The Path to Going Pro: How Annie Rodenfels Went from D3 to Elite Runner
The Strength Running Podcast
Jason Fitzgerald
4.7 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 14 August 2025
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Andrea (Annie) Rodenfels is a 7x All-American in the steeplechase and 5,000m, national champion, Drake Relays 3,000m steeplechase champion, and 2x Olympic Trials qualifier.
Annie is also one of the few pro runners to come from a Division III school. In this episode, we discuss her path to going pro:
- The evolution of her career from college to now
- Her experience with the new pro team Meridia
- How she trains today (mileage levels, long runs, etc.)
- Her approach to double workouts in one day
- How she manages energy and caffeine for 8:30pm races
- A lot more!
You can support her team Meridia by registering for their virtual mile here!
Resources:
- More info about Merida from Colleen Quigley
- Training & Coaching programs
- SR's strength series
Thank you Avelo!
Avelo is the world's smartest running shoe created by a team of ex-Nike engineers. I'm so excited by Avelo that I've been advising them for nearly two years. And the market has spoken - they raised over $100,000 on Kickstarter on their very first day because they're doing something unique.
Embedded in their bouncy, lightweight Supertrainer is a sensor that measures impact and your running form, showing you how much force your body is experiencing and when during your run your form starts deteriorating. This gives you incredible insights into your unique form, how it changes, and when it breaks down so you better understand your injury risk and when you get fatigued.
The shoes never need to be charged and you can reuse the sensor in each pair of Avelo's. Their app gives you real-time coaching that I had a lot of input on, based on your unique data. They're still available on Kickstarter at 34% off for a very limited time, so get yours today!
Thank you to 2Before!
We are supported by 2Before, a powerful sports supplement made from New Zealand Blackcurrants designed to increase endurance, manage inflammation, support immunity, and promote adaptation. 2Before helps to boost performance by increasing blood flow, making it more efficient for the body to pump oxygenated nutrient-rich blood into the muscles.
Just like beetroot but more effective, blackcurrant berries are vasodilators, helping you get more blood flow to where it's needed.
Boost your performance and immune system with 2before: use code JASON for 30% off 20 packs and multi-serve packs at 2Before.com.
Thank you to 2Before for supporting Strength Running!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Ready, set, go! |
| 0:04.4 | This is episode 419 with National Champion, Olympic Trials, Qualifying Steeple Chaser, |
| 0:11.2 | and member of the new pro-team Meridia, Annie Rodentfels. |
| 0:28.3 | Welcome to the Strength Running podcast. We surround you with the same experts as pro-runners, |
| 0:33.7 | so keep listening to hear coaches, physical therapists, strength experts, dietitians, |
| 0:39.4 | sports psychologists, and other thought leaders give you the best guidance possible to take your running to the next level. I'm your host, coach Jason Fitzgerald. I'm a former cross-country |
| 0:44.5 | and track athlete for Connecticut College. I've been coaching runners since 2010, and I used to |
| 0:50.1 | write for Trail Runner Magazine and Runner's World. Today I'm the head coach of Strength Running, host of this podcast, and I work with a small |
| 0:57.4 | handful of startups in the running space. |
| 0:59.6 | You can learn more about me and Strength Running at Strengthrunning.com. |
| 1:03.9 | Well, my friends, I have seen better days. |
| 1:07.2 | If you saw my recent Instagram story, you'll know that I looked like I got in a fight. I was playing |
| 1:13.1 | wiffle ball with my son, and he drilled a wiffle ball straight into my face. So my right cheek |
| 1:20.9 | is the size that my head used to be. But thankfully, I don't need stitches. And my eye was spared, even though I have an amazing black |
| 1:29.2 | eye right now. So I'll be fully recovered very soon. And even though it hurts to talk a little bit, |
| 1:34.8 | the show must go on. So a big thank you to everyone who reached out. I'm okay. I'll be fine. |
| 1:40.9 | And hopefully my face looks pretty again soon. |
| 1:48.1 | All right, a huge thanks to our brand partners who help make this podcast possible. |
| 1:53.2 | If you get value from the show, please consider supporting them so I can keep publishing episodes. |
| 2:00.4 | We are supported by Avello, the world's smartest running shoe created by a team of ex-Nike engineers. |
| 2:03.2 | I am so excited by Avello that I've been advising them for nearly two years now, and the market has spoken. They raised over |
| 2:09.0 | $100,000 on Kickstarter on their very first day because they're doing something unique. |
... |
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