A Dialog With Molly Seidel – iRunFar

Molly Seidel was 12 years previous when she learn the now-iconic e book “Born to Run” and discovered in regards to the Western States 100. It was an early introduction to the historic race, and now, practically twenty years later, the 2020 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist is lining up for her first ultramarathon on the January 2026 Bandera 50k, utilizing it as a stepping stone that she hopes will finally result in the Olympic Valley, California, begin line for the 100 miler that has held a spot in her operating psyche for therefore lengthy. “The Western States 100 was at all times a dream for me,” she says, including, “I’m such a Scott Jurek fangirl.”

Seidel isn’t the primary street runner to provide path operating and ultramarathons a nudge, although others have had variable success through the years. She says, “I feel loads of path runners get weirdly intimidated by street operating, and I feel they neglect that we’re all the identical. It’s simply totally different flavors.” She doesn’t assume the intimidation issue is one-directional both, “On the opposite aspect of issues, loads of street runners are deeply intimidated by something path operating. It has its personal particular data.”

When requested how correct she finds the memes evaluating street runners to path runners, she laughs and mentions the YaBoyScottJurek Instagram meme account, saying, “It’s so humorous as a result of it’s actually so hyper-specific. However it’s only a totally different aspect of the identical mildly spectrumy coin.”

Molly Seidel is all smiles whereas coaching on trails within the Grand Canyon of Arizona, not removed from the place she lives. All pictures courtesy of Molly Seidel until in any other case famous.

Seidel’s new give attention to trails comes after a number of troublesome years on the street, together with coping with an array of accidents, lacking out on the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, and leaving her long-time sponsor, Puma, on the finish of 2024. She says that whereas among the transition was pushed by her physique needing a break from marathon coaching, there was extra to it. “As soon as I really opened up the house to hearken to what I wished to do, [trail running] is what I wished to do.” She goes on to clarify, “I get pleasure from being up within the mountains. I get pleasure from attending to run with my mates on trails. I get pleasure from attending to have the liberty.”

Seidel has a historical past of taking main pivots within the sport, particularly after accidents and setbacks, and popping out flying. Solely time will inform how far she will take herself along with her new enterprise in path and extremely.

Childhood Success

Rising up in a small city in Wisconsin, Seidel says she at all times “had this actual deep inside sense that operating was what I wished to do.” Her earliest recollections of operating contain going out along with her dad on their neighbor’s 150-acre property. Her dad was coaching for soccer, and Seidel, who was eight on the time, remembers narrowly having the ability to beat him. She fell in love with the game and began going out on her personal runs. Whereas neither of her dad and mom totally understood her obsession with the game, they have been supportive of it. “[My mom] would drive me to this native farm street, and I’d run out and again solo, and he or she would simply sit within the automobile whereas I ran. They sacrificed so much to ensure that I had a secure and supportive setting to run.”

Seidel discovered fast success as soon as she began operating at college. She says, “In fifth grade, we ran the mile in health club class, and granted, it was a really small college, however I broke our complete college’s file.” It was a kindergarten by Twelfth-grade college, and the health club instructor inspired her to pursue the game. It was clear she was good at it.

Molly Seidel on her approach to profitable the 2011 Wisconsin Cross-Nation State Championships throughout her senior yr in highschool.

For Seidel, operating gave her an area to develop. “I used to be a very awkward child, and operating was the place the place it simply felt like every part sort of made sense and lined up. It was the place the place I might lastly really feel assured in myself as a result of in each different sense of my life, I didn’t really feel assured.” She laughs, “I used to be simply not cool.”

Seidel’s dad and mom continued to assist her operating. Her mother, a former cheerleader, was her loudest sideline supporter and did what she might to attach with the game, though she didn’t perceive it. Seidel says, “She would make me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich earlier than each single race as a result of she noticed on TV as soon as that Bonnie Blair, the velocity skater, ate a peanut butter sandwich.”

Twelve highschool state titles later, spanning each monitor and cross nation, and a win on the Foot Locker Cross Nation Nationwide Championships her senior yr in 2011, Seidel had a large number of full-ride scholarship gives from the highest operating faculties throughout the nation ready on her household’s answering machine on July 1 when official recruiting opened up. “It was wild,” she says of the roughly 50 messages she sorted by. She finally selected to run for Notre Dame in Indiana. It was close by, and her household had at all times been Notre Dame followers.

