107 | Elite Marathoner Maegan Krifchin: Trust in Yourself

The Injured Athletes Club

“At this point, it’s knowing the warning signs and when you can keep pressing on the gas and when you're kind of like, ah, I gotta, I gotta step on the brakes a little bit … If you've been unlucky and had an injury, you kind of know what it felt, what it feels like, whatever led up to it. You can think, ‘Ooh, this is similar. So maybe I just want to take a day or two off and go in the pool or do some kind of cross training just so I don't repeat history.”

Pro marathoner (and full-time occupational therapist) Maegan Krifchin had a pretty incredible fall last year. After what was, in her mind, a suboptimal performance at the New York City Marathon Nov. 6, she finished two more marathons in the span of 30 days—each faster than the last. On Dec. 4, she ran a personal-best 2:29:21 for seventh place at the California International Marathon in Sacramento. And she’s run four more since, including winning the Vermont City Marathon on May 28.

On this week’s episode, Maegan points out that it’s taken years of hard work to get strong enough for such a feat—and her lengthy running career hasn’t been only PRs and podiums. She’s had her fair share of injuries, including a hamstring pull less than 10K into the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials. But she’s learned from the setbacks and victories alike, and she has many lessons to share with other runners too, about everything from prehab to nutrition to adjusting your mindset about cross-training.

Resources/links:

• Maegan’s Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook page
• The Runner’s World article Cindy wrote about her back-to-back-to-back marathons

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