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Photo Credit: Cortney White, @cortneywhite_

Vanessa Fraser was almost always running with the top pack but was rarely the center of discussion. She produced solid times in both high school and college, but was typically labeled as the underdog.!This is a mindset that Fraser has thrived on throughout her entire career, ever since she started running in the third grade. Born and raised in Scotts Valley, California, she fell in love with the idea that running is a highly competitive sport and that it gives her the opportunity to push her body to the limits while simultaneously bettering herself.!VF: I loved competing and the process of getting better. I wasn’t necessarily the fastest girl in my class, but I just wanted to keep on improving. I really fell in love with that process. In high school, Fraser emerged as one of California's most elite runners, but still wasn’t on a lot of people’s radar. By her junior year, after watching her teammate Cami win the state title the year before, she became a state champion in cross country and went on to defend her title during her senior year.!“Role models like Cami have been the ignition to having belief in myself,”! Fraser explained.!Despite her success in high school, she was a preferred walk-on at Stanford University and was not offered a scholarship. Nobody really had any expectations for Fraser and many saw her as just another runner. She was more focused, however, on the fact that she was going to her dream school: Stanford University, a college that contributed to some of her best childhood memories. Growing up 45 minutes from the Stanford campus, she felt like Stanford was her second home. Her dad and cousin were both Stanford alumni, and it was routine in the Fraser family to attend football games and have large tailgates on the weekends. Stanford was where she belonged.!VF: Some of my earliest childhood memories were watching my cousin play football at Stanford. We always had these big family tailgates. I remember always! looking up to my dad, too, because he went to Stanford. We only lived 45 minutes away from Stanford, so it was like being in our backyard. By her sophomore year, Fraser was scoring for Stanford and was becoming a top runner to look out for in the NCAA while remaining injury-free. She was getting comfortable with the load of college training and her new lifestyle as a student-athlete.!The following year, she was Stanford’s top female cross country runner and! claimed seven DI All-American honors by the end of her collegiate career. Fraser was doing all of this while working towards two degrees – a bachelor's in symbolic systems and a master's in management, science, and engineering.!Fraser knew she had more in the tank, and while she made a name for herself as one of the best female runners in the NCAA, she still felt like the underdog.!Fraser never thought she was good enough to become a professional runner, and when she got the call from Jerry Schumacher in 2018 to join the Bowerman Track Club, it felt surreal. Thoughts like "I am not good enough to be on this team" and "I am going to be the slowest one" consumed her thoughts. Going from the college scene to training 5The Weight of Expectations By Carley Crain Young Fraser in Stanford gear. Photo Credit: Vanessa Fraser

with Olympic gold medalists wasn’t what she thought it was going to be like. In fact, it was one of the hardest parts of her career so far. VF: I felt like I had more expectations put on me. I signed a contract with Nike and joined one of the best teams in the country – or arguably in the world as far as female distance running goes – and I felt like I had something to prove. These women are competing at the Olympics and that is the level that people think you should be competing at. Fraser’s training intensified after she joined Bowerman. She was putting in more volume and miles, as running became her career, not just a sport she did after school. Recent college graduate and new teammate Karissa Schweizer was thriving on the new professional training, as she became a World finalist her first year as a professional, while Fraser was struggling to keep up and adjust. It was hard not to compare herself to fellow teammates.! !"When would it be my time?" she often asked herself.! Fraser had been a professional runner for Nike for about a year, but she hadn't had any of the breakthrough races she had wanted. She watched her teammates smash their personal bests and claim new American records, wondering if she would ever get that same opportunity. Fraser felt that her new, intense training wasn’t giving her anything in return. Then, Boston happened.! Her long blonde hair was slicked back in her classic low ponytail. She stood on the starting line wearing her bright red Bowerman Track Club uniform beside some of the fastest women in the world. She knew what she came to Boston University to do: break 15 minutes in the 5000 meter race.! The first 3000 meters of the race went out in 9:02, just a tad behind 15-minute pace. Fraser knew that if she wanted to dip under 15, she had to finish hard in the last 2000 meters. She took 6Fraser crossing the finish line in Boston. Photo Credit: Talbot Cox, @talbotcox

control of the chase pack and was soon running at a 4:40 mile pace.!Fraser then caught a glimpse of the clock. She was about to shatter 15 minutes and potentially dip under 14:50. She crossed the line in 14:48, with a beaming smile, raising her arms in excitement. She was now the second-fastest woman ever in the American indoor 5000. Boston was the race Fraser needed. It was like a sigh of relief. She finally felt like she belonged in the professional running world and on the Nike Bowerman Track Club.!VF: Boston was so huge for me. It was the first achievement I felt like I really had as a pro and that was a year and a half into training as a professional. It was a long time to go without any validation or reward that this next level of training was working. I just had to keep the faith during those 18 months that it would pay off eventually. I went into that race really driven to break the 15-minute barrier in the 5000. I have always run my best when I focus on seeing how fast I can run regardless of what anybody else is doing. After Boston, Fraser had a new sense of confidence with her next big goal being to crush the Olympic trials. Shortly after her stellar race at Boston University, the pandemic hit. The world was shut down, which meant the Olympics were postponed. Fraser took advantage of the Olympic postponement and decided to finally figure out a solution for her chronic Achilles pain. 4 months after her breakout race In Boston, on May 15th, Fraser got surgery on both of her feet to remove tissue damage as well as having her heel bones shaved. The temporary saline injections she was getting every few months helped her run fast in Boston, but acted like a bandaid – a solid short-term fix, but not good enough for the long run.!She first started to feel pain in her Achilles back in 2017 when she was still competing for Stanford. Fraser didn’t think much of it at first, but the pain continued to worsen. With no future races in sight due to the pandemic, Fraser jumped on the opportunity to get the surgery. Running wasn’t as fun anymore as the pain kept getting worse. She was starting to dread the sport that was now her career.!VF: Every single step was hurting. I was trying to get off the ground as quickly as possible because it was so painful. It definitely got to the point where I did not really enjoy running that much but I am so driven to achieve my goals I just pushed through for so long. It wasn’t until I finally got relief and got rid of the pain that I realized how miserable I was. When I got rid of the pain I finally started to enjoy running so much more and realized I was actually hating running a lot of the time. Getting back to full strength post-surgery has been difficult, but looking back now, Fraser sees it as just another challenge she had to get through.!VF: Overall I think the surgery was good for me. I think it gave me a new challenge and as a professional runner, you are doing the same thing over and over. Having this crazy experience of having surgery on both of my Achilles gave me this renewed appreciation for running and this new challenge to focus on. In a weird way it was kind of like this new exciting thing. The fact that I had the goal to make the Olympic team kept me wanting to get out of bed every morning and attack all the rehab with excitement. Fraser is now focusing on how enjoyable running is now pain free. For the first time in years, she can now confidently say running is truly something she loves.!7Fraser after surgery. Photo Credit: Vanessa Fraser

