How US Champion, Olympian, & HOKA Pro Nia Akins Faith Has Grounded And Propelled Her Through Her Toughest Trials, Both In Running & Life, & How YOU Can Learn From Them

THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Dominic Schlueter

Running, Sports

4.8 • 686 Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

US Indoor 800m Champion Nia Akins joins the show after kicking off the year in impressive fashion, claiming an indoor title and proving that she's back and better than ever.

Nia won the USATF 800m Indoor title with a time of 1:59.31 in New York in February. She then followed that up by advancing to the semifinals in the Indoor Championships in China in March. Despite a fall in the semis, she still finished strong in 2:04.38 and barely missed the finals.

Nia, a native of San Diego, California, ran for the University of Pennsylvania, where she had PRs of 55.38 in the 400m;2:00.71 in the 800m; and 2:43.92 in the 1,000m. During her time there she was a two-time 800m runner-up. She also won a silver medal at the 2019 NACAC U23 Championships.

Nia began her post-collegiate career in 2020 after running the second-fastest 800m time in NCAA history. Nia won the 800m US Olympic Trials in Oregon in 2024, where she ran a career PR of 1:57.36; she ended up reaching the semi-finalsin the 800m during the Paris Olympics.

Previously of the Brooks Beast Track Club, Nia is now representing HOKA. Nia has an artistic side as well, and enjoys recording music in her down time.

In today's conversation, Nia shares very raw and honest insights from her past year of running, training, and life. Shedetails how and why her faith is so pivotal and how it has grounded her through the ups and downs of life.

Don't miss this opportunity to hear this honest, powerful conversations with one of the best 800m runners in the world.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It was the most effective verse for this particular thought or, I guess, sort of like depression
0:05.0	or whatever you want to call it for me, was Philippians 1-6.
0:08.6	And it's he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ
0:12.9	Jesus.
0:13.7	And I receive that as like, God's not done with me yet.
0:18.1	So I can't be done with myself.
0:22.6	That was Nia Aiken's on the Running Effect podcast. I have the privilege of speaking to one of the
0:27.5	best 800 meter runners, not just in our country, but also in the world. She's the U.S. Indoor
0:32.4	800 meter champion from this past year. She won the Olympic trials in the 800 last year. She's been
0:37.4	on fire. She
0:38.0	recently signed with Hoka and has had a lot of changes in her life recently. And though she
0:43.7	shares in today's conversation at length, at depth, this was a raw, honest conversation. I really
0:48.4	appreciated it. Nia opens up specifically around her faith and how it grounds her and her
0:53.6	belief and faith in Jesus
0:55.5	and in her Christian life. And I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion with Nia on a part that is so
1:01.5	near and dear to her heart, but I haven't really heard her on a platform, be given a platform
1:06.5	to speak this openly and freely about it. So I really appreciated her vulnerability and honesty around that subject of her faith,
1:14.2	why it's so important to her, how it grounds her, how it has helped her get through
1:18.6	some really tough challenges over this past year.
1:21.5	I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
1:22.6	I'm confident you guys are going to as well.
1:24.8	And if you do, share it with a friend, a family member, a teammate,
	...

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