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Speaker 2: Welcome to Set The Pace presented by Peloton. My name's
Speaker 2: Carrie Tollefson, I'm an Olympian and a member of the
Speaker 2: broadcast team, and today's special episode is with the champions
Speaker 2: from today's Mastercard New York Mini 10K. On today's episode,
Speaker 2: we have 2025 Mastercard Mini 10K Champion Hellen Obiri. We
Speaker 2: also have six- time wheelchair champion Susannah Scaroni. And today
Speaker 2: in second place she ran the fastest American time ever
Speaker 2: at the Mastercard New York Mini 10K, we have Weini
Speaker 2: Kelati and let's get after it. Okay, Helen. Oh, my.
Speaker 2: Okay. Today you got to crack the tape of the
Speaker 2: 10K. You didn't have to run like 26 miles, you just
Speaker 2: had to run six. How does it feel?
Speaker 3: I felt so good. Winning was amazing to me. Seeing
Speaker 3: how my leg will be doing 6. 2 miles. So
Speaker 3: honestly I say it was tough, but I made it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you did make it. So let's talk about the
Speaker 2: race a little bit. You were up in that pack,
Speaker 2: not necessarily pushing the pace for the early stages, but
Speaker 2: you were there. Talk us through the first 5K. What
Speaker 2: were you thinking?
Speaker 3: Before my mind I was like, let me try to hang
Speaker 3: out with the ladies because honestly for me, I like
Speaker 3: the pace when I push the pace, but it doesn't tell me, now this time
Speaker 3: try to be patient.
Speaker 2: We were talking about your sub- 2 800, I mean
Speaker 2: it's been a little while. When was the last time
Speaker 2: you ran a competitive 800 meters?
Speaker 3: Even I can't remember, more than 10 years ago.
Speaker 2: But I mean it's pretty amazing. This was before the super
Speaker 2: shoes, Hellen, and you ran sub- 2 and then now
Speaker 2: you have run so fast for the marathon. Is it 217?
Speaker 3: 217, yes.
Speaker 2: Yeah, which is amazing. You did that in Boston and
Speaker 2: you've won here in New York, you've won in Boston,
Speaker 2: you've won Olympic and World Championship medals. What is there
Speaker 2: left that you really want to do? Is it just
Speaker 2: that every time you tow the line you love competing?
Speaker 3: For me, what comes into my mind, I say there are
Speaker 3: so many people watching in (inaudible) and when I'm
Speaker 3: start line I would say I'm the best and I'm
Speaker 3: here to give out my best and honestly if I (inaudible)
Speaker 3: , I try to do my best, so I give out my best.
Speaker 2: Oh, I wish we all live like that in life.
Speaker 2: If we could just say when we're in a boardroom
Speaker 2: that we are the best, think of that. That's pretty
Speaker 2: cool that you believe that and you run that way
Speaker 2: with 800 meters to go today. You are still in
Speaker 2: a pack, but you and Weini were starting to move.
Speaker 2: I guess it was at a mile to go. You
Speaker 2: were still in a pack and then Weini kind of
Speaker 2: put some separation. The mind was still calm or were
Speaker 2: you starting to feel a sense of urgency to get going?
Speaker 3: My mind was like Weini is good. Oh, my. Weini is here with me. She's
Speaker 3: a track runner and I'm a marathoner. I'm coming from a tough
Speaker 3: marathon of course, but for the last one week I've been doing good
Speaker 3: speed work. Weini's got a very good speed work.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 3: And Laura was there with me saying, "Hellen, you got this." And then for me, I got in my mind I do so well speed work, so I have my legs to kick
Speaker 3: because I did 400 of what was called 365 a marathon.
Speaker 2: Oh, nice.
Speaker 3: So I said I have everything to take this one. So I didn't want to wait until the
Speaker 3: end because I know this a hopping and then go
Speaker 3: straight. So for me, I say I'm not good at hopping, so I'll try not to go between hopping. Yeah.
