Speaker 1: Hello everybody, and welcome to a special episode of Amy
Speaker 1: and TJ. Coming to you from the Habit Held Expo
Speaker 1: at the McCormick Center in downtown Chicago.
Speaker 2: Hello everybody, I'm TJ.
Speaker 3: Holmes and I'm Amy Robach and we're very excited to
Speaker 3: be here with thousands of runners in this weekend's Chicago Marathon.
Speaker 3: So it's very exciting. I love expo centers. I love
Speaker 3: the energy of everyone. All the training is done, Months
Speaker 3: and months of preparation has been underway, and now we
Speaker 3: are finally here marathon weekend.
Speaker 2: And for our.
Speaker 1: Listeners, you can hear a lot of background noise. We
Speaker 1: are in the expo center where some fifty thousand runners
Speaker 1: have to come through to pick up their packets, and
Speaker 1: so the main stage we're sitting at to give you
Speaker 1: some perspective, is at the exit, so we're the last
Speaker 1: thing people see on their way out of the Expo center.
Speaker 1: But we should remind folks, yes, we're a long time journalist.
Speaker 1: But how many half marathons do you have under your belt?
Speaker 2: Bro?
Speaker 3: I tried to do the count official half marathons.
Speaker 4: I believe I have six, Okay, marathon.
Speaker 3: How many marathons I have five full marathons.
Speaker 2: And where were they?
Speaker 3: I ran Chicago in twenty twenty two. I ran New
Speaker 3: York in twenty nineteen, twenty twenty two and twenty twenty
Speaker 3: one and twenty twenty four, and then Berlin twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1: Okay, now I will tell folks this is something I
Speaker 1: didn't know. But you said it's possible that Chicago twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four will be your last marathon. You said that
Speaker 1: to me last night, and I was surprised to hear
Speaker 1: it myself.
Speaker 2: I did.
Speaker 4: It's a lot.
Speaker 3: All the folks here in this incredible expo center know
Speaker 3: how much work it is a second full time job
Speaker 3: to train for a marathon. It takes almost half a year,
Speaker 3: and it takes a lot out of you, And so
Speaker 3: I don't want to push myself more than my body
Speaker 3: is willing to go, but I do. I have always
Speaker 3: had this dream to run London, so I'm gonna leave
Speaker 3: that open to do a seventh. But I don't know
Speaker 3: how many more marathons I have in me. I have
Speaker 3: more half marathons in me, but you're just getting started.
Speaker 4: How many do you have under your belt?
Speaker 1: This will be my third. My fourth is supposed to
Speaker 1: be in three weeks. I'm supposed to do New York.
Speaker 1: I've only done two New York marathons. I've done five
Speaker 1: half marathons and they were all New York and Brooklyn.
Speaker 1: So this will be my first time running outside of
Speaker 1: New York. This is a stretch for me.
Speaker 3: In Chicago is a beautiful, flat, amazing place to run
Speaker 3: a marathon.
Speaker 2: And let me ask everybody here.
Speaker 1: We know everybody that's running the marathon that can hear
Speaker 1: my voice.
Speaker 2: We all expect to be in pain at the end
Speaker 2: of the race. But can you give me a show
Speaker 2: of hands if you can hear me?
Speaker 1: How many folks are I want to be starting the
Speaker 1: race in some kind of pain? You have some injury,
Speaker 1: you have some nagging something, you got some problem.
Speaker 2: You're gonna be hurting when you start. What's your problem?
Speaker 2: Oh splints? Oh you right there in the purple shirt?
Speaker 2: What's your problem? Oh? Was that he did Berlin?
Speaker 1: Oh?
Speaker 2: Everybody?
Speaker 4: Oh, we just did Berlin.
Speaker 2: Okay, that is a problem.
Speaker 4: It's your legs are tired. I get it.
Speaker 3: I've done a double before, DJ's about to do a double.
Speaker 3: It's real. Your body has already broken and you're starting.
Speaker 2: So let me say this.
Speaker 1: It sounds I if even ever watched us or me,
Speaker 1: I have known I have a decent amount of style.
Speaker 2: I think I need to explain this.
Speaker 1: I have on a black double breasted jacket, slacks, and
Speaker 1: some flip.
Speaker 4: Flops, with some compression socks.
Speaker 2: And compression socks.
Speaker 1: I have an achilles issue that has been well documented
Speaker 1: over the past couple of months.
Speaker 2: Have you been listening to us? And I still ain't right?
Speaker 1: And as I sit here, I still don't know if
Speaker 1: I'm gonna run the Chicago Marathon on Sunday.
Speaker 4: We're going to start it.
Speaker 1: I will start it, but I don't know if anybody
Speaker 1: out there has had Achilles to donitis.
Speaker 2: I don't care if you.
Speaker 1: Have a traditional medical remedy, non traditional, I don't even
Speaker 1: care if it's legal. If anything you can recommend that
Speaker 1: can help me with this achilles before Sunday, I will
Speaker 1: take it.
Speaker 2: At this point, And I.
Speaker 3: Have to say, I have never seen anyone so devoted
Speaker 3: to icing and heating and icing and heating and making
Speaker 3: sure that you're doing everything you can with laser therapy.
Speaker 4: And here we are, and we still don't know. It's
Speaker 4: a big question mark all.
Speaker 1: Right, and everybody who's a first time marathoner, any first
Speaker 1: time or a first time or a first timer, well
Speaker 1: that's cool, and we know this is special and good
Speaker 1: luck and I'm sure what's going through your head, but
Speaker 1: we want to welcome out somebody now to the stage
Speaker 1: and our guest here who is also a first time marathoner,
Speaker 1: not just first time Chicago, but this is her first
Speaker 1: time running a marathon. She also is a distinct inguished
Speaker 1: west Point grad graduating the top five percent at west Point.
Speaker 1: She is right now a second lieutenant active duty serving
Speaker 1: in the military. She is also the win of a
Speaker 1: prestigious scholarship to Stanford, where she is right now studying
Speaker 1: to get her Masters in Statistics and Data. And also
Speaker 1: she just happens to be the current Miss USA. Well
Speaker 1: you all please help us all. Welcome to the Amy
Speaker 1: TJ Podcast. Miss Usa, I'm a Cooper.
Speaker 3: Yeah, oh my goodness, welcome, Oh my goodness.
Speaker 4: Alma.
Speaker 3: First of all, thank you, of course, what an unbelievable
Speaker 3: resume at the riple age of twenty two, twenty two.
