Women's Running Stories

In 2016, elite ultra-distance trail runner and writer Katie Arnold experienced a traumatic river rafting accident that left her questioning whether or not she would ever be able to run again. This is the story of how Arnold healed after her accident and how that process helped her rediscover a pure joy of running and a magical return to racing. This happened over the period of time when Arnold was 46 to 48 years old. This episode was made on the occasion of the release of Arnold’s second book, Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World. The book was just released April 16, 2024. To borrow the description that her publisher put out, “This book is a Zen study wrapped in a memoir that tells the story of a search for stillness by a woman born for wildness.” And it’s an apt description. This book is exceptional. And this episode does focus on the same period of time that is covered in the book. Of course, Arnold's book goes into much more detail than she gets into in this episode, but in either case, the story covers the same period of time, roughly the two years between 2016 and 2018, beginning with Arnold experiencing a traumatic rafting accident through her process of healing. Arnold studies the teachings of Zen Buddhism and she practices Zen mediation. Weaved throughout Arnold’s story is how her Zen practice manifests in this whole process. The story, as it is told here, focuses on the power of belief, participating in your own healing, and the interesting dynamic of achieving goals while not clinging to them—or put another way, staying with where you're at instead of focusing on the finish line. Keep Up with Katie Arnold Instagram: @katiearnold Website: katiearnold.net Katie Arnold's books, Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World and Running Home: katiearnold.net/books Mentioned in This Episode Sarah Lavender Smith: Ultramarathon Trail Running Longevity: womensrunningstories.com/sarah-lavender-smith-transitioning-through-competitive-running-longevity Sarah Lavender Smith's website: sarahlavendersmith.com Sarah Lavender Smith's newsletter, Colorado Mountain Running & Living Sarah Lavender Smith book, The Trail Runner's Companion: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trail Running and Racing, from 5Ks to Ultras Music Credits Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh Lidérc Bell, viaPixabay Rockot, via Pixabay penguinmusic, via Pixabay SergePavkinMusic, via Pixabay Coma-Media, via Pixabay chillmore, via Pixabay RoyaltyFreeMusic, via Pixabay Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories Instagram: @womensrunningstories Instagram: @over50sub20_5k_project Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/444164966663627 Website: womensrunningstories.com Email host Cherie: [email protected] Women's Running Stories is a proud member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Emilia Benton focuses on how she discovered the approach to marathoning that earned her a Boston Marathon qualifying time, and then how it all went down at last year's Boston Marathon. Benton is a well recognized journalist in the running world, with a particular focus on professional runners as well as runners and stories that have typically been underrepresented and overlooked by the media. As a runner, a big focus of Benton’s has been marathons. She has run over a dozen of them, and for about a decade, her efforts focused on what many ambitious marathoners focus on: getting a Boston qualifying time, and then running the Boston Marathon. Over the course of her marathon journey, Benton has become astutely aware of her own needs as a runner, and that not all conventional marathoning wisdom met her needs. She's been through a lot of trial and error, and she's found what does work for her, and she's learned how to trust that knowledge. Benton also found a coach who backed her approach. And that coach is Nell Rojas. Rojas is both a coach and she is also one of America's very best marathoners: among her many accolades, Rojas has twice been the top American finisher at the Boston Marathon. Working with Rojas, Benton raced a terrific 2022 Houston Marathon to earn her BQ, and run at Boston the next year. Benton shares it all in this episode, and more! What shines bright here is that what works for one person in marathoning may not work for another. Every runner needs to discover their own path, which is exactly what Benton did. Keep Up with Emilia Benton Instagram: @emiliambenton Website: emiliabenton.com Mentioned in This Episode "My Run Club Was Profiled for ‘Cheering While Black’—Here’s Why It Only Reaffirms Our Mission," Sidney Baptista, as told to Emilia Benton: https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a43878096/my-run-club-was-profiled-for-cheering Liz Rock: A TrailblazHer's Journey, Running the Boston Marathon for Mile 21 Joy: https://womensrunningstories.com/liz-rock-a-trailblazhers-journey-running-the-boston-marathon-for-mile-21-joy Alison Mariella Désir: Running While Black, Her Story, Her Book: https://womensrunningstories.com/alison-mariella-desir-running-while-black-her-story-her-book Race Report: Nell Rojas + 2023 25k National Championships: