Keegan Smith: 14:23 XC, 4:04 Mile Injured, NCAA Dreams, and His Relentless Chase for a Sub-4 Minute Mile

THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Dominic Schlueter

Running, Sports

4.8 • 686 Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As Keegan Smith is apt to say, winning isn’t everything – running your best is.

Up next in our 2025 HOKA Festival of Miles series, we welcome one of the most dominant high school distance runners in the country: Keegan Smith, straight out of Tennessee.

From the moment he laced up as a freshman, Keegan’s been smashing records and turning heads. He opened his high school career by dropping a 14:53.79 5K — the fastest ever by a U.S. freshman in cross country — then lit up the track with a 4:14.63 mile and an 8:52.96 3,200m, both national freshman records.

Fast forward to his senior year: Keegan clocked a blistering 14:23.26 at the Nike Cross Southeast Regional, breaking the Tennessee state record and proving he's still leveling up. He closed out his high school XC career with wins at NXR Southeast and Foot Locker South, and shattered three all-time course records along the way.

His PRs speak for themselves: he has run 1:51.93 in 800m; 3:55.64 in the 1500m; 4:11.90 in the mile; 8:54.97 in the two-mile; and 14:23.26 in the 5,000m in cross country.

The longer the race, the stronger he gets.

Now committed to the University of Colorado, Keegan’s taking his talent to one of the top distance programs in the nation. And with NIL deals already in place with HOKA and Precision Fuel & Hydration, he’s not just running fast — he’s building a brand.

In today's conversation, Keegan shares behind-the-scenes stories from my marathon (lol), what it was like to run a local race, his breakdown of XC postseason, why his XC season was so meaningful to him, running a 4:04 Mile while being injured, his ambitions for the outdoor track season, and racing the 2025 HOKA Festival of Miles meet.

Tap into the Keegan Smith Special.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The Call Room Road to Records is powered by Hoka.
0:03.0	I've had the absolute ride of a lifetime releasing these call room series around track season,
0:09.0	cross-country season, and I've always been honored that Hoka comes on and sponsors them,
0:13.0	helps me produce the best possible episodes that I can.
0:17.0	This year's edition of the Colroom I'm so excited about it's leading into the 2025 edition of the Hoka Festival Miles held June 5th in St. Louis, Missouri.
0:26.2	This year, the races are literally going to be bigger and better than ever.
0:29.7	The fields that have already been announced are absolutely remarkable, and Hoka is there every step of the way.
0:35.7	I cannot wait to talk to both the top boys and the top girl contenders
0:39.3	as they journey to St. Louis, to chase records, to chase history.
0:43.3	It's going to be an absolute blast, and I can't wait for this podcast series
0:46.3	leading into the historic event that is the Hoka Festival Miles Meet.
0:50.3	If you're in the midst of your track season, I highly recommend checking out Hoka's
0:54.5	Race Day products.
0:56.0	Join Hoka's Next Generation of Fast Family this year at the Hoka Festival Miles, the Summer
1:00.0	Mile Club, and the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships.
1:03.0	Enjoy today's episode of the Call Room Road Records, powered by Hoka.
1:10.0	Who cares if you don't win the race or you don't make the me or whatever.
1:14.1	As long as you ran your hardest, be proud of that and own that.
1:17.3	Own like you did as well as you could have.
1:21.0	Because like we talked about, winning is fun, but winning isn't everything.
1:25.4	You know, it's about becoming the best version of yourself and pushing yourself
1:29.6	to the limits. And I definitely look to push myself to the limits at a Festival of Miles.
	...

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