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:

– The “trap” that Jake believed Abdi Abdirahman was setting up for him

– 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

You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify!

❤️ 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 on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

✩ Connect with Chris on Twitter and Instagram.

👔Biz Inquiries/Write Us: chris@citiusmag.com

Photo by Kevin Morris

Chris Chavez

Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.