"I love the chaos. That’s where I find the calm."
After a year and a half filled with injuries, setbacks, and struggles, Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel made her grand return to the marathon — and crushed it. Molly ran the Chicago Marathon in a personal best time of 2:23:07, finishing eighth overall and as the second American woman of the day. In this episode, she talks about the comeback, about race day, about having something to prove, and about a major weight being lifted. (For more, check out Molly's Chicago Marathon recap on YouTube.)
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What you’ll get on this episode:
- “Molly seems really good!” (2:30)
- On expectations (4:00)
- Molly shares her goals for the Chicago Marathon (6:30)
- Molly’s favorite moment from the weekend (7:20)
- On running with pacer Rory Linkletter — and running with pacers in general vs. all-out racing (12:45)
- How Molly sees American distance women on the world stage (15:00)
- The importance of the boyfriend/coach relationship (19:15)
- On pre-race commitments, and how Molly has learned to manage her time and energy leading up to big races (21:30)
- How Molly was feeling on race morning (27:15)
- Molly breaks down her race at the Chicago Marathon (39:15)
- Molly talks about when the race started to feel hard (44:30)
- How Molly felt after crossing the finish line, and how she feels now (53:50)
- Molly’s mindset approaching the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials (56:45)
- “I think that is just my brain trying to be toxic” (59:50)
- What Molly’s excited about right now (1:06:30)
Molly on the Ali on the Run Show:
On Returning to Racing in 2023, January 2023
Everything You Need to Know About the New York City Marathon, October 2022
Girl Talk with Molly Seidel & Anoush Arakelian, February 2022
LIVE with Molly Seidel, Olympic Bronze Medalist, August 2021
Molly & Izzy Seidel, March 2021
FOLLOW MOLLY @bygolly.molly
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