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Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're sleeping

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Speaker 1: in after a late night of hot cocoa and cookies.

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Speaker 1: Wake us up in a few hours to play with

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Speaker 1: our new toys. It's Friday, December twenty sixth. We hope

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Speaker 1: all those who celebrate had a wonderful Christmas. Today we're

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Speaker 1: running back one of my favorite interviews from twenty twenty five.

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Speaker 1: My conversation with retired track and field got Alison Felix

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Speaker 1: from the summer. We talked about her legendary career and

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Speaker 1: the joys and challenges of juggling parenthood and multiple business endeavors,

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Speaker 1: plus her management company Always Alpha, her documentary She Runs

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Speaker 1: the World, and her longtime advocacy on behalf of women

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Speaker 1: and mothers, from calling out Nike's pregnancy policies to pushing

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Speaker 1: for the first ever nursery in an Olympic village. Allison

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Speaker 1: was on my shortlist of guests since day one of

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Speaker 1: this show, and she didn't disappoint.

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Speaker 2: Our conversation is coming up right after the break, joining

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Speaker 2: us now.

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Speaker 1: She's the most decorated athlete in track and field history,

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Speaker 1: with the combined Olympic and World championship total of thirty

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Speaker 1: one medals, and the most decorated American track and field

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Speaker 1: athlete in Olympic history, having earned eleven total medals from

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Speaker 1: five consecutive Olympic Games, and the most decorated athlete in

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Speaker 1: World Athletics Championships history with twenty career medals. Her bravery

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Speaker 1: and calling out Nike's discriminatory policies against athlete mothers helped

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Speaker 1: change standards across the sports world and inspired her to

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Speaker 1: launch her own footwear company, saysh in June twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 1: a Time magazine one hundred Most Influential People honore in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty and twenty twenty one, number sixty three on

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Speaker 1: ESPN's twenty twenty four list of the one hundred Greatest

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Speaker 1: Athletes of the twenty first century. She recently launched Always Alpha,

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Speaker 1: a talent management firm fully focused on women's sports, and

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Speaker 1: she'll be in the twenty twenty five class of the

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Speaker 1: US Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame this summer. It's

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Speaker 1: Alison Felix. Hi, Alison, Hi.

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Speaker 3: Thank you for that intro. That was so nice.

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Speaker 1: Well, I want to know when you hear all that,

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Speaker 1: what do you feel can you even grasp the enormity

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Speaker 1: of it all.

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Speaker 4: I think it's so weird because it's like, I never

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Speaker 4: really set up to do any of those things.

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Speaker 1: You know.

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Speaker 3: It was just a girl who loved to run.

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Speaker 4: So it's weird now to be like on the other

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Speaker 4: end of it and see, you know what I've been

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Speaker 4: able to do my career, but just grateful for for.

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Speaker 3: The whole you know, the whole journey.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I feel like when you look back at that little

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Speaker 1: girl that just wanted to run, if you tried to

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Speaker 1: pinpoint just one, maybe two qualities that most contributed to

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Speaker 1: your success on the track, what would they be.

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Speaker 4: I think the one I would probably go back to

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Speaker 4: is just a determination that was different and just all things.

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Speaker 4: I think I was very just persistent, and you know,

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Speaker 4: I wouldn't let things go and I really enjoyed like

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Speaker 4: getting better at something and not being deterred by failure or.

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Speaker 3: You know, whatever the thing is. So I think that

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Speaker 3: really pushed persistent.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's necessary in track As a track and

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Speaker 1: field runner in college myself, people would always basically tell us,

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Speaker 1: your practice is our punishment. Being willing to just punish

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Speaker 1: yourself over and over again. For the love of the sport.

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Speaker 1: Is it requires a special sort of something.

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Speaker 3: It's a pretty crazy thing, you know. It is.

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Speaker 4: It's like when you're talking about hundreds of a second

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Speaker 4: and you know, like what little you know biomechanics can

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Speaker 4: you change And you definitely have to love it and

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Speaker 4: you have to be in it for the long run.

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Speaker 1: Well, I've wanted to talk to you for literally years now,

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Speaker 1: so I'm so grateful to have you join us to

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Speaker 1: talk about life beyond track, beyond parenting and becoming this

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Speaker 1: new woman after your retirement. You just premiered your documentary,

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Speaker 1: She Runs the World, at Tribeca.

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Speaker 2: Tell us about the film.

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Speaker 3: The film is really great.

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Speaker 4: It goes over my career and my journey. It talks

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Speaker 4: about the fight from internal protections. It also dives into

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Speaker 4: the maternal health crisis that women of color are facing

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Speaker 4: here in America. So yeah, it kind of touches a

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Speaker 4: lot of passions of my heart. But yeah, I'm excited

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Speaker 4: that it's like out there and it was something very different,

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Speaker 4: you know, and I think it, you know, it really

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Speaker 4: pushed on that level of being vulnerable and really kind

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Speaker 4: of sharing more than most people really know.

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Speaker 2: Well, you've been in the public spotlight forever.