https://womensrunningstories.com/race-report-nell-rojas-2023-usatf-25k-national-championships Boston Marathon Expo Live Stage event, Sun., April 14, 2pm: "Making a Statement: Breaking Barriers in Women's Running" featuring Briana Boehmer, Kelly Bruno, Alisa Harvey; moderated by Cherie Turner, Julie Sapper, Lisa Levin; presentation of Team Bevans takes place immediately following this conversation Music Credits Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh penguinmusic, via Pixabay chillmore, via Pixabay SergePavkinMusic, via Pixabay Coma-Media, via Pixabay Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories Instagram: @womensrunningstories Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/444164966663627 Website: womensrunningstories.com Email host Cherie: [email protected] Women's Running Stories is a proud member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michelle Wheeler is an internationally competitive marathon and distance road racer. Last year saw Wheeler race marathons in Boston, Berlin, Sydney, London, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, in addition to traveling throughout the US to shorter-distance races. And, this year, she'll also be returning to shorter distance racing on the track. Wheeler will be competing at the Paralympic Trials in the 800, 1500, and 5000, vying for her play on Team USA. Wheeler has been an athlete since childhood in a number of sports, including wheelchair racing. Her early focus was on the track, in sprinting events. Back then, she had no interest in anything longer than those short bursts of speed, the 100, the 200, the 400 meters. As she entered adulthood, Wheeler's focus shifted to other parts of life. She became a mom. She moved from her childhood home in New Jersey to New York City, where she earned her bachelor's degree. Competitive wheelchair racing wasn't top of mind, but as it would turn out, fate stepped in to change that. Today, Wheeler is a professional marathon wheelchair racer, earning invitations to line up at races all over the world. That is what this story is all about, how Wheeler returned to racing and discovered her passion for competing in marathons; and how she's learned to navigate life as a mom, full time rehabilitation and mental health counselor, and professional athlete. As Wheeler goes into, finding balance and focusing on mental health has been key to this journey. Wheeler opened her 2024 season at the NYC Half-Marathon on March 17, where she finished a strong 4th place. Next on her schedule is the Boston Marathon, taking place on April 15. At Boston, Wheeler will be racing as a member of Team Bevans. Team Bevans comprises exceptional Black women marathoners running the Boston Marathon. They run in honor of Marilyn Bevans, the first American born Black woman to run the marathon in under 3 hours. This is just one of many accolades Bevans earned as one of the best marathoners of her day. Wheeler and the other women on the team embody the spirit of Black woman excellence in marathon running sparked by Bevans, and help solidify her incredible legacy. Keep Up with Michelle Wheeler Instagram: @shellyrunstheworld Mentioned in This Episode Black Unicorn Marathoners: blackunicornmarathoners.org Team Bevans: facebook.com/blackunicornmarathoners Roads to Boston series: womensrunningstories.com/home-2/roads-to-boston-9-runners-1-finish-line Boston Marathon Expo Live Stage event, Sun., April 14, 2pm: "Making a Statement: Breaking Barriers in Women's Running" featuring Briana Boehmer, Kelly Bruno, Alisa Harvey; moderated by Cherie Turner, Julie Sapper, Lisa Levin; presentation of Team Bevans takes place immediately following this conversation Oiselle, the apparel brand rooted in running; made by women, for women: oiselle.com Music Credits Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh SergePavkinMusic, via Pixabay Rockot, via Pixabay Coma-Media, via Pixabay Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories Instagram: @womensrunningstories Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/444164966663627 Website: womensrunningstories.com Email host Cherie: [email protected] Women's Running Stories is a proud member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jen Kanyugi is running her 20th consecutive Boston Marathon this year. Her journey to get to this point is about this one event, and so much more. In this time, Jen went from not running more than 20 minutes on the treadmill to being a steady presence at this, one of the most recognized and celebrated running events in the world. In that time she became a mom, three times (she ran two of her Boston Marathons while pregnant). She learned the joy of completing those 26.2 miles, and that it's so special she continues to want to do it, again and again, every year. She's learned the power of support, finding groups to train with and create community with, like Girls on the Run and Black Girls Run. Jen has also learned the tragedy of trauma, having run Boston 2014, the year of the bombing. And she understands what it means to come back and reclaim spaces that were threatened. And she's learned the power of giving and volunteering: for years Jen has raised money for charities she is passionate about, and