My Favorite Stories From This Weekend’s USATF Championships
Happy Monday!
I hope you had a relaxing weekend and are refreshed and ready to tackle the new week! We had a busy weekend working on the house so I’m starting the week pretty tired. Actually, I’m probably most tired because I finished my long run at 9pm last night…. I am soooo ready for this heat wave to be over! I am just not cut out to handle anything over 100 degrees.
Even in the midst of a busy weekend I was able to watch quite a bit of the USA Championships. There were so many amazing stories that came out of the weekend I thought it would be fun to kick off the week by sharing a few of my favorites!
1 – Gabe Grunewald racing the 1500m in the middle of chemo treatment. This gal is is so incredibly inspiring! If you don’t already you should follow her on Instagram. I just love how she refuses to let her diagnosis keep her from doing what she loves. I was crying watching her cross the finish line and to see all her competitors waiting to embrace her at the finish line reminded me why I LOVE the running community! You can watch a little video about her story here.
2 – Sara Vaughn making her first World Team at the age of 31. I don’t remember how I found Sara on Instagram but I’ve been following along with her journey for a few years now. She is a mother of 3 and works full-time as a realtor in addition to her training. I find her to be so inspirational and seeing her continue to run at a high level and IMPROVE after having 3 girls gives me hope that my little running dreams are actually attainable! I loved her interview with LetsRun.com that you can see here. Also – all the pictures of her give me all. the.feels.
3 – Alysia Montano running at the USA Champions while pregnant… for the 2nd time! I love everything that Alysia embodies on and off the track. She is continually a great example for female and mother runners and adamantly speaks out against the doping problem in the sport. It was so fun to watch her race the 800m with her baby bump and Wonder Woman sports bra! And her daughter running around her during her post-race interviews was too precious. Alysia is collaborating with BobGearUS on a fun stroller running training plan with prizes along the way so if you’re a stroller running mama make sure to check that out on her Instagram.
4 – On the men’s side Robby Andrews winning the 1500m was far and away my favorite this weekend. For the most part I LOVE all of the US distance runners. Especially those who have represented out country at the Olympics… but there are a select few that I just rub me the wrong way and I cannot get on board with cheering for them. Matt Centrowitz is one of those guys so I really, really enjoyed seeing someone new at the top of the podium in that event! Robby was so kind and humble in his post-race interview – a must watch!
What was your favorite story from this past weekend of races?
Who is your favorite professional runner? Any not so favorites?