271. Rebecca Mehra, Professional Middle-Distance Runner

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Health & Fitness, Fitness, Sports, Running

4.9 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 August 2020

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"I got to this point where I had to tell myself that I deserve to be there and I deserve to be on the starting line, and say, 'You are good enough, you've put in the work, you've put in the training.' My motto was 'Just give it a go.'"

Rebecca Mehra is a professional middle-distance runner for Oiselle's Little Wing team, where she's coached by Lauren Fleshman. Earlier this year, Rebecca became a household name when she Tweeted about helping an elderly couple grocery shop at the onset of the pandemic — and that story went viral. Rebecca is an incredibly talented runner, but her life off the track is as compelling as her fast 1500m times. When she's not running, Rebecca is involved in public policy: She's the special assistant to the mayor in Bend, OR, and is the campaign manager for two local candidates. On this episode, Rebecca talks about going pro, getting political, going viral, and growing up in a biracial family (she's the daughter of an Indian immigrant father and a Jewish mother from Long Island) in California.

Thank you to AfterShokz for sponsoring this episode of the Ali on the Run Show! CLICK HERE for 15% off all wireless headphones.

What you'll get on this episode:

What it's like training with Lauren Fleshman, and how and why Rebecca joined Oiselle's Little Wing team (8:30)
On the idea of balance vs. going all-in (15:00)
What does it mean being special assistant to the mayor of Bend? (18:45)
Rebecca talks about her family, her childhood, and going viral earlier this year (24:40)
The full story behind Rebecca's recent blog post for Oiselle, and what it was like growing up biracial (37:30)
"The electrocution incident," and what Rebecca's running looks like right now (52:00)

What we mention on this episode:

Jenny Simpson on Episode 268 of the Ali on the Run Show

Elle Purrier on Episode 210 of the Ali on the Run Show

Lauren Fleshman on Episode 103 of the Ali on the Run Show

"Mixed + Passing — Let's Talk About Race," by Rebecca Mehra for Oiselle

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of The Alley on the Run Show is brought to you by Aftershocks.
0:04.2	Go to ontherun.aftershocks.com to save 15% on all wireless headphones.
0:14.7	Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show.
0:16.8	I'm your host Allie Feller, and every week I talk with inspiring people
0:21.2	who lead interesting lives on the run and beyond.
0:24.4	And while running is the thing that brings us all together, on these episodes,
0:27.9	we cover more than what happens on the run.
0:30.4	We learn the why's behind the runs.
0:32.9	The decisions people have made to get where they are today and how getting sweaty has factored in.
0:38.5	My guest today is Rebecca Mara.
0:41.0	That name sounds familiar.
0:42.6	It might be because you know her as a professional middle-distance runner
0:46.4	who runs with Wazel's little wing team under the coaching of Lauren Flushman.
0:51.6	Or you may be thinking, Rebecca Mara, I know that name,
0:56.4	because she went viral earlier this year when it was a few weeks into the pandemic and she
1:01.2	helped an elderly couple with their grocery shopping.
1:04.6	That's just who Rebecca is.
1:06.4	She's a fierce, fast professional runner.
1:09.5	Yes, but she's so much more than that.
1:12.3	In addition to being so kind and so smart,
1:15.4	Rebecca is also involved in public policy work in Bend, Oregon.
1:19.6	She's the special assistant to the mayor in Bend and she has spent many long days
	...

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