Emma Kertesz is training for her second Olympic Trials in the marathon and just finished up her masters in early childhood education. She says she likes to have a lot of irons in the fire and that seems like a lot right there to me. She came to my attention through her boyfriend, Noah Droddy who has been a returning guest on the podcast. They were in town for the holidays so we were able to do this podcast in person from my couch and it was so fun to really connect with Emma!

An Ohio native, Emma ran for the University of Toledo and was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame for both her high school and college teams! Post college she went to run with the Hansons-Brooks team and we talk about her transition from college to Pro running, to still running at a high level, but also pursuing her masters and not running for her job. She is currently waiting to hear back from P.h.D programs and is excited to work to better her place at the Olympic Trials from what she placed in 2016 – 39th!

In this episode we also talk about Emma walking through depression and bi-polar disorder and she opens up about a time when she went in for help when she was at an all time low. I think it’s so important to talk about these things and I hope that even one person listening feels a little less alone and that they too can go ask for help.

Thank you Emma for sharing your story and best of luck at the trails!!

Starvation Heights – Gregg Olsen

Me Talk Pretty One Day – David Sedaris

Emma’s Blog – The Boy Behind the Door

The Brain and Research Foundation

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