Today Alex Cyr is joined by two fit, restless, potential future Olympians. John Gay has represented Canada in three separate international competitions since early 2019, including the world athletics championships in Doha late last year in the 3,000m steeplechase — that's especially impressive considering the world has been shut down for nine of these past 24 months. Kieran Lumb is the 2019 Canadian U Sports cross-country champion, and as of February, the Canadian U-23 record holder in the indoor 3,000m. Both were in great fitness when COVID sent the world into lockdown in March, so they decided to essentially quarantine together in a cabin to keep some sort of momentum going. Just last week, they got to prove their post-lockdown fitness over 10,000m, where Lumb stopped the clock at 28:17, and Gay at 28:18. Both trailed the winner, 2016 Olympian Luc Bruchet, by milliseconds. Today John, Kieran and I talked about that race, but also about venturing into the world of professional running, about dealing with a busy school schedule, about making a push for the Olympics, and at one point, John tells his dad that he loves him. Really sweet listen until the end. I had fun recording this conversation, and I hope you enjoy.

Just because we won't have a national cross-country championships this year, doesn't mean we can't dream about how the race would have played out. The XC's Alex Cyr and Evan Ubene, a.k.a. the Twitter presence known as Not Trackie and host of the Running Hot Takes podcast, decided to see who could build the best fantasy cross-country team, in place of getting to watch Canada's best distance runners race in Abbotsford, B.C. this fall. Here are the rules, which are similar to a typical pro team sports fantasy draft: They each must build a classic cross-country team of seven women and seven men, totalling 14 picks each. They can draft in whatever manner they wish. They each have 45 seconds to make their pick. And it is a "snake draft," meaning that the order goes: Team A, Team B, Team B, Team A, Team A..." etc. for 28 total rounds. And the first pick in the 2020 ACXC Fantasy Draft goes to... Follow Not Trackie: https://twitter.com/runninghottakes And listen to his pod here: runninghottakes.podbean.com And be sure to visit our website for more stories, podcasts and opinions all about distance running: https://thexc.org/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thexcorg/ Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thexcorg/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thexcorg The XC merch: https://cottonbureau.com/people/the-xc Check out The XC for well-reported, well-told and unbiased running content: https://thexc.org/

Back in March, Canada's fastest female marathoner, Malindi Elmore, wanted to know if any shoe could deliver the results that the Nike Vaporfly Next% was producing for runners around the world. Nike's controversial new design included a carbon plate and super light foam that was helping runners lop minutes off their marathon times, including Eliud Kipchoge's marathon world record. But Elmore had no allegiance to the Swoosh, and as a free agent she wanted to know if other brands could actually compete. Elmore had just set Canadian national record of 2:24 in the Vaporfly, but wasn't sponsored by Nike (and was actually buying the shoes herself in order to gain the benefit they provided). As COVID was shutting down the world around her, she quietly took her Nikes into a lab along with a new carbon plated competitor by Saucony, called the Endrophin Pro, in order to see if any other shoe could match the Vaporfly. The results will no doubt change many minds about which shoes to wear for that first post-pandemic breakthrough marathon. Host Michael Doyle talks with Elmore about her curious experiment.

Last year, we produced a regular podcast called The U - it was a look into Canada's varsity running scene. The podcast, much like the entire university athletics circuit, entered hibernation in the spring, around the time COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. But this week, we are bringing it back. After all, had sports not been cancelled, the U SPORTS Cross-Country Championships would be happening this weekend. Here, our two guests tell host Alex Cyr how training is going, how they both overcame pretty serious injuries, and who they think would have won the U SPORTS race this year, had it taken place. Aside from the running fodder, Hufsmith talks about why she chose to embark on a 100-day social media hiatus, Lutz talks about the time he met Scottish singing superstar Lewis Capaldi, and the trio shares what they each think about American media franchise High School Musical. Follow us @TheXCorg And visit our new home: thexc.org

Amid the doldrums of the Pandemic, a Texas Uber driver and former University of Wisconsin track runner named Ryan Craven channeled his love and longing for cross-country running into his other passion: 3D design and coding. The result is the aptly named "XC Video Game" (not affiliation with what we're doing here at The XC). Alex Cyr couldn't resist reaching out to Craven to ask him about his digital love letter to the sport. Be sure to read the full story at our new home, thexc.org And follow us on social @theXCorg

