From NCAA Bronze to 1:58 and Worlds: Maggi Congdon on Beating Olympic Medalists, Going Pro with Nike, and the Tokyo Gameplan

THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Dominic Schlueter

Running, Sports

4.8 • 686 Ratings

🗓️ 28 August 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Maggi Congdon is blowing past expectations and Olympic medalists on her way to the world stage.

In June, she grabbed NCAA bronze in 4:09.31. Just weeks later, she was dropping under two minutes in the 800, running 1:59.39 to earn silver at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene.

Her run through the rounds in Eugene was just as electric. In the semifinals, Congdon clocked a lifetime best of 1:58.42, finishing ahead of Olympic medalist Raevyn Rogers and punching her ticket to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September.

This trajectory checks out when you trace it back a bit: Growing up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Congdon was a multi-time state champion in the 800 and 1600.

At Northern Arizona University, she found a program built for producing champions—and 2025 has become the year she’s turned potential into proof. In February, she stormed to a Husky Classic mile win in 4:27.77, rewriting the meet, school, and Big Sky record books.

Months later, she stood on the NCAA podium in the 1500.

With Tokyo on the horizon, Maggi isn’t just another name on the start list—she’s a serious medal contender with momentum that feels unstoppable.

In today's conversation, Maggi walks me through this breakthrough at USAs, the blueprint that got her here, her relationship with Coach Mike Smith, going Pro with NIKE, and a glimpse into her future, her ambitions for Tokyo, and so much more.

Tap into the Maggi Congdon Special.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Running Effect podcast.
0:02.5	Before we hop into today's episode, a quick note that it is brought to you by Mount
0:06.7	to Coast, a brand new running shoe brand on the market that I have greatly appreciated using in training over the past few weeks, specifically this R1 model.
0:15.1	They have many models, but the R1 is probably my favorite one that have tried thus far.
0:19.7	And what's nice about it is you feel like you have enough cushion in protection where running feels effortless,
0:25.0	but you don't want to sacrifice weight for the amount of cushion.
0:28.6	What's nice about the R1 is there's a lot of foam and stability and support so that your legs don't feel beat up,
0:34.5	but it's also not that heavy.
0:36.2	And so it's a smooth, seamless ride. Specifically, if you're looking this fall for a new training shoe for cross-country or
0:42.8	marathons or ultramarathons, if you want to try out the R1 or a different model of Mount
0:47.7	to Coast shoes, you guys can use the code the running effect for 10% off. And their website is
0:52.8	very easy to remember. It is simply mounttacost.com.
0:56.3	I hope you guys enjoy today's conversation of the podcast.
1:02.9	I would say the basis is just like be patient. Like I think if you're able just to put all
1:08.7	your focus on like having consistent training and just staying consistent,
1:12.2	like a lot of times I feel like things take time and it can seem like it's not going the way you want it,
1:17.9	but if you just stay consistent, like a lot of times that's the biggest thing that will end up help you in the end.
1:30.8	That was Maggie Kong then today on the running effect podcast.
1:34.1	I have the privilege of sitting down with Maggie after she made the U.S.
1:38.1	national team for the 2025 World Championships held next month in Tokyo, Japan,
1:43.6	in the 800 800 meter event.
1:45.2	Prior to this, she ran for Northern Arizona University, where she primarily focused in the 800 and 1500.
	...

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