The Climb To The Top: Inside The Journey Of Tinoda Matsatsa & His 2:16 1k NCAA Record, 3:54 Mile, & Stories From HS Where He Became The First Prep African-American To Break The 4min Mile Barrier

THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Dominic Schlueter

Running, Sports

4.8 • 686 Ratings

🗓️ 4 February 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mid-distance track sensation, Tinoda Matsatsa, joins the show today amidst an impressive sophomore campaign at Georgetown.

Tinoda, who hails from Boyds, Maryland, is off to an electric start to his collegiate running career, and seems poised to continue to chase records and wins no matter where he goes.

So far in his young college career he has run the following PRs: 48.88 in the 400m; 1:45.17 in the 800m; 2:16.84 in the 1,000m; and 3:54.15 in the mile. If you’re staring at those numbers–mouth agape–you’re not alone.

In January of 2024, Tinoda set a new NCAA record for the indoor 1,000m run with a time of 2:18.05. Almost exactly a year later, he lowered that time–running a 2:16.84 this past January 18 at the Nittany Lion Challenge.

Tinoda has had a great start to his sophomore year, running his aforementioned mile PR at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener, coming in second.

Tinoda’s parents moved to the United States several years before he was born. He went to St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Maryland. While at prep school, the 5-foot-9 senior became just the 20th runner in prep school history to break 4 minutes in the mile. He capped his senior season with a state record in the mile; followed by a win the 800m run at the Brooks PR invitational; and then ended his season winning the national title with a state-record 1:47.61 in the 800m.

Prior to becoming a running star, Tinoda loved soccer. He was a striker on his team and excelled at the sport. He even hid from his middle school track coach because soccer was his priority. His mother eventually convinced him to do track to stay in shape, and the rest is history.

We’re thrilled for you to hear this and more from our conversation with another star-in-the-making, who will surely be making noise in the coming months and years on the collegiate and professional track and field circuit.

In today’s conversation, Tinoda takes me through stories from how he got into the sport of running, how he progressed in high school, his training leading into his sub-4min mile in HS, his time at Georgetown thus far, his dreams for LA 2028, and so much more.

Tap into the Tinoda Matsatsa Special.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I hope I don't, but I'm probably going to lose to someone this season in some race I run.
0:05.9	But me losing to someone doesn't mean that I'm like a bad runner.
0:10.2	It just means that on that day, they were better than me.
0:13.2	But I'm going to come back with the mentality that I'm better than them in the next race.
0:19.5	And that they're not better than me like in general.
0:22.2	I just want to think that I'm the best so I can actually be the best.
0:27.3	That was Tenoda Matata today on the Running Effect podcast.
0:31.1	I've been wanting to have this conversation since I first saw Tenota break four minutes in the mile in high school.
0:36.6	I was in person for that race in
0:38.4	St. Louis, Missouri back in 2003 when he ran 358 in the mile. He was the first ever African-American
0:45.7	high school boy to break four minutes in a mile. And I feel like that really kicked off
0:49.2	all the things that we've been seeing from Tenota recently. Tenota competes for and attends Georgetown where he's been an absolute dominant force.
0:57.3	To showcase this, I'll take you guys through his PRs, which make me feel unbelievably slow.
1:01.2	He's ran 48 in the 400, 145.1 in the 800, 216.8.4 in the 1K, which was an NCAA indoor record,
1:09.5	and 354.15 in the mile. He ran the 216 and the 1K and the
1:14.0	354 in the mile, literally in this past month. So it was awesome to get him on the podcast,
1:18.9	get his quick reactions to all this and just hear his rising in the sport, his mindset,
1:24.1	Hawaii wants to win gold in LA 2028, his vision, his belief, his confidence for himself,
1:28.8	how he deals with comparison, his journey from soccer play and not wanting to run to now one
1:33.4	of the best track stars in the U.S. as only a sophomore in college.
1:37.4	Love this conversation with Tenota.
1:39.0	I'm confident you guys are going to walk away with a lot of tangible tools and lessons
	...

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