Road to the Trials

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 3 - Nico Montañez Feb 09, 2023

Show notes

In our second profile of season three we are highlighting Nico Montañez. Nico is a 2:09 marathoner, National Champion in the 15k, and a top-3 finisher in a stacked field at the 13.1 National Championship. Nico shares his unique journey that began in Tuscon, Arizona, went from junior college to BYU, and landed at Mammoth Track Club with Deena and Andrew Kastor. Nico also talks at length about how his work with a therapist and sports psychology has helped him as an athlete and person.

You can follow Nico at www.instagram.com/montanez.nico.

Ep. 2 - Nell Rojas Feb 06, 2023

Show notes

We are starting off season three of Road to the Trials with one of the best and most versatile runners in the U.S. - Nell Rojas. In this episode we talk about her 2022 marathon performances and take a deep dive into the tumultuous last two months of her life that nearly ended her 2023 Boston Marathon before it began.

Nell is a professional marathon runner for Nike. She grew up in Boulder, CO with two older brothers and her dog Starblaze. She walked on to the Northern Arizona University cross country and track and field teams and got her B.S. in Exercise Science. After college she became a professional triathlete until she decided to move out of her mom's basement and focus on her coaching career. She discovered marathons when she finished 7th at the 2018 marathon national championships in a time of 2:31. She recently finished 5th at the 2021 Boston Marathon, 10th at the 2022 Boston Marathon, and 10th at the 2022 NYC Marathon. She is the 2021 10 mile national champion.

Nell started coaching with her dad Ric Rojas when she graduated from high school and has been coaching ever since. She and the founder of RISE Boulder and is well known for her strength training for runners.

PR's:

Marathon 2:25:57
10k: 31:52
5k: 15:37

The photo used in the podcast graphic was taken by Jesus Perez - www.instagram.com/weligsander.

Season 3 Kick-Off with Stefanie Flippin and Peter Bromka Feb 03, 2023

Show notes

The Road to the Trials has returned for season three and we are fired up! We will be bringing you a yearlong, behind the scenes, look at the training and racing of some of America's best runners as they prepare for the Olympic Marathon Trials on February 3, 2024. In this amazing season we will be following Nell Rojas, CJ Albertson, Sara Vaughn, Dani Moreno, Nico Montañez, Carmen Graves, Ramiro “Curly” Guillen,and Jereny Rivera.

In this episode we are joined by Stefanie Flippin and Peter Bromka. Stefanie is a professional ultra runner and doctor who co-owns her own practice. She was also featured in season one of Road to the Trials! Peter is one of the best running-focused writers in the country and has chronicled his own quest for an OTQ over the past five years. In this episode the three of us dive into the eight runners that we will follow this season while Stefanie and Peter share what they learned from their own journeys and their thoughts on the year ahead.

Follow season three's runners:

Nell Rojas: https://www.instagram.com/nell_rojas_running/
Sara Vaughn: https://www.instagram.com/smevaughn/
Dani Moreno: https://www.instagram.com/dan_yell_a/
Carmen Graves: https://www.instagram.com/carmenpelar/
Jereny Rivera: https://www.instagram.com/lolspacemonkey/
CJ Albertson: https://www.instagram.com/cjalbertson
Nico Montañez: https://www.instagram.com/montanez.nico
Ramiro "Curly" Guillen: https://www.instagram.com/deejaycurly/

Ep. 27 - Olivia Baker: Road to the Trials Recap Aug 06, 2021

Show notes

Our Road to the Trials recaps continue with the extraordinary Olivia Baker.

Olivia didn't have the lead-up to the Trials that she had hoped for but was holding out hope that it would all come together in Eugene. The women's 800m was maybe the deepest event at the entire meet and it was amazing to witness each round. Unfortunately, Olivia was unable to make the final after running well in a stacked opening heat.

After the Trials Olivia stayed in racing condition and finished second at a loaded 800m race last week. This result has led to a series of decisions that Olivia must make in the coming days as she weighs her professional running future and a career in medicine. She shares her thought process about everything that has happened over the past six months and how she will make her next huge decision.

*Podcast photo credit to Chuck Utash*

The Road to the Trials Podcast is presented by COROS Wearables – makers of Performance GPS Watches that help athletes train to be their best. Athletes like World Record Marathoner Eliud Kipchoge and Multi-time US Champion Emma Coburn trust COROS watches to track their training from Long Runs to Track Workouts. With their innovative Track Mode, you can measure your next track workout to near perfection, whether you’ve got 400 meter repeats in Lane 1 or a four mile tempo in lane 5, you can trust COROS to provide the stats you crave.