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 Our final installment of the Marathon Team nTrials spotlight is Seargent Elvin Kibet Elvin was a 6 time All American while at the University of Arizona graduating in 2015 -you can read more about her story and her childhood in Iten Kenya in the book All In Stride by Johanna Garton which comes out this spring! Its about the journeys of Elvin and her husband (US Olympian Shadrack Kipchirchir) as they come the the US and chase Olympic dreams in the WCAP program via the US Army. Elvin Is debuting in the marathon distance this weekend and speaks about navigating post partum training after having her son Mylo in 2022 and her interest in public health and using her education to help her village back in Kenya.

Our second installment in our miniseries of spotlights around the women of the 2024 USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon is Fiona O’Keeffe. As a 6 time all American at Stanford graduating in 2020 Fiona got to chase some fast women on her own team in the middle distance events. She steps up to the Marathon as one of a few women debuting in the distance at the trials. Since joining the Puma Elite running team with coaches Amy Hastings Cragg and Alistair Cragg, Fiona has run great times as the events got longer like her 10k pb of 30:52 and 67:42 in the half - I think 26.2 will follow this trend and we can’t wait to watch her run the event! 

In Erika's debut marathon this past spring she became the fastest American Born Black Woman Marathoner, she's also a two time USA road Champion and fresh off a big half marathon PB. She tells us about her preparations for the upcoming Olympic Team Trials Marathon on Feb 3rd -spoiler it's going well!

Alysia and Molly have a conversation with Canadian Olympian (2004 and 2021!) and former record holder Malindi Elmore on her journey in the sport: takeing a step back during a burned out phase, exploring other sports and kinds of training, becoming a Mother and finding herself in a while new event and more Olympic berths at age 43! This was a live podcast from Oct 24th and there are some great listener questions at the end.

Molly chats with Natoya about her off season plans, breaking her own National record at the Diamond Leage Final, her philanthropic goals, how she's getting faster with age and how injury and a car accident almost derailed her 2023 season.

We last spoke to Tori in early 2022 and a lot has happened since! She is publishing her book You Anthem, building a non-profit and heading to the World Championships in Hungary as the US Champion and 2022 World Championship bronze medalist. Listen in on what's going on off the track and how she stays motivated on the track. You Anthem LiveHappyRetreats on instagram @livehappii_retreats Follow Tori on insta @livehappii and here

Be an Underbird with Oiselle! Apply today! We catch Up with Justine in Hungary leading into the 2024 World Athletic Championships and speak on her Hungarian (and French/ Caribbean) background , how she has "pieces of her heart all over the world", her athletic carreer, her creative work, her work with Oiselle and her hopes and goals for the sport of Track and Field!

Molly interviews Ro about athlete Mental Health. Roisin McGettigan-Dumas is of course our Co-Host, but also: a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (and 2012 Olympian in Track and Field!) and also coaches athletes on sport performance psychology. We chat about the information Ro Learned from the IOC's new course on Athlete Mwntal Health and share resources for athlete screening. Ro also talks about how she found her passion for this field, working with young athletes, barriers to seeking a provider and we share some personal experiences on the topic as well. Resources: IOC mental health assessment and recognition tools https://olympics.com/athlete365/app/uploads/2021/06/BJSM-SMHAT-1-Athlete365-2020-102411.pdf https://olympics.com/athlete365/app/uploads/2021/06/BJSM-SMHRT-1-Athlete365-2020-102411.pdf

Check out their website for inquiries on joining or supporting! Social media announces events: @angelcityelite Angel City Elite is a women's running group based in the Los Angelese area. Their athletes have competed at the US Olympic Trials Marathon and other track and road races around the country. They are a small group of runners now but hope to support more women who want to contitnue to train at a high level post collegiately and also offer support to youth athletes as well as host community events. Their mission is to bridge the gap: Angel City Elite's mission is to bridge the disparity gap of BIPOC representation in the running community, raise awareness, empower, educate, and inspire by creating a supportive platform and establishing partnerships in LA and surrounding communities.

Liberty AC is the oldest all women’s track club in the country, celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. I speak to president of the board Viki Bok and official- unofficial team historian Alda Cossi (both women are competitive members of the masters running scene). Liberty has run through the gauntlet of sea changes in society via womens sport: It began as a new england sports club for young boys, and soon also became an opportunity for girls in sport when there were none-as schools did not offer this to girls in the 50s. During the 60’s and 70’s they had women athletes from many events in track and field competing for them and some went on to become Olympians and National Team Members and Champions like sprinters Betty Selman and Kathy Lawson to name a few. On the distance side of things, women like Darlene Beckford, Lynn Jennings and Joan Samuelson came through the program, and eventually professional contracts came into the picture to offer more support. (We didn’t talk about it as I wasn't sure who else had been traumatized by this but one of the eras of coaching in the club was that of John Babbington-who has recently been named as a serial abuser of his young athletes, which is extremely upsetting and a sadly not unheard of piece of the womens sport landscape . Currently, athletes and supporters are pushing for prevention and better protected against this.) Their website statement: “Liberty is a community of women committed to inclusive athleticism, compassion, and fairness. We are deeply disturbed to learn of the behavior that led to SafeSport’s investigation and findings of sexual misconduct by John Babington. We acknowledge the extraordinary strength it takes to share the pain associated with sexual misconduct, including assault. Liberty’s current board and membership want Lynn Jennings, Darlene Beckford Pearson, and others who suffered similar abuse to know that we stand with them and will do whatever we can to support their healing and justice.”   “today-Liberty is mostly adult women actively engaged in career and community in addition to being dedicated runners” The club is a hub for masters women athletes -some of which only tried competitive running once reaching this age. The fulfillment, community and healthy habits cultivated in the group are a benefit to women of all abilities and show you don’t become invisible or have to give up parts of your life when you hit a certain age. 

Julia Lucas was a multi time All American at North Carolina State and Professional Distance runner for 8 years. She talks about how that's informed her own coaching approach and she tells us about the 2 NYC groups she is guiding and some other stops along the way on her coaching journey: Julia is currently working with the womens Elite Group Atalanta , the Atalanta community group training team online which you can join, a few private clients and the No Name Program (@thenonameprogram) community group. More from Julia here and on our blog Keeping-Track follow her on instagram @justrunjulia

Molly Talks to co founder Abeo Powder and Run LeadHer Alia Qatarneh about Boston Based women's running group TrailBlazHers Run co . They touch on topics like their big event -The Bra Run- their weekly events and other activations and how they are crearing a welcoming space for women to enter the running world and find community through all paces and levels of running. As they say they "Value and nurture the diversity in sisterhood!"