Speaker 3: I can't imagine what's left in your resume to fill
Speaker 3: out because you've already accomplished more than most, but I'm
Speaker 3: curious with all of that under your belt, I know
Speaker 3: you've been a runner for a lot of your life.
Speaker 3: You credit that to your mother. We'll get into that,
Speaker 3: but how are you feeling? This is your first marathon?
Speaker 3: How are you feeling about the race?
Speaker 5: I'm so excited. I have been talking to my mom NonStop.
Speaker 5: I'm like, Mom, what should I do about this? Like
Speaker 5: how long should I go for my shakeout run? Like
Speaker 5: should do I need.
Speaker 4: A roll before or after or both.
Speaker 5: She's been coaching me through it this whole time, and
Speaker 5: I just feel really grateful to still be able to
Speaker 5: pursue this opportunity. I remember when I won, I was like, man,
Speaker 5: I don't know, should I still do it?
Speaker 6: And I was like I should totally still.
Speaker 4: One in August? So yes recently, Yes, very recently.
Speaker 5: And so I'm just so thrilled. I'm just so excited.
Speaker 5: And I keep telling myself, don't go out too fast
Speaker 5: like ten ten ten k, Like I've got my strategy
Speaker 5: for my pace.
Speaker 6: I've got my Apple Watch, like.
Speaker 1: I'm ready, so and we know the strategy is going
Speaker 1: to go out for the window.
Speaker 2: I'm always curious.
Speaker 1: We use a hal Higdon training regimen that only takes
Speaker 1: you up to twenty miles at the longest one you do.
Speaker 1: What was your training process? How many months and how
Speaker 1: would you way?
Speaker 5: I got up to twenty miles and I started So
Speaker 5: I signed up for the Chicago Marathon like mid October
Speaker 5: of last year. So I started like kind of just
Speaker 5: continuing with running and then going pretty like steady with
Speaker 5: it on like increasing my mileage probably.
Speaker 6: Like around January.
Speaker 5: And that was around the same time that I thought
Speaker 5: about getting ready for Miss USA.
Speaker 6: So I had been like running to get ready for.
Speaker 5: Miss USA, and I had also been doing like some
Speaker 5: core and strength training at Core Power. I go to
Speaker 5: Core Power Yoga a lot, So I kind of just
Speaker 5: was incorporating that and trying to be consistent that way.
Speaker 5: When if I was traveling a lot and I couldn't
Speaker 5: be like at Core Power, I couldn't get in the
Speaker 5: long run on the roads, I was on the treadmill,
Speaker 5: like I could still balance a little bit more.
Speaker 3: So we talk about balancing training for a marathon and
Speaker 3: working a job.
Speaker 4: But you're working the job of Miss USA.
Speaker 3: Where you mentioned a little bit of travel, it's a
Speaker 3: lot of travel.
Speaker 4: Correct.
Speaker 3: What is your average week like and how did you
Speaker 3: What was the craziest way you fit.
Speaker 4: In a long run?
Speaker 5: Well, I would say so during Miss USA week when
Speaker 5: I was competing, You're going through rehearsals, You're going to fittings.
Speaker 5: I mean, you're all all over the place. We were
Speaker 5: touring Hollywood, and I didn't.
Speaker 6: Really I didn't get a chance to get a run in.
Speaker 4: And Saugust is a big training month for this marathon.
Speaker 5: So about a week after I won, I was like, okay,
Speaker 5: let me just hop on the treadmill.
Speaker 6: I was in Washington, DC, and I was like, let's
Speaker 6: just see, like how I feel.
Speaker 5: And I ran a half marathon at like eight minute
Speaker 5: pace and I was like, okay.
Speaker 6: Well I didn't think I had that in me.
Speaker 5: So I was like, Okay, I really feel like, you know,
Speaker 5: not only should I stick with it, but I should
Speaker 5: like really trust my training because something is working and I.
Speaker 6: Don't know what it is.
Speaker 5: So I'm just gonna stay with it and stay confident
Speaker 5: till October.
Speaker 4: I have to ask.
Speaker 3: The longest I ever done is a twelve miler on
Speaker 3: a treadmill because I was in quarantine in Tokyo covering
Speaker 3: the Olympics, and so it's the only reason why I
Speaker 3: did it. How do you stay on the treadmill for
Speaker 3: thirteen point one miles?
Speaker 4: What's your secret music?
Speaker 5: I listened to a lot of Fred again John Summit.
Speaker 5: Does any like upbeat music that I can like visualize to,
Speaker 5: because that was a lot of my preparation for Miss
Speaker 5: USA was like visualization and manifestation and any like upbeat
Speaker 5: music that just like gets my mind going.
Speaker 6: I see a couple of head nods up there.
Speaker 5: I think some people agree with me, but just the
Speaker 5: idea that, like, whatever it is I'm listening to, like,
Speaker 5: I'm focused on that and not like the mirror that's
Speaker 5: steering in front of me.
Speaker 2: So the hell? Who likes? Who does treadmill training? I hate?
Speaker 4: Oh we got one backmill training?
Speaker 1: How much treadmill you talked about that run? But how
Speaker 1: much treadmill training did you have to do?
Speaker 6: I mean recently after I won.
Speaker 4: Majority of it.
Speaker 6: When I'm not home has to be on the treadmill.
Speaker 4: The twenty miler? Please tell me you.
Speaker 6: Did No, I was outside okay side.
Speaker 3: Like I said, twelve was my longest and I watched
Speaker 3: two full episodes of Stranger Things. I have to watch
Speaker 3: something on Netflix. You can't just listen to music when
Speaker 3: I'm on the treadmill and you've got about four miles in.
Speaker 2: You want a treadmill, I'll tell you. I hate that.
Speaker 2: We call it the dread disc.
Speaker 1: Oh Meg, okay, I have gone down to do a
Speaker 1: two mile run on the treadmill and quit it one mile.
Speaker 4: It's trund to help you. Witnessed it not. He doesn't
Speaker 4: quit it anything, but he quits on the treadmill.
Speaker 3: So you did your twenty mile and by the way,
Speaker 3: I looked at your half marathon pace, very impressive.
Speaker 4: Was it one forty four?
Speaker 2: Yes?
Speaker 1: Wow?
Speaker 4: Yeah, my best is one fifty three, So my hat's
Speaker 4: off to you. But you did one forty five.
Speaker 2: Uh? Yes, I did that was Brooklyn. I think it
Speaker 2: was already.
