Nico Young

But to finish fourth in the NCAA cross country, you have to be really, really good.

And I do think that There are guys like Blanks and Nico Young or Grant Fisher.

Now, I know Grant Fisher's half marathon debut didn't go that well in New York, but I think several of those guys, if they really were putting their energies into running a fast half marathon these days, could run 59.12 or faster.

So that helped me make sense of this, but obviously it's very impressive what he did, especially training on his own, really going for it.

I think there are just a few people in the world that can make Parker Wolfe better.

But one of them is his teammate, Nico Young.

And I think there's just a few people in the world that can make Nico Young better.

And one of them is Parker Wolfe.

So part of my job is just making sure they don't kill each other in their attempts to get to where they want to go.

Yeah, it says a lot about like the ego death that's required of in racing.

So he gave himself an opportunity for a great end of season.

I know he gained, yeah, he gained crucial experience, but I was just reminded over and over again who Nico Young is watching that happen.

Um, and you guys are, are correct.

Yeah, it's not a, uh, it's not a requir-requirement to be on Swoosh CC to be a Nike athlete, 'cause Nico Young is with Adi and still trains with Mike Smith.

I wonder if he's, like, grandfathered in.

Do, is that what, is that, is that what happened? And Daniel says that Casey Klinger and Clayton are with Brooks and iStone.

And I feel like that's shifted.

I feel like it's now you want the Nico Young.

Like, oh, this guy's going to come in day one.

I don't have to worry about him getting hurt.

Here's how often you want to be running it.

And all these other athletes, rather than Jakob Ingebrigtsen or Nico Young or whoever these other top double threshold runners, Almgren, rather than then having to spend all of that time coming to the same conclusions that he did, they can start off with the base of, oh, here's everything Barkin discovered, and we're just going to take that to the next level, but I've already got the fundamentals in place.

I think it's too early to be saying that's exactly what's happening with Maori, but you do need these sickos who are just willing to say, hey, I'm going to try it, who gives an F, and let's see what works.

And then they stumble upon something, and then other people find it's repeatable.

People, e- especially I think the less injury-prone athletes, I, I mean, if, if I'm not mistaken, I, I feel, I don't think I've ever heard of Charles being hurt.

Um, I feel like Nico Young was like that a lot.

I think he got banged up, like, once or twice.

But I think those guys, like, with coaches that are just so solidified and know what they're doing, um, it works so well because they have such long spurts of training just built together, like, throughout years on years on years and blocks, um, which I never really had.

We'll see.

Nico Young, who last year had a Diamond League victory, had a late start to the season this year because of injury, but then looks great in his first few races back.

So he could win it, and so now you've got five Americans who all have that kind of potential.

But when it came time to ask the questions, it was literally anyone.

And then there's the consistency aspect, right? Like how consistent can you be at your top level, right? It's one thing if you run really, really fast once, but can, can you do it again, and again, and again, and in a different setting, in a different setting? Like these are different aspects that I don't know that all international names, not, not, you know, every name, but some, I don't know that this is something that they all have in that, that respect.

In, in terms of what Ben said, in terms of the, the domestic talent, I would even go as far to say that like, that Americans have, have been performing well beyond expectations, right? Throw in Nico Young, throw in Graham Blanks, throw in, uh, Cole Hocker, right? And then go on the women's side.

Jane Hedegren is an American prodigy, in no way, shape, or about it.

Parker Valby was beyond fantastic.