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693. Fiona O'Keeffe, 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials Competitor

Jan 30, 2024

"I wouldn’t say I’m a favorite in a lot of peoples’ eyes. But it’s the Trials. We’re here to select a team. So I’m going to go for it and see what happens."

Happy Olympic Trials Week! This Saturday, the fastest distance runners in the U.S. will line up in Orlando, FL, racing for their chance to represent Team USA in the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Among those runners will be Fiona O'Keeffe, making her debut at the distance. Fiona runs professionally for Puma, and trains with the Puma Elite coaches Amy and Alistair Cragg. Fiona qualified for the Trials by running a 1:11 half marathon, and now she's ready to see what she can do over the course of 26.2 miles. In this episode, Fiona talks about her training, about the advice Amy Cragg (who won the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials) has given her, and about her recovery from a staph infection in her ankle last summer.

FOLLOW FIONA @fiona_okeeffe

SPONSOR: New Balance. Click here to shop New Balance’s latest releases for the season. (The SuperComp Trainer is my favorite shoe!)

What you’ll get on this episode:

  • Race week! Fiona shares how she’s feeling just days away from the Trials (1:50)
  • Was Fiona’s plan to debut in the marathon at the Trials? (5:10)
  • What Fiona’s Trials training looked like, including her favorite and least favorite workouts (10:00)
  • On pressure — internal and external (17:20)
  • The ankle injury that sidelined Fiona last summer (18:45)
  • Fiona’s visualization plans, and what the week before the Trials entails (27:25)
  • Why Fiona chose to train with Amy and Alistair Cragg (31:10)
  • Noise vs. hype (34:20)
  • All about the runners in Fiona’s family (36:30)
  • What it might look like to continue competing on both the track and the roads (41:50)
  • Fiona’s pre-race must-dos (44:50)

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