Speaker 3: Y'all should run together because oh paces closer to hers
Speaker 3: than to mine.
Speaker 4: Four.
Speaker 2: No, I have the.
Speaker 1: Woman I'm gonna be running with. I am no, no, no,
Speaker 1: you're like that was okay. I need to thank you,
Speaker 1: thank you.
Speaker 3: I set him up for that. So do you have
Speaker 3: a pace in mind for this marathon?
Speaker 5: My goal is to finish under four hours.
Speaker 6: That's my goal.
Speaker 5: And the other thing is is that I just feel
Speaker 5: like I'm so excited to run and to run for
Speaker 5: the cause that i'm running with. I'm running with the
Speaker 5: charity Appnegar and my life. I didn't know my life
Speaker 5: would be what it is when I decided to run,
Speaker 5: and so I've kind of just tried to give myself.
Speaker 6: Grace throughout this process and just going.
Speaker 5: With no expectations, just to enjoy myself, don't go out
Speaker 5: too fast, and really like soak in the moment. Because
Speaker 5: I grew up in Michigan, I have friends who ran
Speaker 5: the Chicago Marathon, and so my goal is to finish
Speaker 5: under four hours, but I also just want to enjoy
Speaker 5: the whole.
Speaker 6: The whole experience.
Speaker 1: Okay, so a few more running questions here. One, what
Speaker 1: is your I see what you're wearing here, but what
Speaker 1: is your shoe of to what would you be running
Speaker 1: in on.
Speaker 2: Sunday Brooks Running book? Okay, what do.
Speaker 1: You think is your biggest challenge on Sunday? We all
Speaker 1: have ours. She has if it's too hot, she'll get nauseated.
Speaker 2: That's her issue. I am an Achilles thing. Yeah, it's
Speaker 2: a problem.
Speaker 1: So what is the thing that you're worried about on
Speaker 1: phone's going to put you in that mindset, no no worries.
Speaker 5: I guess I'm a little bit worried I do this.
Speaker 5: And I my mom knows this about me because she's
Speaker 5: coached me on runs and has done speed workouts with me.
Speaker 5: She's like, you're going too fast, Alma, you need to
Speaker 5: slow down. And so she's I told her my BIB number,
Speaker 5: so she's going to be tracking me.
Speaker 6: She's going to be.
Speaker 5: Texting me on my watch, she's going to be encouraging me.
Speaker 5: And I think I just want to make sure that
Speaker 5: I don't get too confident too early on.
Speaker 6: I think that's my biggest thing. That's my biggest worry.
Speaker 5: But I think I think I've got a village to
Speaker 5: help regulate that so I'll be good.
Speaker 3: I love that, and I also love I because that's
Speaker 3: always the thing.
Speaker 4: To start out slower than you think and you build.
Speaker 3: You want your your slowest mile to be your first
Speaker 3: and your fastest mile to be your last. That's the dream.
Speaker 3: It's rarely worked out for me, but that's always the goal.
Speaker 4: And I've always found it fascinating how.
Speaker 3: When you go through is a real struggle like this,
Speaker 3: and you've done your twenty miles, so you know what
Speaker 3: that is how much. It is a euphemism for life.
Speaker 3: Start out slow, to not go too fast, isn't the phrase.
Speaker 3: It's not a sprint, it's a marathon talking about life.
Speaker 3: But what have you learned training for this marathon? And
Speaker 3: what do you hope, like what you've learned from this
Speaker 3: about pushing past pain and all of those things runners
Speaker 3: go through, long distance runners go through that you will
Speaker 3: apply to your life.
Speaker 5: Yes, I would say that one the idea to give
Speaker 5: myself grace. I think like when I first signed up
Speaker 5: for the race, I was like, oh my gosh, like
Speaker 5: this is gonna be my thing for twenty twenty four,
Speaker 5: Like this only thing I'll be able to focus on.
Speaker 5: I'm like, I got that totally wrong.
Speaker 6: I'm miss the mark on that.
Speaker 4: But I think like giving.
Speaker 5: Myself grace has been the biggest thing because I do
Speaker 5: know I'm a perfectionist.
Speaker 4: And also I read a lot of David.
Speaker 5: Goggins, and one of the things he talks about in
Speaker 5: his book Can't Hurt Me is to prove to be
Speaker 5: uncommon amongst the uncommon.
Speaker 6: And I think I've always.
Speaker 5: Tried to push the boundaries on myself and master my
Speaker 5: own mind and how I can craft myself, how I
Speaker 5: can just continue to demand excellence of myself. And I
Speaker 5: think this has pushed me outside of my comfort zone
Speaker 5: and it's made me face things like dang, I didn't
Speaker 5: I didn't want to struggle at this. I didn't think
Speaker 5: I was going to struggle at this. But I'm struggling
Speaker 5: and that's okay, And so I got to not let
Speaker 5: it define me. But what's going to define me is
Speaker 5: how I respond to it. So I definitely think like
Speaker 5: those lessons has shaped have shaped how I've approached this year,
Speaker 5: I have approached how I'm going to approach the rest
Speaker 5: of my life.
Speaker 6: I know I'm going to run more marathons, So this
Speaker 6: is just the star for me.
Speaker 4: And I'm really excited.
Speaker 1: Why in the first way. I know you've challenged yourself,
Speaker 1: But why Chicago? You could your first one could have
Speaker 1: been a lot of places around the world.
Speaker 5: Sure, I chose Chicago because I grew up in Michigan
Speaker 5: and I started off modeling in Michigan. Like I was
Speaker 5: discovered or started off modeling in Chicago.
Speaker 6: I was discovered in Chicago.
Speaker 5: And I just always remember, like the energy that surrounded
Speaker 5: this race and the way people lie in the streets
Speaker 5: and just all of the positivity that surrounded it, and
Speaker 5: for me like to be close to home.
Speaker 6: And I mean I travel a lot, and.
Speaker 5: Right now I'm in grad school out in California and Stamford,
Speaker 5: and for me coming back to the Midwest in a
Speaker 5: way and like just feeling the energy of.
Speaker 6: It all, it just felt like this is the right
Speaker 6: place to be.
Speaker 3: You're coming home. I'm in Michigan er too, by the way.
Speaker 3: By Brett Lansing.
Speaker 4: Yes, I was born in Lansing well Great Sparrow Hospital.
Speaker 3: And I've got family here actually in the audience with me.
Speaker 3: So yes, I know what it's like to feel like
Speaker 3: you're coming home and to see those streets lined with
Speaker 3: people cheering for you.
