American OLYMPIAN, Molly Huddle

In this weeks installment we were lucky enough to speak with Molly Huddle.  She placed 6th in the 2012 Olympics where she set the American Record in the 10,000m at 30:13.17 and also broke the American 5k Record in 2014 with a finishing time of 14:42.64.  What I found most interested in Molly is that her High School did not have a Cross Country team so she ran and competed by herself.  For our athletes reading, pay attention to how she came back from multiple injuries and recommends keeping a journal of your progress and goals.

How did you get started?

I got started running by watching my Dad do road races, and running a few, then joining the middle school track team.

What was your biggest struggle?

a major struggle for me was avoiding injuries, as I broke my foot 4 times. Each time I figured out what I could do better with my form and strengthened weak areas of my body and problem solved with foot orthotics and stayed fit with cross training, which I view as a new physical and mental challenge that would help me be a tougher athlete in some way.

What is your current goal?

my current goal is to win the Boston Marathon and make the Olympic team in 2020.

What advice would you give a young athlete?

I would tell young athletes to write in a journal everyday so they don't forget what they learn from their sports and so they can see patterns in their training! It also helps to write down goals and steps to get there and what your values are, it makes everything more real and serves as good reminders of accountability.

Where do you rank nutrition when it comes to success in your sport?

nutrition is important, I definitely could have eaten better as a young athlete. I did not eat enough protein, which is my biggest regret!
Happy training!
Molly


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For a full list of Mollys career check out her impressive Wikipedia page
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Huddle