An 11-Year-Old's Viral Half Marathon, Vinny Mauri's 2:05 Debut, Steiner vs. Puma & the Brand Quietly Crushing Running

Michael and Jessy are back after covering Boston and London, and this week's five stories cover everything from a polarizing youth running debate to one of the most shocking marathon debuts in American history.

In this episode:

An 11-year-old from Indiana, Ben Dick, ran 1:20:14 at the IU Health 500 Festival mini marathon — reportedly the fastest half ever run by a boy his age. He dropped his dad at mile seven. The internet is split. We dig into what happens to these kid phenoms long-term, and why pediatricians (and Jessy's kinesiology background) say the half marathon distance is too much for a developing 11-year-old body.

Sprinter Abby Steiner is suing Puma and Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix, claiming the carbon-plated shoes and spikes she wore caused the foot and Achilles injuries that have kept her off the track since the 2024 Olympic Trials. We unpack the questions this raises about athlete responsibility, sponsor accountability, and how you even quantify a derailed sprinting career.

While the running world was glued to Sebastian Sawe's near-sub-two London Marathon, 25-year-old Vinny Mauri quietly ran 2:05:54 at the Glass City Marathon in Toledo, Ohio — the fastest U.S. marathon debut on record. Before the race he joked that if he didn't break 2:16 he wasn't a real marathoner. He broke the course record by more than 13 minutes. Nobody had heard of him. His Twitter feed is mostly Bitcoin memes. Expect a major brand to scoop him up fast.

Cocodona 250 has kicked off in Arizona — 253 miles from Black Canyon to Flagstaff with 40,000 feet of climbing and a 125-hour cutoff. Courtney Dauwalter is the clear women's favorite (and looking for redemption after dropping out last year), but the field is deep with Rachel Entrekin, Heather Jackson, and surprise headliner Randy Zuckerberg. The men's race is wide open with Jeff Browning, Joe McConaughy, Ryan Clifford, and Adam Kimble all in the mix.

And finally — the running brand quietly dominating the industry isn't Nike, Adidas, or Asics. It's Brooks. Their best quarter ever: 23% global growth, North America up 20%, EMEA up 30%, China up 136%. Eleven straight quarters as the #1 specialty performance running brand in the U.S. Michael shares early thoughts on the unreleased Hyperion Elite 6 (out August), which Jess McClain and Clayton Young raced in Boston.

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