Speaker 4: We've said this before.
Speaker 3: There is nothing like working your ass off, struggling and
Speaker 3: then being in a place where there is an entire
Speaker 3: city cheering for you. There's I don't think there are
Speaker 3: many things in life the top a marathon, and it
Speaker 3: comes with a price tag, for sure, but it's something
Speaker 3: that never leaves you. And that's something I've always have.
Speaker 3: People asked you, are you insane? Why are you running
Speaker 3: a marathon? What do you tell them? The answer is why.
Speaker 5: I just say, the only limits you face are the
Speaker 5: ones you accept. So many people are like that's crazy,
Speaker 5: Like you're going to Miss Universe in like two weeks
Speaker 5: and you're gonna run this marathon, and I'm like, yeah,
Speaker 5: that's the way the book is supposed to be written.
Speaker 5: And so I just feel like one like it was
Speaker 5: meant to be because this I've always say, like these
Speaker 5: dreams were planted in my heart for a reason. I
Speaker 5: felt like that getting ready for Miss USA. I felt
Speaker 5: like that getting ready for Chicago.
Speaker 6: And the fact that they align, That's just the way
Speaker 6: God wrote it. So I'm so excited. I'm like, let's
Speaker 6: just do this thing.
Speaker 1: When do you taking up your schedule? When do you
Speaker 1: have to Miss Universe's Mexico City this year?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 1: When will you be in full Miss Universe mode after
Speaker 1: the marathon?
Speaker 6: Pretty much starting October fourteenth?
Speaker 5: That will be the final Those will be like my
Speaker 5: final two week push because I leave for Miss Universe
Speaker 5: or October twenty ninth.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's remarkable, and we are wishing you the
Speaker 3: best of luck, and you've created a lot of firsts
Speaker 3: with this Miss USA title, and you're also are you
Speaker 3: the third Miss Usa. This year, it's been a crazy
Speaker 3: year within the Miss USA PATCHA.
Speaker 5: I'm Miss Usa twenty twenty four for sure, So within.
Speaker 3: This year you have finally been crowned and you are
Speaker 3: the first tell us about what that means to you,
Speaker 3: the first Afro Latina Miss Usa.
Speaker 6: Well, I think it means a lot.
Speaker 5: I'm super grateful for my family and for my family lineage.
Speaker 5: My full name is almod Alia Minerva Cooper. Alma means
Speaker 5: soul in Spanish, and Odalia is my mom's name. Minerva
Speaker 5: is my mom's mom's name, and Alma was name of
Speaker 5: my dad's mom. Actually, I have her ashes in my necklace,
Speaker 5: and so I have the soul of all the women
Speaker 5: in my family, and I just know that for me
Speaker 5: to represent for them at Miss Universe throughout my year
Speaker 5: as an Army officer, I mean, all of it comes together.
Speaker 6: It makes me who I am.
Speaker 5: And I've been really fortunate to have a village around
Speaker 5: me who has always uplifted me and encouraged me and
Speaker 5: just allowed me to aspire to whatever it is that
Speaker 5: my heart desires.
Speaker 1: You said, Robox said here, first Afro Latina, first Miss
Speaker 1: USA also the first active duty soldier to win, Miss USA,
Speaker 1: this is the first active duty soldier to live. That
Speaker 1: is amazing. Miss the USA, help us. And how big
Speaker 1: of a deal is it for you? Because when people
Speaker 1: think traditionally, historically about beauty pageants and beauty pageant contestants,
Speaker 1: that doesn't necessarily mesh with what they think traditionally about
Speaker 1: an army soldier. Those two things are the characteristics of
Speaker 1: those too. You are marrying those two in the perfect
Speaker 1: way to where us I now look at pageants and go, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: that's what it should be. That's what they should be.
Speaker 1: And I think you represent an opportunity. But how big
Speaker 1: of a deal is it for you to try to
Speaker 1: knock down almost some preconceived notions of what a pageant
Speaker 1: contestant should be and what a soldier should be.
Speaker 5: I always say that my year is dedicated to serving
Speaker 5: and not being served. Is to be of service to
Speaker 5: so many people and to leave an impact wherever I go.
Speaker 6: And for me, I've always found.
Speaker 5: That competing in pageants and being in the military are
Speaker 5: not mutually exclusive because there are some things that are
Speaker 5: very synonymous, and one of them is disciplined. I would
Speaker 5: say that being able to talk about my story how
Speaker 5: I come from humble beginnings and how I've always dreamed
Speaker 5: of making success successible for everyone. My mission in academia
Speaker 5: is to study health and nutrition and food insecurity, and
Speaker 5: just continuing to devote myself to organizations and cause that
Speaker 5: are better than who I am as an individual. I
Speaker 5: hope that that allows people to know that there's far
Speaker 5: more to pageantry than just a gown and a woman
Speaker 5: in makeup. There's so many things that come along with it,
Speaker 5: and I think the most important one is service.
Speaker 3: Alma, it's so cool in hearing you talk full disclosure,
Speaker 3: full transparency. I was in the Miss America program. I
Speaker 3: was a runner up to Miss Georgia. I never won
Speaker 3: my state. I never went to Miss America, but I
Speaker 3: did participate in the pageant system.
Speaker 2: She she's my beauty queen. Though that was so you guys,
Speaker 2: that was just for you to.
Speaker 3: But the Miss America pageant system is about service, It
Speaker 3: is about scholarship, It is about a lot of the
Speaker 3: things you're talking about. I read that your mother was
Speaker 3: involved in the Miss America pageant system, and I've always
Speaker 3: been a big advocate for it.
Speaker 4: I know it comes under fire often.
Speaker 3: For the notion that it objectifies women. But if you
Speaker 3: use it for the right way and it's and it's
Speaker 3: evolved in the right.
Speaker 4: Way, that it is about empowering women.
Speaker 3: I will say that the Miss USA pageants system has
Speaker 3: not been known for that as much. It's more about
Speaker 3: the models, these supermodels, the gorgeous women, and you are.
Speaker 3: It feels like marrying sort of the mantra of the
Speaker 3: Miss America system and bringing it to the Miss USA
Speaker 3: pageant was that in your head at all?
