Local Legends with Jonas Hampton and Matt McDonald

This week’s guests are two of the top Americans from the 2022 Boston Marathon, BAA runners Matt McDonald and Jonas Hampton. Matt finished 13th overall as the third American in a new personal best of 2:10:35, and Jonas finished 23rd overall as the 10thAmerican in 2:14:40. The BAA men did a great job of defending their home turf as they put four men in the top 25 overall and three in the top 10 Americans, winning the team competition by a landslide.

Both Matt and Jonas work full-time in addition to being pro runners, and we talked a lot about the balance between managing a demanding career and pursuing big goals in the sport. If you’re looking for inspiration, look no further than these guys running 130 miles a week and working in engineering. We also talked about the team culture on BAA following a number of coaching changes, the possibility of getting back on the track, and what makes the Boston Marathon truly special.

This episode is brought to you by Hayward Magic in advance of a big summer of racing in Eugene Oregon. As we lead up to the World Championships, all of us here in the CITIUS family will be bringing you high quality interviews, storytelling, content, and analysis. Learn more at citiusmag.com/summerofhayward.

“Being a BAA athlete in BAA’s premier event is so special. Having the logo on your chest that everyone else has on their bib is fun. The two of us probably know this course better than anyone else.” – Matt McDonald

“I was on the BAA racing team, but going into [the 2020 Marathon Trials], I pulled a ‘Scott and Rojas’ – I kinda began to want a pro contract, so I didn’t re-sign with the racing team and went to altitude by myself to train. And betting on myself seemed to pay off – ran 2:12, got 8thplace, and joined the BAA high performance team after that.” – Jonas Hampton

“I went down to Atlanta to get a PhD at Georgia Tech intending to hang up the shoes. The coaches at Atlanta Track Club talked me into joining the elite team they were starting up [….] and for about a year I resisted, but eventually as the team grew I wanted to be able to compete with my teammates. It made me want to be good again.” – Matt McDonald

“One thing I miss about running marathons is that you can lose that competitive edge in between races a bit. The great thing about doing local races is that you can keep competing regularly and it’s also just fun.” – Jonas Hampton