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Speaker 1: But most of the time when people are watching you,

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Speaker 1: it's either an interview or you're running. How different was

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Speaker 1: it to watch yourself in moments of being just like

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Speaker 1: a human or just being a parent, being a sister,

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Speaker 1: being a wife.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, it was so different, you know. I think just

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Speaker 4: even the process of you know, following me for a

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Speaker 4: couple of years and going into some of those like

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Speaker 4: really personal moments and sharing that, and then when I

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Speaker 4: you know, saw the film in its.

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Speaker 3: Entirety, I really got it.

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Speaker 4: And also just like audience reaction of how much of

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Speaker 4: my journey is just resonates with people, because you know,

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Speaker 4: we all go through things, and we've all been through,

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Speaker 4: you know, difficulties, and so I think for me, it's

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Speaker 4: so much bigger than myself. I hope that this is

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Speaker 4: a film that other women see themselves, and I think

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Speaker 4: it also has a message that to change things that

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Speaker 4: really takes a collective effort.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure so many people will learn a lot from

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Speaker 1: the film and even feel inspired by feeling connected and

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Speaker 1: relatable to someone as successful as you. Even you have

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Speaker 1: your own struggles, but I wonder what you learned about

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Speaker 1: yourself from making or watching it because I have a

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Speaker 1: random example, but I remember my wedding taught me that

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Speaker 1: I don't like to be looked at unless I can talk.

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Speaker 2: I like being on stage.

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Speaker 1: I love performing. I love a crowd and an audience.

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Speaker 1: I love attention. Except when I was just walking down

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Speaker 1: an aisle, I couldn't crack a joke. I just had

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Speaker 1: people looking at me, and I was like, I guess

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Speaker 1: this is the best I'm supposed to look. I'm trying

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Speaker 1: my heart, you know what I mean. Like I realized

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Speaker 1: that I have a thing with that. I like to

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Speaker 1: be able to make a joke in moments like that,

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Speaker 1: and I couldn't. Did you find anything that surprised you

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Speaker 1: about yourself during the process.

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Speaker 4: I think maybe something I knew, but I think it

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Speaker 4: was just emphasized in the whole process and seeing the film,

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Speaker 4: was that I don't really like to be the center

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Speaker 4: of attention, you know, I don't really like all eyes

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Speaker 4: on me. And that felt a bit odd, you know,

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Speaker 4: especially because you know the whole film, like, you know,

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Speaker 4: sitting there and seeing kind of the ins and outs

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Speaker 4: of the journey away from you.

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Speaker 3: Know, the field of play, all of those moments, it.

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Speaker 4: Was like Okay, it's probably not my favorite thing, but

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Speaker 4: I think the motivation behind it was definitely like, Okay,

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Speaker 4: this can have impact, and you know a lot of

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Speaker 4: other people go through these same things, and that really

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Speaker 4: kind of pushed me forward.

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Speaker 1: The filmmakers who made the movie went to your parents'

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Speaker 1: house to see what kind of footage they could get

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Speaker 1: of the early years, and your dad came out with

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Speaker 1: boxes and boxes and boxes, four hundred hours of home videos.

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Speaker 1: Looking at your younger self, maybe seeing videos you'd never

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Speaker 1: seen before.

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Speaker 2: What stood out to you?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean it's that's wild still, Like I guess

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Speaker 4: he was definitely before his time, like all that was

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Speaker 4: cam horder, but it just the joy, you know, of

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Speaker 4: childhood and just like being with my brother and you know,

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Speaker 4: playing in the backyard. I think that was that was

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Speaker 4: what was really cool to see, was just growing and

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Speaker 4: having fun and having no idea about sports or anything

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Speaker 4: like that, but just the foundation of being with my

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Speaker 4: family and so many of those lessons that I feel

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Speaker 4: like now are monumental I come back to all the time.

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Speaker 4: But I think it was in those years that my

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Speaker 4: parents really you know, taught me some of those really

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Speaker 4: important things.

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Speaker 1: And it's got to be kind of wild seeing yourself

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Speaker 1: very young, when you have young kids of your own,

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Speaker 1: that considering what your parents were teaching you or guiding you,

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Speaker 1: or what's saying to you, and what you might be

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Speaker 1: repeating or doing the same.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I just seeing myself at that age,

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Speaker 4: I saw so much of my daughter Cammi. I was like,

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Speaker 4: oh my gosh, yeah, okay, we kind of have the

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Speaker 4: same face all the things, So that was fun.

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Speaker 3: And for her to see that as well.

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Speaker 4: And the relationship with my brother Wes and I and

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Speaker 4: then Cammy and my son Trey, I saw so much

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Speaker 4: of that, like him trying to entertain me and her

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Speaker 4: trying to entertain him.

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Speaker 3: So those kind of things were fun. Also.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you also started Always Alpha. It's been around less

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Speaker 1: than a year. What inspired you to launch your own

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Speaker 1: management firm?

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Speaker 4: It was really the thought of legacy, and I remember

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Speaker 4: having a conversation with my brother around I feel like

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Speaker 4: I've learned so much and have had so much experience,

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Speaker 4: almost like I wish I could do it again with

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Speaker 4: all this knowledge, and obviously not being able to do that.