Speaker 5: I mean, my whole focus was to hopefully just make
Speaker 5: an impact and be a part of an organization that
Speaker 5: was bigger than myself. And I hope that in being
Speaker 5: of service to others that I can inspire other people
Speaker 5: to serve, whether it's to your neighbor, your community, in
Speaker 5: a uniform, or in the in corporate America, whatever it
Speaker 5: is that someone is aspiring to do. I remember dreaming
Speaker 5: to walk across to Miss USA stage as a young
Speaker 5: girl and not even knowing.
Speaker 6: If that would be possible.
Speaker 5: I just was like, hey, you know, one day, I
Speaker 5: hope I get the opportunity to do this.
Speaker 3: What do you say to people, because I've dealt with
Speaker 3: this in my little small world, who say pageants are antiquated,
Speaker 3: they're outdated, they're actually offensive, and they objectify women. How
Speaker 3: do you respond to those people who feel that about
Speaker 3: beauty pageants?
Speaker 6: I would say that I always say if you.
Speaker 5: Can see me, you can be me, and that the
Speaker 5: only limits you face are the ones you accept. And
Speaker 5: I hope that in the sixty days I've spent as
Speaker 5: Miss USA so far here about to run the Chicago
Speaker 5: Marathon for charity, that people know that there are so
Speaker 5: many ways to use a platform and uplift other people.
Speaker 6: And for me, one of the things that.
Speaker 5: I'm so grateful to have learned in my time at
Speaker 5: West Point.
Speaker 4: Is how I develop my character.
Speaker 5: And again it's that I don't look at oh, this opportunity,
Speaker 5: this adversity, or this challenge is going to define me. No,
Speaker 5: it's how I go through that that my response is
Speaker 5: how it will define me. And there's so many things
Speaker 5: that I've overcome that have led to this moment and
Speaker 5: will continue to lead to even bigger moments in ways
Speaker 5: that I can serve people. So to me, it's just
Speaker 5: about pushing that message and exemplifying what that means.
Speaker 6: When the rubber meets the road, to serve and not be.
Speaker 1: Served you've called yourself a perfectionist. How does that help you?
Speaker 1: And almost how does it hurt you? In running a Marriata, Well.
Speaker 5: I would say, you know, I'm always that person when
Speaker 5: it's like okay, like I went two and a half out,
Speaker 5: but somehow I went.
Speaker 6: Two point four nine back.
Speaker 5: I need to make that, you know, point oh one.
Speaker 5: So I always do those little loops in front of
Speaker 5: my apartment. My boyfriend's like, what are you doing, and
Speaker 5: I'm like, we have not done yet. I would say
Speaker 5: that it's helpful because I think it's that mentality that
Speaker 5: I always want to give my best effort. And if
Speaker 5: I feel like I'm not doing that or i feel
Speaker 5: like I'm not seeing the outcome that I want, then
Speaker 5: that's something that I think is a double edged sword
Speaker 5: because one way it can push me to forge that
Speaker 5: path to hopefully become that best version of myself or
Speaker 5: meet that gold time. But in other ways, it's like
Speaker 5: I got to give myself grace. I can't always expect
Speaker 5: that I'm gonna be perfect.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 5: The first time I go on that long run or
Speaker 5: the first time that I asked this of myself, I
Speaker 5: remember doing when I was home a lot doing double workouts.
Speaker 5: I would go to core power and then I would
Speaker 5: go and do a run, And for me, I.
Speaker 6: Was like, okay, like that, it's great and all, but when.
Speaker 5: You start traveling, you can't really keep up that schedule
Speaker 5: as much.
Speaker 6: And just giving myself.
Speaker 5: That grace and understanding that, you know, again, when I
Speaker 5: decided to run Chicago, my life looked completely different than
Speaker 5: it does now, and understanding that what do you want
Speaker 5: to take away from this?
Speaker 6: And what I want to take away is.
Speaker 5: Hopefully the idea that one I want to run more marathons,
Speaker 5: but I think I'm pretty sold on that idea already,
Speaker 5: but also just ways that I can can you continue.
Speaker 6: To serve and use my platform?
Speaker 5: And I think that it's been really neat to see
Speaker 5: people watch how I've kind of merged both realms of
Speaker 5: my life, which is the physical and athletic piece, but
Speaker 5: then also this platform of being miss Usa.
Speaker 1: I'm curious, she always says. Now, I don't not saying this.
Speaker 2: Is going to be you.
Speaker 1: But when you run your first marathon, she used to
Speaker 1: always say, when you get done, you're either going to
Speaker 1: say I can wait to sign up, when's the next one?
Speaker 1: Or you say I ain't ever doing this shit again
Speaker 1: in my life. You're only one of two people at
Speaker 1: the end of it. We can't wait to talk to
Speaker 1: you all.
Speaker 2: Sunder Oh great, great, great great.
Speaker 3: Have you had a run that ruled you, a run
Speaker 3: that made you think I might not make this, I
Speaker 3: might not be able to do this.
Speaker 4: Have you had one of those.
Speaker 3: Moments, those low moments when you doubt yourself and your
Speaker 3: ability to make this happen.
Speaker 5: I mean, I had a run probably about two months
Speaker 5: ago where I didn't like really stretch as well before
Speaker 5: I started, and I.
Speaker 6: Was like two miles in, I was like, dang, why
Speaker 6: is my knee hurt?
Speaker 5: So I was like, I got off the treadmill and
Speaker 5: I called my mom and she's like, well, did you
Speaker 5: run cold? And I was like yeah. She's like, Okay,
Speaker 5: don't do that again. Things like that, I guess like
Speaker 5: whenever I have like like oh.
Speaker 6: That I made my ankle hurts and maybe my knee hurts,
Speaker 6: and I'm like and then like I could tastrophize. I'm like,
Speaker 6: oh my gosh, I'm not gonna be able to do it.
Speaker 5: But I'm like, okay, calm down, like go back to
Speaker 5: the things that worked.
Speaker 6: So I guess in those moments.
Speaker 5: I really try to be like, Okay, I'm spiraling. This
Speaker 5: is not the truth, and I'm glad that I have
Speaker 5: people around me who bring me back to earth.
Speaker 3: People who don't run long distance might not they it
Speaker 3: is physical, of course, but how much of a long
Speaker 3: distance run would you attribute to it being mental strength
Speaker 3: versus physical?
Speaker 4: So I would.
Speaker 5: Say like at this point, I mean the past month, like, yes,
Speaker 5: I've been running, but I've been reading more David Goggins,
Speaker 5: similar to I mean I read David Goggins before I
Speaker 5: got ready from This USA, but again reading it again
Speaker 5: not only from this universe but for the marathon and
Speaker 5: just strengthening my mind. And I'm currently reading Never Finished,
Speaker 5: but just his second book. I read Can't Hurt Me
Speaker 5: before Miss USA. And for me, it's just about reminding
Speaker 5: myself that I have put in the work that this
Speaker 5: will show when I when I get in those moments,
Speaker 5: and mentally I have to trust that.