she regularly volunteers for the running groups she is a part of. Jen Kanyugi shares all of this in this episode of celebration. In honor of her 20th consecutive Boston Marathon and all that she does for the running community, Jen has also been chosen to be a member of Team Bevans. Team Bevans comprises exceptional Black women marathoners running the Boston Marathon. They run in honor of Marilyn Bevans, the first American born Black woman to run the marathon in under 3 hours. This is just one of many accolades Bevans earned as one of the best marathoners of her day. Kanyugi and the other women on the team embody the spirit of Black woman excellence in marathon running sparked by Bevans, and help solidify her incredible legacy. Keep Up with Jen Kanyugi Facebook: facebook.com/patandjen Jen Kanyugi's Camp Shriver donation page Mentioned in This Episode Black Unicorn Marathoners: blackunicornmarathoners.org Team Bevans: facebook.com/blackunicornmarathoners Black Girls Run: blackgirlsrun.com Girls on the Run: girlsontherun.org Roads to Boston series: womensrunningstories.com/home-2/roads-to-boston-9-runners-1-finish-line Boston Marathon Expo Live Stage event, Sun., April 14, 2pm: "Making a Statement: Breaking Barriers in Women's Running" featuring Briana Boehmer, Kelly Bruno, Alisa Harvey; moderated by Cherie Turner, Julie Sapper, Lisa Levin; presentation of Team Bevans takes place immediately following this conversation Oiselle, the apparel brand rooted in running; made by women, for women: oiselle.com Music Credits Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh SergePavkinMusic, via Pixabay artmucis.janevo, via Pixabay Coma-Media, via Pixabay Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories Instagram: @womensrunningstories Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/444164966663627 Website: womensrunningstories.com Email host Cherie: [email protected] Women's Running Stories is a proud member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, part 4 of this series, Cherie tells the story of her return to formal training and workouts after recovering from an injury. And, back at it, Cherie returned to racing and experienced a frustrating bought of race anxiety. This set Cherie down a path to tackle this difficult barrier and think deeply about what this goal means to her and the importance of believing in abilities. Cherie discusses the strategies she been practicing to overcome race anxiety and big wins she's experienced by putting these strategies in place. She also identifies her next big challenge in this process: pacing well in racing. This goal, Cherie sees, is like putting together a puzzle, and piece by piece, it's coming together. And, Cherie is grateful for the support she's getting all along the way, especially from her coach, Verity Breen, and her husband. In June of 2023, Women's Running Stories host and producer Cherie Turner closed the chapter on running longer distance races (at least for now), like marathons and ultras, and turned her attention to the 5k. Her goal: break 20 minutes in the 5km. Cherie is currently 54 years old and she has never dipped under 20 minutes at this distance. The closest she's ever gotten was back over a decade ago, when she ran 20:19. This update spans January to March 2024. Part 1 of this series concluded with Cherie setting a baseline time of 21:10 on August 30. Part 2 ended with Cherie learning more about how to train well and some of the lessons she's continuing to work on. In part 3, Cherie discusses how she experienced a non-running injury that took her out of structured training and workouts for 8 weeks but ended up being a healthy reset. Please click the links below to hear those episodes (they're not prerequisites to this episode, but they do provide details and context). The release of this this episode also marks the 4 year anniversary of the podcast! In conjunction with this milestone, Cherie is launching a new Instagram account focused on this 5k project. There, you can find more details and more frequent updates about this journey, in between podcast updates, which come out every few months. Please follow! @over50sub20_5k_project. Come along for the journey. Mentioned in this episode NEW! The Over 50, Sub 20, 5k Project Instagram account: @over50sub20_5k_project Cherie Turner: The Over 50, Sub 20, 5k Project: Part 1, Setting the Baseline: https://womensrunningstories.com/cherie-turner-the-over-50-sub-20-5k-project-part-1-setting-the-baseline Cherie Turner: The Over 50, Sub 20, 5k Project: Part 2, Learning to Train Well: https://womensrunningstories.com/cherie-turner-the-over-50-sub-20-5k-project-part-2-learning-to-train-well Cherie Turner: The Over 50, Sub 20, 5k Project: Part 3, The Reset: https://womensrunningstories.com/cherie-turner-over-50-sub-20-5k-project-part-3-the-reset Self Care Simplified interview with Dr. Caroline Leaf: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5PbGZ4OVqbREbSNC7atvVt?si=9Q8mtfEKQl2ZwlhNQ5U-kg Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories Instagram: @womensrunningstories Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/444164966663627 Website: womensrunningstories.com Email host Cherie: [email protected] Women's