Photo Credit: Josh Thomson

If there is one word that can describe Jacob Thomson, it is an undeniable fact that the man is durable.! Since starting running in 4th grade he has never had a major injury or setback — aside from a bout with COVID-19 in January — and he has always been able to endure the ebbs and flows and demands of running.! The Louisville native and University of Kentucky alumnus has spent the majority of his life in the Bluegrass State, but for the past several years Thomson was representing the Boston Athletic Assoication after he graduated in 2018.! When asked about trying to sum up his running career into a short blurb, Thomson was quick to point out that consistent work is his tried and true x-factor. “I’ve always been fairly consistent, and I’ve run a PR every single year since [4th grade] when I started,” Thomson said. “The ability to train hard for a long period of time is my biggest asset as a runner… every year I’ve kind of chipped away until I’m finally to where I want to be.” Now we flash-forward to the spring of 2021 — smack-dab in the middle of his attempt to qualify for the Olympic Trials — and Thomson pops up in a new place: Flagstaff, Arizona. He packed what he could into his 2004 Honda CR-V, drove from Boston back to Louisville for a bit, and then in early April he made the cross-country trek to Flagstaff. Thomson left a contract renewal, a comfortable life he was familiar with, and a decent amount of benefits for this, something that a lot of people simply wouldn’t even consider.! “I’m pretty big about doing things on my own terms… In college I transferred from NC State to Kentucky, which was a big surprise to a lot of people due to the difference in pedigree. I took a lot of pride in saying ‘I’m gonna make this work.”’! Thomson also pointed out two other reasons that served as the motivation to make the switch: he loves a challenge he can fight against, and he gets along well with altitude. So in his brain it made perfect sense. “All my PR’s after college have come after altitude camps and altitude tents. Boston is a cool city to be in, but when you want to train at a high level, it’s hard to beat Flagstaff… and I perform best when I’m backed into a corner, I’m betting on myself here and I think that is what is going to set myself up best for the future.” Thomson saw that a nice contract and benefits made him feel very comfortable with his financial situation and his running, but by the time his contract renewal was on the table, there was another source of income already coming in that made it so that the money wasn’t the issue. Thomson has started a coaching service which is known as Thomson Training, born out of the seasons lost to the pandemic and to the rising interest of high school athletes wanting to get better at a younger age. Some of the Louisville high schoolers reached out to Thomson, interested in workout plans. What started as one or two kids who Thomson tangentially knew from Louisville or Boston running became an entire program where Thomson was the founding member and focal point. 9The Man of Bluegrass and Grassroots By Ethan HermannThomson with a post-run sandwich. Photo Credit: Patrick Gregory

“Whenever I’m not doing my own training I’m working on that… we have upwards of 50 kids in 17 states. I hired one of my best friends and he and I run it together now,” Thomson explained. However, the coolest thing in Thomson’s eyes is that the desire to improve is in everyone, not just those who want to win it all. “It’s really cool to have the fast kids, or even getting the kids who go from 18:00 to 16:15 and then getting an opportunity to run at a Division III school that they wouldn’t have had before, that is so cool.” “I take what I do very seriously, and even coaching people who have 22-minute 5000 meter personal bests who just want to get down to 21 minutes, that is equally exciting to see.” While managing his own training and the training plans of his athletes, Thomson was throwing shot after shot at trying to make it to Eugene for the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials. And in every instance, he was coming up just short each time. After running agonizingly close with a 28:09 in early May and after some tough races at the Trials of Miles qualifier races, Thomson went to Portland, Oregon for the Portland Track Festival in late May knowing this was his only chance left. “Going into Portland, I had ran myself into the ground... It was really the last opportunity, and my instructions were ‘There’s no reason to get dropped in the first four miles.”’! Thomson embraced the fight, and in all the pictures from the race in the early stages, Thomson could be seen squarely behind the leaders of the pack. It just so happened that one of those racers was also Galen Rupp. “I just assumed that Rupp was going to drop us… The one thing you can’t take away from Rupp, is you can’t get rid of him. He’s not afraid to race.” And yet, Thomson dropped Rupp en route to a 2nd place finish behind Sugaru Osako in a qualifying mark of 27:57.32. After a 17th place finish in the US Trials, Thomson’s focus shifted to an entirely different scene - Running the Bluegrass Running Camp back home. After a local coach suggested that Thomson put on a camp, he got to work in turning it into a 10Thomson and crew at Bluegrass Running Camp. Photo Credit: JT Productions Thomson races at USOT. Photo Credit: Tracksmith

