Reality Over Hype: The Best & Worst of 2025 - Hocker, Brazier & Grand Slam Flop
LetsRun.com's Track Talk: The Home of Running and Track and FieldEpisode Notes
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It's the final LetsRun.com podcast of 2025 — our Year in Review episode! What a year it was: Americans breaking world records, Cole Hocker winning 5K gold at Worlds, the rise and fall of Grand Slam Track, Donovan Brazier's incredible comeback, and 16-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus running 1:42 for 800 meters. We hand out our awards for Race of the Year, Flop of the Year, Runner of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Person of the Year. Plus: the wild stat about non-African born men sweeping distance golds at Worlds, Faith Kipyegon's controversial sub-4 attempt, Fred Kerley's fall from grace, Erriyon Knighton's ban, and Sebastian Sawe's remarkable anti-doping gesture.
🎽 World XC Shirts: Get yours before the deadline! Two designs available at shop.letsrun.com
🎉 World XC Party: Join us at Township in Tallahassee, Saturday January 10th at 3:00 PM after the races!
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Links:
- Discussion:What were your favorite moments of 2025?
- Discussion: Who were the biggest losers of 2025?
- World XC Shirts - shop.letsrun.com
- Dan Michalski feature article
- Shelby Houlihan pod
- Evan Jager pod
- Grand Slam Track bankruptcy thread
Timestamps:
- 00:00 World XC Shirts Promo & Party Info
- 02:04 Intro: 2025 Year in Review
- 02:43 Jane Hedengren & US Teen Stars
- 03:19 Rojo's "Friday 15" Solo Pod
- 05:01 Robert's Complexity & Ethiopian Guest
- 06:19 Unbelievable Events of 2025: A List
- 08:30 Rise of Non-African Born Distance Runners
- 17:39 Donovan Brazier's Comeback
- 20:05 Shelby Houliha