Running Stories is a proud member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz Rock is a marathoner and community leader, focusing on women and diversity: "We [women] are so powerful and I wish we knew that more," she says. "We are powerful and we need to lead with that more often than not." Rock tells her running story with a focus on training for the 2024 Boston Marathon, and her journey is about so much more than putting in the miles. Rock's reasons for running Boston this year, her second Boston Marathon, are deeply embedded in her work as a community leader and her personal health and wellness journey. This will be Rock's fifth marathon, and her motivations and approach are different this time than for marathons in the past. This year, Rock is running for community, and specifically for the Mile 21 Cheer Zone, which is organized by the TrailblazHers and the Pioneers Run Crew. As on one the co-founders of TrailblazHers, Rock has helped organize this long-standing cheer zone and she's cheered thousands of other runners on from this spot. This year, she'll be on the receiving end. This is particularly meaningful in light of what went down last year, 2023: the police were called and subsequently surround this cheer zone, front and back, because of the way that they were cheering. The Mile 21 Cheer Zone is the largest gathering of race supporters who are Black and people of color along the race course; their cheer zone is on the predominantly white, affluent town of Newton. This unnecessarily aggressive response from the Newton police caused distrust and trauma in the BIPOC running community that continues to reverberate. Rock was there cheering, and she's returning as a runner to celebrate this cheer zone and take back this narrative and the joy that was threatened last year. Preparation for this year's Boston also has personal significance in Rock's health and wellness journey. She's hired a running coach and a nutritionist for the first time, to help guide her through marathon training, and beyond. Rock gets into all of this in her powerful, inspirational story. Liz Rock is the co-founder of the Boston-based TrailblazHers Run Crew—which is created by and specifically focuses on serving the BIPOC community; she is also the co-founder of the empowering and beloved annual women's running event the Bra Run. And she is a member of the Boston Running Collaborative (BRA), an organization within the Boston Athletic Association (BAA, the organization puts on the Boston Marathon) that works to diversify the running community. And, Rock is a marketing manager for Puma. Keep Up with Liz Rock Instagram: @lizzy_rockz Mentioned in This Episode TrailblazHers website: trailblazhersrunco.com TrailblazHers Instagram: @trailblazhersrunco Abeo Powder coaching: @holisticwithhotfoot Runner's World article "My Run Club Was Profiled for 'Cheering While Black'—Here's Why It Only Reaffirms Our Mission," as told to Emilia Benton by Sidney Baptista: runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a43878096/my-run-club-was-profiled-for-cheering Boston Running Collaborative (BRC): baa.org/get-involved/boston-running-collaborative Oiselle, the apparel brand rooted in running; made by women, for women: oiselle.com Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories Instagram: @womensrunningstories Twitter: @WomenRunStories Website: womensrunningstories.com Email host Cherie: [email protected] Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Minnesota Distance Elite Team member and Puma professional marathoner and long-distance road racer Annie Frisbie shares how it all went down at the 2024 15k National Championships, which took place March 2, 2024, in Jacksonville, FL, at the Gate River Run. Frisbie had a great race at the 15k, for some interesting and special reasons. And she gets into it. And, this episode is a bit of a twofer because what happened at the 15k champs was directly influenced by the previous race on Frisbie's calendar, the 2024 US Olympic Trials Marathon. So, she covers that race as well. The marathon trials was, to put it mildly, Frisbie's A race. It was the one chance that comes every four years to make an Olympic team. For Frisbie, it did not turn out to be the day she dreamed of. She finished a terrific 10th place in a hugely competitive field, but the goal had been top 3, because the first three women to cross the finish line were automatic selections for the team heading to Paris. Frisbie tells the whole story in this episode: the build-up to the marathon, how it went down that day, her processing the deep disappointment of not making the Olympic team, and her return to racing. Frisbie's first post-trials race was indeed the 15k, and she shares what happened there and why it was a great return to racing. Annie Frisbie is a top American distance racer. Her thoughtful insights into competition, including the mental and emotional side of racing, make this an inspirational inside look into life as a professional runner. Just like last year, you can expect a Race Report episode for each race of the USATF Road Circuit series of races. Each episode features one top 10 runner telling the story of how the race went down, from her perspective. And