reality. After a lot of planning and long days and evenings, Thomson got 131 kids and 10 HS coaches to a camp full of collegiate runner-counselors and collegiate coaches even being guest speakers.! “I take a lot of pride in trying to raise the level of Kentucky running, and all these kids never would have met, now they’re doing cool down runs and having group chats together… I realized that not every kid had the things I had in high school, and I would give that opportunity to these kids all the time.” The coolest moment for Thomson, however came on the last night of the camp, when Matthew Centrowitz aimed to take down the American Record for the mile. All of the campers and the staff stayed up late and watched it together on a big projector. Seeing the community he had brought together bond over a singular thing such as that race made it even more special. Thomson is now in the throes of marathon training out in Flagstaff, and he will be debuting at the Chicago Marathon this October.! “I kinda always figured I’d end up there one day, and last year during quarantine I experimented with marathon training before the races got cancelled… my biggest goal is Top 3 American. I’m obviously naive, but I think it’s helpful. I’m not afraid of the distance — maybe not as afraid as I should be… [you] never know until I get on the starting line October 10.” When it comes to his support plan now, he works with Tracksmith through their Amateur Support Program thanks to Lou Serafini reaching out and asking. He works with multiple groups out in Flagstaff, but is being coached now by his old Kentucky coach. And the one thing that he has learned about himself through running is that he can be very stubborn.! Thomson’s favorite race is the now retired Mason Dixon Games — an indoor track race held at Broad Bend Arena, on the old wooden boards that Steve Prefontaine and other American greats ran on. His favorite place to run is fittingly Flagstaff, and his favorite running partner is Pat Gregory [@pat.w.gregory on Instagram]. Above all of those things? He loves hanging out with his dog Lance the hound, drinking a couple beers with his family and sitting around a bonfire, listening to some good country music. If you need Thomson, you could probably find him pretty easily. But never, ever count him out.11Thomson stretching. Photo Credit: JT Productions

Photo Credit: Tracksmith

In ancient Greek mythology, Atalanta is the fastest woman in the land, defeated by none. She is strong, independent, and unafraid.! It’s a fitting name for an organization started by our own modern-day Atalanta, Mary Cain.! Atalanta NYC went public early this summer and provides groundbreaking opportunities to professional runners through an employeeship model that offers full-time employment, benefits, and elite-level training.! The company functions as a New York City-based non-profit as well, offering mentorship and community programs to young girls.! Atalanta NYC is a strong deviation from the typical contract options that professional runners are often faced with: to sign a performance-based contract that leaves athletes underpaid and under pressure, or to attempt to work full-time to support themselves while balancing a grueling training schedule.! “Then they lose the benefits of having coworkers who understand the demands of being a professional athlete,” Cain tells us.! Cain set out to support athletes holistically – in their training and their careers – by providing space for career development and mentorship alongside professional training.! Following her New York Times article in which she spoke out about the abuse she faced under the coaching of Alberto Salazar, Cain has become a catalyst for change in the world of professional running.! It was this experience, and her following career with Tracksmith that sparked the idea that would become Atalanta NYC.! “Last summer, I had torn both my labra and was so nervous about bringing it up with my co-workers at Tracksmith. It was such a fast turnaround, I was diagnosed and then a week later was scheduled for surgery,” says Cain. “But their reaction was so positive. They were so supportive, offering anything they could to help.”! This rallying of support and empathy revealed the depth of the relationship Cain had developed with Tracksmith. It was a relationship based on more than just work, it was personal.! “I felt very lucky about the path I had created for myself, and I didn’t want to just sit on that myself. I wanted to see if I could expand it to more people, and that’s how the concept of creating an employeeship model was formed,” says Cain.!! Though still in infancy, the Atalanta team has grown to include coaches like John Green, who guided Molly Seidel to her recent bronze medal in the Olympic marathon. Olympian Allyson Felix sits on the advisory board, among other accomplished businesspeople and entrepreneurs.! “We want people who believe in the mission. It’s important to set the precedent early that you’re getting on board because you believe in doing something different,” says Cain of her team. “We’ve been really lucky to have a lot of people who are able to see this in the bigger picture and realize that this model is something that can benefit so many people.”! Atalanta NYC does not stand alone in its innovation, however. Professional runners like Alexi Pappas, Colleen Quigley, and Allyson Felix have all found great success in “abandoning” traditional sponsorship models, making their mark on the holistic revolution that is taking place in the sport.! Women like Felix have redefined what success in the sport looks like. After allowing her contract with Nike to expire in 2017, Felix blazed a new path for herself through her contract with Athleta, which provided her the support she needed as she balanced her newborn child and training.! 13A New Leaf with Mary Cain By Sarah Moxham“The idea is to bring something that’s meant to help the girls feel empowered by sport”

Felix is now the most decorated Olympic Track and Field athlete of all-time, in case you were looking for more evidence that this model just might actually work.! “I think the next step for the sport is continuing to put success behind the mission, because that’s when you really create the perfect ecosystem for people to dive in,” says Cain.! Alongside her desire to help athletes grow professionally outside their athletic careers, Atalanta NYC taps into Cain’s desire to reach into the non-profit space.! “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, particularly after I came out with my NYT piece. I always wanted to do something where I could feel that change was happening on a day-to-day,” says Cain.!!!!! Cain hopes to reach high school-age girls in the New York City area through activity-based programming.! “The programming is less focused on performance, more on just getting girls out there. We’re there to mentor the girls to incorporate healthy sport into their daily lives,” says Cain. Atalanta NYC’s non-profit work is guided by an all-female advisory board that looks to teach girls that sport is more than just being competitive. Cain hopes to facilitate conversations about body image, handling nerves, working through disappointment, and developing a growth mindset.! “The idea is to bring something that’s meant to help the girls feel empowered by sport,” says Cain.! It’s this empowering relationship with sport, and the community it creates, that continues to fuel Cain to this day, even though her up-and-down relationship with running.! “When I was younger, I would say, ‘I’m still in it because I love running,’ or ‘I’m still in it because I have goals and dreams,’ and that’s still true, but I think it’s more true to say that I’m still in it because I’ve developed such incredible relationships that have helped me keep that love and drive,” says Cain.! As she recovers from her dual labrum repair surgery, Cain is focused on becoming stronger and more resilient in both her mind and body, each day further embodying the mythological Atalanta -- a woman of perseverance and of unbreakable spirit. A woman that the girls of Atalanta NYC will grow up to become.! 14Cain ties her shoes. Photo Credit: Johnny Zhang, Tracksmith Shoot

