Inside Patrick Henner's System for World Record Holder Hobbs Kessler — What Every Competitive Runner Can Steal From a World Record Camp + Insights From Coaching In The Sport For 40+ Years

THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Dominic Schlueter

Sports, Running

4.9 • 822 Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2026

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Since his last appearance on the show, Coach Pat Henner has continued shaping distance culture at the highest levels of the sport while playing a quiet but meaningful role in one of the most remarkable middle-distance arcs in recent American history.

After joining the University of Georgia in June 2022, Henner coached standout athlete Will Sumner to an NCAA title and helped elevate the Bulldogs’ distance program before departing in June 2024. He was succeeded by Adam Tribble.

At the same time, Henner has served as a high-performance consultant for Olympic middle-distance star Hobbs Kessler, helping to shape one of the sport’s most historic breakthroughs: Kessler qualifying for the Paris Olympics in both the 800m and 1500m at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

More recently, Kessler shattered Kenenisa Bekele’s long-standing indoor 2000m world record, running 4:48.79 in January 2026.

Henner’s coaching roots stretch from Blacksburg High School to James Madison, Georgetown (where he led the women to an NCAA cross country title in 2011), USC, Arizona State, and most recently the University of Georgia, where he served as Head Cross Country Coach and Assistant Coach for the distance events from 2022–2024.

But this episode isn’t a résumé tour. It’s a check-in with a coach who’s still evolving; still shaping athletes at the very top of the sport; still refining how wisdom, timing, and trust converge when performance truly matters.

Tap into the Pat Henner Special.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Back on the podcast today is Coach Patrick Henner, and if you listen to this conversation in full,
0:04.4	you're about to learn the exact training philosophy behind a world record from the coach who built it.
0:09.5	Coach Henner breaks down why most runners are wasting no time in the gym, the truth about double
0:13.5	threshold and why it's not the magic bullet you think it is, and the one shift in how you think
0:17.7	about speed development that could literally change your next season.
0:25.2	He also drops the framework he uses to develop athletes at every level from high school to a world record holder like Hobbs Kessler and explains why the best coaches on the planets
0:29.2	are still studying like beginners. Whether you run a 5K or coach a team, this episode will
0:33.9	make you faster and smarter. So hit the follow so you never miss another episode like this one.
0:39.0	Leave a five-star review.
0:40.2	It takes next to no time.
0:41.6	And if this podcast has helped you, share this with a favorite training partner, a teammate, a coach, family member always helps us grow this podcast.
0:49.3	So without further ado, enjoy this impactful conversation with the man behind Hobbs-Kessler's recent success,
0:55.5	coach Patrick Kenner.
0:59.3	Ladies and gentlemen, he's not back, he's better.
1:02.5	Mr. Patrick Kenner, coach Patrick Kenner, how you doing, man?
1:05.9	Third time's a charm, an honor and privilege to speak with you again.
1:09.3	Doing well.
1:10.4	How are you doing? I'm excellent. Always privilege to speak with you again. Doing well. How are you doing?
1:11.6	I'm excellent.
1:12.5	Always look forward to our conversations.
1:14.8	Obviously, I along with most of the world, saw what Hobbs did in the 2K.
1:20.4	I ultimately ended up having him on the podcast.
	...

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