How Jack Mullaney Trains the Fastest Runners at HOKA NAZ Elite — Why His 2:04 Marathoner Never Missed a Workout in Two Years and What That Actually Looks Like Day to Day
THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST
Dominic Schlueter
4.9 • 822 Ratings
🗓️ 16 February 2026
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jack Mullaney stepped into one of the most scrutinized coaching jobs in professional distance running and made it his own. In just over a year at the helm of HOKA NAZ Elite, Jack Mullaney has navigated a generational coaching handoff, delivered U.S. road titles, Olympic top-10 finishes, and team records, and helped shape one of the sport’s most talked-about high-performance environments.Coach Mullaney has been with HOKA NAZ Elite since 2023, and under his leadership, the team has achieved significant milestones. A few of the big ones include Alex Masai achieving a third place finish at the 2025 Chicago Marathon, running a time of 2:04:37; Adriaan Wildschutt finishing 10th in the Men's 10,000 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games; and Olin Hacker securing a 5th-place finish in the 3,000 meters at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships.Prior to that, he spent seven seasons as an assistant coach for the University of Portland, helping lead the men's program to two NCAA Cross Country podium finishes.If you care about where elite distance running is headed–and how the best teams are learning, adapting, and staying human while chasing the edge–this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.Tap into the Jack Mullaney Special. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. Comment the word “PODCAST” below and I’ll DM you a link to listen. If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend!S H O W N O T E S-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Ladies and gentlemen, back today on the podcast is the man of the hour, Jack Mullaney, |
| 0:05.9 | who was a finance major who never ran professionally, no NCAA title on his resume, no decorated athletic career, |
| 0:12.2 | and two years ago, many people thought the job was too big for him. But today, Jack Malaney |
| 0:16.6 | coaches some of the fastest distance runners on the planet, and he believes the secret has nothing to do with training plans. |
| 0:22.3 | It's the conversation you have when an athlete disagrees with you. |
| 0:25.0 | It's knowing the difference between a workout that builds fitness and one that just |
| 0:28.0 | makes you tired. |
| 0:29.0 | It's heating the room one degree at a time until the ice cube finally melts. |
| 0:32.8 | Listen to the conversation if you're confused about that analogy, because this one is full |
| 0:37.3 | of analogies, |
| 0:38.5 | stories, and wisdom that will help you take your running to the next level. |
| 0:42.0 | My conversations with Jack always inspire me, enlighten me, and remind me why I love my job so |
| 0:47.2 | much. So if this one hits, follow the podcast for more conversations like this in the future. |
| 0:51.8 | Drop a five-star review. It takes less five-second. Drop a five-star review. It takes less than five seconds to do so and share the podcast with a coach |
| 0:58.5 | or a runner who needs it. Let's get into this legendary conversation with a remarkable coach and a |
| 1:05.1 | human being who I respect a ton, Mr. Jack Mulaney. Ladies and gentlemen, you know, there's a saying, Jack, he's not back, he's better. |
| 1:14.4 | I think that that phrase even applies to the coaches here because last time we had you on, |
| 1:19.1 | it was early into your tenure as a professional coach, first time around with Hoka and |
| 1:24.9 | ZE Elite. |
| 1:26.1 | And since then, your athletes have run some remarkable performances. |
| 1:29.9 | So first of all, congrats on the success. |
| 1:32.2 | And thanks for joining me again. |
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