My guest for today's episode is Josh Hoey – one of the most compelling comeback stories in American distance running right now. At just 18 years old, Josh made headlines by turning pro straight out of high school, signing with Adidas after setting the national high school indoor 800m record. But instead of a smooth trajectory to stardom, the years that followed were filled with coaching changes, setbacks, and hard lessons about what it truly takes to succeed at the highest level.

Now at 25 years old, Josh is having the season of his life. In just the past month, he broke the American indoor 800m record twice, first at the Millrose Games and then again at the U.S. Indoor Championships this past weekend where he ran 1:43.24. It's a world leading time and the second fastest indoor 800m time in history. The win also secured him his first Team USA berth for the upcoming World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.

In this episode, Josh opens up about his rollercoaster journey from the struggles of turning pro at such a young age to finding stability with his coach Justin Rinaldi and a training system that finally clicked for him. We talk about the mental shifts, training breakthroughs, and the faith that has carried him through it all. And finally, what his hopes and expectations are as he gets ready for World Indoors.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram

Guest: Josh Hoey | @joshhoey21 on Instagram

Episode Highlights:

The following excerpt has been edited lightly for clarity. You can listen to the full episode with Josh Hoey on the CITIUS MAG Podcast.

Reflections on his 2025 indoor season:

Going into the indoor season, I was pretty nervous. I was talking with my dad and coach Justin [Rinaldi] about building a schedule…to mostly run the 800m and build up World Athletics points and go that route. I knew I wanted to run a 1500m or a mile because I've been doing a lot of that training in [Flagstaff], just building up that aerobic strength. I had tried to get into the Wanamaker Mile and they wouldn't really accept me in. I knew I could get into the 1500m at the Grand Prix, so it was like I might as well take the entry while I have it. Millrose was like, “We’ll put you in the 800m if you want.” The season ended up coming to this thing where I was going to have to run the 1000m, the 1500m, the 800m, the mile, and then come back for USAs. I was talking with my dad like, “This is going to be a gauntlet.” Once you get started, there's really no slowing now…

Coach Justin does such a good job of programming in between races. We stay in communication and sort through those bumps and bruises after each race. It ended up going well! I’m happy about how the indoor domestic campaign went and I'm excited to compete on the global stage.

How the 800m became his event:

When I was in high school, I thought of myself as a traditional miler. My first two years of high school, I was mostly training with my older brother. He was the guy I was chasing and was like my idol. It wasn't until my junior year when I went through a little bit of a growth spurt and suffered a bit in the cross country season that I decided to do a bit more speed work. I did the 800m and got stuck in this vortex of running 800s that I still haven't gotten out of.

I would like to continue running the 1500m and the mile, but I'm definitely in a bit better 800m shape and I like the 800m a lot. I'll continue running that, but I still see myself as a middle distance runner.

Training with his brothers:

I’ve been in a close relationship with my brothers for my whole life, so we know each other really well. We're able to communicate before the workout what each person can do to optimize their training. We have a lot of trial and error… Jaxson and Jonah are really talented and I don't think there was anyone else in the country that I would have asked to run a 34 [300m at the end of a workout] while they were lying on the ground. Just because we train alone doesn't mean we're training sub-optimally.

Mental shifts that have led to his improvement:

The two mottos that I like to tell people are: “run with confidence” and “never give up.”I say, “never give up” because I was at the point of giving up before finally reaching a breakthrough. I say, “run with confidence” because I've had a lot of bad experiences with races where I felt like there was a lot of pressure on me to run well. I would go and give it my all and come up short significantly.

I say, “run with confidence” because I run now trying to overcome those feelings. It's not that I'm not fearful — I am nervous, I am fearful, and there are times where it feels like too much and I’ve almost wanted to give up. But it's pressing on in spite of that.

Listen to the full episode here.

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