Speaker 2: How hard is that? I think even the life lessons
Speaker 2: that this sport teaches us is so amazing, but for
Speaker 2: you to know that you could have taken that lead
Speaker 2: and potentially have won the race anyway. But because you
Speaker 2: and Coach Nathan or Coach Kelsey or Laura, whoever was
Speaker 2: talking with you before the race, they said, " We want
Speaker 2: you to be patient. We want you to sit." How
Speaker 2: hard is that as an athlete, as a person to
Speaker 2: just follow what they say and to sit?
Speaker 3: Sometimes I'm impatient.
Speaker 2: I know, we've heard that many times, Hellen Obiri is impatient.
Speaker 3: For me what on mind, sometimes I'm also impatient even doing
Speaker 3: everything, I'm also impatient to do. I need to finish this one, I need to do
Speaker 3: it. So today I say I need to be disciplined myself to
Speaker 3: be patient. So there's a time I wanted to push the pace and then I looked at
Speaker 3: my watch, it was six point something K. I said, "
Speaker 3: Can I go?" And if I go and if the release respond, maybe I
Speaker 3: can just roll it back. But they said, " No." I
Speaker 3: don't want to be at this meter because in Boston
Speaker 3: I learned the hard way. So today I want to
Speaker 3: run the soft way.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean that's important I think. What are you most proud of today in your race?
Speaker 3: I can say winning first because what was in my mind,
Speaker 3: it's like I've won marathon here, I have a marathon
Speaker 3: here. So the thing was playing in my mind, can
Speaker 3: you also go on this one? So doing here three
Speaker 3: times, it was amazing for me and being the race for women only,
Speaker 3: I said even if I'll just inspire so many women
Speaker 3: outside there. So because there were more than 10,000 women. So if I won there, so because I've won here, I think I've just
Speaker 3: inspired so many women.
Speaker 2: That's really cool. What would be really inspiring? If you
Speaker 2: came to the Fifth Avenue mile.
Speaker 3: Let me tell you, I didn't know. So many people
Speaker 3: knew me in Central Park. So many people were telling me, "Obiri, just go, you got
Speaker 3: this." So that one... There's another kid, I think was
Speaker 3: seven years, she called me by name and then she
Speaker 3: told me, " You're the best. I love you." Oh my goodness, that was (inaudible) in my mind.
Speaker 2: Isn't that cool?
Speaker 3: I keep saying I love you. (inaudible) say it's amazing.
Speaker 2: We do love you. I mean it is so fun
Speaker 2: to watch you run.
Speaker 3: I don't (inaudible) my mind, my health to see that kid.
Speaker 2: Yes, but back to the question, will you ever run
Speaker 2: the Fifth Avenue mile?
Speaker 3: No.
Speaker 2: Oh, shoot. I was trying Sam and Dorian, I'm trying.
Speaker 3: I wish I could try that one when I was track maybe 10 years ago I could be done so well.
Speaker 2: You can maybe do it as a master's runner.
Speaker 3: But now I think I will try maybe next year
Speaker 3: to go back and try (inaudible) speed. I think my legs...
Speaker 2: I think you got it.
Speaker 3: Those ladies can kill me because... If I need to come here,
Speaker 3: I need to be my best shape ever because I
Speaker 3: need to learn (inaudible) for 20.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you do.
Speaker 3: Which is hard to me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it is hard. But we love watching you race. What do
Speaker 2: you do to celebrate today's win?
Speaker 3: So today I'm going to go out with the team to take
Speaker 3: some lunch and 10 hour travel to see my family.
Speaker 2: Oh, your husband and Tanya waiting for you at home?
Speaker 3: Tanya was watching me saying like, " Mom, you got this,
Speaker 3: I was watching you." So we say, "You wake up two times?" She said, "Yes, I have to watch you." So she told me, " You're the best mom."
Speaker 2: Oh, you are the best mom. We love watching you
Speaker 2: and your family and we're so thankful that you're here
Speaker 2: in Boulder training and come all the way to New
Speaker 2: York to race. So, congratulations.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me
Speaker 2: Susannah, okay, so I'm just going to start this with
Speaker 2: last week you and I were texting back and forth
Speaker 2: as I do before every race and you're so nice
Speaker 2: to give me your time, but you came in kind
Speaker 2: of like, " Carrie, I don't know. I don't know how this one's going to
Speaker 2: go and you crushed it today."
