Molly Huddle has long been a force to be reckoned with as an elite runner. As a strong advocate for up and coming female runners, her new book seeks to help women of all ages navigate the barriers to success in the sport.
As a two time Olympian and one of the greatest American distance runners in history, today’s guest needs no introduction. Molly Huddle is the current American record holder in the 10k, and has set national records in the 20k and half marathon. She represented the United States in the 2012 London Olympics in the 5k, and set the American 10k record in 2016 in Rio. Molly has also found success at the marathon distance, earning a 3rd place finish in her debut marathon in NYC.
In 2020, Molly Huddle and I talked on the podcast about training through COVID. She has maintained her longevity in the sport by balancing her fiery competitiveness with a focus on staying healthy.
But this week, Molly is here to discuss her passion for the women’s running community and the completion of her book with coauthor Sara Slattery called How She Did It: Stories, Advice, and Secrets to Success from 50 Legendary Distance Runners.
Molly Huddle on How She Did It
Molly and Sara’s book has been a long time coming – what began as an idea discussed on a run in 2019 has finally come to fruition. Their book seeks to educate and inspire young women who run as well as those who work with them, including parents and coaches.
Although running can be empowering for many individuals, young women often face more barriers than their male counterparts that lead to a high dropout rate in puberty and beyond. While all the women featured in the book have found success with running, their commonality is that none of them had a straight trajectory to reaching their goals. Rather, they were fortunate to have support systems in place that every woman can benefit from to navigate the roller coaster of puberty.
On this week’s episode of the podcast, Molly and I discuss a number of topics related to her new book and to the subject of women’s running, including:
- The Footlocker curse and how we can work towards breaking the trend
- The obstacles that prevent young women from reaching their potential in the sport
- Commonalities between elite women distance runners
- The four areas of health that are most important for young, female distance runners.
- Navigating the ups and downs of running in the age of social media
Our discussion and Molly’s new book is sure to inspire you!
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Thank You InsideTracker!
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