Photo Credit: CU Athletics

A look back at Fall 2021 and before My athletics journey does not date to so long ago. My high school life was occupied by a busy study schedule and leadership duties. I could only train a few weeks before my meets, which were once in a year, and I didn’t run so far. Joining college, I weighed so much and that felt unhealthy for me. I started running to get my weight down and ended up being absorbed into the college athletics team. This gave me motivation to keep training and later, when coach Michael Kelly came to Kenya in July 2019, I was fast enough and secured a scholarship to Campbell University.! My first race in the United States, which was held in Louisville, Kentucky, revealed my potential to be an All-American in the NCAA DI Cross Country Championship meet that year. My lack of experience in running, as well as lack of smart training, made me burn out before the NCAA Cross Country Championships and racing in winter for the first time pushed me to 19th place. With COVID-19 affecting most of the 2020 season, I spent almost 3 months without training and going back to the track was a real struggle.! My athletics transformation starts at the beginning of July 2020. At that time, easy runs were even tough for me, and it felt like my athletics dream was dimming. I knew that training takes time and to be ready to perform well in 2021, I needed to start preparing early enough. My progress was perfect and at the end of August, I ran my first sub-4 minute mile. By the end of the year, I was in perfect shape, except for an injury to my Achilles that took my indoor season away. Going into outdoor season, I was healthy and strong enough to keep progressing. My progress can easily be tracked from my 1500 meter races, where I moved 16My Athletics Journey By Athanas Kioko Kioko runs on the track. Photo Credit: Athanas Kioko

from 3:45, to 3:42, and then 3:38. This gave me the motivation that I still had more potential than I thought and that, with no doubt, I still have room! in my athletics career for future races. Going to NCAA DI Outdoor Nationals, which was held in Oregon, very little was expected from me but I knew that what was within me was much different from everyone’s anticipations. My main goal was the Olympics standard, and I was ready to pay the price to get it. This is a big surprise to many, and more surprises are on the way.! My motivations: •I have the best coach, Michael Kelly, who keeps on reminding me that I can be the best in the world with smart training and smart racing tactics, which has been my drawback for some time. Not to forget my teammates, the Campbell family, and a lot of friends who keep encouraging me all the way.! •I also get much support from family back in Kenya, the Kivetts, who have had a great impact in my career, and a family I have been a proud member of for the past year. •Having a few athletes who are following my steps encourages me to be a better athlete every day. For instance, Andrew Kivett, who I met in October 2020, has been following me so closely and his progress is just impressive. I hope he maintains the same spirit at Wake Forest, where Elise Wright, who also pushes me to leave footprints she can follow, is. Shoutout to Julian Jones who made it onto the Campbell track team this year.! •Availability of training resources, courtesy of Campbell University. •A strong mindset which can accommodate any condition affecting my training and races, and is always ready to take challenges.! Challenges: •It’s normal that athletes have bad days, and if it happens during a race day, the disappointment is not so healthy. It takes some time to accept.! •Weather is not always perfect for training.! •Toward the final parts of the past seasons, I must train alone when my teammates don’t make it to the final levels of NCAA D1 competitions.! Overall, athletics is not an entirely happy ride, and anyone wishing to be competitive must be ready to pay the price through consistent learning, exceptional discipline, readiness to accept disappointments, and focus beyond explanation. Not forgetting a tough mindset that is ready to take criticism and the wisdom to differentiate between real fans, stalkers, and family we meet in the journey. Of these, keep track when one switches the three sides and what action to take in that case, conserving what is within, because that is what matters.17Kioko in the Campbell Uniform. Photo Credit: CU Athletics

Photo Credit: Texas A&M Athletics

Fresh off the plane from Tokyo, Olympian Annie Kunz gave us!the inside scoop on competing at the Olympic Games, life in the village, and her experience at this global multi-sport event. Following our interview with Kunz in Edition 4, July 2021, in which she was crowned US Olympic Team Trials Champion, Kunz was forced to quickly come down from that high and recover from a grueling two days of competing, before getting back to training and trying to peak again for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.! AK: In the US, you have to be at your best just to qualify, and then you take a full week to recover because you've just put your body through the wringer. We really only had a week and a half of normal training after the trials before we left for the Olympics, and then you add in the travel days and the time to get acclimated once you arrive in Tokyo. Used to only peaking for one heptathlon a year, given the toll the multi-events take on your body, US Olympians faced the added challenge of having to regroup for Tokyo only five weeks later. This was a topic of discussion among the US athletes as they reflected upon their performances. AK: It's definitely a struggle, even for the decathletes who had an extra week. None of the other countries are in the situation we're in, where we have to compete a month before at our highest level and have to peak twice within six weeks of each other. I think it [the proximity of the US Olympic Team Trials to the Olympic Games] definitely plays a factor, not just physically, it's also the amount of mental and emotional stress that goes into the Olympic Trials. In this way, the US athletes are at a clear disadvantage for being at their best at the Olympics. Looking to the future, multi-eventers hope for a change to this system. AK: It would be great if, like the marathon trials, qualifying for the combined events could be held earlier, and then we would be able to just prepare fully for the Olympics. Regardless, the hype around the Olympic Games was more than enough to energize all the athletes competing, and Kunz was beaming as she talked about her experience. Despite restrictions on capacity due to Covid, the enormity of the event was not lost. AK: It was overwhelming, especially the first day, and there were just so many athletes and people everywhere. Adding to the magic of the Olympics, Kunz described life inside the village like being in a video game. AK: It's almost like Sims, where some of the fittest people in the world are all moving around, up and down the different floors in the dining hall. I've never felt so short in my entire life when I was getting food surrounded by these massive athletes, even the volleyball girls were towering over me, and that was super cool to see all the different sports. The infrastructure within the village is like a small city, it’s crazy! Different buildings housed different countries, and with Team USA being so big, we had a whole building to ourselves, each floor occupied by different sports. Given the size of the complex, athletes toured the village and rode to the venues on the buses and shuttles provided, testing some of Japan’s latest technology, as they soaked up what was on o f f e r f o r t h e a t h l e t e s , a l o n g s i d e t h eaccommodation buildings.19Annie Kunz: From Trials to Tokyo By Ruby Wyles Kunz in Tokyo. Photo Credit: Texas A&M Track and Field