Speaker 6: But I would say, like the long.
Speaker 5: Distance piece, when you're getting into those miles, it's like, hey,
Speaker 5: you got to trust your mentality, and your mentality has
Speaker 5: to be fueled by positive affirmations and things that are
Speaker 5: affirming the work that you've already put in.
Speaker 1: We're at cart totally and Michael Singer folks ourselves, so
Speaker 1: we read a whole lot as well. And what is
Speaker 1: in your AirPod?
Speaker 2: What are you listening to when you're up?
Speaker 6: Yes, I'm eating.
Speaker 5: I'm listening to a lot of Fred again, John Summit,
Speaker 5: a lot of stuff I listened to on the treadmill.
Speaker 6: Not like us.
Speaker 4: You just spoke his language, Kendrick Lamar.
Speaker 5: And then I would also say maybe a phone call from.
Speaker 4: My mom too, so you'll talk on the phone. Yes,
Speaker 4: a running time mom.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 5: Sometimes if I like, if I'm in a really long run,
Speaker 5: I'm like, hey, I'm at this mile.
Speaker 2: What do you think?
Speaker 3: So it's so funny. It was the New York City
Speaker 3: Marathon last year. My dad was texting me, but you know,
Speaker 3: you have Siri in your here telling you what everyone's
Speaker 3: texting you. And my dad was tracking TJ and me,
Speaker 3: and we were doing really well because I too wanted
Speaker 3: to get a sub for We were right.
Speaker 2: There, okay, we were.
Speaker 1: We were about to crush under four you want to
Speaker 1: say it. And we got up to mount We're past
Speaker 1: twenty miles, kay, And I'm telling you we were going
Speaker 1: to annihilate four hours.
Speaker 4: He was like, games, I'm so proud of you.
Speaker 3: You're killing it. And I was feeling the love. And
Speaker 3: then all of a sudden, it was really hot. Last year,
Speaker 3: I had a lot of water. That water started jiggling
Speaker 3: in my stomach, and about mile twenty two I started vomiting,
Speaker 3: like goodness while I was running, and then I had
Speaker 3: to stop.
Speaker 4: And anyway, bottom line, we ended up at four fourteen.
Speaker 6: Oh that's okay.
Speaker 2: It was about a ten minute stop. You don't understand album.
Speaker 4: It was bad. And my parents started then texting me.
Speaker 3: They thought, like I was in a medical clinic, like
Speaker 3: in a tent with IV fluids.
Speaker 4: I was like, it's not that traumatic, but I went.
Speaker 3: I pushed it a little bit too fast for the
Speaker 3: weather conditions. Weather is everything when you're running, but when
Speaker 3: you're a runner, you have to prepare for everything mentally
Speaker 3: and physically. And that's just one of those things. And
Speaker 3: every marathon's different. That's been my experience. So I can't
Speaker 3: wait to hear how your first is. But my god,
Speaker 3: like you don't even seem slightly nervous.
Speaker 4: You seem like, hell, yeah, let's get this done. Been
Speaker 4: there almost done that.
Speaker 5: Yes, I do have a little bit of nerves, but
Speaker 5: I just feel like I feel very similar to when
Speaker 5: I was competing from this USA, Like you got a
Speaker 5: little bit of nerves, but you're just really really excited
Speaker 5: and you're like, you know, whatever happens, Like I just
Speaker 5: want to go out there and have fun.
Speaker 6: So I think if I just keep them mentality, hopefully.
Speaker 4: All as well.
Speaker 1: We weren't able to get into fully your whole biography here,
Speaker 1: but for folks who are maybe getting exposed to you now,
Speaker 1: clearly your resume speaks for itself, and just we got
Speaker 1: to meet you for the first time back here, and
Speaker 1: you just you just have an aura. You just exude this.
Speaker 1: You come from good folks. Yeah, it's clear. So for
Speaker 1: folks here and folks who are listening, where does that
Speaker 1: come from? Where did it get instilled to you? This
Speaker 1: perfectionist attitude. You were very little when you realize you
Speaker 1: wanted to do this. You want to be in the military,
Speaker 1: you want to do pagets. You're a little girl. Yes,
Speaker 1: what I know your parents have a lot to do
Speaker 1: with it, but get pokes an idea of where this
Speaker 1: comes from, that what they're seeing right.
Speaker 6: Now for sure.
Speaker 5: I would say my grandmother, whose ashes are on my necklace,
Speaker 5: she just exuded this energy from the from you know,
Speaker 5: the drive through at McDonald's to the people she would
Speaker 5: meet at church. I mean every single person she met,
Speaker 5: she just made them feel like they were the only
Speaker 5: person on earth and just lit them up and fed
Speaker 5: them energy and filled their cup.
Speaker 6: And I just love that. I mean, my grandma was
Speaker 6: my best friend. Her name was also Alma.
Speaker 5: And for me, when she had passed away, I just
Speaker 5: told myself, you know, I promised to make you proud,
Speaker 5: and for me, I think from that promise on, I
Speaker 5: decided to go to West Point. I just I feel
Speaker 5: like it really stemmed from all the time I spent
Speaker 5: with her growing up. Because when my dad would be deployed,
Speaker 5: we would go and spend the night at my grandparents'
Speaker 5: house and so I would, you know, help set up
Speaker 5: for church and we would do the offerings ben and
Speaker 5: it was just me and my sister, my grandma, and
Speaker 5: then my mom also, I would say, my mom and
Speaker 5: my dad have been huge support systems throughout my whole life.
Speaker 5: They've always taught me one your tough, Alma, whatever you face,
Speaker 5: you can overcome. And two, whatever it is you want
Speaker 5: to be or become, you can be or become. And
Speaker 5: for me, I mean that's manifested in so many ways,
Speaker 5: but definitely those three people for sure.
Speaker 2: Can I ask how old were you when you lost
Speaker 2: your grandma?
Speaker 6: I was sixteen.
Speaker 4: Wow. I love the she's with you. Yes, she is
Speaker 4: bringing her with you on the run round your neck.
Speaker 4: That is so beautiful.
