured footbed engineered to cushion impact, support your arches, and help your toes stretch and relax on every step. Run. Recover. Repeat. with VELOUS! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get 20% off your VELOUS order with code CITIUSMAG20 at checkout including FREE Shipping!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Disclaimer: Both Chris and Kyle were watching the Knicks when multiple big track performances happened, so some of the detail recall is shakier than usual. No regrets.

Discussed in this episode:

– Knicks NBA Champions: Chris and Kyle grew up as New York sports fans, and CITIUS MAG as a company exists in part because the two bonded over the Yankees and Knicks.

– Cooper Lutkenhaus beats Emmanuel Wanyoni in Oslo, 1:42.08: Photo finish — 1:42.08 to 1:42.09. World lead. Personal best. At 17 years old, he has now beaten the Olympic gold medalist and the Olympic silver medalist in the same 2026 season. His 2026 unbeaten record: six finals, six wins.

– Ja'Kobe Tharp, 12.75 world record (110m hurdles prelim): The least surprising collegiate record of the weekend — it was coming — but the world record was genuinely shocking.

– Adaejah Hodge, 10.63 (+1.9) in the 100m prelim: Breaks Sha’Carri Richardson’s collegiate record of 10.75. Moves to #5 all-time globally, behind only Flo-Jo, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. Also runs 21.68 in the 200 final for the collegiate record (breaks Abby Steiner’s 21.8 from 2022).

– Habtom Samuel, 5K/10K double: Light work. His kick is on another level from the current NCAA field. Marco Langon made a brave move at 400 to go and was humbled for it — not his fault, it’s just that Haptam had a whole other gear.

– Jaiden Reed, 19.63 (200m): Breaks Walter Dix’s NCAA record that had stood since 2007. Most surprising record of the weekend.

– Simeon Birnbaum, 3:36.05 (1500m): Second place was 1.13 seconds behind. Wire to wire. He broke the 25-year curse: no athlete who broke the NCAA mile or 1500 record had also won the title that same year. Birnbaum did both. Kyle gives his hypothetical 2026 World Championships team if one existed.

– Jane Hedengren: Third in the 10K, ninth in the 5K — after being bedridden with illness all week, disclosed after her 10K race.

– LA Grand Prix | Parker Valby wins the 5K in 14:39, a 10-second personal best from her 14:49 opener three weeks ago. She’s now ninth on the US all-time list, ahead of Molly Huddle and Jane Hedengren. We set the over/under on 14:27.5 for this season.

– Looking ahead: Ostrava on June 16th (Noah Lyles vs. Gout Gout in the 150, Tebogo vs. Gout Gout in the 200 — the more interesting race). Portland Track Festival this weekend. FBK Games in Hengelo. Stay tuned to CITIUS MAG channels for results, analysis, and commentary.

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Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠ + Kyle Merber | @kylemerber

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

CORE: The CORE 2 Thermal Sensor takes the guessing out of heat training. It reads your core body temperature in real time - no thermometer, nothing invasive, and you can actually see what's happening inside your body while you train. Take 10% off the CORE 2 with code CITIUS10 at checkout when you visit corebodytemp.com.

VELOUS: VELOUS makes recovery footwear designed to help runners bounce back faster between sessions. Their sandals feature Tri-Motion™ Technology: a technical three-density foam system and contoured footbed engineered to cushion impact, support your arches, and help your toes stretch and relax on every step. Run. Recover. Repeat. with VELOUS! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get 20% off your VELOUS order with code CITIUSMAG20 at checkout including FREE Shipping!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

OLIPOP: Raspberry Sherbet is a limited-edition, nostalgic new flavor that blends tangy raspberry with creamy vanilla. Every can of Olipop contains their Olismart blend, which includes ingredients designed to support digestive health and help feed your gut microbiome. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠

Three more collegiate records fell on the final day of the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, bringing the total for the most insane week anyone has ever seen to nine.

Dejanea Oakley and Adaejah Hodge, who are roommates for the week, both smashed the NCAA records for 400m and 200m, respectively, putting up 20 points for the eventual team champion Georgia Bulldogs. Oakley covered one lap in 48.79, while Hodge bounced back from a 100m defeat to run 21.68.

After missing Athing Mu’s collegiate record by just .01 at Regionals, Sanu Jallow of Arkansas made sure there were no questions about the fastest half-miler in NCAA history, winning the 800m national title in 1:56.85.

At the conclusion of 21 events, Georgia managed to put 50 points on the board to sweep the indoor and outdoor season titles.

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Host: Paul Hof-Mahoney | ⁠⁠@phofmahoney⁠⁠

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