Molly Huddle allowed herself a moment to celebrate—just a moment. On July 10, she became the first American woman to win the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the same Olympic Trials. She led both races wire-to-wire and finished each one with a last lap that her competitors couldn’t match. Huddle Its her second trip to the Games. She spoke with and the 5,000 in 15:05. Including the first round of the 5K and the finals of both events, she raced 50 laps in nine days.
“I definitely took a minute to be like, ‘Okay, we have great women right now [in U.S. distance running] and I somehow managed to finish in first in both races, and that was amazing,’” Huddle, 31, said in a telephone interview. “And then I just wanted to look right ahead to Rio.”
After that it was back to a few weeks of hard training in Providence, Rhode Island, for Huddle, who is running the 10,000 meters on August 12 at the Olympics. It’s her second trip to the Games. She spoke with Runner’s World Break the distance up into chunks.
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On the track, 10K is 25 laps. Even on the roads, though, it can be hard to stay focused for the 6.2 miles. Huddle advises breaking it up in your mind—and not thinking too far ahead. She focuses on running lap-by-lap if she’s on the track or splitting it into two 5Ks if she’s on the road. “I find when you think too far ahead and you’re already hurting it just kind of feels hopeless at that point,” she said.
Triage a tough race
When a 10K race isn’t going her way—and she admits she hasn’t had much experience with bad races lately—she changes her midrace mindset and establishes what she calls “triage” goals. For example, she says she’ll plan not to let anyone else pass her or she’ll try holding her pace lap over lap and then try to cut 10 seconds off the pace of her final lap.
The payoff for hanging tough? It helps her good races, too. “It’s good to practice that level of perseverance, that toughness,” she said, “just not panicking, basically.”
Work on a kick
Although for Huddle, the foundation of a strong 10K is lots of mileage (including a 16-mile long run) and strength-oriented workouts, she has done some workouts that end in a quicker 400 or 200 meters. She will do her final repeat “close to all out, maybe 90 percent,” she says. If it’s a 400-meter repeat, she’ll try to hit 63 or 65 seconds; for a 200, she’ll aim for 30.
Her husband, Kurt Benninger, who was a middle distance runner at the University of Notre Dame where they met as undergraduates, helps pace her at the end of workouts. He’ll position himself as a competitor and his wife is tries to pass him—or he’ll position himself behind her and she’ll try to hold him off. “He always can win,” Huddle said. “He was a miler, so he’s always going to be faster than me, even if he’s really out of shape.”
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Huddle knows that in order to maximize her abilities, she needs to run. A lot. Cross-training, for her, doesn’t keep her in shape to run to her potential, and she marvels at the way her competitors—like Emily Infeld and Colleen Quigley—were able to make the Olympic team off of pool and elliptiGo workouts. For Huddle, that kind of training isn’t as effective as running.
When she meets with her coach, Ray Treacy, at the end of every racing season—usually November or December—and starts to consult with him about her priorities for the following year, Huddle’s first goal is always the same: Don’t get hurt.
She knows if she digs herself into a hole of exhaustion, she’s more likely to suffer an injury. So Huddle’s not afraid to postpone workouts or modify them, “to make sure I don’t go over that line.” She also trains on a 12-day cycle, with one long run and three workouts every 12 days. She takes two days of easy mileage after each.
Huddle’s last serious injury, requiring significant time off, was in the winter of 2013. Heading to the Games, she’s had three and a half years of consistent training. Running training.
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“I still get nervous,” Huddle said. “Yeah, definitely. Usually the day before is the worst day.”
Racing at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, Huddle was the overwhelming favorite before both her races. She felt as if she was expected to take the lead and set the pace. “It’s hard to grind from the front the whole way and still have [a] kick,” she said. “There’s stress for that.”
In international competition, it’s a different kind of stress: knowing the pace will be fast, she’ll be hanging on, and she’s going to suffer. Her strategy for coping is an old-fashioned talking to herself. The conversation in her head includes reminders such as: “The privilege of competing at this level and at these meets is what I wanted. Racing women this good is going to make me run well. Trying to hang with these women will also get [me] a good result.” She doesn’t think of the worst-case scenarios. Instead, a simple reminder helps with at least some of the nerves: “This is what I like.”
Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World Olympian Elle St. Pierre Is Expecting Second Child, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
