RELATED: Did We Save the Best for Last? Why (and How) to Watch the 2021 New York City Marathon Seidel’s Shift And it all stems from a transformation in her approach to training. No matter how fast she runs through the five boroughs on November 7, she’s clearly found her groove as a marathoner. Today, as she approaches the 2021 New York City Marathon, the 27-year-old Flagstaff, Arizona-based runner has three strong marathons under her belt and, of course, a shiny Olympic bronze medal to her credit. I really didn’t know where I was headed.” “I just hadn’t gotten much going, and I was struggling with injuries. “It’s kind of funny, because at that point of my career, I was wondering if I was going to be doing this much longer,” she says. Back then, she had been hampered by injuries, was still focused on racing 10,000 meters on the track, and hadn’t even considered running in the Olympic marathon trials. Two years ago, Molly Seidel not only wasn’t on a path to becoming a world-class marathoner, she hadn’t even raced a half marathon yet. “I figured if I hung out with them long enough and just was brave, something good would come of it.Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! “Seeing your peers do incredible things kind of gives you the courage to go after it,” Seidel said. Like her friend Courtney Frerichs, who earned silver in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She said she drew inspiration from teammates competing in Tokyo. “This is the day you dream of your entire life. “I was just kind of overcome and started crying a little bit,” said Seidel, who went to Notre Dame for college. Right after the race, NBC helped facilitate a call to her relatives, who were watching in Wisconsin. I mean, Olympics only happens once every four years, you might as well take your shot.” “Just trying to, like, stick my nose where it didn’t belong and just kind of get after it. “I wanted to go and just be that person that when you’re racing and all these women were probably like, ‘Who the hell is this girl?’” she said. Her best was 2:25:13, and there were numerous runners with sub-2:20. She wasn’t selling herself short, just looking at times. To think, she was envisioning a top-10 finish, maybe top-five if things went right. Seidel finished strong - spurred on by a rare cheering crowd that lined the course - to secure that medal. It was down to four at one point with about four kilometers remaining when Lonah Salpeter suddenly stopped and walked to the side of the road (she would finish). Then, world champion Ruth Chepngetich dropped out on a hot day that led the race to be moved up an hour (Seidel found out night the night before at dinner and went straight to bed). “Being able to run with them, a lot of it is just staying calm, and not trying to think, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re running with the fastest women in the world.’ It’s just trying to be like, ‘OK, focus on your race, focus and what you need to do, and stay in it.’” Olympic marathon trials in February 2019 to earn a spot for Tokyo. “I was a little bit star-struck,” said Seidel, who finished second at the U.S. Seidel finished behind Kenyan marathoners Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kosgei on a sweltering Saturday run through the streets of Sapporo at the Tokyo Games. Recalling that moment, she laughed and said: “I was little bit off but still got the medal. SAPPORO, Japan (AP) - Maybe the person most surprised by the bronze medal in the women’s Olympic marathon was the bronze medalist herself, Molly Seidel.Įven if a medal was something she did set as a goal all the way back in fourth grade.įor a class project, Seidel scribbled in black ink on the back of a decorated card: “I wish I will make it into the Olympics and win a gold medal.”
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