Today on the podcast, I’m excited to share my conversation with American record holder Weini Kelati. She recently ran 66:09, breaking her own American record in the half marathon at the Houston Half Marathon, where she placed second. Weini is an absolute force in distance running, and I can’t wait to see what she does next. Can you even imagine what will happen when she finally lines up for her first marathon? There are so many exciting things ahead for her career.

Weini was the 10,000 meter champion at the Olympic Trials last summer, and she went on to place eighth in the 10,000 at the Olympics. She’s an Under Armour athlete, coached and represented by Stephen Haas, and trains with the Dark Sky Distance group in Flagstaff.

In 2014, when she was just 17 years old, Weini traveled from her home country of Eritrea to Eugene, Oregon, to compete in the 3,000 meters at the World Junior Championships. After the race, she made the decision to stay in the U.S. She found a place to live in Leesburg, Virginia, and went on to finish high school, all while running for her high school team, getting a job, and learning English—all completely independently at just 17. She then went on to run for the University of New Mexico, where she won the 2019 NCAA Cross-Country Championship.

I have to say, this conversation is not long enough to cover Weini’s entire journey, but she’s been through a lot and has worked incredibly hard to get where she is today. I can’t wait for her to write a book one day because it’s going to be an amazing story. Anyway, I hope you’re as excited as I am to hear this conversation. Big thanks to Stephen Haas and his agency for making this happen. Enjoy the conversation!

What we talked about:

3:00- Breaking her own American Record in Houston

10:35- Looking ahead to the half marathon championships

14:00- Racing different distances and how fast of times are being run in women’s track right now

17:55- Reflections on this past summer winning the Olympic Trials and making the Olympics

22:10- Moving to the US

33:00- Training with Under Armour

42:00- Her family

49:00- Favorite distances to race

54:00- End of podcast questions

Show notes:

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