Standing on the beginning line on the 2024 Paris Olympics marathon as a member of Group USA is the second main accomplishment. The primary one comes roughly six months earlier than, when it’s a must to race to earn your spot.
On a scorching and humid morning in Orlando, Fiona O’Keeffe received the Olympic Marathon Trials in 2:22:10. To name it a shocking debut marathon can be an enormous understatement. O’Keefe commanded the lead in a subject of deeply-talented runners with a calm-yet-complete confidence, and received by over 30 seconds.
O’Keeffe, 25, is under no circumstances new to working. (She was a six-time All-American at Stanford College.) However she is new to the extreme highlight that Olympic success usually brings. Fortunately, the Group USA star excels at defending her peace.
“I’ve been with the PUMA Elite Working Group for the final month or so of my coaching buildup in Mammoth Lakes, California, which is one in all my favourite locations on the planet,” O’Keeffe says. “It’s so calming and exquisite to simply spend time exterior right here—there are lovely alpine lakes and forests full of pines and aspens throughout us. I additionally discover it useful to have a pleasant group of teammates up right here, so I’m not consistently pondering of solely my very own preparations.”
The soft-spoken, under-the-radar racer caught up with us forward of her Olympic debut to share a couple of wholesome habits that not solely maintain her stress in test, however maintain her mentally and bodily on prime of her recreation.
Associated Tales
1. She is aware of tips on how to bounce again
Restoration is a large a part of her precise job, particularly throughout a marathon coaching block. So this isn’t a spot that O’Keeffe skimps on. In truth, she’s usually contemplating tips on how to maximize her restoration even whereas working.
“Coaching within the PUMA ForeverRun NITRO and Enlarge NITRO 2 footwear provides my legs just a little further love after they’re feeling drained,” she says. “I additionally get common sports activities massages—not all the time a calming expertise!—and use a foam curler and lacrosse ball to focus on tight spots most days.”
However the piece that makes the largest impression on how she ensures she’s being constructed up quite than overwhelmed down by robust coaching? Prioritizing bedtime.
“Sleep is large for me,” O’Keeffe says. “I all the time have a pair of earplugs and a bodily e-book on my nightstand—I have to learn a bodily e-book at night time to go to sleep.”
2. She finds time to unwind
When she’s not working, there’s a great probability you’ll discover O’Keeffe with a e-book–normally a bodily copy–in hand.
“My style in books is a bit far and wide,” says the voracious reader. “I rotate between classics, enjoyable gentle reads, non-fiction, and memoirs. I not too long ago learn Emily Henry’s Seashore Learn in addition to Lindsey Vonn’s memoir, which was fairly inspirational. At present, I’m working my means via Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls and a Paulo Coelho novel.”
She places her personal pen to paper, too.
“I do a great quantity of journaling,” provides O’Keeffe. “I’d describe it as fairly unstructured. Writing has all the time been a pleasant outlet.”
“Sleep is large for me. I all the time have a pair of earplugs and a bodily e-book on my nightstand—I have to learn a bodily e-book at night time to go to sleep.” —Fiona O’Keeffe
3. She outlets sensible
O’Keeffe may be very enthusiastic about environmental points, and tries to stay extra sustainably and devour extra consciously.
“I positively use a reusable water bottle each day and all the time have it readily available to do my greatest to remain hydrated,” she says. “Nevertheless, I feel the largest means we will stay extra sustainably is to scale back our general consumption quite than specializing in particular merchandise. If there’s a selected fashionable merchandise on social media, I attempt to discern whether or not it might actually be one thing that holds up and that I’d use for a very long time. If not, I attempt to cross on it.”
4. She retains it easy
O’Keeffe is a superb reminder that not sweating the small stuff is an lively selection. Her favourite non-running accent in the intervening time? A pair of sun shades she picked up from the grocery retailer. “They only occurred to suit completely,” she stated. “You’d by no means guess!”
From how she retains her beautiful locks wholesome (“My hair care routine may be very easy—the largest factor will not be washing it too ceaselessly and utilizing a good conditioner on it,” she says) to her pre-race packing record (“I pack in a small black PUMA curler bag—so long as I’ve my uniform, trainers, and a e-book I’m good to go!”), O’Keeffe doesn’t waste vitality worrying about all of the little issues. And because of this, she has extra vitality to care concerning the massive issues, like bringing her greatest 26.2 to the streets of Paris.
You possibly can catch Fiona O’Keeffe competing within the girls’s marathon on August 11. NBCUniversal is the official U.S. broadcaster for the Paris 2024 Summer time Olympics, however you you can even watch O’Keeffe on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, USA Community, CNBC, and E!
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