Professional runner for Brooks Erika Kemp shares how it all went down at the 2024 USATF 10k National Championships, held Sept. 21 in Northport, NY, at the Cow Harbor 10k. This is Kemp's second appearance on WRS, and I am so happy to have her back.

In this episode, Kemp shares what's been happening in her racing and training life this year, leading up to this 10k championship event. This includes training for and racing at two US Olympic Trials, in February and June; taking a much needed break; and returning to training in August. You'll hear how, even without yet being in peak racing fitness, Kemp was able to deliver an incredible 10k performance, and why training and racing with friends and teammates is always a welcome boost.

Erika is a two-time national champion, in the 20k (2021) and 15k (2019), and just last year raced her first marathon: the 2023 Boston Marathon in April. There she ran an incredible 2:33 which qualified her for the 2024 Olympic Trials and made her the fastest American-born Black women to ever run the marathon. With that, Kemp tops The List, an accounting of all the American-born Black women who've broken 3 hours in the marathon.

This story is all about how hard work, year after year, does pay off, and the power of having great support.

This episode is part of the WRS Race Report series. Each episode features a top 10 performer sharing her experience at one of the USATF Road Circuit series of races. And because a race is never just about what happens on race day, you will get to know a little bit more about each one of the runners featured and how this race figures into their larger running story.

The USATF Running Circuit championship series of races happen throughout the US all year long. Each race serves as a national championship for the distance or the type of race being run. The 5k National Championships, the last race of the 2024 series, is next: November 2.

You can catch up on all the Race Reports on our website or on your favorite podcast app.

Keep Up with Erika Kemp

Instagram: @imtinyrik

Erika Kemp's previous WRS episode (pub Mar 6, 2023): womensrunningstories.com/erika-kemp-championships-challenges-and-a-marathon-debut

Previous Women's Running Stories Race Report Episodes: https://womensrunningstories.com/podcast/women-running-stories

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Music Credits

Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh

Rockot, via Pixabay

Coma-Media, via Pixabay

penguinmusic, via Pixabay

chillmore, via Pixabay

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