Speaker 3: And for those folks who don't know who are listening,
Speaker 3: talk about your mom. Your not just as just your
Speaker 3: support SYSM, but as a runner. She was a battie
Speaker 3: in her own house.
Speaker 6: So my mom grew up as a migrant worker.
Speaker 5: In the beafields of Idaho and literally ran her way
Speaker 5: to a Division one track scholarship at Idaho State University.
Speaker 6: She ran the eight hundred.
Speaker 5: And for me, I mean I remember growing up, I'd
Speaker 5: always know my mom went on run, but I didn't
Speaker 5: know like how fast she actually was until we had
Speaker 5: gone to Idaho when I was younger, and when I,
Speaker 5: you know, went to our high school, she still had
Speaker 5: her track records up with her twin sister, and.
Speaker 6: I was like, Mom, what in the I didn't know this.
Speaker 5: So when I got older, I you know, started running track,
Speaker 5: and she was like, okay, like I'm going to coach
Speaker 5: you and I would be getting my butt whooped up
Speaker 5: the track by my mom. But for me, it was
Speaker 5: just like this idea that I remember when I ran
Speaker 5: my first mile my freshman year of high school, and
Speaker 5: it was the freshman mile. It was like a huge,
Speaker 5: huge race, and I she snuck her way onto the
Speaker 5: into the track and called my splits from the two
Speaker 5: hundred to the four hundred, to the two hundred to
Speaker 5: the four hundred, and you know, every race, every endeavor,
Speaker 5: from when I first started doing pageants to winning Miss USA.
Speaker 6: She has been through all of it.
Speaker 5: And so her goal has been to run a marathon,
Speaker 5: and you know, I'm running one before her.
Speaker 6: So now she's like, Okay, I've got to do it.
Speaker 5: So I I just think, you know, this is a
Speaker 5: big feat for both of us, and I'm even more
Speaker 5: excited to come back and.
Speaker 6: Cheer for her when she decides to run, or you
Speaker 6: could run with her. I was gonna say, that's the
Speaker 6: next best thing.
Speaker 4: That would be amazing. Who's going to be along the
Speaker 4: sidelines cheering you on.
Speaker 5: Yes, I've got a couple friends through the military. I
Speaker 5: also have Rebecca Ufford who is from the West Point
Speaker 5: Parents Club of Michigan. She's coming to cheer me on, yes,
Speaker 5: so she will be there. I have a friend from
Speaker 5: Stanford who's also running, so I hope to see her
Speaker 5: at the finish line.
Speaker 6: And yeah, I'm just really really excited.
Speaker 5: Like I know that by posting on like social media
Speaker 5: to share like my journey and my story and hopefully
Speaker 5: like uplift the platform the charity I'm running for, apnegar
Speaker 5: that just I hope that all this is to uplift
Speaker 5: other people, to serve, uplift other people, to understand all
Speaker 5: that comes with being a part of like the mayor
Speaker 5: on and running community, and also just merging the idea
Speaker 5: that the only limits you face are the ones you accept.
Speaker 1: I love that you talk about Miss USA. It's service.
Speaker 1: The military is service. Everything you're doing is service. Can
Speaker 1: I ask does the sash do you wear that during
Speaker 1: the marathon?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 5: I will not be wearing this, unfortunately, everybody was hoping
Speaker 5: that I will be.
Speaker 6: I will be flashing my smile at the end though, and.
Speaker 3: Talk about the charity that you're running for, because this
Speaker 3: is so important. This isn't a lot of us runners
Speaker 3: aren't running just for our own personal records or own prs,
Speaker 3: although that would be nice, but so much of a
Speaker 3: runner's journey on a race is about being of service
Speaker 3: and raising money for charities that we love, so tell
Speaker 3: us about yours.
Speaker 5: So Appnagar is not just a shelter, It's a lifeline
Speaker 5: for a lot of people. They're fighting for gender and
Speaker 5: just fighting against gender injustices and domesticolence around the world.
Speaker 5: And October is Gender Violence Awareness Month, and so for me,
Speaker 5: I just think it's an awesome opportunity to give this
Speaker 5: charity and this organization the opportunity to know that I
Speaker 5: support them, and I want to see more people get
Speaker 5: involved and impact their communities in ways they can, whether
Speaker 5: it's donating to a shelter in their hometown or coming
Speaker 5: and running a marathon with Team Apnagar. I just think
Speaker 5: that for me, I'm really about empowering people and giving
Speaker 5: people a voice, and I feel like, you know, Miss
Speaker 5: USA is all about women's empowerment. So it's a really
Speaker 5: neat opportunity to get to run with them and to
Speaker 5: hopefully represent for an organization that's bigger than myself.
Speaker 2: All this you're doing remind me, tell what you're doing
Speaker 2: at Stanford.
Speaker 5: So I'm in a two year master's program at Stanford
Speaker 5: University through the night Hennessy Scholarship. There's nearly ten thousand
Speaker 5: applicants around the world and eighty four recipients in the
Speaker 5: twenty twenty three cohort, and I'm currently earning my masters
Speaker 5: in data science at Stanford.
Speaker 2: Out this eighty four yes? So you blew by that.
Speaker 2: I know you don't want to what do you call it?
Speaker 2: A humble brag? Sometimes?
Speaker 4: Yes, the humble She slid that.
Speaker 1: In there, that she was in competition with ten thousand
Speaker 1: people all over the world, only eighty four yes were selected.
Speaker 1: So I know you don't want toot you all, horror brag.
Speaker 1: That's a big deal, and it's a scholarship. Maybe you
Speaker 1: all haven't necessarily heard of, but it is a prestigious
Speaker 1: and a big deal that she has received that scholarship
Speaker 1: and she's doing what she's doing.
Speaker 2: When do you finish your studies there?
Speaker 5: So I'll finish next next year, next year here?
Speaker 4: And what do you want to do with those prestigious degrees?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 5: Well, I am so honored to serve as a second
Speaker 5: lieutenant in the United States Army. I graduated from West
Speaker 5: Point in May of twenty twenty three, and I commissioned
Speaker 5: as a military intelligence officer. So I'm really thrilled to
Speaker 5: go to a basic officer leadership course for.
Speaker 6: My branch and to continue on with my career as
Speaker 6: an Army officer.
Speaker 3: It is it is so incredible to see how many
Speaker 3: young women. I know you're inspiring, and not just young women,
Speaker 3: but for anyone who thinks how many people out there,
Speaker 3: even those who are listening right now and have said
Speaker 3: to me, There's no way I could run a marathon.
