“Ultimately, for that Orlando race, that was more about getting my feet wet a little bit and seeing how the distance felt. Now that I know how it feels, I know that I can push harder.”

My guest for today's episode is Amanda Vestri. She's a professional runner for Brooks who trains with Zap Endurance. She's a rising star on the U.S. distance running scene who just made a stunning half marathon debut at the Orlando Half this past weekend with a blazing 1:18:12 performance that puts her at No. 13 on the U.S. all-time women's half marathon list and sets the stage for what could be an incredible road racing career ahead for her.

Amanda's path to this milestone hasn't been smooth after an injury disrupted her training just weeks before her debut. She pivoted her plans and showed remarkable adaptability and determination to test herself in Orlando. The positives for 2024 outweigh the negatives. She ran a 31:10 personal best for 10K on the track. She was the top American at the NYRR Mini 10K. Over the summer, she signed a pro contract and then took fifth at the US Olympic trials 10,000m final on the track.

In this episode, we discuss her breakthrough 2024 season and unpack some of her aspirations for Houston and beyond. We also look back at what spurred her passion to someday become a professional runner and then follow her long term vision of making the U.S. Olympic Marathon team for Los Angeles in 2028. 

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram

Guest: Amanda Vestri | @a_vestri

Time stamps:

4:20 - Reflections on her 2024 season

7:21 - How her training has evolved throughout the year

9:58 - Details on her training group (Zap Endurance)

14:33 - Plans on chasing standards + U.S. teams

17:44 - Thoughts on racing the 10K

19:52 - Her transition to the roads

24:46 - Her path to elite running 

27:32 - Reflections on her college career at Iowa State + Syracuse

34:33 - How she handled getting COVID leading into the Olympic Trials

36:51 - Signing with Brooks during the Trials

40:24 - Breaking down the Olympic Trials 10,000m

45:29 - Half marathon being an underrated distance

51:13 - Details on some of her workouts + long runs 

54:36 - Breaking down the race

56:33 - Goals for the Houston Half

59:34 - Fueling during the race 

1:02:21 - Thoughts on moving up to the marathon 

1:06:51 - Goals looking ahead to 2025

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