Speaker 4: Thank you. Yeah, I'm shocked. I will be honest. I
Speaker 4: was at the Chicago half last weekend, felt like I was just
Speaker 4: huffing and puffing kind of thing, and I was like,
Speaker 4: okay, that's okay. It's been an awesome three weeks, but
Speaker 4: I love travel and was not feeling my best. So
Speaker 4: I didn't know what to expect today.
Speaker 2: But today it clicked.
Speaker 4: It clicked today. Yeah. Amazing weather, no wind. It was
Speaker 4: starting to sprinkle on the start line and then it
Speaker 4: stopped for us, which is awesome. And they recently paved the
Speaker 4: Central Park road, so I think that contributed to why
Speaker 4: it was so fast. So just really thankful.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean six in a row. Well, six times.
Speaker 2: Excuse me. Last year you guys were all gone. The
Speaker 2: wheelchair athletes were at the Olympic trials.
Speaker 4: Yes.
Speaker 2: So this is your sixth. I mean when you say
Speaker 2: that, is it pinch me for real, who wins six
Speaker 2: in a row?
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, it's surprising and I've been a lot of
Speaker 4: different renditions of the course and it's kind of nice
Speaker 4: to feel like I've done a few solid ones of
Speaker 4: today's course and they've gotten faster. So I'm just always
Speaker 4: happy if I can go a little bit faster next year
Speaker 4: and so that we'll see how long that lasts. But
Speaker 4: I'm glad for today.
Speaker 2: Well, we were talking a little bit on the broadcast,
Speaker 2: your attitude, your mentality, the way you're racing, it's really
Speaker 2: elevated in the last couple of years. I mean you
Speaker 2: had that huge scare a few years ago when you
Speaker 2: were hit by the car. Was that 2020...?
Speaker 4: One.
Speaker 2: One. Oh, it's that many years already.
Speaker 4: I know.
Speaker 2: But I remember you saying, I think it was a
Speaker 2: year after that you were just so thankful for each
Speaker 2: and every race 'cause that was a real big eye-
Speaker 2: opener. And I feel like you attack each race like
Speaker 2: that now even going into the Boston Marathon. Let's back
Speaker 2: up a little bit, a month ago about you won
Speaker 2: the Boston Marathon in a race where again, people were
Speaker 2: giving other people the attention when all along, I'm not trying
Speaker 2: to toot my own horn, but I was like, better
Speaker 2: watch out for Susannah. So things have just been coming
Speaker 2: around time and time again.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I am right there with you with kind of
Speaker 4: being like, oh my gosh, this is really incredible. I
Speaker 4: don't take any of them for granted. Boston was amazing.
Speaker 4: Today was amazing, and I think my gratitude for getting
Speaker 4: to be at every race, which was elevated a few
Speaker 4: years ago, what I've really, really come to know this
Speaker 4: season especially is the community. Getting to be here with
Speaker 4: the community, which I think this race really highlights.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you love that.
Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, yeah. There's so much history of allowing
Speaker 4: people to do sports and to do running and how everybody,
Speaker 4: every gender, every ability level should be able to do
Speaker 4: sports. And I think New York Road Runners and the
Speaker 4: Mini 10K is a good reflection of that.
Speaker 2: For sure.
Speaker 4: I feel like embraced by our community so much this whole
Speaker 4: season and that part's amazing to be at too.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Sam Grotewold and Dorian, Dorian Kail, excuse me, they bring
Speaker 2: you guys all in, the wheelchair athletes and the runners
Speaker 2: coming in. It's pretty cool the family that New York
Speaker 2: Road Runners has built, I mean it is so fun.
Speaker 2: Even Ted Metellus yesterday getting emotional because he just loves
Speaker 2: not only this race but all of the races.
Speaker 4: Yes. And he treats us like family. I know we're
Speaker 4: all just in shock and heartbroken for Ali Feller and
Speaker 4: the fact that we got to all come together yesterday
Speaker 4: at our tech meeting for this, what's really important is
Speaker 4: being there for our family members like Ali. And I
Speaker 4: felt the same way. I feel even the drug testers have been amazing.
