Jacob Riley Explains How He Ran the Race of His Life to Make the Olympics + His Remarkable Comeback Story

Jacob Riley joins the CITIUS MAG Podcast to share how he managed to make his first Olympic team after a 2:10:02 personal best to finish second at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.

Jake wrote on Twitter, "Been saving end of segment things so I can savor this feeling longer. Yesterday was watching the race coverage, today was finishing my log. Final entry isn’t twitter appropriate, but I got to write “I’m an Olympian”. The way I felt writing that I’ll remember forever." What's the not-Twitter appropriate version and what's the training log say? Jake put us in his shoes for the race and recounts what we likely missed from the broadcast since he had to work his way to catch the leaders. 

More in this episode on: 

- Snatching the American flag with 600 meters remaining in the race and instant regret

- Getting in the right mindset for the race and how it compared to Chicago

- Looking back at his approach to racing as an All-American at Stanford

- What he learned from his five years with the Hansons-Brooks team

- Needing a change in scenery as life gets tough and going through a divorce

- Undergoing surgery on his Achilles and then finding the hope in recovery

- The return to racing and what led to the Chicago breakthrough

- Turning down a shoe contract to be able to run in the Chonky Bois (Nike AlphaFly Next%)

- Why we were dumb to overlook him before the trials?

- A quick explanation of his neckbeard in college

Support for this episode comes from Stryd. They’re helping ensure that you nail the perfect pacing strategy so you can keep a consistent effort in challenging conditions - all in real-time. I’m digging all the data that it’s collecting and you’ll see a bunch of people wearing them on their shoes at the US Olympic Marathon Trials. Learn more by visiting STRYD.COM/CITIUS

▶ Follow us: twitter.com/CitiusMag | instagram.com/citiusmag | facebook.com/citiusmag

✩ Connect with Chris via Email: chris@citiusmag.com | twitter.com/ChrisChavez | instagram.com/chris_j_chavez