AK: They also had these autonomous buses, but they go really slow, so you’re almost better off walking! There was this main wooden building with a hair salon, a barbers, a nail salon, and even a Japanese culture room where you could go and make traditional handbags. And then they had a gift shop with all the Tokyo 2020 merchandise and gear, where everyone was buying gifts for their families. Another shuttle would take Kunz to the dining hall, an experience in and of itself! Two floors high and open 24/7, athletes were in and out at all hours of the day and night, able to access a wide variety of different global cuisines and dietary preferences. AK: There were, gosh, 1, 2, 3, 4… probably 8 different stations: One was Japanese, another gluten free, Asian fusion, grilled stuff, and more American-style pizza and French toast. Going into the Games, Kunz felt some apprehension about the availability of the food with which she is used to fueling herself. But with the diverse spread of -- often quite tempting -- options in the dining hall, alongside the great support of Team USA and good trusty takeout, Kunz was able to stick to her usual diet, as described in her first interview with The Oval in July. AK: It was actually the thing I was most worried about, but it worked out well. The dining hall was okay, and it had a lot of options for me in the morning: really good meats and fish, like lamb and salmon. And then at our High Performance Center, which is the Team USA practice facility,! the food there was great, and we had access to team nutritionists who helped us get the things that we needed. We also ended up doing Uber Eats quite a few nights, and I ordered a bunch of really, really good steaks too. The food quality in Japan was amazing. Post-competition, Kunz was finally able to indulge and taste some of the local dishes, alongside the home comforts of pizza and sweet desserts. AK: The ramen was really good, and I had that with pork in it. The dumplings were also amazing, and the little pork bao buns too.!! Team USA occupied one of the largest high-rise apartment blocks, organized into suites housing six to ten athletes each in rooms of two. Kunz roomed with 2021 NCAA DI Champion and YouTube star Tara Davis, who competed in the individual long jump.! The Oval would be doing you, the readers, a huge disservice if we did not ask Kunz about the infamous beds, made almost entirely from renewable materials, and designed specifically for these Covid-restricted Olympics to prevent competitors from sharing beds. AK: Oh, the cardboard beds. Terrible. The worst beds ever. They made it really hard to sleep. Some people have said that they were fine to sleep on, but they were hard as a rock. I like a firm bed, but even for me, this was just too much. A lot of us actually ended up ordering mattress toppers from Amazon and having those delivered so we could actually sleep! Aside from sleeping, eating, and soaking up life in the Olympic Village, Kunz went to Tokyo with a job to do: competing in the 2020 Olympic Games in the heptathlon, on the global stage, and this is what excited her the most.! 20The beds in the Olympic Village. Photo Credit: Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

AK: It’s just such a unique experience that only a small percentage of the population gets to be a part of, and so just being there, being a part of all these different cultures coming together in one place was really, really cool. After an anxious start where Kunz tripped in the first event, the 100m hurdles, she handled her nerves well and rebounded with a strong performance in the next event, high jump.! AK: Day 1, I was more nervous, and I obviously tripped in the hurdles, which was stressful and a tough way to start. I think I recovered well, but it was definitely more of an anxious version of me out there. Kendell and I were on the bus after day one, feeling the same way, and we just discussed how we had so much fun at the Trials, where we were more relaxed and making jokes. And then we got to the Olympics more tense and serious, and didn’t perform as well. Her and I decided that we would go into day two having fun and smiling. I think we were able to do that, and day two was a little bit more fun! Competing at the Olympic Games was undoubtedly a huge step up for Kunz, and despite her apprehension, she finished 6th at her first Games! She told The Oval how this experience has already taught her lots about what she can work on to hopefully be on that podium come Paris 2024! AK: The hype of the Olympics, the cameras, and other things like that, kind of throw you off or make you overthink a little bit more. You get more serious and try harder, forcing things, and I just don't do as well with that. I am so glad that I got so much experience and that! I turned it around on day two. 21US Heptathletes Erica Bougard, Annie Kunz, and Kendell Williams in Tokyo. Photo Credit: Cameron Spencer via Getty Images

To most people, 6th at the Olympic Games would be a dream come true, but reflecting upon her performances, Kunz is hungry for more. AK: I honestly feel like that was probably the most subpar meet I've had all year, because I was a little below all my averages in each event. But, to still finish sixth in the world is super encouraging!! As these Olympic Games have highlighted, athletes have sides to them that the cameras often fail to capture: mindset and mental health are two examples. Kunz returned home to California proud of her composure and mentality even when events weren’t going her way, a testament to the hard work she has put in with her sports psychologist, which she spoke about in the July edition of The Oval Magazine.! AK: The proudest moment of the whole competition was how far I've come mentally, having that strength to be resilient. In years past, had I tripped or something didn’t go to plan, there's no way I would have bounced back. I would have let that hurdle race define the rest of the meet, but [at the Olympics] I really didn't allow it to do that. Another moment that Kunz will treasure was captured in this photo: the community of the multi-eventers. Heptathletes and decathletes formed special relationships between each other, regardless of nationality, as they bonded over the grueling two days of competitions. Away from the Games, Kunz says that she keeps in touch with her competitors over social media, and considers them friends. AK: That’s what's so special about the heptathlon and the decathlon, you know, you don't get that kind of camaraderie in other events. We're all together for two full days. The Olympic schedule is no joke, it is really very tough. So I think by the end of competing, we're all so proud 22Olympic heptathlete athletes together following the competition. Photo Credit: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

