Finding Your Event

How trusting her gut led Sage Hurta-Klecker to a historic top-3 performance in the 800m

Author

Rachael Woodruff
June 24, 2026

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Finding Your Event

Sage Hurta-Klecker, 2025 World Championship finalist and the third-fastest American woman ever in the 800m, wasn't always considered a true middle-distance runner.

In college, she was an NCAA champion in the indoor mile and even found success in the longer distances, including cross country and the steeplechase. For most runners, the strategy as you get older is the same: move up in distance. And when Sage missed making an Olympic team in 2024, the pressure and chatter from the running world to leave the 800 behind and transition to longer events only grew stronger.

Instead, Sage trusted her instincts.

She believed that her true passion and potential still lay in the 800m. That unwavering conviction paid off in spectacular fashion last year, when she achieved a huge breakthrough not only in her own running, but in American track and field history—clocking a 1:55.89 at the World Championships to become the third-fastest American woman of all time.

On The HAX Show, Sage shares the training approach and mindset that have driven her success, including how to find your ideal event and the courage it takes to trust your instincts on your potential.

For the full conversation, subscribe to @haxtraining on YouTube or follow The HAX Show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Physiology vs Passion

When it comes to picking your best race distance, there’s certainly a physiological component. There’s proven science on fast-twitch vs. slow-twitch muscle fibers, natural aerobic capacity, and power output that determine what types of events you’ll excel in. Most runners figure out fairly quickly where their natural talents and biomechanics place them on the spectrum from sprinting to marathoning.

Your training preferences are usually a great indicator, too. If you consistently crush your training partners on long tempo runs but struggle to turn over your legs during pure speed work, chances are high that your physiology favors longer, aerobic distances.

But Sage’s journey proves that physiology can be just one consideration. You can have all the aerobic talent in the world to run a great 5K or steeplechase, but if your competitive soul isn't in it, you will never fully unlock your true athletic potential. Physical abilities can steer you toward a specific starting point, but genuine passion is what keeps you consistent, hungry, and excited to get out the door every single morning.

As Sage reflects on her time running longer events in college while secretly eyeing the shorter fields on the track:

“Could I have run faster than I did in the steeple? Could I have had more success in the steeple? Yes. But it wasn't what motivated me. It's not like I got out the door every morning thinking, 'I want to run so fast in the steeplechase.' I would always be on the sidelines watching the 800 or the 1500 thinking, 'I wonder how I would stack up in that race.’”

The best event for you isn't always the one that looks best on paper or what your natural talents might seem to initially favor. Sometimes it's simply the one that makes you excited to go put in the work every day.

Embracing The Hurt

No matter what event you do, there’s no way around the fact that running is hard. At some point, it’s going to hurt. And that suffering feels entirely different when you are fueled by your passion, rather than an expectation.

When you're racing an event you genuinely love, the discomfort becomes a challenge you're eager to take on rather than a burden you're simply trying to survive. But if you're standing on the starting line because someone else told you that's where you belong, your mind is often the first thing to give in when the race gets difficult.

As Sage puts it, matching your physical capabilities with what actually excites you is the best way to find your true potential in the sport:

"And, you know, running is so hard. I mean, within reason, you probably wanna do something that you're suited for, but you gotta also just have a passion for it to get through those hard moments."

Your physiology should guide which event you choose to pursue, but it shouldn't make the decision for you.

Don't choose an event simply because you're good at it or because others tell you that’s what you should do. If you have a core belief in your potential and a passion to unlock it, trust that instinct.

Find the race that makes you curious about your own limits. The one that makes you want to see how deep you're willing to dig. That passion is what makes the journey truly worth it.

Want a deeper look into Sage's training philosophy, how she manages championship rounds, and what it's like to compete at the highest levels of the women’s middle distance events? Tune into the latest episode of The HAX Show.

(To hear the section where Sage talks about finding her event, skip to 34:05.)

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