Speaker 2: Yes. You kind of know people.
Speaker 4: The broadcasters. Oh, yeah. It's really, really cool.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I want to get back to the race today,
Speaker 2: you got off the line, but Tatiana, I call her,
Speaker 2: Tat, like you guys did, but she got off the
Speaker 2: line quick.
Speaker 4: Yeah, she did.
Speaker 2: And she's coming off of a world record on the
Speaker 2: track. I mean she's a superstar. We'll talk about her.
Speaker 4: Absolutely.
Speaker 2: But tell us a little bit about your race tactics
Speaker 2: in a 10K because now we've seen you do so
Speaker 2: well in the half, so well in the marathon, you
Speaker 2: still dabble in the track, but you really have become
Speaker 2: more this road racer, more dominant on the roads. But
Speaker 2: what is that like? Were you like, oh, I got
Speaker 2: to get back 'cause you didn't let it linger, you
Speaker 2: got back out in front real quick.
Speaker 4: Oh, yeah. And that's what I love about the 10K is as a
Speaker 4: wheelchair racer, for me at least, I feel like it's
Speaker 4: a race I don't really have to pace myself. I
Speaker 4: know can hold a pretty high intensity for a 10K. So
Speaker 4: when I was coming near Tat and I could tell
Speaker 4: I was still winding up, I was like, I'm going,
Speaker 4: I don't need to get into a drafting race right
Speaker 4: now in the 10K. I know my strengths and I know
Speaker 4: turns, I feel like is a more strength in mine than it
Speaker 4: is for Tatiana or has in the past. So I
Speaker 4: was like, if I can really get those technical elements really
Speaker 4: well today, I need to focus on those. And so
Speaker 4: I didn't want to wait. I wanted to get on
Speaker 4: those and so I'm glad I didn't wait.
Speaker 2: Yeah. So when we talk about you coming down in
Speaker 2: distance from running in the spring marathons and now coming
Speaker 2: down in distance, how does your training change? Much like
Speaker 2: the runners, they're trying to figure out how to get
Speaker 2: back because of the pounding. Now you can explain it
Speaker 2: a lot better than I can, but they have to
Speaker 2: hurry and quickly recover from pounding for 26. 2. Meanwhile,
Speaker 2: you guys are flying across the world to go to
Speaker 2: different races, so it's a different fatigue.
Speaker 4: Oh, yeah, absolutely. And I think in our sport where
Speaker 4: drafting is a big element on the track and on
Speaker 4: the road we're able to combine our training for marathons
Speaker 4: with track training really well. It's more smooth I would
Speaker 4: say probably than for a new bike runner. That being said,
Speaker 4: we're still doing a lot of volume I would say,
Speaker 4: but not long and steady volumes like we do more
Speaker 4: of for marathon training. We are on the track doing
Speaker 4: interval training and so that contributes really nicely to a
Speaker 4: 10K. My track competitions I had recently overseas while it's
Speaker 4: to travel and it's a track (inaudible) , I feel like
Speaker 4: sometimes I'm always wondering is the rest I get from
Speaker 4: traveling helpful for the 10K, I think-
Speaker 2: Plus the dehydration, the lack of sleep and all the
Speaker 2: other things. So are you really resting?
Speaker 4: Exactly. Yeah. I think that the training we do after
Speaker 4: the spring marathons to get a little bit more ready
Speaker 4: for the track helps a lot with the 10Ks that we have
Speaker 4: kind of the early summer.
Speaker 2: Yeah. What do you have now, after?
Speaker 4: I have the Peachtree 10K.
Speaker 2: I'm going to be there.
Speaker 4: Okay, awesome.
Speaker 2: That's the world's largest 10K on the road, so you
Speaker 2: and I will be there together.
Speaker 4: Cool. Awesome.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, excited for that. I'd say my next real focus
Speaker 4: is a Sydney Marathon, which I have never done before.
Speaker 2: And it's a new major.
Speaker 4: A new major, yep. My husband and I will go
Speaker 4: to that one.