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Speaker 4: I think the next best thing was saying I want

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Speaker 4: to pass this on to you know other women who

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Speaker 4: are at the peaks of their career and I feel

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Speaker 4: like this could really be helpful. So that was really

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Speaker 4: the idea behind it. And also just seeing you know,

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Speaker 4: the momentum of women's sports and feeling like, you know,

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Speaker 4: women's sports marketing hasn't really existed and there hasn't been

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Speaker 4: this sole focus on marketing women in a different way,

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Speaker 4: and I think that opportunity to do things a bit

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Speaker 4: differently really excited us.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, what's been of the most exciting part.

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Speaker 4: I think just working with amazing clients and we have athletes,

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Speaker 4: we have coaches, broadcasters, and just yeah, interacting with them

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Speaker 4: and hearing about things that they're passionate about on the

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Speaker 4: field of play and off. I think, you know, oftentimes

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Speaker 4: when you're at the height of your career, you're you're

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Speaker 4: really thinking about, you know, the records and all of

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Speaker 4: those things. But I think, you know, most people have

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Speaker 4: aspirations beyond that, and so to hear that early on

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Speaker 4: and to say like, okay, like how can we put

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Speaker 4: together a plan that includes that as well, so that

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Speaker 4: you can really be your full self. I've really enjoyed,

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Speaker 4: you know, hearing all of those aspirations.

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Speaker 1: And that's really nice for the person involved who does

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Speaker 1: need to focus on the task at hand, but knows

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Speaker 1: that they're not ignoring the future or putting aside something

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Speaker 1: that does need to get built over the course of time.

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Speaker 1: They just have other people to help them do it

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Speaker 1: and start looking out for opportunities, which is great.

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Speaker 2: What's been the biggest challenge? This is a whole new

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Speaker 2: thing for you.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I think being on the other side of it,

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Speaker 4: you know, I think I've been used to you know,

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Speaker 4: when you're an athlete, you're in control of everything, and

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Speaker 4: you know it's really everything is on you. It's refreshing

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Speaker 4: to have a team and to get to collaborate and

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Speaker 4: work together. But I think also, you know, just releasing

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Speaker 4: that control sometimes is feels uncomfortable, but it's also I'm

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Speaker 4: trying to just welcome it more. And then just the landscape,

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Speaker 4: you know, we're really trying to do things differently, and

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Speaker 4: so working with brands that probably haven't focused on women's

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Speaker 4: sports before and trying to like educate them and teach

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Speaker 4: them and get them in the space. You know, we're

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Speaker 4: always going to be pushing forward in that sense.

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Speaker 1: We're going to take a quick break when we come

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Speaker 1: back more with Alison Felix. You have been pushing for

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Speaker 1: yourself and others for quite some time. Notably, in May

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Speaker 1: of twenty nineteen, you penned an op ed for The

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Speaker 1: New York Times accusing your longtime sponsor, Nike of refusing

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Speaker 1: to guarantee salary protections for female athletes in the months

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Speaker 1: following their pregnancy. You were a star for Nike at

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Speaker 1: the time, but you also wanted to consider a family,

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Speaker 1: and you were seeing not only cuts in the contract offer,

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Speaker 1: but no guarantees for what would happen after you came back.

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Speaker 1: So can you take us through the process and the

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Speaker 1: feelings that you had leading up to that actually publishing

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Speaker 1: fear anger otherwise?

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Speaker 3: I was terrified. I think that was the biggest emotion.

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Speaker 4: You know, for the longest, I really wanted to like

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Speaker 4: fit in that perfect image and you know, head down,

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Speaker 4: do the work.

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Speaker 3: Like I'm an athlete. I'm just supposed to, you know,

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Speaker 3: stay in my lane.

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Speaker 4: And I had done that really well for a long time,

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Speaker 4: and it wasn't until I was faced with this situation

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Speaker 4: that that shook everything up. And I think also just

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Speaker 4: becoming a mother, the mother to a daughter, really was

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Speaker 4: like Okay, it's.

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Speaker 3: On me to do something about this.

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Speaker 4: And so I think there was the feelings everything from

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Speaker 4: rage that I'm even asking and pushing for this, to

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Speaker 4: feeling empowered to say I want to do something different

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Speaker 4: and I'm going to speak up about this because it's

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Speaker 4: been happening for far too long. So it was really scary,

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Speaker 4: but really grateful that I was supported in my own family,

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Speaker 4: with my friends and a lot of other athletes who

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Speaker 4: had been through something similar and who were under NDA's

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Speaker 4: and felt like, you know, I had people standing behind.

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Speaker 1: Me, tell me more about why your daughter sort of

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Speaker 1: gave you that last little shove.

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Speaker 4: I remember, you know, really going back and forth of like, okay,

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Speaker 4: is this something I'm going to do?

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Speaker 3: Like am I not going to put my name on this?

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Speaker 4: And vividly there was this moment, you know, I had

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Speaker 4: a difficult birth experience. She came two months early, and

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Speaker 4: I'm sitting in her nursery and just really you know,

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Speaker 4: contemplating this, and I think in those moments when she

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Speaker 4: was home from the nick, you just seeing how she

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Speaker 4: fought and then thinking about her growing up and the

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Speaker 4: fight that I was taking on. It was like, there's

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Speaker 4: no way that you and your generation are.

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Speaker 3: Going to take this fight on.