of each other for finishing because that in itself is a feat! You're just so happy for everyone, even though they're from different countries, and you get really close with the girls over those two days. I Instagram DM a lot of the girls, and we keep in touch through social media for sure. One of the first perks that comes to mind when you think about being Olympian has to be the masses of gear and gifts that athletes deservedly receive. Look to any Team USA athlete’s social media or YouTube and you’ll be sure to find an unboxing video or apparel display of sorts. For an athlete without an apparel or footwear sponsor, like Kunz, she expresses extra gratitude for the generosity of Team USA. AK: Oh man, there’s so much, it's crazy how we literally got two suitcases zipped all the way up to the top full of stuff! They gave us Samsung phones, headphones, and a bunch of accessories alongside all the gear.!! As to Kunz’s favorite, it proved a hard choice to make.! AK: The Team USA Skims stuff is really comfortable, and I've been wearing my slides constantly. Honestly, there's very little that I am not obsessed with: The gear is amazing! The Oval wrapped up this interview with a few quick-fire questions that Kunz happily answered. TO: If you could have watched any other Olympic sport, what would you have chosen? AK: I wanted to go to gymnastics so bad, I just think the gymnasts are incredible! I think seeing it in person would be so cool, and that was definitely what I was looking forward to, but hopefully in Paris! TO: What was your best memory of the Games?! AK: Oh man, just walking into the Olympic Stadium and seeing the rings on the track was probably one of the most special moments. It really hit me–I'm at the Olympics and I'm here to compete with the best in the world. TO: Without fans, I bet it was hard to celebrate much straightaway, but now that you are back home in America, what are you up to and how have you celebrated finishing 6th at the Olympic Games? AK: Just recovering, honestly! I’ve been taking things easy, eating good food, and spending time with my family. That's been amazing! I hadn’t had a nice day out in ages until yesterday when we took a boat out on the water and it was beautiful. I'm just taking these next couple weeks to really relax, let my body rest, and eat good food. I had pizza for like three nights in a row in Japan after we were done competing, and French toast, and other things that I never really have. I'm not a big drinker. I think that I go so long without it during training that when I do have it, it doesn't feel very good. But I had some wine with dinner the other night, which was a big deal because I hadn’t had wine for eight months! Kunz wraps up by sharing her excitement for a home World Championships in 2022 in Eugene and ends this season hoping that a footwear sponsorship is in her future too: After coming 6th in the World, she certainly deserves one! 23“That’s what's so special about the heptathlon and the decathlon, you know, you don't get that kind of camaraderie in other events. “ Annie Kunz on support within the heptathlete community

Photo Credit: Peter Birney, @fbtcpeter

within the race as opposed to ‘oh, we’re going for time.’ It’s the idea that each athlete has a different approach to the game and how they play the game and how they execute their strategy. It’s the idea that you never step into the same race twice; the landscape is always changing so you have to change what you’re doing too.” Merrill has an ambitious vision for the future of running media, but when you look at his creative endeavors and listen to what he has to say, his lofty goals seem inevitable. “Our sport isn’t going to be successful [commercially] in the long run by trying to just grab onto things that make other spor ts successful,” says Merrill. “The way that we’re gonna do it is by honing in on the first principles or the seeds of what makes our sport great and then branching those out and using different mediums to grow those seeds and reach people with the authentic reason for why our sport is great. If you do that, I think you have something special. You at least have your fans and then you start making noise and people are like ‘hey, what’s going on over there?’” Keep an eye out for new additions to Merrill and McNichols’ series, The Game, as well as new episodes of Tracklandia and many more creative projects from Merrill and the folks over at Portland Track. 26Merrill with a guest on set. Photo Credit: Peter Birney, @fbtcpeter

Photo Credit: Chad Hermann, @chadhermann

Dear incoming high school seniors [and, well, any high school runner],! Hi, my name is Ethan. I ran cross country and track all four years of high school. I was a four-year varsity runner for both sports. I hold the second-fastest time ever for my school in the cross country 5k, and I was a part of setting a school record in the 4x800 meter relay. In my senior year I won three district golds in track.! And guess what? I didn’t run for a college team. I wasn’t “fast” until my senior year of high school, and at that point I felt like I was out of touch with the recruiting process and was overwhelmed by college applications and also trying to reach out to potential coaches in the same season. I went on one wonderful official visit to Carnegie Mellon University, and while I loved the team atmosphere, it was a mere mile from where I grew up. I wanted to explore the world more than just down the road.! I love to run. I run [almost] every day because I enjoy doing it and it is as mentally freeing as it is physically exhausting. Running is the crux of my athletic performance — I played best in the fourth quarter on any basketball team I was on, I looked forward to three-hour practices, I loved being the last one in the gym or on the court. Running competitively was even better, too. When it came to running collegiately, however, I had to take a different route than I probably would have wanted or desired.! I chose academics and a good scholarship and the school that was for me.! And ya know? If I had had an opportunity to run for a Division I school at that point? I really don’t know if I would’ve taken it. I love my own schedule, my own routine, and, man, I love running on my own terms. I got to college, and within the first week of arriving I had joined a track club full of adults. At the time, I was the only member under the age of 23. It was a big jump for me, but it was honestlysomething I internally desired. I was the youngestperson in my extended family for the first 13 yearsof my life so I got very used to fitting in with oldercrowds and adult conversations, and I cannotoverstate how welcoming and kind PhiladelphiaRunner Track Club was when I first joined.It was always fun to get to know some team members I hadn’t met before, only for the gag effect of them to be wholly shocked when they found out how old I was. Every college team is different, and I know that so many college teams have brought so many meaningful and lifelong connections to countless athletes, but I found myself loving to learn about my teammates’ medical school classes or dissertations or real-world problems and tribulations so much more than I thought. It helped that 80% of my life was already college, so the other 20% I spent with my running friends was a change from the norm.! Also, the spring after joining my new team, I PR’d in the 5k. In Nike Pegasus 33’s, into 20mph headwinds. It was something I didn’t think was really possible, because I wasn’t on a college team, and I wasn’t focusing on running as much as my friends who ran for Georgetown, Duke, Boston, Virginia Tech, John Carroll, and beyond were.! And yet, I realized that I was striking a balance between running and life years before people my age would learn how to do so.! I had a coach who was focused more on me than a team because I was his only athlete. He 28Playing the Long Game By Ethan HermannHermann in red on the line. Photo Credit: @chadhermann

