Austin Plewe ran a 1:49 at altitude and never trained faster than two-mile pace to do it.

The American Fork senior joins the show ahead of his Festival of Miles 800m debut to explain exactly how that's possible—and why his roughest year ended up being the thing that made him.

Plewe is a product of one of the most consistent programs in the country. Coach Timo Mostert has been running the same aerobic-first philosophy at American Fork for over two decades, and it has produced Clayton Young, Danny Simmons, Casey Klinger, and now Plewe. No 800-specific sessions. No reps faster than mile pace. The speed is just there, evidenced by a sub-49 400 leg he threw down at the state 4x400 a few weeks ago.

What makes this conversation worth listening to is how honest Plewe is about what it cost him to get here. His senior cross-country season came apart at the seams—a stress fracture, an emergency appendectomy two weeks before statemeet, then an illness before NXR.

He didn't have one good race all fall. What got him through was perspective, teammates, and a faith that the other side of that stretch had something better waiting. It did, in the form of a Simplot Games title, a US number-one ranking in the 800, and a fifth straight Arcadia 4x1600 title for the Cavemen.

Now he's in St. Louis targeting 1:47, maybe 1:46—and he's already got a post-race alligator po'boy locked in if it goes his way.

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