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Speaker 4: At the time, I didn't know if anything was going

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Speaker 4: to come of it, but I just felt deeply called

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Speaker 4: to speak up, like I had a responsibility now as

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Speaker 4: a mother, and that's something I hadn't felt before.

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Speaker 3: You know, I think it just it was a game

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Speaker 3: changer for me.

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Speaker 1: You know, I think a lot of women say that

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Speaker 1: that it sort of changes the perspective of who's first,

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Speaker 1: and who comes first, and what's more important. And you

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Speaker 1: quite literally recognize that this was about your fight, but

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Speaker 1: also changing the game for everyone that came after you.

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Speaker 1: And I think it's also hard to read you talking

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Speaker 1: about your relationship with Nike at that time and the

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Speaker 1: way they communicated to you what you meant to them,

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Speaker 1: and always using the phrasing we're a family. Yeah, And

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Speaker 1: you felt like, my family is telling me that I

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Speaker 1: want to make this personal choice and they won't support

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Speaker 1: me in it, that they might not be there for

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Speaker 1: me when I come back, and that I have to

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Speaker 1: hit certain times and goals in order for them to

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Speaker 1: still treat me as a member of their family. What

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Speaker 1: an interesting dichotomy to be creating an actual family and

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Speaker 1: find out at the same time that these promises made

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Speaker 1: to you were not true. And I think a lot

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Speaker 1: of us go through the naivete of loyalty to something.

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Speaker 2: That we assume is reciprocal.

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Speaker 1: And when people tell you you're just a number, you're just

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Speaker 1: a cog in the wheel or whatever it is, you

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Speaker 1: don't want to believe it because you put so much

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Speaker 1: time and effort and energy into it.

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Speaker 2: So when you do find out that that was true,

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Speaker 2: what's that emotion.

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Speaker 1: For you as you started to for the very first

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Speaker 1: time realize that Nike wasn't going to do right by you.

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Speaker 4: It was just like a gut punch, because it is.

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Speaker 4: And it was a great lesson to learn that. So often,

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Speaker 4: I think we do preach family in companies, and I

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Speaker 4: think we talk about it a lot, and for me,

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Speaker 4: it was a lesson even in creating my own company,

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Speaker 4: that it's not a family because there is a business

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Speaker 4: aspect to it. And I think it's when you're an

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Speaker 4: athlete and you're going on this journey and you have

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Speaker 4: these supporters who are feeling like family, and you're going

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Speaker 4: above and beyond and you're giving everything you have to this.

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Speaker 4: It's a weird thing, you know, And so when I

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Speaker 4: realized that, and you know, the veil was lifted and

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Speaker 4: it's like, oh no, this is not family at all.

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Speaker 4: It was hard, you know, it was hard to process

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Speaker 4: that and understand at the same time, you know, starting

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Speaker 4: a family and.

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Speaker 3: All of those things.

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Speaker 4: But I just realized, you know, at the end of

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Speaker 4: the day, it is about you know, the numbers on

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Speaker 4: the paper and the bottom line and all of that.

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Speaker 4: But it was it was difficult in the in the

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Speaker 4: process of it.

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Speaker 1: There is a freedom to learning that, and there also

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Speaker 1: is an opportunity for a sparkle of ingenuity because I

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Speaker 1: feel like a lot of women figure out that the

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Speaker 1: system isn't built for us and then change it. And

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Speaker 1: it happens maybe less often with men because they're very

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Speaker 1: much served by the system that we're currently in. I

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Speaker 1: think about Abi Wombach talks about in her book, you know,

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Speaker 1: when they say if there's not a seat at the table,

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Speaker 1: pull up a chair, she says, screw pulling up a chair,

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Speaker 1: build a new table. If you're not going to have

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Speaker 1: a seat for me at the table that exists, I

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Speaker 1: don't want to pull up a chair. I'm going to

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Speaker 1: just create my own table. And it feels like, that's

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Speaker 1: very much what you did in speaking out. And at

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Speaker 1: the same time, that very same month of May twenty nineteen,

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Speaker 1: you testified before the US House Committee on Ways and

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Speaker 1: Means on the Black maternal mortality crisis. You mentioned that

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Speaker 1: your daughter's birth was difficult. You had preeclampsia while pregnant,

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Speaker 1: and then you had to have an emergency c section.

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Speaker 1: You not only are fighting with your sponsor for the

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Speaker 1: treatment that you deserve, but now you're fighting on behalf

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Speaker 1: of other mothers. Why did that experience with your daughter,

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Speaker 1: Instead of wanting to stay at home and cocoon and

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Speaker 1: just care for her, why were you so ready to

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Speaker 1: get out and fight.

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Speaker 4: I think once I had wrote that op ed and

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Speaker 4: it came out, and I saw the response, and I

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Speaker 4: saw Nike other companies change their policy, I think for

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Speaker 4: the first time I understood what speaking out had the

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Speaker 4: power to do. And when you are vulnerable and when

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Speaker 4: you share that sometimes it can change things. And so

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Speaker 4: when I was going through the complicated birth of my daughter,

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Speaker 4: and I just I felt like my eyes were open

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Speaker 4: to a whole new world. I did not know the

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Speaker 4: enormity of the crisis that women were facing, and so

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Speaker 4: it was kind of that same feeling like if I

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Speaker 4: can do something about this, even if it's just raise awareness,

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Speaker 4: then I sign me up, like I want to be

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Speaker 4: on board with that. And so that was kind of

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Speaker 4: I remember leaving the hospital after a month of her

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Speaker 4: being there and us leaving as a family, and just

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Speaker 4: feeling so much gratitude because I learned of so many

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Speaker 4: stories where that's just not the case. And so that

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Speaker 4: was the push to say, yeah, I'm happy to testify.