taught me how to prioritize my longevity in this sport over everything, to never kill a workout but to rather do my due diligence, to run *easy* on easy days, and to throw my ego out the door every single morning. He also taught me to become an animal when it came to races, and how to turn that switch on in ways I never had before.! I found what worked for me, on my own time, in my own world, and in the way things intended to work. I knew I didn’t want to lose running in my life after high school, but I also knew collegiate running for a team wasn’t where I belonged when I was graduating high school. It was tough to lose the comforts and camaraderie of a team that worked towards a greater good together, but I found myself reveling in the joy of a team full of post-collegiate adults who were thrilled at the opportunity to provide just a sliver of it for the young adult who joined their track club.! Let’s flash-forward a few years, to where I’m 21 years old and it’s 2021. I’ve now run times that would guarantee me scholarships on a large amount of Division I track teams, I have a 3.93 cumulative GPA that would make any university’s athletic director drool, and I still miss that team aspect of people my age working together to do something special. All of this is true, and I still would rather run with my track club, drink a couple beers, go to bed later than expected on a random weekday, wake up a little later than normal, have my coffee, run an easy run at my own pace, and relax in the evening knowing I don’t have to fight for a varsity spot or please any coaches or try super hard in practice just to prove I belong somewhere. My validation in this sport comes from elsewhere, and my love for this sport forever grows.! If you need me, I’ll be smiling at every race and high-fiving whoever’s hands are out there in front of me. I’m here for the ride, and for the people who make me happy and who make me feel like what I am doing is something good. I’m playing the long game, and sometimes that’s more important than trying to squeeze everything out of the present. Sincerely, Ethan Hermann 29Hermann crossing the line. Photo Credit: @johntrannyc

Photo Credits: Kenzie Hayd and Adele Alexander

On the outside, Adele Alexander seemed to be crushing her workouts, running shiny new personal bests, and gaining thousands of followers on her food Instagram (@an.athletes.appetite). Nobody knew what was eating her up on the inside – her unhealthy relationship with food, amenorrhea, and her lack of body confidence. As long as she was running fast and scoring high in meets, none of these issues seemed to matter. She thought it was just part of being a “normal” female distance runner.! When Alexander finally reached out for the help she needed, she realized how normalized under-fueling, body dysmorphia, and amenorrhea are in the running world. She wanted to be a part of changing the conversation. It was time to confront the societal standards and pressures that women like her face in the sport of running.! Becoming a runner started for Alexander in middle school in her small town of Merrimack, New Hampshire. At first, she didn’t even like running that much, but once she got to high school, Alexander started to realize how passionate she was about the sport. AA: I think I fell in love with the aspects of running that included working hard for both yourself and the team, as well as how friendly and supportive everyone is in the sport. When running started to become more serious for Alexander, so did the issues she was dealing with off the track.! AA: I started to get more committed to running during my sophomore year, but at the same time I was underfueling and I didn’t even know it. I was hitting really fast times but I was also having the worst year of high school because my mental health was not in a good place. During this time, Alexander managed to lower her cross country personal best time from 19:50 to 18:50 while also snagging other fast times on the track. Since she kept running personal bests and climbing the NH cross country rankings, it was easy to ignore how underweight she was, her lack of energy, and how little she was eating. Alexander strived to have a “runner’s body” because that is what she thought she needed to be fast, thanks to society’s toxic messages of diet culture. Since her patterns at the time were helping her to produce speedy times on the track and the trails, the anxiety of starting a whole new lifestyle and relationship with food was terrifying. If my current habits are working, why change? She often asked herself. It was not until her mother intervened that she knew something was wrong, and even then, Alexander was in denial for a while.!! After working with doctors and with the support of her family, Alexander was able to start developing a healthy relationship with food. One where she has realized the power of fueling, which has helped her to maintain longevity and sustainability within the sport.!! AA: Underfueling, I have noticed, is so common in the running world, even just with all sports and society in general. I had never heard 31Behind the Jersey By Carley Crain **TW: This article discusses underfueling, the Female Athlete Triad, and other potentially triggering topics**Alexander making pizza. Photo Credit: Adele Alexander

that be talked about before I went into high school really. If I have taken anything from all my experiences, it's that I want to help others with this, which is why I am so glad I started my food Instagram. Alexander is still dealing with some repercussions from her old patterns of under-fueling. At 18 years old, she has yet to have a normal, healthy period every month while also suffering from a lack of bone growth. Alexander was diagnosed with the Female Athlete Triad (FAT), defined as “the combination of disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis.”!Even though it is often not talked about, many females in the running world deal with aspects of the FAT due to overtraining and under-fueling. In fact, according to Runtothefinish.com, around 27% of exercising women deal with two out of the three symptoms of the FAT, and less than 9% of practicing doctors recognize and treat these symptoms.!Alexander soon realized she was not alone with her FAT struggles. She decided to post her experiences on her food Instagram, and she quickly started to receive messages from other runners who have shared similar experiences. For so long, Alexander felt isolated and alone with her unhealthy relationship with food. Her food Instagram was the start of something so much bigger than she had ever imagined.!AA: I feel like I have joined such a big community of like-minded people that have a lot of great core values. It’s crazy to me because I have now gone on runs with people I’ve met through my food Instagram and we have done some meetups. Seeing people at meets too is really reassuring my passion for my food Instagram. Even though she can now say confidently that she has a good relationship with food, she is still battling low iron and ferritin, which makes running that much more tiring. She is currently in the process of increasing her iron and ferritin levels, while still training for the upcoming cross country season. Low iron levels are very prevalent in runners and according to Runnersworld.com, “Iron deficiency is extremely common among endurance athletes like runners, impacting up to 17 percent of male and 50 percent of female endurance athletes.” AA: I have to be willing to accept that some days will be harder than others and I have to adapt when that happens. Sometimes I am just way more tired than I should be. Instead of beating myself up over it, I just have to know that my body is having a tough time right now and that I will be able to adapt to it. Alexander is now preparing for her first-ever collegiate cross country season at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. As a newcomer to the college scene, she has some big goals both on and off track, with one being expanding her food page and continuing to share her passion for fueling with others.!Alexander certainly has had her up’s and down’s with the sport thus far, but she has never felt more connected to her Kbody than she does now. Instead of denying what her body needs, she now intuitively listens, showing gratefulness for everything that her body does. She may not have the long skinny legs or the” ideal” lean figure that has been deemed “perfect” for females runners, but she knows that doesn’t make her any less of a runner. She has learned to believe that she belongs on the starting line just as much as anybody else, no matter what she looks like. 32Alexander and Marist teammates. Photo Credit: Adele Alexander