Speaker 2: And it's in August?
Speaker 4: Yes, August 31st.
Speaker 2: Okay. And then that will fit in then to be
Speaker 2: able to do your normal fall?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'll not do Berlin because of Sydney, so it'll
Speaker 4: kind of replace the earliest marathon I usually do. And
Speaker 4: then Chicago and New York.
Speaker 2: Okay. So we can announce that you'll be back in
Speaker 2: New York.
Speaker 4: That's my plan as long as I invited.
Speaker 2: Oh, I think that you're going to get invited.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: That's so fun.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So when you crossed that finish line today and you
Speaker 2: saw that you set another course record here, you're the
Speaker 2: only one that's ever had one, which sounds funny, but
Speaker 2: you went that fast today. What else is on your
Speaker 2: list of things to check off in this sport?
Speaker 4: Oh, that's...
Speaker 2: That's a loaded question.
Speaker 4: That's at the top of the list.
Speaker 2: But you've done so much.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's off the top of the list is getting
Speaker 4: more out of myself and I was able to do
Speaker 4: that today. And then I think a big thing is
Speaker 4: I would like to make sure I'm also contributing to
Speaker 4: the community. Like I said, it's been so big for me.
Speaker 2: You are so much. I don't know if you really know that.
Speaker 4: Thank you.
Speaker 2: But you are.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean for young kids, no matter if they're out
Speaker 2: there running on their own two legs or they are
Speaker 2: wheeling their way through, it is so inspiring to see
Speaker 2: you race.
Speaker 4: Awesome, thank you. I appreciate that. So the next thing
Speaker 4: is I got to get a flag marathon, going to
Speaker 4: get better at the flat courses, so we'll see how
Speaker 4: Chicago and-
Speaker 2: There's something you have to work on.
Speaker 4: ... London go, some goals of mine.
Speaker 2: Okay, well, Susannah, congratulations. We can't wait to see you.
Speaker 2: Continue to race and we'll see you here next year hopefully.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Awesome. Sounds good, thanks.
Speaker 2: All right, Weini. Today you're second overall but the fastest
Speaker 2: American ever to run on this course. When you hear
Speaker 2: that, what does it feel like? What are you thinking?
Speaker 5: It feels amazing. I didn't know what I was thinking, but I was just
Speaker 5: like, I did not know how fast we were going.
Speaker 5: But it was just great to see my fellow American runners
Speaker 5: that leading the race and I was like, okay, I
Speaker 5: didn't plan it for this, but you are going to
Speaker 5: make me to go the front because I can't... When you
Speaker 5: see they're doing their part, you have to step at
Speaker 5: the front and push the brakes too. But it's amazing.
Speaker 2: I really liked what you said in your post- race
Speaker 2: interview you talked about how it was so fun to
Speaker 2: run the race but also to help Amanda Vestri who
Speaker 2: ended up placing six today. But she was one of
Speaker 2: those Americans, she was the one leading the race until
Speaker 2: you were like, okay, I'm going to get out there
Speaker 2: with her.
Speaker 5: Yeah. As soon as we started the race, Emma and
Speaker 5: her was at the front and I was like, I
Speaker 5: want to stay in the back. But when I see
Speaker 5: them I was like, okay, I have to be there
Speaker 5: with them. And it's great. It feels like you are
Speaker 5: running individually, wherever you do matters, but at the same
Speaker 5: time you have to think that either of us have
Speaker 5: to be in the podium. So when I ran and
Speaker 5: I was just thinking, especially when the race gets a lot
Speaker 5: harder at the end and I was like, hopefully we
Speaker 5: got this because we pushed from all the way to
Speaker 5: the race and I feel like, okay, we need to be there.
Speaker 2: I thought it was so neat too because you are
Speaker 2: running against each other. You want to beat each other.
Speaker 2: But we're in this race today where, well, you were
Speaker 2: in it, I was just running my mouth, not my
Speaker 2: legs. I was at finish line or at the desk
Speaker 2: with the TV. But you are out there with almost
Speaker 2: 10,000 runners they said is what started the race today.