Collegiate Challenges

Whereas Seidel’s highschool operating wasn’t with out challenges — her junior yr was tough — collegiate operating offered a brand new set of challenges. She says, “I felt like I used to be thrown to the wolves somewhat bit.” She goes on to say, “I don’t assume I had an idea of simply how onerous it will be. I feel in my thoughts, something that I’d struggled with, I’d instantly been capable of will my manner by or simply practice tougher and push by and attain it.” That perception fell aside below a troublesome teaching scenario. She says, “Going from a spot the place I used to be simply surrounded by a lot love and assist in highschool to all of a sudden — I’ll name it out — being verbally abused on a weekly foundation in school was simply so onerous.” Seidel, who spent a lot of her freshman yr at Notre Dame sick, says, “I went from being the highest recruit within the nation to ending final at nationals and being advised continually that I’m a waste of a scholarship and a disappointment.”

Seidel leads a gaggle throughout a 2014 residence cross-country meet at Notre Dame.

Seidel was contemplating quitting after her sophomore yr. She admits, “I purposely bombed my closing meet of the season so I didn’t need to go to regionals.” With a deteriorating relationship with operating, she took the summer season to journey to Argentina to review archeology. She grew to become mates with one other lady on the archeology crew who was a path runner, and Seidel was quickly operating 100 miles per week. “It was very calming and stress-free. And I feel I bought again in contact with that love of the game once more.“

Whereas she was in Argentina, Notre Dame employed Matt Sparks as the college’s new coach. Seidel says he fully modified this system, and below the brand new construction and training, with a newfound love for the game, she began to thrive. She says, “I’d go to battle for Sparks. He’s the rationale that I’m a professional runner.” She went from ending final at cross-country nationals and never qualifying for monitor nationals to profitable each on the finish of her junior yr. “It was that stunning of a transition,” Seidel says.

Seidel on her approach to profitable the 2015 NCAA Division I Cross Nation Nationwide Championships.

Seidel had a profitable closing two years of collegiate operating, however the harm had been executed. After profitable 4 NCAA championships between monitor and cross nation, Seidel was as soon as once more a sizzling commodity. However, as a substitute of going professional in 2016, she checked herself into an consuming dysfunction clinic. She spent a few months there, and by the point she returned to operating, she says, “Every thing had dried up, which is simply the character of it. No person needs to the touch you with a 10-foot pole. At the moment, it was such a taboo to speak about consuming issues within the sport.”

Stumbling into the Marathon

After school, Seidel moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to affix a brand new operating staff sponsored by Saucony, nevertheless it quickly grew to become clear her physique couldn’t maintain as much as the pains of coaching for the 10k and different shorter races. She ran her first yr as an expert with a damaged pelvis that finally required an experimental surgical procedure involving a bone graft to restore. When she returned to operating, she says, “I used to be requested to go away the staff.” Seidel backtracks, “I selected to go away, nevertheless it was fairly clear they didn’t need me on that staff anymore as a result of I used to be broken items.”

As an alternative, Seidel began coaching below the steering of her buddy Jon Inexperienced, and says, “He was the primary particular person in a very very long time who was simply keen to satisfy me the place I used to be.” She began doing excessive mileage as a substitute of excessive depth. Three months later, whereas “excessive on a rooftop,” Seidel determined to enroll in the 2019 Olympic Marathon Trials. Three months after that night time, she positioned second and earned herself a spot with Group USA on the 2020 Olympic Video games in Tokyo, Japan. Of the entire development of occasions, Seidel says, ”It wasn’t this concerted factor of ‘I’m going to be an amazing marathoner.’ It was simply, ‘That is one thing that I’m attempting to do to maintain a contract.’” Seidel was simply 25 years previous, comparatively younger for the game, and all of a sudden a revered marathoner. “I felt like I stumbled into it somewhat bit.”

Seidel coaching with buddy and coach Jon Inexperienced in 2021 in preparation for the Olympics.

The 2020 Olympics have been delayed by a yr as a result of COVID-19 pandemic and have been lastly held in August 2021. Seidel positioned third in what was her third marathon ever.