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Speaker 4: It's not something I probably would have wanted to do

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Speaker 4: in my past and such a private person, but if

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Speaker 4: this has the potential to change the path forward, or

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Speaker 4: you know, if someone learns about signs of pre acclamsia,

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Speaker 4: you know, through this process, then it's absolutely worth it.

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Speaker 1: You led me to my next question, which is you

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Speaker 1: start out by saying you don't love to be the

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Speaker 1: center of attention, and yet in all these moments you

381
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Speaker 1: are saying, I have the voice and the agency to

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Speaker 1: do something about this, So it's on me to say something.

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Speaker 1: What's your advice for folks listening who may think that

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Speaker 1: they're not built for that kind of fight, or can't

385
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Speaker 1: imagine walking into a room to testify or speaking out

386
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Speaker 1: against a boss or something like that. Did you have

387
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Speaker 1: to psych yourself up in the mirror? Did you have

388
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Speaker 1: to write down mantras? Did you have to eat a

389
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Speaker 1: certain kind of breakfast? I feel like real strong, Like,

390
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Speaker 1: what did you do to get yourself feeling ready for that?

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Speaker 4: If that's not natural for you, I would say definitely

392
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Speaker 4: been exactly there in those shoes, And I never got

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Speaker 4: to this place where I was like I'm ready. You know,

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Speaker 4: there was never this feeling of confidence of like, Okay,

395
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Speaker 4: I'm gonna do this.

396
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Speaker 3: Like I was scared up to the very moments.

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Speaker 4: That I press send on the op ed that until

398
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Speaker 4: I walked and you know, to the Ways and Means Committee,

399
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Speaker 4: Like it never went away. So I think this illusion

400
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Speaker 4: that you have to feel so courageous and so powerful

401
00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:35,160
Speaker 4: and ready for the moment, it's not the case. I'll

402
00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:38,600
Speaker 4: never forget. When I was going through all this, my

403
00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,639
Speaker 4: brother West said, you know, you can use your voice

404
00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:44,520
Speaker 4: even if it shakes, and I just kind of kept

405
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Speaker 4: repeating that because it's like I'm never gonna I'm never

406
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Speaker 4: gonna be that person that is like, you know, shouting

407
00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:54,360
Speaker 4: from the rooftops and so confident like in moments like this,

408
00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:57,720
Speaker 4: but that's okay, Like you can still move forward through

409
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Speaker 4: the fear, through the uncertainty, through all of that. And

410
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Speaker 4: so that's what I would say, And also that you

411
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Speaker 4: don't have to do it on the biggest stage. You know,

412
00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,880
Speaker 4: we can all hold people accountable in our own circles.

413
00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:14,120
Speaker 4: We can have conversations. So I think also don't think

414
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Speaker 4: you have to have a big platform, you know, to

415
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Speaker 4: bring about change. I think we can all really bloom.

416
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Speaker 3: We're exactly where we're planted.

417
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Speaker 2: I love that.

418
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Speaker 1: I love that quote from your brother, and I love

419
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Speaker 1: the relationship you two have. Can you talk about what

420
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Speaker 1: it's been like to have your brother sort of managing

421
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Speaker 1: your career and now embarking on a number of your

422
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Speaker 1: other endeavors together.

423
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Speaker 4: It's so much fun. I think people always just like,

424
00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:39,960
Speaker 4: what is it like to like work with a sibling and.

425
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Speaker 1: I because we're all picturing our sibling that we fight

426
00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,160
Speaker 1: with all the time and that we can't imagine having

427
00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:47,440
Speaker 1: to coordinate with, and then you two are out there

428
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Speaker 1: just crushing it.

429
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Speaker 3: Yeah.

430
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Speaker 4: I mean we've always had a special relationship since our

431
00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:54,560
Speaker 4: younger I mean we definitely did all the fighting also,

432
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Speaker 4: but then I don't know we I think it was

433
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Speaker 4: around middle school. We were at an school and I

434
00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:03,359
Speaker 4: think something clicked where it was like, oh my gosh,

435
00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:06,000
Speaker 4: we can be friends. And we've kind of been just

436
00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:09,800
Speaker 4: like really thick of sieves since then. And it's so

437
00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:12,879
Speaker 4: cool to be able to build with someone that you

438
00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:16,320
Speaker 4: love and that you trust one hundred percent. And I

439
00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:20,280
Speaker 4: think our strengths and weaknesses are opposite, and so we

440
00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:22,800
Speaker 4: have a really great dynamic together and.

441
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:25,000
Speaker 3: We've been doing it for a really long time now, so.

442
00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:28,400
Speaker 4: I think we're very secure in both of our roles

443
00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:31,040
Speaker 4: and it's really a lot of fun.

444
00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,560
Speaker 2: Also, biggest fight you've ever gotten in.

