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Most training apps tell you exactly what to do every day. Josh Sambrook helped to build one that tells you your weekly target, and lets you train however your life demands.

It’s the system that helped him run 120-mile weeks, cut his marathon time to 2:28 by age 23 (he ran his first marathon at 17), and reinvent how thousands of runners train.

Josh and Michael Keskerides are the co-founders of the Kaizen app for runners. The app is a flexible and dynamic training system that sets a training load target at the start of the week, and then the user is free to achieve this goal through whatever combination of runs works best for their lifestyle.

With the app and this training system, athletes can “trade” intensity for distance. Kaizen is the Japanese business principle of continuous improvement; discrete, ongoing, small changes can lead to significant benefits, and they used this as their model.

The two co-founders host the Miles Better Podcast, where they discuss running and how they use the app for training.

Josh himself is a sports scientist, builder of training systems and prediction engines, a running coach, writer, and podcaster–and he’s here to bring clarity to a sport drowning in noise.

Tap into the Josh Sambrook Special.

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We’re living in the golden era of NCAA middle distance running, and Elliott Cook is right in the center of it.

Elliot is the NCAA Outdoor 1500m runner-up (3:39.57) from 2024, while also coming in 8th at the US Olympic Team trials that year, running a career best 3:33.84. His other PRs include a 3:55 mile and 1:45.26 in the 800m.

In high school he was a four-time Ohio D1 Central District champion, a state indoor 1600m champion in 2020, and nabbed district titles in the 800m and 1600m; he also had a top-10 finish at Nike Cross Midwest.

Now a senior at Oregon finishing up his last days as a collegiate runner, Elliot battled a hip injury throughout the winter, but was able to compete this spring and summer, where, in July he ran his 800m personal best. He competed at the US Olympic Trials again this past summer, running a strong 3:35.36 to finish fourth in his heat, but missed the finals in a stacked field.

Elliott’s rise reminds us that progress doesn’t always announce itself, sometimes it builds quietly until the moment everything clicks. If you’re chasing something big, take a page from his story. Stay patient. Stay consistent. Your breakthrough might be closer than you think.

Tap into the Elliot Cook 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.

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Joseph Miuccio spends his life at 35,000 feet, and somehow still logs the training hours for Leadville, Ironman, and marathon racing.

Joey has run a 2:56 marathon, a 4:45 half ironman, and he’s a Leadville 100 finisher. Now, he can add Ironman finisher to his resume, as he recently completed the Ironman Arizona in 9:46:37, an extremely impressive sub 10 hour feat coming in 136 overall in a field of over 1,200 racers.

Online, he has an impressive following of over 455,000 on Instagram where he documents his racing, lifestyle, and career as a flight instructor and commercial pilot. He also offers 1-on-1 fitness coaching via his online profile.

He’s polished, competitive, and backs it up with impressive results in multiple domains. Growing up, sports were a key component in his fitness journey. He grew up playing every sport imaginable: baseball, soccer, basketball, football, wrestling, surfing and even bowling. When in high school, he focused on wrestling, which likely built in his work ethic for the future.

He has shown what’s possible while holding down a demanding career, exploring ultras, and going sub-10 in an Ironman. The question now is: what’s your version of that?

Tap into the Joseph Miuccio 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.

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From walk-on to Olympian, Emily Mackay has rewritten every expectation.

Now, she’s back on the show to open up about the reinvention that’s powering the best chapter of her career.

Emily ran collegiately at Binghamton University, where her best NCAA finish was 6th in the 1500m as a senior in 2022. She joined New Balance Boston that summer of 2022, while training under coach Mark Coogan. What followed was a rapid improvement as a professional, lowering her 1500m personal best from 4:08.97 to 3:59.99 in 2023.

Emily was then one of America’s best female middle distance runners in 2024. In addition to her 1500m exploits, her 800m season’s best of 1:57.87 ranked sixth in the US that year. She also ran in the 1500m semifinals in the Paris Olympics.

In 2025, Mackay finished 4th in the 3,000m at the US indoor championships in February, and took 10th at Tokyo in the 1500m semifinals with a 4:08.19. Emily signed with New Balance in 2022, and while she was formerly part of Team New Balance Boston, she has since left the team.

Emily’s rise is proof that belief, resilience, and reinvention can take you anywhere. If her journey fired you up, share this conversation and follow along, because her story is only getting better

Tap into the Emily Mackay 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.

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America’s next great distance runner might not be a pro, he might be a junior at Wake Forest.