because a race is never just about what happens on race day, you will get to know a little bit more about each one of the runners featured and how this race figures into their larger running story. The USATF 15k National Championships is a part of the USATF Running Circuit championship series of races. These are races that happen throughout the United States all year long and each race serves as a national championship for the distance or the type of race that is being run. Also, at each one of these races, in addition to vying for a national title, runners earn cash prizes and they earn points. The points go toward the series overall, which is determined at the end of the year. The next race on the circuit is the 10-Mile National Championships taking place in Washington, D.C., on April 7. A WRS Race Report will publish shortly thereafter. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss it! Keep Up with Annie Frisbie Instagram: @anniefrisb3 Photo Credit Clay Shaw, Runner's Gazette: @clay50sub4, runnersgazette.com Also, thank you to Karen Mitchell: @kmitchpa Mentioned in this episode Race Report: Emily Durgin + 2024 US Olympic Trials Marathon: https://womensrunningstories.com/race-report-emily-durgin-2024-usatf-olympic-trials-marathon Race Report: Katie Camarena + 2024 USATF Cross-Country National Championships: https://womensrunningstories.com/race-report-katie-camarena-2024-usatf-cross-country-national-championships Previous Women's Running Stories Race Report Episodes: https://womensrunningstories.com/podcast/women-running-stories Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories Instagram: @womensrunningstories Twitter: @WomenRunStories Website: womensrunningstories.com Email host Cherie: [email protected] Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professional middle distance track racer Rebecca Mehra shares her professional running story. It's been marked by great success, two years of disappointing hurdles, to now: coming into 2024 healthy and ready, with a new perspective, new coach, and new set of training partners. Rebecca Mehra is a professional middle distance track racer, sponsored by Oiselle. She specializes in the 800 and 1500 meter. For her collegiate career, Mehra raced for the legendary running powerhouse Stanford. A year after graduation, in 2018, she became a member of Oiselle's Littlewing Athletics Elite Team, coached by former professional runner, now award-winning author Lauren Fleshman. As a new pro, Mehra's star was on the rise. She was setting PRs, going head to head in top competitions, and winning races. She was racing at top invitational meets throughout the US, and in Europe. Until 2021. Over the past few years, Mehra has experienced a series of frustrating events. Sickness and injury have set her racing plans back, time after time. There was more than one occasion when Mehra considered her career as a professional racer over. Coming into 2024, however, things began to shift. Mehra has been healthy, and she's found a new team to train with and she has a new coach. She's also bringing her years of experience and wisdom, and a refreshed commitment to her professional racing career. It's an Olympic year, and Mehra is ready to get in the mix. Ways to Keep Up with Rebecca Mehra Instagram: @rebecca_mehra Mentioned in this Episode Oiselle: https://www.oiselle.com Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World, by Lauren Fleshman: https://www.laurenfleshman.com “Lauren Fleshman's Feminist Approach to Coaching,” by Michelle Hamilton, New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/sports/lauren-fleshmans-feminist-approach-to-coaching.html Both/And, by Huma Abedine: https://www.huma-abedin.com Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories Instagram: @womensrunningstories Twitter: @WomenRunStories Website: womensrunningstories.com Email host Cherie: [email protected] Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com Women's Running Stories is proud to be featured as one of the top 20 Women's Running podcasts by Feedspot: https://blog.feedspot.com/womens_running_podcasts Women's Running Stories is proud to be featured as #4 on the GoodPods top Running podcasts list Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kelly Bruno has been an athlete since she was a child. Because of a birth defect on her right leg, she went through a below-the-knee amputation, and competes with a prosthetic. Competitive sports has played a fundamental role in her life and her development, and throughout, Bruno has been a role model in the para-athlete world, pushing the limits of what's possible. She's here to tell the story. Throughout her long athletic career, Bruno has excelled in distances from 100 meters to 100 miles, and she competed for years in the sport of triathlon. In her teen years she set world records as a sprinter, has competed in world championships as a triathlete, including the Hawaii Ironman, and this year, she'll race as part of the professional para-athlete field at the Boston Marathon, after running a half-marathon PR of 1:31 in 2023. Very importantly, that half-marathon PR and Bruno's excitement about running Boston have come after a needed hiatus from competitive