In this week's Top 5 pod, we break down the following stories: 1. Michigan becomes hub for pro running events Over the last week, Hansons-Brooks Original Distance Project hosted two major races in Shelby Township, Michigan, which produced world class fields: The Michigan Pro Half-Marathon and the Michigan Pro Ekiden. 2. Syringes found in Olympic champion Taoufik Makloufi’s equipment bag Algerian 2012 Olympic Gold medalist Taoufik Makloufi has found himself in an incriminating situation. 3. Courtney Dauwalter wins Big at Big’s Backyard Ultra Last week, in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, U.S. ultra runner Courtney Dauwalter ran 283 miles/456 km to claim the 2020 Big’s Backyard Ultra. The annual event requires runners to complete one 4.16667 mile (or 6.7km loop) every hour. The event continues until only one runner is standing. To win, Dauwalter ran 68 loops, tying the record set in 2018 by Johan Steele of Sweden. 4. Is this 60-year-old Irish guy our greatest living marathoner? 60-year-old Irish marathoner Tommy Hughes clocked another world record this week. The former Olympic marathoner already held the world record for fastest combined marathon for a father and son (take note that Hughes ran the faster of the two times) and the over-60s half marathon world record (1:11:09, run in September at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon). He can now add the over-60s marathon world record to his list of accolades. Running in the Down Royal Marathon, Hughes took six minutes off the previous record clocking 2:30:02. Be sure to follow us on our social channels @theXCorg And visit our new home for all of our content: thexc.org

In this episode of The XC Podcast, Alex Cyr talks with Rory Linkletter, a Canadian-American sponsored by Hoka One One, a member of the NAZ Elite squad, and running's equivalent to the Dos Equis' Most Interesting Man in the World. When Rory Linkletter ran 61:44 at the Houston Half Marathon in January, we all thought he was a shoe-in for making his first Canadian Olympic team. The, of course, COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic and the Games in Tokyo were postponed. Instead of packing it in for the year, the 24-year-old undertook several projects and challenges to outrun boredom. He started a podcast, he attempted to break Canada's one-hour run record, he bought a truck, he raced several virtual and in-person relays across the United States, he ran 2,000 feet up a mountain as hard as he could, he became a U.S. citizen, and now, he trains for his second-ever marathon. In this episode, Alex and Rory touch on several of these topics and more. Follow us on social @TheXCorg and visit our new content home: thexc.org

Hosts John Lofranco and Michael Doyle discuss who each feels "won" and "lost" at the 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, which took place over the weekend in Gdynia, Poland. John's winners: Women's champ (and world-record holder) Peres Jepchirchir, the concept of watching a race, and "the running media." Michael's winners: Jepchirchir, World Athletics, the country of Uganda John's losers: the very idea of safety, high stack height shoes, sport bureaucracy Michael's losers: host country Poland, pre-race favourite Joshua Cheptegei, 2018 champ Netsanet Gudeta Be sure to check out our new home thexc.org, and follow us on social @theXCorg

Hosts Alex Cyr and Michael Doyle unpack to massive races from Gdynia, Poland at the 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships. The women's race saw a women's-only world record by Peres Jepchirchir, as well as lots of drama. The men's race featured a 19-year-old breakout star from Uganda (and it wasn't Joshua Cheptegei). Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and read our regular content at thexc.org and follow us on our social channels @theXCorg

Alex Cyr and Michael Doyle unpack a stacked women's race, which features the last four world record holders in the half marathon. On the men's side, Joshua Cheptegei, who has had perhaps the single most dominant year in track history, is running his debut half marathon. Can he do something special (perhaps one last world record in 2020), or will there be a surprise champion? And finally, we discuss the situation in Poland, with an escalating COVID-19 public health crisis, and several nations opting to sit out these championships. Is this a preview for larger competitions to come, where certain countries opt to pull their athletes, while others go ahead with the competition? Be sure to follow @theXCorg on race morning (5 a.m. ET) for live coverage. We'll also be posting our instant reaction podcast immediately following the races in Gdynia, Poland.