Speaker 2: All women. In a race that has such history and
Speaker 2: you after the race take the time to lift up
Speaker 2: your fellow competitors. And to me that really meant something.
Speaker 2: I'm older now in this sport and I've been through
Speaker 2: things that you've been through, been at the Olympic Games,
Speaker 2: NCAA Championships and you do, you have this competitive edge,
Speaker 2: but at the same time you also really enjoy the
Speaker 2: camaraderie of your teammates and your fellow competitors.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean it's very important to share on each
Speaker 5: other I think. I know I'm very competitive when it
Speaker 5: comes to the race. Sometimes you don't feel like you're
Speaker 5: doing enough to lift each other, but we have to do
Speaker 5: that. And I was so happy that when I hear
Speaker 5: this is only women's race and so many womens were at the
Speaker 5: set line, which is amazing. And I was talking to Sam
Speaker 5: yesterday and he goes like this race had been held
Speaker 5: for 53 years. That's amazing.
Speaker 2: I know.
Speaker 5: And as I said, just being with this great womens
Speaker 5: out there, it just means so much.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 5: As a runner, I said like I'm competitive. But it's
Speaker 5: also important to bring that respect for everyone for what
Speaker 5: they're doing in the sport. Also, me being competitive at
Speaker 5: the same time, very cheerful for everyone. I have seen
Speaker 5: them racing, whether it's road race, we're going to see
Speaker 5: each other a lot, whether it's in the track or in the road racing.
Speaker 5: So it's good that to... How are we going to explain
Speaker 5: this? To cheer them on and lift each other and
Speaker 5: it brings the sport to be friendly. So I like it.
Speaker 2: And the better they run, the better you run. I
Speaker 2: mean one of my favorite things about you, Weini, is
Speaker 2: when I've interviewed you before, I mean you love to
Speaker 2: compete, you love to run fast. That's a quote, " I
Speaker 2: just love to run fast." You don't mind hurting, you
Speaker 2: don't mind going out there and setting a pace that
Speaker 2: is really hard. How do you get there? As a
Speaker 2: person, as a woman, how do you get to the
Speaker 2: point where not that you love pain, but that you're
Speaker 2: okay with seeing how hard you actually can do something
Speaker 2: in life? You're in this moment right now where this
Speaker 2: is just normal for you. This is your job, you
Speaker 2: love to do it, but not everybody knows how to
Speaker 2: really get the most out of themselves. And you do
Speaker 2: that almost daily.
Speaker 5: Well, I think it depends on your training and then
Speaker 5: also you have to work mentally to be ready. No
Speaker 5: one loves pain, but the good thing is the reward
Speaker 5: you get after you do well after the race. So
Speaker 5: you got to train hard where sometimes it felt like,
Speaker 5: oh my God, I didn't know if I'm doing enough.
Speaker 5: Especially when you feel like you short of one race that you
Speaker 5: really wanted to win. But no matter what, you have
Speaker 5: to keep going. And I like the race when it
Speaker 5: starts from the gun, it just give me confidence that
Speaker 5: okay, it's going to hurt but you have to go
Speaker 5: for it. You don't have to be scared. And as
Speaker 5: I always said, you don't have to have that if
Speaker 5: question in your mind. It's like if I was doing
Speaker 5: it in different way, I could have done it better.
Speaker 5: And you just have to go out and do your thing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, do your thing. So today you are right behind a two-
Speaker 2: time Olympic medalist, a two- time world champion. You're also
Speaker 2: behind this woman that has won the New York City
Speaker 2: Marathon, the Boston Marathon. What is it like to battle
Speaker 2: her? And then the person right behind you is a
Speaker 2: world champion in the marathon.
Speaker 5: Well, all I have to say is the legend Hellen Obiri.
Speaker 5: So I used to watch her, barely I started running
Speaker 5: back home and she was running track. She was my
Speaker 5: favorite. I'm a big fan of her and always I'll
Speaker 5: pick her as my favorite runner. She will never disappoint.
