The Final Lap: Evan Jager on Greatness, Pain, Loyalty — and Saying Goodbye to the Sport He Loves (The Official Exit Interview)
THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST
Dominic Schlueter
4.9 • 822 Ratings
🗓️ 24 November 2025
⏱️ 68 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
From American-record brilliance to a late-career grind, Evan Jager’s story has been one of constant adaptation.
But now he’s ready to call it quits and move onto the next phase of life without running.
The late-career push included an 8th place finish in the men’s 3000m steeplechase at the U.S. Championships in 8:28.21 this year. He also ran the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile in September of this year and came in 19th with a 3:54.9.
Jager originally made a name for himself when he set the 3000m Steeplechase American Record in July of 2015 with a 8:00.45. His other PRs include 13:02.40 in the 5,000m; 7:35.16 in the 3,000m; and 3:32.97 in the 1,500m.
After one year in the NCAA ranks as a Wisconsin Badger (he came in 8th in the 1,500m at outdoors during the 2008 season), Jager turned professional. He then went on to win seven consecutive U.S. steeplechase titles from 2012–2018.
He made his presence known on the world stage, grabbing a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Games in the 3000m steeplechase; prior to that he came in 6th at the 2012 London Games in the 3000m steeplechase.
After a serious foot injury, Jager burst back on the scene in 2022, nabbing a second place finish at the 2022 USATF outdoor games.
Check in as we unpack the peaks, valleys, and lasting legacy of one of America’s most influential distance runners as he flips to the next professional chapter of his memorable career.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's been a long good career. I'm proud of everything that I did. Have like, you know, some regrets. |
| 0:05.7 | I think like everyone does, but overall, like super satisfied with how everything went. But, yeah, |
| 0:11.2 | this past year is the last year of my career. I'm going to be moving on to different things and |
| 0:16.7 | I'm super excited about the future. And yeah, officially retiring from professional running. |
| 0:24.1 | Maybe not like competitive running, definitely not retiring from running in general. |
| 0:29.1 | But yeah, professional running, going to leave that behind in 2025 and move forward and start the next phase of life. |
| 0:43.4 | That was Evan Jagger today on the Running Effect podcast. |
| 0:46.9 | And in my five-year history of having this podcast, today is one of the coolest moments I've |
| 0:51.6 | ever got because I grew up watching Evan race, train. I was a massive fan of his. He was one of the coolest moments I've ever got because I grew up watching Evan race, train. |
| 0:56.1 | I was a massive fan of his. |
| 0:57.5 | He was one of the athletes that I greatly look up to and was inspired by as I was beginning my journey in the sport of running. |
| 1:04.4 | And so years later, having this podcast, having this platform, developing a little bit of a relationship with Evan, |
| 1:18.1 | I'm extremely ecstatic and honored to be his kind of exit interview and the platform that helps to announce his retirement from the sport of running and announcing all the |
| 1:23.8 | incredible things he has on the docket coming up here. If you're unfamiliar with Heaven, you've been living under a rock, but I will pardon you, |
| 1:30.6 | and I'll tell you a little bit about him. |
| 1:32.5 | He's one of the greatest American steeple chasers of all time, if not the greatest, in my opinion. |
| 1:37.3 | From 2012 to 2018, he won seven consecutive U.S. steeplechase titles. |
| 1:44.1 | He has PRs of 8.45, which is an American record. He also has other PRs of 1302 in the 5K, 735 in the 3K, and 332 in the 1500. He ran for a year at the University of Wisconsin before becoming a professional with Nike and joining Jerry Schumacher to a group that would |
| 2:02.3 | later become known as the Bowerman Track Club. He was with Coach Schumacher and Nike his entire |
| 2:07.4 | career, which is a big part of our conversation that we touch on is Evan's perspective on loyalty |
| 2:13.6 | and dedication to those around him. I'm also forgetting to mention a remarkable accomplishment, which is winning the silver |
| 2:20.2 | medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in the steeple chase. |
... |
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