In this race report, get the inside story on how the Cherry Blossom 10-mile USATF national championship played out from the perspective of elite amateur racer Amber Zimmerman.

Amber, who races for the Tracksmith amateur support program, has been in this sport for a long, long time. But as she herself has said on many occasions, she feels like up through her college career, she was performing at a subpar level. She moved into triathlon for a little while after graduation and has similar feelings about her performances in that sport, even though she was entering into the pro ranks.

In 2021, Amber had a difficult year, and then she decided to change things up: she recommitted to running, reassessed her work life balance and how she was training; and changed her mental and emotional approach to the sport. And that has really shifted things.

Amber saw her first big result come at the end of last year, with a big win at the Philly Marathon. She has her sights on being ready to throw down at the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials next February, and is gearing up by putting herself in the action at top races this year. Her strong, determined performance at this 10-miler is testament that Amber is on an excellent trajectory.

Mentioned in this episode

Fast Women article about Amber Zimmerman: https://fast-women.org/2022/11/27/amber-zimmerman-slows-down-to-run-fast/

Amber on Twitter: https://twitter.com/atothezphd

Amber on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.to_the.z/

Photo credit: Clay Shaw

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