Speaker 5: I love the way how she runs. She's good wherever
Speaker 5: she does and road racing, track and she can lead,
Speaker 5: she can kick. I wish I have those things. So
Speaker 5: I really admire her as a runner. And I used
Speaker 5: to be a big fan of her. Just to be running with
Speaker 5: her right now means so much.
Speaker 2: Isn't that cool?
Speaker 5: I was just talking to her. " Oh my God, I can't
Speaker 5: believe I'm running with you right now." And also the...
Speaker 2: Gotytom give us the last time, yeah.
Speaker 5: Yeah, Gotytom. Fun fact, you know how we get to know
Speaker 5: each other?
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5: It was in Eugene-
Speaker 2: At the World Champs?
Speaker 5: The Junior World Championships. We were sitting and talking after
Speaker 5: that I was wondering where she's at and many years
Speaker 5: later just seeing her winning the marathon out the World
Speaker 5: Championship and I was like, wow, that's that little girl
Speaker 5: I know back then. Now she is like...
Speaker 2: Just a star.
Speaker 5: A star. And I just like, that's what I love about running. It connects you
Speaker 5: with so many runners across the world and you make friends wherever you
Speaker 5: travel. That's the best thing I know. And I'm happy to be running with them.
Speaker 2: Running with them and pushing them to be the best
Speaker 2: they can be as well.
Speaker 5: I'm trying to be as good as them.
Speaker 2: Oh. Okay. So we got to find out. What was it like
Speaker 2: with a mile to go? You still had a big
Speaker 2: pack. Taylor Roe right there. Amanda Vestri was a little
Speaker 2: bit off the back of the pack, but you had
Speaker 2: Gotytom and you had Hellen. You had Sharon Lokedi still
Speaker 2: there, what were your thoughts with a mile to go?
Speaker 2: Was that where you wanted to make a push because
Speaker 2: there were some moves between you and Hellen with about
Speaker 2: one to go?
Speaker 5: Yeah, so first this is me, I don't look who's
Speaker 5: close to me.
Speaker 2: Oh, you just saw like a body.
Speaker 5: Yeah. I just have to keep going as much as
Speaker 5: I can stay in the race. But then I just
Speaker 5: took a little peek and I see there was Hellen,
Speaker 5: Sharon next to me of course. And then I see
Speaker 5: Taylor and then Amanda, as you said, she was a
Speaker 5: little bit behind and I was like, these are all
Speaker 5: great women. So all I have to need is stay
Speaker 5: focused and try to push myself through the end. And
Speaker 5: I was waiting on Hellen, she's going to take it.
Speaker 5: No question. I said she's going to come around and
Speaker 5: drop it at some point, but I have to hang
Speaker 5: on with her. And as soon as she took it,
Speaker 5: as you can see, she pulled a big leap. Then
Speaker 5: I was like, okay, I'm not trying to give up. I'm just
Speaker 5: going to follow her and push all the way to the
Speaker 5: end. I think it will be good because I knew the race
Speaker 5: was very close to me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there was just two times in the end of
Speaker 2: the race where I saw a little discomfort on your
Speaker 2: face, but you look so strong. You were the one in
Speaker 2: command until she made that final push, the final sprint
Speaker 2: with probably 250... Right before you made that final turn.
Speaker 2: It was when she made that move. So you stayed
Speaker 2: calm. Were you getting excited as the time went by
Speaker 2: because you were up there in front?
Speaker 5: Oh, yeah. I was very excited. I have a little
Speaker 5: bit in trouble. I've been dealing this for a very
Speaker 5: long time. I fell sick in the middle of... There
Speaker 5: is in the middle of training.
Speaker 2: I guess, stomach distress?
Speaker 5: It was a stomach thing. There is a lot of
Speaker 5: thing that I get tested with. I've been dealing for a
Speaker 5: very long time, so I did not know it was
Speaker 5: there. I got it in Houston and it was just keep
Speaker 5: going and I was like-
Speaker 2: But that's when you set the American record. So you
Speaker 2: fought through it in Houston?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I had similar issue, but it wasn't hard because
Speaker 5: I barely get it that time I think. So I
Speaker 5: just like, I've been getting better because I had to
Speaker 5: see the doctor and work him through it, but I
Speaker 5: felt it today during the race.