Photo Credits: Joe Hale, @jkhphoto; Cortney White, @cortneywhite_

Earlier this summer, Joan Hunter announced that she would be accepting the head coaching position of Tinman Elite left open by previous coach Tom Schwartz. The mother of Tinman runner Drew Hunter, and former Loudoun Valley High School, VA track coach, Hunter brings years of experience and a fresh outlook on training and injury prevention to Tinman Elite.! The Oval caught up with Hunter to learn more about her journey to Tinman and her goals for the Boulder, CO based group.! TO: How did you find yourself taking on this coaching position?! JH: When Drew [Hunter] decided he was looking to make a coaching change early this spring, he had come to me and asked if I would be willing to write his training and work with him. He was frustrated with his injuries so I agreed to help him out. After talking further with his teammates, they all decided they wanted to make a change, as a group.! I wasn’t necessarily looking at this as a permanent thing, I was in Virginia coaching high school and thought we would just take it as it comes. As I started writing the training and trying to get guys back to health because quite a few of them were injured at the time, I really started enjoying it.! It was a pretty stressful time, there was a lot of negative attention online directed toward the decision to change coaching.! TO: As you’re designing training plans, how do you take into account individual needs like injury recovery?! JH: I look at things and figure out ‘what can we do to help these guys recover better from their training?’ One thing I’ve changed is we’ve moved to a 10-day training cycle, which gives them more recovery days between each big workout and their long run. That was sort of an experiment that we started this spring with the guys that were still racing and it’s been pretty successful. Everyone seems to like it, and we haven’t had any new injuries.! We’re trying to find the right support to keep individuals healthy, and I think that’s becoming pretty effective as well.! TO: What are the pillars of your training philosophy?! JH: My training philosophy is very similar to their previous coach, Tom Schwartz, because he was a mentor to me in the coaching realm for a long time. I understand what his philosophy was and I had incorporated that into my years as a coach of a pretty elite high school team.! Over the years, I’ve added a lot of things that weren’t really in the Tinman training. I have a 34Q&A with Tinman Elite Coach Joan Hunter Hunter in a Tinman shirt. Photo Credit: Joe Hale, @jkhphoto

pretty big emphasis on daily injury prevention work, mobility work, and dynamic warmups and making sure that’s incorporated in their routines on a regular basis. I think that’s going to make a difference as far as keeping guys healthy. You have to do the little things.! I’m kind of a control freak about a lot of things, I want things done right, I like to have my eyes on the athletes a lot. That is something that is new for these guys.! TO: What has the transition been like from coaching a high school team to now coaching a professional group?! JH: It’s been great. We have ten guys on the team right now, and I’m still working with Jeff Thies as well. It’s very manageable to me. I don’t find it overwhelming at all to look at each guy and tweak things based on the kind of runner they are or how their recovery works. We wear Whoop bands so when I get up in the morning I can check and see how they’re doing. If someone got five hours of sleep, I can advise them to be cautious during a workout or whatever they need.! After having a lot of high school kids, I find it very manageable. I couldn’t monitor each high schooler super individually, but I would make sure to watch them all at practice or during a workout and would definitely change things up on the spot if I noticed someone struggling.! TO: How has it been coaching your son, in addition to coaching an all-male team?! JH: Honestly, when I started helping these guys out I didn't really think much about the fact that there aren’t many women coaching at an elite level. It didn’t really faze me. I’ve always been very comfortable coaching boys, I coached Drew through high school and I thought that went very well. Tom [Schwartz] took up Drew’s coaching senior year, but I was still coaching him at his practices every day. Drew has matured over the last five years a lot, and we have good communication and he really wanted me to coach him.! We want to add women to Tinman. Our guys are kind of all over the place right now with summer competition, but I think now is the time to make a move to add women to the group. People are getting settled back in to start their fall build-up, so we hope to add two or three women in the coming months. I’m really excited about it.! TO: Looking forward to the upcoming year, what are some overall goals you have for the group?! JH: A lot of my goals are more process-focused at this point. We have to enjoy our training and running, the thing that made us all get into this sport is really loving what we’re doing. After the stressful spring season we had, my main goal is to get everyone back to loving what they’re doing and I think we’re getting there.! Right now, Reed Fischer is training for the Chicago Marathon in October. What I’ve done is taken Reed’s marathon training and adapted it for the guys to start getting ready for a fall season. We’re going to look at the fall Iike a cross country season, even though there aren’t a ton of races. We will hopefully do one or two cross country races. Sound Running is putting on a cool meet at Mt. Sac in December and a lot of our guys will do that.! We’re really just focused on getting ready for next year which is a big year for championship meets.! 35Hunter leads the team. Photo Credit: Joe Hale, @jkhphoto