Life modified. Following her second place on the Olympic Marathon Trials, she says, “I went from having 5,000 followers on social media to 100,000 inside a few weeks.” And every part continued to speed up after the Olympics.

That November, she ran 2:24:42 on the New York Metropolis Marathon, the quickest ever by an American lady, and positioned fourth. Damage saved her from ending one other marathon till the 2023 Chicago Marathon, the place she completed eighth with a brand new private finest of two:23:07.

Making it to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France, was the following aim, however in early 2024, Seidel withdrew from the Olympic Marathon Trials with a damaged patella, a results of overuse.

From Trials to Trails

Evidently one in all Seidel’s strengths is the power to get again up time and time once more to maintain attempting, however her superpower may be her skill to reimagine and reinvent her operating each time she comes again.

On the finish of 2024, Seidel determined to half methods with long-time sponsor Puma, permitting her to race wherever, no matter, and every time she needs. She remembers, “After I was battling harm and monitor operating, it was considering exterior the field and being, ‘Okay, what can I do to remain on this? How good can I be if I’m keen to veer off the principle monitor somewhat bit?’”

Seidel scrambling in Sedona, Arizona, as a part of her path coaching.

Like along with her transition to the marathon, Seidel says, “I feel typically we don’t get to essentially select our path. Your path chooses you somewhat bit. It’s undoubtedly that very same feeling of, ‘Hey, I can both maintain banging my head in opposition to this wall that’s not going to maneuver, or I can strive going across the wall. Path operating is somewhat little bit of being, ‘Okay, we’ve bought to alter course somewhat bit, even when it’s troublesome.”

Whereas Seidel initially wished to race the 2025 JFK 50 Mile this previous November, she finally signed up for the New York Metropolis Marathon as a substitute as a result of a scheduling battle. She wished to make use of the race preparation as threshold coaching for the 2026 Black Canyon 100k, and says that after dropping out of the marathon at mile 18 as a result of knee ache, she knew her coronary heart was on the paths. “I took a few days to ensure every part was okay, after which the minute I bought again on path, I used to be like, ‘Yeah, that is it.’”

Seidel explains, “Finally, even when I don’t show to be all that profitable on path, I feel I simply get to honor the truth that I do love getting to do that and I genuinely love the coaching. I’m having loads of enjoyable with it, and mentally I really feel prefer it places me in a very good place. That’s finally what makes it value it, no matter what the tip result’s.”

Seidel’s flip to trails consists of loads of miles within the Grand Canyon.

“Marathon has been one thing the place I’ve been extremely profitable, nevertheless it has been actually mentally powerful on me. And I feel it took me some time to acknowledge that whereas I used to be actually succeeding on the sport, I wasn’t comfortable and I wasn’t wholesome.”

Seidel might stroll away from the game at this time along with her head held excessive and an Olympic bronze medal in hand, however that’s not what she needs to do. As an alternative, she says, “I’m attempting to take a look at how I can have probably the most longevity within the sport and what my physique needs to do.” And proper now, that’s path operating. In the long run, she says, “That is me selecting me, and selecting what I like to do.”

The Future

There are loads of unknowns for Seidel to navigate in her transition to path operating and ultrarunning — together with what it feels prefer to run greater than 50k — and he or she’s taking it one step at a time. Hopefully, after the 2026 Bandera 50k, there would be the Black Canyon 100k, after which perhaps the Javelina 100 Mile in October, a Golden Ticket Sequence race the place the highest two finishers obtain an computerized entry to the 2027 Western States 100. Like with the marathon, Seidel has no thought the way it will all end up, however that’s by no means stopped her earlier than.

Seidel celebrates along with her dad and mom after profitable the 2015 NCAA Division I Cross Nation Nationwide Championships after a number of tough years within the sport.

“The Olympics appeared like a really far-off dream. In case you’d advised 12-year-old Molly, ‘Sometime you’re going to run within the Olympics and win a medal after which practice for a 100 miler,’ I feel that will have been every part I might have requested for in a operating profession.”

Then Seidel mentions an curiosity in UTMB sooner or later, however shortly qualifies it, “Let me get by the 100k first. We’ll see from there.”

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