700. Jess McClain's 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Recap

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Fitness, Sports, Running, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2024

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"I had the time of my life out there. I soaked it all in."

So often, the fourth-place finisher at any given Olympic Trials is the most devastated of the day. The person who came closest to the podium, and was the first not to make the team. But at this year's U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon, Jess McClain changed the narrative. The self-coached, unsponsored, agent-less runner shocked fans with her fourth-place finish and four-minute personal best, finishing in 2:25:46. In this conversation, Jess — who is the executive director of the Love Up Foundation and is a freelance marketing consultant — talks about how she made it happen.

FOLLOW JESS @jesstonn

SPONSORS:

goodr: Click here and use code ALI for free shipping.
Sidekick: Click here to get 15% off any recovery tool.

What you'll get on this episode:

Jess's emotions a few days post-Trials (2:55)
On Jess's approach to the Trials (4:45)
Does Jess want a coach, an agent, a sponsor? (7:20)
Jess's snapshot moment from the day (11:30)
How the race played out (22:15)
When Jess knew she was in fourth place (29:00)
What it means to be the official Team USA alternate (30:40)
How Jess trained for the Trials (36:20)
On Jess's work with the Love Up Foundation (38:55)
What Jess decided to wear on race day (44:15)
How Jess found the confidence to go for it (50:35)

Follow Ali:

SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to the Alley on the Run show. I'm your host
0:07.0	Ali Feller and every week I talk with people who are doing
0:10.1	exciting things on the run and beyond.
0:13.0	From professional athletes and celebrity runners
0:15.6	to the everyday amateur and back of the pack runner,
0:18.5	we are here to celebrate everyone and anyone
0:21.6	who enjoys a life on the run.
0:23.0	Whether you're running towards something big or away from something that has been
0:26.8	holding you back, I am here to hold your hand and help you pick up the pace.
0:31.0	Today, another U.S. Olympic Team Child's Marathon episode. By now, it is very
0:36.8	likely that you've heard from fourth place finisher, Jess McClain, on about a dozen or so other
0:42.3	podcasts.
0:43.7	Jess and I recorded this right after the race,
0:45.9	but I've been trying to space these episodes out for you.
0:48.2	So at long last, Jess McLean's episode
0:51.1	is here on the Alley on the Run show.
0:54.0	Jess's story gained a ton of traction at the trials and for good reason.
0:58.8	First, she finished fourth.
1:01.2	And she was so excited about that. So often the fourth place
1:04.5	finisher is the most devastated of the day. It's the person just off the
1:08.1	podium, the first person to miss out on making Team USA. But for Jess, who that day became the official Team Alternate, the day was a huge
1:17.3	win and a great success. She ran a four minute personal best finishing in two hours, 25 minutes and 46 seconds who ran the race without a shoe
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ali Feller, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ali Feller and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.