Fast People – Details, episodes & analysis

Professional marathoner Keira D'Amato discusses her upcoming book "Don't Call it a Comeback: What Happened When I Stopped Chasing PRs, and Started Chasing Happiness." 

She also discusses overcoming her fear of failure, her move to Utah to train under coach Ed Eyestone, the supportive running community she's found there, and how her Boston Marathon training is going.

Preorder Keira's book: https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/dont-call-it-9781250344946/ (Available September 9, 2025)

Follow Keira on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keiradamato/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!

Heather MacLean shares her remarkable journey from growing up in a low-income family to becoming one of the best runners in world. This one is for anyone who loves an underdog story.

She discusses growing up with seven siblings and a single mother, joining her high school track & field team by chance, and becoming the first person in her family to graduate from college. She also talks about navigating her early professional running years while often working full-time. 

Heather discusses overcoming the biggest injury setback of her career, and also tells the story of her recent engagement. ("You can't propose to me when I'm wearing a stupid Santa hat!")

Follow Heather on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_maclean31/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!

Professional track & field athlete Valery "Val" Tobias recently had a breakthrough race to run 1:59.55 and finish second in the 800m at the USATF Indoor Championships. That qualified her to represent the U.S. at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, which take place March 21–23 in Nanjing, China. 

Val was born in Texas but lived in Mexico until middle school, when she moved back to the U.S. Her teachers discovered her talent for running during a gym class mile, and she's been on an upward trajectory ever since. 

She was a four-time All-American in the 800m for the University of Texas and is now in her second year of professional running, for the Brooks Beasts. After struggling a bit during her rookie year, her hard work is paying off now.

If her mention of swearing on NBC made you curious, you can watch the clip here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEYPB8pn14Y&t=180s. It was pretty mild.

Follow Val on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/valerytobias/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!

Mike Scannell talks to Sarah Lorge Butler about coaching Grant Fisher to Olympic Bronze medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m last year, as well as two indoor world records in February.

Some Highlights:

• Discussion of Grant and Mike's post-Olympic recovery
• The importance of pacers maintaining rhythm in high-stakes races
• Grant thanking his pacer mid-race, while setting the indoor 5,000m world record
• What makes Grant unique, from a mental standpoint
• On whether it's harder to get high school kids to commit to working hard than it was 10 years ago
• High school kids being "mindless balls of clay"
• Is Mike still seeking a training partner for Grant?
• Mike's running, and how he tests all of the workouts he assigns on himself first
• How, at age 62, he remains healthy enough to do so
• How he got into coaching
• On learning from other coaches.
• How he'll approach Grand Slam Track, from a training perspective
• When Grant will run a marathon

Sarah's Runner's World article on the four pacers who helped Grant Fisher set his two world records this winter: https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a63875236/grant-fisher-pacers-world-records/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!

Juli Benson discusses her journey from barely making it to the NCAA Track & Field Championships her senior year to becoming an Olympian, and her subsequent transition into coaching. Juli coached Jenny Simpson to 1500m gold at the 2011 World Athletics Championships, and she now coaches runners of all abilities.

Juli got a flurry of attention after Nikki Hiltz, currently the U.S.'s top 1500m runner, announced last month that they are now working with Juli. But Juli coaches a number of high level athletes, which she discusses in this episode.

Topics include:

• How mentors like Frank Gagliano, Pat Henner, and Ron Helmer helped shape her coaching philosophy.
• How she wound up coaching Jenny Simpson and Kevin Sullivan.
• The seven pro runners she currently coaches.
• How she and Mike Smith handled the Nikki Hiltz coaching handoff after Smith and Hiltz were forced to part ways.
• Helping athletes navigate social media.
• The lack of opportunities for female coaches at the professional level.
• What it will take for U.S. middle-distance and distance runners to consistently medal on the world stage.

Juli's coaching website: https://julibensontraining.com/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!

Molly Seidel, the 2021 Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon, provides an update on her running, health, and non-running pursuits. And she shares some big news about her sponsorship status 

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!

Sarah Lorge Butler caught up with Ahmed Muhumed shortly after he ran a 53-second personal best of 27:03.19 for 10,000m at The TEN, which puts him seventh on the U.S. all-time list. 

Ahmed was born in the Somali region of Ethiopia and moved to Oregon in 2011, when he was 13 years old. Though soccer was his first love, a PE teacher discovered his talent for running and encouraged him to go out for cross country and track. In addition to balancing his academics and athletics, Ahmed worked several jobs throughout high school, which was a tough balance at times.

He ran collegiately for Boise State and Florida State, and finished 20th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, but his accomplishments weren't quite enough for him to earn a contract right out of college. At first, he tried balancing work with post-collegiate running. But when he found himself nearly being chased down by a high schooler in a race, he knew something had to change.

He quit his job and moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, with his savings. He began working out with athletes who were faster than him, and it didn't take long for his hard work to pay off. In September, 2023, he signed a professional contract with HOKA NAZ Elite.

Ahmed Muhumed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahmedmuhumed14/

The 2016 Runner's World article about him, from when he was in high school: https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a20796173/a-rookie-pacer-causes-a-collision-but-sportsmanship-wins-the-day/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!

Jess McClain discusses finishing seventh at the 2025 Boston Marathon, where she ran 2:22:43, was the top American woman, and PRed by 3:03. She discussed hiring David Roche as her coach, as well as some of the training and fueling changes she made leading up to the race. 

Jess lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and runs professionally for Brooks. But she also has a full life outside of running. She discussed her work with foster youth and rescue dogs, and how she balances that with her training.

See chapter markers for more episode details.

And if this episode left you wondering about U.S.'s selection procedures for the World Championships marathon, you can read about them here: https://www.flipsnack.com/USATF/2025-world-athletics-championships-marathon-selection-procedures/full-view.html 

The Road to Tokyo rankings are here, and you can sort by event and country. https://worldathletics.org/stats-zone/road-to/7190593?eventId=10229534&country=USA 

Jess McClain on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesstonn/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!

Emily Infeld, 35, recently set a 10,000m personal best of 30:59.38. Three days later, she unexpectedly got a call asking if she would like to take part in Grand Slam Track's first Slam, in Kingston, Jamaica. She flew out 13 hours later. 

Despite the late notice, she held her own, finishing fifth overall and leading the way for the Americans. 

Emily won a bronze medal in the 10,000m at the 2015 World Athletics Championships, and she's been through many ups and downs since then. After spending the first 12 years of her professional career as a Nike athlete, she signed with Brooks in January. And she's back to working with her college coach, Chris Miltenberg.

Emily talked about how her training has changed, getting the Grand Slam call (on April Fools' Day no less), and proving herself right.

Emily Infeld on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyinfeld/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!

Big changes are coming to the NCAA and Sarah Lorge Butler spoke with Victoria Jackson to help make sense of it all. Jackson was the 2006 NCAA champion in the 10,000m and she went on to run professionally. Now she's a sports historian and clinical associate professor of history at Arizona State University. 

Jackson discusses how we got here, what changes are likely coming, and why they aren't all bad. And she encourages cross country and track & field coaches to think creatively.

Watch the Great Game Lab Set Piece with Des Linden: https://greatgamelab.asu.edu/set-pieces/des-linden

Victoria Jackson on X: https://x.com/historyrunner

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!