The Leap: How Rocky Hansen Went from 100th at NCAAs to Nearly Winning It All + His Training/Future Plans/& Thoughts On The International State Of The NCAA

THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Dominic Schlueter

Sports, Running

4.9 • 822 Ratings

🗓️ 30 November 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

America’s next great distance runner might not be a pro, he might be a junior at Wake Forest.

At the 2025 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on November 22, Rocky Hansen delivered the race of his life, finishing second overall and coming within striking distance of the national title. Last year, Rocky placed 100th at this same meet, so his surge is proof that he’s putting himself up there with the best who can do it right now.

But rising to the front at the national championship level is nothing new for Rocky.

Before Wake Forest, he was a three-time North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year (twice for track, once for XC) and a 10-time state record holder, including 3:58.23 for the mile, becoming the first in North Carolina to break the 4:00 barrier in high school.

At Wake Forest, Rocky has only continued to elevate. He holds PRs of 3:38 (1500m), 3:57 (mile), 7:56 (3000m), and a stunning 13:07 5000m, which broke the Wake Forest school record and established him as one of the fastest collegiate 5K runners in NCAA history. He also placed 5th in the NCAA Outdoor 5000m last year.

Rocky Hansen’s story is still being written, but after finishing second on the biggest stage in the NCAA and making a massive leap from last year, it’s clear he’s ready for the spotlight.

Tap into the Rocky Hansen Special.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I can also be extremely grateful for being healthy and be extremely proud of putting together a full cross season
0:08.0	and being able to run the way I did at the championship meet because I'm harping on it, but last year with the heat stroke, I was 100th, and this year I was second.
0:18.0	And just being able to run at that meet is such a privilege and a
0:21.4	blessing. And I was very grateful to do that and very proud of the progression I had made. And also
0:26.9	just to be at the front of the race the whole time and to put myself in that mix and establish that
0:32.4	and give myself a shot in the first place, right?
0:47.6	That was Rocky Hansen back today on the Running Effect podcast.
0:53.6	Just a few short days after he played second at the 2025 NCAA cross-country championships in Missouri that happened last Saturday.
0:56.6	Rocky is an absolute stud.
0:58.0	He's been one of the top in the country at every level in high school.
1:01.2	He was a sub four miler or the same class as each other.
1:03.8	So it was a lot of fun to watch his high school career go down.
1:06.7	And then at Wake Forest currently, he is constantly at the top of the ACC and constantly
1:11.1	competing for NCAA titles and running record-breaking times, including a school record of
1:16.2	1307 this past July, where he plays second in a professional field at the sound running sunset
1:21.7	tour.
1:22.9	Yeah, Rocky, his trajectory is on the up and up, consistently, continually.
1:28.0	And the crazy thing is his entire collegiate career, he's had success.
1:31.1	And so today we sit down.
1:32.4	We break down perhaps his most impressive accomplishment thus far in his career.
1:36.7	And we talk about how it's influencing his expectations and standards moving forward.
1:40.6	We also get his take on internationals and the NCAA, the shifting landscape, but the NCAA, I thought he gave a lot of thoughtful words and responses to those subjects as someone who's in the thick of it, in the mix of it. And then we also talk about him competing for a spot on the world cross-country team for the U.S. coming up here in 10 days. I hope you enjoy this one.
	...

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