At the 2025 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on November 22, Rocky Hansen delivered the race of his life, finishing second overall and coming within striking distance of the national title. Last year, Rocky placed 100th at this same meet, so his surge is proof that he’s putting himself up there with the best who can do it right now.

But rising to the front at the national championship level is nothing new for Rocky.

Before Wake Forest, he was a three-time North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year (twice for track, once for XC) and a 10-time state record holder, including 3:58.23 for the mile, becoming the first in North Carolina to break the 4:00 barrier in high school.

At Wake Forest, Rocky has only continued to elevate. He holds PRs of 3:38 (1500m), 3:57 (mile), 7:56 (3000m), and a stunning 13:07 5000m, which broke the Wake Forest school record and established him as one of the fastest collegiate 5K runners in NCAA history. He also placed 5th in the NCAA Outdoor 5000m last year.

Rocky Hansen’s story is still being written, but after finishing second on the biggest stage in the NCAA and making a massive leap from last year, it’s clear he’s ready for the spotlight.

Tap into the Rocky Hansen Special.

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Enter Oliver Horton, the high school Colorado phenom everyone will be talking about this season.

At just 17 years old and a high school junior at Coronado High School (in Colorado Springs), he is already a state champion, a sub-14:30 performer, and a name climbing the national rankings, having just become the 2025 Colorado 4A state XC champion.

He didn’t just become the first Colorado runner to break 15 minutes on the tough Norris Penrose course in Colorado, he obliterated the previous course record, clocking 14:48. (For comparison, 2024 NCAA 5,000 National Champion Parker Wolfe ran 15:10 in 2020).

He has benefited from the consistency of running for coach Lisa Rainsberger for the previous 10 years.

Oliver’s PR on the grass is a sizzling 14:23.9, which he ran this past September. On the track he ran 4:08.93 in the mile outdoors and 8:54.94 in the 3200m.

Every generation has its defining runner. For Colorado, for 2025, and maybe for the nation, Oliver Horton is making his case.

The records speak. The rankings confirm it. But the story behind it all? That’s what we’re digging into.

Tap into the Oliver Horton 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.

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What if your next breakthrough doesn’t come from doubling down on workouts, but from ten small habits hiding in plain sight?

In this month’s check-in, Alex Ostberg sits down with Dominic to unpack his latest deep dives.

They begin with Alex’s “Playbook of Greatness,” exploring why the best athletes in the world aren’t defined by big heroic moments, but by the quiet, repeatable habits that shape their days. From structuring your environment to lowering the friction around training, Alex breaks down the kind of consistency that compounds into major gains.

That naturally leads into a surprising question: Is it time to retire stretching? Alex challenges the long-held rituals that runners swear by, making a compelling case for smarter mobility, intentional strength work, and knowing what actually contributes to performance.

From there, the conversation zooms out to recovery. Drawing from his “Hierarchy of Recovery Needs,” the guys look atwhat truly sits at the foundation of a successful recovery in the running space.

They also look at team dynamics and Alex’s idea of “viruses” that infect culture. Whether you’re on a high school squad or a professional training group, subtle habits–good or bad–spread fast.

If you’re ready to rethink your approach from the inside out, this conversation delivers clarity, direction, and the kind of insights that can change a season. Hit play and level up.

Tap into the Alex Ostberg Special.

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From American-record brilliance to a late-career grind, Evan Jager’s story has been one of constant adaptation.

But now he’s ready to call it quits and move onto the next phase of life without running.

The late-career push included an 8th place finish in the men’s 3000m steeplechase at the U.S. Championships in 8:28.21 this year. He also ran the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile in September of this year and came in 19th with a 3:54.9.

Jager originally made a name for himself when he set the 3000m Steeplechase American Record in July of 2015 with a 8:00.45. His other PRs include 13:02.40 in the 5,000m; 7:35.16 in the 3,000m; and 3:32.97 in the 1,500m.

After one year in the NCAA ranks as a Wisconsin Badger (he came in 8th in the 1,500m at outdoors during the 2008 season), Jager turned professional. He then went on to win seven consecutive U.S. steeplechase titles from 2012–2018.

He made his presence known on the world stage, grabbing a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Games in the 3000m steeplechase; prior to that he came in 6th at the 2012 London Games in the 3000m steeplechase.

After a serious foot injury, Jager burst back on the scene in 2022, nabbing a second place finish at the 2022 USATF outdoor games.

Check in as we unpack the peaks, valleys, and lasting legacy of one of America’s most influential distance runners as he flips to the next professional chapter of his memorable career.

Tap into the Evan Jager 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.

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S H O W N O T E S

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-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run

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-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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