sports. In the process of going through COVID as well as some major life changes and traumas, Bruno began to rethink her relationship to running over the last several years and stepped away from competition. She returned to structured training and racing last year, 2023, with a fresh, more balanced approach to where the sport fits into her life. In this episode, Bruno tells the whole story. Of the her first memories of being an athlete and what that meant, through her sprinting and triathlon years; her move into ultra trail running and then stepping away from the sport, to now, as she looks forward to racing the Boston Marathon. Keep Up with Kelly Bruno Instagram: @kellybrunomd Mentioned in This Episode Ari Hendrix: Journey to the Olympic Trials Marathon, A Quest to Top The List: https://womensrunningstories.com/ari-hendrix-journey-to-the-olympic-marathon-trials-a-quest-to-top-the-list Briana Boehmer: A Difficult Decision and the Power of Support: https://womensrunningstories.com/briana-boehmer-a-difficult-decision-and-the-power-of-support Black Unicorn Marathoners: blackunicornmarathoners.org Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories Instagram: @womensrunningstories Twitter: @WomenRunStories Website: womensrunningstories.com Email host Cherie: [email protected] Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adidas professional runner Emily Durgin shares how it all went down at the 2024 USATF Olympic Trials Marathon, which took place February 3, 2024, in Orlando, FL. On the line at this race, in addition to a national championship title, cash awards and series points, racers were vying for a spot on Team USA going to the 2024 Paris Olympics. This was the most anticipated US marathon of the last four years, and the competition was deeper and faster than ever. Marathon racing in the US is on fire, and this event was a terrific demonstration of just that. There were many racers lining up who had a legitimate shot at making the Olympic team, and Emily Durgin was one of them. The goal was simple: finish in the top 3 because those runners are automatic selections for the team; 4th place is the alternate. While Durgin is relatively new to the marathon, she's already had some stellar performances: in the one and only marathon she'd completed before the trials, the 2023 Toronto Waterfront Marathon, she'd clocked a 2:26, which ranked her 16th going into the trials (to note: she had lined up to debut at the 2022 NYC Marathon, but the day did not go her way and she did not finish). Durgin also has a blazing half-marathon PR of 1:07. And, she has a lot of experience with championship racing. Durgin's raced against the US's top competition and put herself on the podium several times. And coming into race day, she was ready: mentally, emotionally, and physically. In fact, an area where Durgin shines is in being able to arrive to the line with rock solid belief herself, which she goes into in this story. Because self-belief, unshakable confidence, it isn't something that just happens. It's the result of years of work. And of course, Durgin shares all the exciting details about the marathon itself, including her final moments before the finish line, which were not at all what she expected. Durgin is a consummate professional and it's cool to hear from an athlete who is so on her game. Just like last year, you can expect a Race Report episode for each race of the USATF Road Circuit series of races. Each episode features one top 10 runner telling the story of how the race went down, from her perspective. And because a race is never just about what happens on race day, you will get to know a little bit more about each one of the runners featured and how this race figures into their larger running story. The USATF Olympic Trials Marathon is a part of the USATF Running Circuit championship series of races. These are races that happen throughout the United States all year long and each race serves as a national championship for the distance or the type of race that is being run. Also, at each one of these races, in addition to vying for a national title, runners earn cash prizes and they earn points. The points go toward the series overall, which is determined at the end of the year. The next race on the circuit is the 15k National Championships taking place in Jacksonville, Florida, on March 2nd. A WRS Race Report will publish shortly thereafter. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss it! You can catch up on last year's Race Reports on our website or on your favorite podcast app. Keep Up with Emily Durgin Instagram: @em_durgin Photo Credit Felipe Guajardo, @felipe_guajardo Mentioned in this episode Race Report: Katie Camarena + 2024 USATF Cross-Country National Championships: https://womensrunningstories.com/race-report-katie-camarena-2024-usatf-cross-country-national-championships Previous Women's Running Stories Race Report Episodes: https://womensrunningstories.com/podcast/women-running-stories Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories Instagram: @womensrunningstories Twitter: @WomenRunStories Website: womensrunningstories.com Email host Cherie: [email protected] Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/