Speaker 2: You did.
Speaker 5: And I was trying not to get me that because when
Speaker 5: I ran the half- marathon at the (inaudible) Championships, it
Speaker 5: was a great race and halfway through I had similar
Speaker 5: issue. But it wasn't only during my race, during my
Speaker 5: training, people think, oh, because you're getting too nervous you're
Speaker 5: getting this, but it wasn't.
Speaker 2: It's happening in practice too.
Speaker 5: It wasn't. So I'll wake up early in the morning, feel
Speaker 5: nauseous. I will even turn out the day in the
Speaker 5: middle of the night I was getting it. So now
Speaker 5: I'm okay. I'm good
Speaker 2: You're working on it? Are you working on diet or
Speaker 2: is it a muscle thing? What are you working on?
Speaker 5: I have to work on everything. Also I have a
Speaker 5: prescribed medication for it.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I was going through a hard time a little
Speaker 5: bit. I take me away from my training. I wasn't
Speaker 5: able to train for a while after this championship, but
Speaker 5: now I'm feeling healthy and feeling good but-
Speaker 2: Obviously.
Speaker 5: So when I travel, stay away from my home for
Speaker 5: a while, just getting the outside food, kind of get
Speaker 5: me back to-
Speaker 2: You got to figure that out.
Speaker 5: I have to figure it out, but I always get
Speaker 5: so I was just not trying to get into that
Speaker 5: in my mind. I was like, I had this in my training. I
Speaker 5: know how I can get through it. Let's do this.
Speaker 2: The mind is a powerful thing, right? It overtakes the body a lot of times.
Speaker 5: It does. It does a lot.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 5: Yeah. At some point I was like, oh my god.
Speaker 5: I know. I know I have something, but then a
Speaker 5: few minutes, a few seconds later I'll calm down.
Speaker 2: Calm down. Okay, good. So last question. What does the rest
Speaker 2: of the season look like for you? Are you going
Speaker 2: to stay on the roads, go back to the track?
Speaker 2: We do have a world championships in September in Tokyo.
Speaker 2: So where will we find you?
Speaker 5: Yeah. Oh my goodness. I'm all over in the place
Speaker 5: right now.
Speaker 2: Because you're good at everything. You're good at cross. You're
Speaker 2: good at the roads and the track.
Speaker 5: I'm trying, I'm trying, but I'm going to go back
Speaker 5: to track again. I'm going to do the 5K Prefontaine
Speaker 5: Classic in July and that's going to be a very fast
Speaker 5: race and from that I'm going to focus on the (inaudible) Championship
Speaker 5: after that. I was thinking just to focus on road
Speaker 5: racing, but we'll see. Every time I was like, this
Speaker 5: is my last season. I'm going to run only road
Speaker 5: racing. I'm going to move up to longer distances. But
Speaker 5: then when the track comes, I was like, I can't
Speaker 5: skip it.
Speaker 2: You love it.
Speaker 5: I have to go back and do it.
Speaker 2: Oh, we love seeing you everywhere and especially here in
Speaker 2: New York City. So congratulations. The American record holder of
Speaker 2: the New York Mini, oh my goodness, congratulations.
Speaker 5: Thank you. I mean to be in New York City,
Speaker 5: just always bring that energy with the fans and everything,
Speaker 5: so thank you so much. I'm really happy to be here and
Speaker 5: look at this, only women's race.
Speaker 2: I know.
Speaker 5: I'm just so proud of that, that womens do anything.
Speaker 2: We sure can.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 2: You better celebrate today.
Speaker 5: I have to. This is very special. But I'll thank
Speaker 5: the organizers and everyone who make it possible. Just it means so
Speaker 5: much for... We are womens.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Hey, everyone, thanks again for joining me today on
Speaker 2: Set The Pace. I'm Carrie Tollefson and it was so
Speaker 2: much fun to have this special edition with the 2025
Speaker 2: Mastercard New York Mini 10K Champions and Weini Kelati. We'll see
Speaker 2: you next time at the Fifth Avenue Mile. And of
Speaker 2: course, the Marathon.
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