December 13, 2024
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"Sometimes when you're in a race like that, it comes down to grit – and maybe I gritted just a little bit harder."
My guest for today's episode is Ethan Strand, a senior at UNC. Just last weekend, Ethan ran a stunning 7:30.15 in the 3000m at the Sharon Colyear-Danville season opener at Boston University – not only smashing the NCAA record but also vaulting him to No. 4 on the all-time U.S. list. Ethan now sits alongside legends like Grant Fisher, Yared Nuguse, and Bernard Lagat.
His journey from being a 201st place finisher at his first NCAA Cross Country Championship to an Olympic Trials finalist in the 1500m and NCAA top-eight finisher just a few weeks ago in Madison, and now the fastest collegiate 3000m runner in history, is fascinating to unpack in today's episode.
We dive into his race in Boston, his dynamic training partnership with Parker Wolfe, and what's next for him as he gears up for an exciting 2025 season.
Host: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez on Instagram
Guest: Ethan Strand | @ethan_strand
Justin Britton / @justinbritton
Time stamps:
- 3:39 - Reflections from setting the collegiate 3000m record
- 4:53 - Thoughts on competing over chasing times
- 5:40 - Training with teammate Parker Wolfe
- 7:08 - His relationship with Coach Chris Miltenberg
- 10:59 - Rebounding from outdoor season
- 12:40 - Learning from Coach Milt’s former athletes, like Grant Fisher
- 15:57 - Growing up in a running family
- 17:10 - How he got his start in running
- 20:43 - His training structure dating back to high school
- 21:37 - His mileage progression
- 26:00 - Breaking down his 3000m collegiate record
- 32:00 - Being among the big names of American distance running
- 35:56 - What’s next for indoor season
- 37:31 - Looking ahead to goals for next summer
- 39:01 - UNC’s team culture
Austin DeSisto / @austin.desisto
The following excerpt has been edited lightly for length and clarity. You can listen to Ethan’s full interview here.
Training at UNC with teammate Parker Wolfe:
Sometimes when we run faster paces, we'll get a little competitive. I think both of us just like to run fast and we don't do it very often. So when we do get after it on the track, it's harder to keep us back. We try to save the competition for race days. You get a lot of them, especially in the collegiate system. We race a lot. I think it's important that we save that for the races.
There was one workout last year that I can think of that we were absolutely racing – race effort, running as hard as we could. But since then, there really hasn't been a workout like that. We’re just consistent and doing what we're supposed to. We’re doing the workout we're told to do and how we're told to do it… I know a lot of people tend to get carried away, but we just try to keep it chill and actually do what we're supposed to.
His relationship with Coach Chris Miltenberg:
We honestly don’t talk about goals all that often. I think he knows me well enough to know that I'm setting my own goals and I really internalize them in my head. But I also don't sit here and think about them all the time. I actually had breakfast with [Coach Milt] this morning just to talk about the past week and the upcoming indoor season. It was like, ‘What we're doing is working. Let's continue, let's be consistent, and let's not go overboard. How we got to running 7:30 is how we're going to try to win a national championship in three months. There's no reason to change anything. It's just keep on staying steady.’
We talked about that and debriefed a little bit, but it's pretty chill… I know how he works and how he operates, and he knows how I operate at this point. We kind of get each other, and I feel like that's the same way for Parker too.
Justin Britton / @justinbritton
His training progression since the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship:
To be honest, I think we've hit the training really well over the last three years. It's been very consistent and we're not pushing too hard all the time. I’ve stayed healthy and I think we've hit the training right.
Last outdoor season, I had a rough day at NCAAs. I really didn't do what I wanted to… I wasn't putting myself in a position to win races. I really wasn't. That NCAA final, I was back and was never in a dangerous position. [Coach Milt] was like, ‘Dude, you know you can do it. Put yourself in a position where you can actually do something.’ Then at the [Olympic] Trials, I put myself in a position where I could have actually done something. It got me into the [1500m] final.
In the final, I didn't quite have it, but with a lap to go I was in fifth or sixth. I was training that mentality of always putting myself in position if I think I'm capable of it. This year, particularly in cross country, I realized that I was strong enough to do that on the cross course.
Now that I'm actually strong enough to do it physically, it's easier for me to be like, ‘When Parker goes, you're going to go with him.’ I know I can do that. So I did it. I think the training aspect has been really good and it's allowed me to slowly build strength. Physically I've caught up to where I've always wanted to be – which is in the front, trying to win big races.
Bouncing back from a disappointing outdoor season:
You don't like losing. It’s not fun… If you would have asked eighth grade me, ‘What are you going to do in the NCAA?’ I would have told you, ‘I'm going to win an NCAA title.’ And I haven't done that yet. It's something that I believe I could have, but obviously I didn’t quite have the skillset to do so.
It's all about growing and learning and I've learned from every single experience. I think I'm getting to a point where I have that skillset to win something. Absolutely nothing is given to you in the NCAA. It's incredible how strong all these guys are. But it's something I think I'm capable of. We’re going to try and give it a shot. I'm sure I'll get handed some more L’s over my career and I'm perfectly okay with that because I know it'll motivate me to try to win more things.
Breaking down the final lap of the BU season opener 3000m where he set the collegiate record:
I was in crazy pain, that's for sure. Someone said, ‘Was that a smile?’ You can see a big grimace on my face with a lap to go. I'm like, ‘That is not a smile, that's for sure.’ That was every ounce of everything I had just to get to the line as fast as [I could]. We tried to stay as calm as possible for as long as possible, but sometimes when you're in a race like that, it comes down to grit – and maybe I gritted just a little bit harder. But obviously you could see it was super close: .08 [over Parker’s second place finish].
Listen to the full interview here.
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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.