445
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,440
Speaker 3: I don't even remember anything as an adult.

446
00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,760
Speaker 4: I mean I remember just like wrestling with him as

447
00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:43,160
Speaker 4: a kid, and he could never my parents never let him.

448
00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,160
Speaker 3: Like wrestle back with me, and I just took full

449
00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:48,080
Speaker 3: advantage of that. So my mind.

450
00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:51,399
Speaker 4: Immediately goes to like those those years where I was

451
00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:53,520
Speaker 4: just yeah, having my way.

452
00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:56,720
Speaker 2: But nothing as adults. That's remarkable considering the stakes of

453
00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:57,399
Speaker 2: the work you're in.

454
00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:59,480
Speaker 3: Yeah, nothing, nothing.

455
00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:03,639
Speaker 4: I mean, we have good, honest, hard conversations all the time,

456
00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:07,360
Speaker 4: but I never leave those feeling like we are at

457
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:09,600
Speaker 4: odds because we're on the same team, like, you know,

458
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:12,520
Speaker 4: we want the same things and the end goal, and

459
00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:14,600
Speaker 4: so I think it's great that we can push each other,

460
00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,600
Speaker 4: but it never it never spills over into our brother

461
00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:20,800
Speaker 4: sister relationship.

462
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,440
Speaker 1: So in addition to all of that advocacy, you also

463
00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,560
Speaker 1: were the driving force behind the Olympic Villages first ever nursery.

464
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:30,120
Speaker 1: You were part of a twenty seventeen Today show Pink

465
00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:32,919
Speaker 1: Power Today campaign you surprised a fan with breast cancer.

466
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:35,919
Speaker 1: Then You've fought all these battles over and over for

467
00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,280
Speaker 1: yourself and for others, and I wonder what you've learned

468
00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:40,320
Speaker 1: from those battles.

469
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:45,760
Speaker 4: I think the biggest thing is that you can create change.

470
00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:48,879
Speaker 4: And I think for the longest, I don't know when

471
00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:52,959
Speaker 4: I thought about doing things differently or you know, a

472
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,320
Speaker 4: system that wasn't built for you. To me, I was like, well,

473
00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:57,800
Speaker 4: that's not my fight, Like that's gonna that's so big,

474
00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:00,919
Speaker 4: it's like so ambitious, you know, I how could just

475
00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:04,600
Speaker 4: me have any role in that? And I think what

476
00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:06,800
Speaker 4: I've seen is just there's power in the collective and

477
00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:08,760
Speaker 4: we all have to do our part. And it may

478
00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,040
Speaker 4: seem like it's really far off, or it may seem

479
00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:13,800
Speaker 4: like this one little thing is not going to matter.

480
00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:16,080
Speaker 4: And I think what I've learned is like every little

481
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,879
Speaker 4: thing matters. You know, we all need to do, you know,

482
00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:22,159
Speaker 4: what we can, and sometimes you know that change is

483
00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,719
Speaker 4: going to come fast and sometimes you know maybe we

484
00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:27,640
Speaker 4: won't even be here to benefit from it. But it's

485
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,800
Speaker 4: never about you. I think that's the biggest thing. Another

486
00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:34,320
Speaker 4: thing that I've taken away is I think oftentimes when

487
00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:36,600
Speaker 4: you're trying to change something, it might start with your

488
00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,480
Speaker 4: scenario and you know what you've been through and that's

489
00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:42,639
Speaker 4: the motivation, but it's going to be somebody else. You know,

490
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:44,959
Speaker 4: things are going to change when somebody else you know

491
00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:47,639
Speaker 4: is able to benefit, and that's you have to be

492
00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:50,600
Speaker 4: okay with that. That's the reward, is like, Okay, things

493
00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:52,240
Speaker 4: down the line are going to be different.

494
00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:56,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, it does feel like sometimes you can feel worthy

495
00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:00,320
Speaker 1: in the most degrading and terrible moments if you choose

496
00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:02,920
Speaker 1: to take control of them and try to change them

497
00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:05,479
Speaker 1: going forward, even if it won't benefit you, because then

498
00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,240
Speaker 1: at least something comes out of it. It's so deflating

499
00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:12,440
Speaker 1: to just be mistreated or not given the right resources,

500
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:14,840
Speaker 1: or not invested in or any number of things and

501
00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:16,960
Speaker 1: not feel like there's anything you can do about it,

502
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:18,760
Speaker 1: at least in your own small way, in your.

503
00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:20,480
Speaker 2: Community, or in your own big way, like you have.

504
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,000
Speaker 1: Trying to do something about it so the next person

505
00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:27,239
Speaker 1: doesn't face it feels like a stronger conviction even than

506
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:29,119
Speaker 1: fixing it for yourself completely.

507
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,320
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's like taking ownership of that and saying, yeah,

508
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:34,399
Speaker 4: I'm going to flip this around and it's going to

509
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:35,480
Speaker 4: be better for the next person.

510
00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:36,280
Speaker 2: Well.

