698. Makenna Myler's 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Recap

Ali on the Run Show

"Going into this race, I was like, 'Top 10, that sounds like a really good goal. I can do that. Top 10.' And then when that race started, I was like, 'Holy crap, Top 10 is going to be so hard. This is the most talented group of women I have ever been surrounded by.' Everywhere I looked, I was like, 'You’re amazing, you’re amazing, you’re incredible…' I felt honored to be among those women. I just look up to all these women around me."

"Have kids and dreams." It's Makenna Myler's mantra (surely you've seen her post-race video that quickly went viral), and it's exactly what she's doing. The mom of two (10 months and 3 years old) just finished seventh at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon, where she ran a personal best time of 2:26:14. Makenna went into the Trials hoping for a Top 10 finish, and wanting "to be a factor." In this episode, she talks about how she made it happen, about being coached by Ryan Hall, about doing workouts alongside Sara Hall, and about what it was like pumping with fellow Trials-running moms before the race.

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What you’ll get on this episode:

• How Makenna processes her races (2:45)
• What it was like nursing and pumping during race weekend (5:00)
• All about Makenna’s viral “Have kids and dreams” video (10:00)
• On imposter syndrome, being coached by Ryan Hall, and training with Sara Hall (13:10)
• What the start of the race was like, and the race plan Ryan gave Makenna beforehand (23:55)
• The last 10K (29:15)
• What Makenna and Ryan talked about after the race (45:30)
• Where Makenna plans to run next (51:00)
• Why Makenna shaved her head in high school (55:30)

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