Speaker 3: There's no way I could run a half marathon, There's
Speaker 3: no way I could run more than a mile.
Speaker 4: What do you say to people who think they can't
Speaker 4: do something?
Speaker 5: I would say, if you can see me, you can
Speaker 5: be me, and the idea that I you know, I've
Speaker 5: heard a ton of nos.
Speaker 6: I've heard there's no way.
Speaker 5: I've heard oh, you know, you could try, but I
Speaker 5: don't know. And I've also heard you got this, Alma,
Speaker 5: you can do this.
Speaker 6: I believe in you. If everyone says no, I'm the
Speaker 6: person who's gonna say yes.
Speaker 5: And I feel like when you listen to those voices
Speaker 5: and you give those voices, the spotlight. That's what uplifts you,
Speaker 5: and I hope I can be that for people all
Speaker 5: around the world.
Speaker 6: Just let them know that you know dare greatly. Go
Speaker 6: forth with passion, go back, go forth with.
Speaker 5: Purpose, and know that your story is not only deserving
Speaker 5: of being in those places, but belongs there.
Speaker 1: So to close here, to wrap up with you, and
Speaker 1: a lot of people are dealing with this and still
Speaker 1: don't know exactly what they're going to do. I don't
Speaker 1: know either. What is today as we're talking to you here.
Speaker 1: It is Friday until eleventh yea Friday evening, So Friday,
Speaker 1: Saturday and to Sunday. What is your rest routine? What
Speaker 1: is your diet.
Speaker 2: For the next couple of days leading up to the race.
Speaker 5: I'm gonna say bagels, impasta.
Speaker 6: I drink a lot.
Speaker 5: I love coffee, like iced coffee, so I'm gonna have
Speaker 5: one more on Saturday, and then I'm not going to
Speaker 5: have any on Sunday because I don't want to have
Speaker 5: to use the bathroom that much. And then probably just
Speaker 5: getting a good night's rest tonight and tomorrow evening, probably
Speaker 5: reading some David Goggins and making some phone calls home
Speaker 5: for some good wishes before Sunday.
Speaker 4: It's funny.
Speaker 3: Anyone out there who's listening who hasn't run a marathon. Yes,
Speaker 3: the training is key, but what to eat and maybe
Speaker 3: even more importantly, what.
Speaker 4: Not to eat is so important. And it's funny.
Speaker 3: This is my number six and I don't think I've
Speaker 3: figured it out yet because it's like, ooh, that didn't work.
Speaker 4: Oh, let me try this. I mean, it's just do
Speaker 4: you fuel along the way? Do you how much?
Speaker 3: Do you stop at the water stations? Do you take
Speaker 3: the goo? Like I'm curious what your plan is?
Speaker 5: Yes, my goal, based off what I've talked with my
Speaker 5: my friend who's done a lot of marathons, is I'm
Speaker 5: gonna take the bananas when i can water at the
Speaker 5: A stations.
Speaker 6: I've got some noon tablets for my little water bottle.
Speaker 5: I've got honey Stinger choes. Yeah, I've got I've got
Speaker 5: a little I've got I've got a pretty thick flip
Speaker 5: belt on my head my way, so.
Speaker 4: The flip bell is great. Just I hope it doesn't chafe,
Speaker 4: like there's always.
Speaker 6: A I've got chafe butter.
Speaker 3: It's so funny because I've made different choices each time.
Speaker 3: And they've all been good, and then they've some of
Speaker 3: them have been bad.
Speaker 2: Oh it's wild where life takes you.
Speaker 1: I'm a girl, oh man, sitting those stags with my
Speaker 1: girlfriend and Miss USA talking about chafing and bathroom breaks.
Speaker 2: It's awesome. You just never know what life's gonna take you, right,
Speaker 2: you never know.
Speaker 4: Which mile do you prefer? The porta Potti?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 3: I mean that's literally you have these conversations that you
Speaker 3: probably should never have with your significant other, and yet
Speaker 3: they're vital. When you're about to run a race together,
Speaker 3: you start talking about things you never thought you would
Speaker 3: talk about.
Speaker 4: With complete strangers.
Speaker 3: But that's what happens. It's a community us runners. What
Speaker 3: are you most looking forward to?
Speaker 5: I guess just the energy of running through the streets.
Speaker 5: I mean, I've run half marathons on Post at West
Speaker 5: Point and there's a there's cheers all over the post.
Speaker 6: But to run it in Chicago, I know that it's
Speaker 6: going to be electric, and I have my headphones.
Speaker 5: But I'm probably gonna keep them off for the first
Speaker 5: little bit, just to hear the audience and to hear everyone,
Speaker 5: because that I think is so uplifting and so positive
Speaker 5: and can be definitely help find another gear.
Speaker 6: I get tired out there.
Speaker 1: It is so funny to hear I have made long
Speaker 1: playlists before, but in New York, I turn the music off.
Speaker 2: Just the energy you want to take in.
Speaker 1: Dear lady, we can't say it enough, and I hope
Speaker 1: everybody here well please help us. And thanking miss USA
Speaker 1: Alma Cooper for being here. Throw a good luck as well.
Speaker 1: She's a first timer on Sunday. A lot of you,
Speaker 1: but we got to read about you, and we were
Speaker 1: so excited for you to be here, but you came
Speaker 1: as advertised. You are just a wonder to behold and
Speaker 1: someone I would absolutely love for my daughter, who's eleven
Speaker 1: years old to look up to.
Speaker 2: So it was just so much TJ.
Speaker 6: I really appreciate that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, TJ's got an eleven year old. I have a
Speaker 3: twenty one year old and an eighteen year old. In fact,
Speaker 3: my twenty one year old thought it was really cool
Speaker 3: to send me a text today saying she ran three
Speaker 3: miles in honor of us running the marathon this weekend.
Speaker 4: But every mile matters and every mile accounts, and.
Speaker 3: You are an inspiration to so many people, but especially
Speaker 3: we appreciate it. As parents of daughters for what you're
Speaker 3: showing the world women can do. So thank you Alma
Speaker 3: for Miss USA. Good luck in Miss World. Thank you
Speaker 3: appreciate at the marathon, and we can't wait to see
Speaker 3: your time which is clearly gonna smoke ours.
Speaker 1: But guys, thank you folks as always for listening to
Speaker 1: us on the Amy and TJ podcast. Before you, folks
Speaker 1: here in the center, thank you for spending some time
Speaker 1: here with us.
Speaker 2: We'll see y'all soon.