511
00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:38,439
Speaker 1: And so much of your advice, of course applies to

512
00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:42,080
Speaker 1: the battles you've taken on, but also just like current times,

513
00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:47,400
Speaker 1: everything is so overwhelming and terrifying and awful and inhumane,

514
00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,680
Speaker 1: and each of us individually, I think, can feel very

515
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:54,359
Speaker 1: trapped in that. But remembering that the battles want at

516
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,240
Speaker 1: the lower levels, whether that's which judges are voted in

517
00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:00,760
Speaker 1: or which community systems and policies are in effect, and

518
00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:03,360
Speaker 1: how that impacts the daily lives of the people around us,

519
00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:06,080
Speaker 1: can still be something in our control, even if the

520
00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:08,959
Speaker 1: decisions made at the very highest levels can't. And so

521
00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:11,520
Speaker 1: I love your advice to folks that they don't have

522
00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:13,600
Speaker 1: to First of all, they can use their voice even

523
00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:15,399
Speaker 1: if it shakes. And secondly, it doesn't have to be

524
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,000
Speaker 1: at the House Committee, it can just be in their

525
00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:19,359
Speaker 1: own neighborhood.

526
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:21,760
Speaker 2: We got to take another quick break.

527
00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:24,600
Speaker 1: The conclusion of my conversation with Alison is right after this,

528
00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:35,320
Speaker 1: You've made such a name for yourself now as an

529
00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:36,320
Speaker 1: advocate for moms.

530
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:38,200
Speaker 2: I wonder do you ever feel pigeonholed.

531
00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:40,399
Speaker 1: At one point you were, Oh, she's an athlete, so

532
00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:42,600
Speaker 1: we don't expect anything from her except her run fast.

533
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:43,919
Speaker 2: And now, well she's retired.

534
00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:45,359
Speaker 1: Now she's a mom, so we're just going to talk

535
00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,199
Speaker 1: to her about all mom stuff all the time. Do

536
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:50,200
Speaker 1: you try to get people to see that you contain

537
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:53,440
Speaker 1: multitudes and your multifaceted and you want to have all

538
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:55,800
Speaker 1: sorts of things going on, or do you now feel

539
00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:56,840
Speaker 1: like you're the mom?

540
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,480
Speaker 4: I definitely don't want to just be them, you know.

541
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,200
Speaker 4: I think there's so many things that I'm passionate about,

542
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:07,439
Speaker 4: and I think having moved away from the competition of

543
00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,920
Speaker 4: it all, I think there's been more time to explore

544
00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:14,400
Speaker 4: those things, and so yeah, I definitely want to dabble

545
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,159
Speaker 4: in all of the areas and show that, you know,

546
00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:20,560
Speaker 4: I am multifaceted, and I do there is so much

547
00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:22,960
Speaker 4: more to me, and even when I think about the

548
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,760
Speaker 4: work that I do at always Alpha, I want that

549
00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:28,399
Speaker 4: for our athletes as well, because I think you have

550
00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:30,520
Speaker 4: to really start that early, and I think there's no

551
00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:33,960
Speaker 4: better time than now. And we're seeing you know, just

552
00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:37,760
Speaker 4: rich stories, you know, off of the field of play,

553
00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:42,240
Speaker 4: other interests and passions, and every person is like that,

554
00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:44,480
Speaker 4: and so I think we, you know, we have to

555
00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:48,399
Speaker 4: lean more into the holistic version than just yeah, putting

556
00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:49,280
Speaker 4: people in boxes.

557
00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:54,000
Speaker 1: You had a legendary track and field career, nothing left

558
00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:57,159
Speaker 1: to win, nothing left to prove, But that doesn't mean

559
00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,960
Speaker 1: it's easy to walk away and find new passions and purpose.

560
00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:02,760
Speaker 1: This is what was the predominant emotion for you in

561
00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,119
Speaker 1: the days after officially retiring and knowing you wouldn't be

562
00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:07,160
Speaker 1: competing again.

563
00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:09,919
Speaker 3: I think there was a lot of grief.

564
00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,800
Speaker 4: I had a lot of gratitude for my career because

565
00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:19,240
Speaker 4: it was incredible. I felt like, you know, not everybody

566
00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:21,879
Speaker 4: gets to end on their own terms and all of

567
00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:24,840
Speaker 4: those things, so so much gratitude, but I think I

568
00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:27,080
Speaker 4: had to grieve it. It was like, you know, this

569
00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:29,680
Speaker 4: thing that I've loved for so long I've been able

570
00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:33,000
Speaker 4: to do and pour myself into and then one day

571
00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:35,480
Speaker 4: it's just over, and I think there's this weird thing

572
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:38,240
Speaker 4: because it goes on without you, and you know, now

573
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:40,920
Speaker 4: you're on the outside like looking at it, and all

574
00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:44,520
Speaker 4: of those things are challenging as you find your new path.

575
00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,600
Speaker 3: But I think it was like giving myself space to.

576
00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:49,680
Speaker 4: Say, like, yeah, I feel sad that this is over,

577
00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:53,119
Speaker 4: and you know, I'm gonna miss it and I'm finding

578
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:57,040
Speaker 4: my new way, but my feelings are valid, and yeah,

579
00:27:57,240 --> 00:27:58,000
Speaker 4: leaving room for that.

580
00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:00,400
Speaker 2: Are you competing at everything else?

581
00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:04,359
Speaker 1: Now? Board games starts hopscotch, Like can you shut it

582
00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:04,760
Speaker 1: off or not?

