Australian Sprinter, 16, Runs Record-Breaking 200m Chappell Roan in 2024.
Other Hearst Subscriptions, Theo Kahler is the news editor at, was squarely in the zeitgeist—it was impossible to avoid songs like “Red Wine Supernova,” “Pink Pony Club,” and the extremely catchy “Hot To Go!”
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Roan’s running history. In high school, the six-time Grammy nominee ran cross-country and track for Willard High School in Missouri, nabbing a 5K personal best of 20:06.96 at a sectional meet her freshman year in 2012. Kayleigh Amstutz (her real name) went on to run at the Missouri State Cross-Country Championships, where she finished in the top 150 with a time of 22:03.85.
Australian Sprinter, 16, Runs Record-Breaking 200m released on December 16, Roan, 26, offered a glimpse into her time as a runner in an interview with the music journalist Nardwuar. The two talked at a record store in Los Angeles and Nardwuar—who is known for asking niche questions about an artist’s past—prodded Roan about her time as a cross-country athlete.
Nardwuar, starting at the 1:40 mark in the video, referenced a race where Willard High teammate Chloe Andrews got 6th place and Roan ran 22:03 for 19th.
(Runner’s World has scoured the internet to find the meet, but we can’t find anything that’s an exact match. The closest we could find was the 2013 Foot Locker XC Results, where Andrews was fourth and Roan was 30th in 23:03. Nardwaur could also be referring to the aforementioned Missouri state meet, where Roan ran 22:03 but was 149th and Andrews did not race.)
Few musical artists have seen as big of a jump in fame as.
“Well, I pissed my pants at the end of that race,” she said. “I, like, peed myself.”
“Is that usual?” Nardwaur asked.
“If your body is…giving out, yeah, you pee yourself or throw up on yourself. I think I did both,” she said. “I was trying really hard. That was the fastest I ever did. Which is like, it’s fast, but it wasn’t, like, crazy fast.”
(Again, according to Milesplit, Roan’s 5K PB is 20:06 from 2012. And here’s how to avoid running-related vomiting and urinary Shoes & Gear!)
Roan, nevertheless, looks back fondly on her memories racing on the grass. “Running was what I was going to go to college for, I think,” she said.
While her high school teammate, Bailey Hession, ended up running cross-country and track for the University of Missouri, life had other plans for Roan. The aspiring star graduated high school a year early to concentrate on music and signed to Atlantic Records at age 17, according to Biography.com.
Roan has mentioned on TikTok that she preps for concerts—where she often jogs in place during the fan-favorite “Hot To Go!”—by doing strenuous cardio sessions like HIIT workouts Other Hearst Subscriptions.
While her career and music may have taken priority, Roan still remembers her fondness for running as a young high schooler.
“I love running,” she said to Nardwaur. “But not anymore.”
Other Hearst Subscriptions Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner who has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