583
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:05,119
Speaker 2: Really?

584
00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,520
Speaker 4: I think it's who I am. I've definitely tried to

585
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:10,560
Speaker 4: find like new things. You know, I'm trying to like

586
00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:13,200
Speaker 4: not always be on a track somewhere, but like started

587
00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:17,720
Speaker 4: learning tennis and just in areas that like I have

588
00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:21,000
Speaker 4: no business being competitive in. So it's like very humbling,

589
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:22,800
Speaker 4: but yeah, it's it's in me.

590
00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:26,120
Speaker 1: It's probably really good for you to be the very

591
00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:28,280
Speaker 1: best for a very long time and then start something

592
00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:30,440
Speaker 1: new and be like, oh this is streaky.

593
00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:35,880
Speaker 3: It's so humbling, Like it's like nothing has transferred that's.

594
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:37,360
Speaker 2: Funny, you know what, It's really good though.

595
00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:39,520
Speaker 1: I read a whole book about how as adults we

596
00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:42,760
Speaker 1: are so used to being proficient that we stop trying

597
00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,720
Speaker 1: new things because it's uncomfortable to be bad at things,

598
00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:48,720
Speaker 1: and that the gift in that is so worthy of

599
00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:53,040
Speaker 1: the frustration or the awkwardness that you have. And oftentimes

600
00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,520
Speaker 1: people get really stagnant because they're not willing to try

601
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:57,080
Speaker 1: new things, and there might be something that they would

602
00:28:57,160 --> 00:28:59,840
Speaker 1: love and they never discover it because they're too embarrassed

603
00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:00,480
Speaker 1: to try.

604
00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:02,120
Speaker 2: So I love that you're out there.

605
00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:06,680
Speaker 3: I'm out there trying swinging away. Yeah, definitely, I did.

606
00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:09,280
Speaker 1: I did see you, though I didn't get to go

607
00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:11,600
Speaker 1: to a sport beach this year, which I'm very bummed about.

608
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:14,240
Speaker 1: I was watching obsessively from Afar, but I saw a

609
00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:16,080
Speaker 1: little video of you and Can just a couple of

610
00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,400
Speaker 1: days ago. Everyone else probably drinking and apparel, sprints by

611
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:22,320
Speaker 1: the beach, noshing on some snacks on that great patio

612
00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:28,040
Speaker 1: at the Carlton Hotel. You were running sprints uphill during

613
00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:32,760
Speaker 1: a very brief forty eight hour trip to France. When

614
00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:34,880
Speaker 1: do you relax and when do you stop?

615
00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:35,280
Speaker 2: Ever?

616
00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:37,720
Speaker 4: You know, I see a good heal and I just

617
00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:41,960
Speaker 4: feel like it needs to be run like this. Oh

618
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:44,040
Speaker 4: I don't know, it's ingrained to me. And then also

619
00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:46,560
Speaker 4: you know you gotta you gotta get it in where

620
00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,760
Speaker 4: you can. The travel schedule's crazy, and it's like, Okay,

621
00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:52,040
Speaker 4: this is a great this is my this is the

622
00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:54,520
Speaker 4: workout area that I have I'm gonna do and it's

623
00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:55,280
Speaker 4: it's so fun.

624
00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:56,280
Speaker 2: Yeah.

625
00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:58,680
Speaker 1: I actually have to admit, before my body completely fell

626
00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:00,440
Speaker 1: apart and my spine turned to dust because of an

627
00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:02,920
Speaker 1: achilles tear and everything else, I used to go to

628
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:04,920
Speaker 1: a park and do wind sprints. I used to go

629
00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:09,520
Speaker 1: do my hurdle drills and stadium stairs. I loved that

630
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:12,240
Speaker 1: feeling of like pushing myself to exhaust and just like

631
00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:13,880
Speaker 1: when I was practicing for something.

632
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:16,640
Speaker 2: So I don't blame you that you're still at it.

633
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:17,720
Speaker 3: There's nothing like it.

634
00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:20,040
Speaker 1: I hope your body holds up forever and you can

635
00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:23,360
Speaker 1: do that forever, because there's just so much joy in that.

636
00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:25,720
Speaker 1: All right, last question for you, if you look beyond

637
00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,360
Speaker 1: the track and beyond the parenting at Alison Felix, what

638
00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:30,120
Speaker 1: will you find.

639
00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:34,440
Speaker 4: I think just a person who cares for other people,

640
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:39,600
Speaker 4: who loves family and friends and just wants to do

641
00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:40,920
Speaker 4: something meaningful in the world.

642
00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:43,640
Speaker 3: Pretty simple, So far.

643
00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:46,240
Speaker 2: So good. We're excited to see what happens next.

644
00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:48,800
Speaker 3: Thanks so much for the time, Thank you for having me.

645
00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:56,600
Speaker 1: Good Game With Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports

646
00:30:56,600 --> 00:31:00,240
Speaker 1: production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. Find

647
00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:02,880
Speaker 1: us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts.

648
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649
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650
00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:11,520
Speaker 1: Grace Lynch, Taylor Williamson, and Lucy Jones. Our executive producers

651
00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:15,000
Speaker 1: are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rutterer.

652
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653
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