Ali on the Run Show episode 843. Molly Seidel, On Returning to the New York City Marathon
Molly Seidel will run the TCS New York City Marathon — her first marathon in two years. But the Molly who will be lining up in Staten Island this year is very different from the fresh-off-earning-an-Olympic-bronze-medal Molly who ran it in 2021. (Her 2:24:42 is still the fastest time run by an American woman in NYC.)
In this conversation, Molly talks about the highs from the past few years, including that fourth-place finish in New York City in 2021 and an eighth-place finish and personal best (2:23:07) at the Chicago Marathon in 2023. She also talks about the lows, including what was going on behind the scenes during those races, injuries, mental health struggles, and sponsorship changes.
She offers updates on her new coach (Left Jonathan Green's track club in May 2025), her new home base in Austin, Texas, her new lesbian relationship, and her new relationship with running, and talks all about her training (only threshold (no repeat workouts) in the first 6 months in Flagstaff), mindset, and goals for race day in New York City as it leads to February 2028 Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles.
Actually drugs is probably exactly WHY she is turning to Ultras. Didn't she have issues with getting a TUE for her ADHD meds or something? No drug testing in Ultras.
Do you think she’s taking running ultras that seriously? None of the races listed by the OP offer prize money.
Prize money is minimal in ultras, and many top tier races don’t offer it. The money is in endorsements.
Ultras rule! Before covid I was mostly a Marathon runner with an Ultra once and while. Covid. Shutdown! Masks! (LOL). 6 feet, meh, toilet paper, and driving alone with a mask (LOL) on. Crazy! Races cancelled. Early June a 50K went off in a neighboring state. Then the flood gates open for races in my state and nearby states, all Ultras. I did several, everything went fine. I was out living and traveling, others were hiding. I was racing, others were running virtual "races" (training run, not a race). Yeah Ultras! The aid stations! The friendly people! The mix of people, lots of older runners especially at fixed timed events. I will run an Ultra on Saturday. Good times.
Big news coming from Molly today. She's raced on the trails in the past - but it looks like her focus will be on ultras after NYC. Black Canyon 100k in February and then Javelina 100 Mile in October 2026. Long term goal is Western States in 2027.
There's a detailed article from TrainingPeaks on this that looks at her training for NYC with her new coach as well.
If nothing else, LRC's own Sage C has shown that this transition is not that easy.
comparing sage's road running "career" to molly's is disgusting
molly is an olympic medalist. sage was barely sub-elite.
hope molly does well. she has her quirks and issues but ultimately seems like a decent person. wish her the best in this transition, would love to see her take the 100-mile record down the road
Is this the first time that an Olympic Marathon medalist has switched to ultras? If she dominates the competition, this could be huge for the Ultra-Haters of letsrun.
I think one of the reasons for the hate is that true world class runners typically don't run ultras. When they do they do very well. As a permanent move this may open it up to more which would add legitimacy to ultras.
She was just on the Ali on the Run podcast. She said she is going to focus on trails in 2026, but still plans to do a mix of marathons and ultras. She is seeing how the next few years go, but still plans to try to make the LA Olympic team. So she’s not fully moving on from the marathon after this. She said she isn’t fully prepared for NYC as she basically took all of 2024 off of running. Says she would be happy running under 2:30 and feeling not completely toast at the end of the race. She seems to be in a lot better place both physically and mentally.
Molly has a PR of around 2:25. The WR is around 3 miles faster. Is she fast?
2:23:07
She has an Olympic bronze medal. She won the HS nationals in xc, and the college.
When she was on her game, she was a fantastic runner.
But she's also battled eating disorders, overtraining etc. We've seen it before with Hall, Salazar, Hasay though. Once the body gets wrecked, often you are totally totally done.
She's done as a regular pro runner so this is smart if she wants to continue to be a pro runner?
Can she remain somewhat relevants in ultra scene where there is way less competition? Maybe. I honestly have no idea.
I do think her stubborness / desire would fit well in the ultra world from a mental standpoint once the gun goes off but I have little confidence in her ability to stay healthy.
But you don't have to be 'fast' to be great at ultras. Courtney Dauwalter just ran like 2:49 in the marathon, right? I mean how many women in the world are there training full time for ultras? 10? 20?
Ali on the Run Show episode 843. Molly Seidel, On Returning to the New York City Marathon
Molly Seidel will run the TCS New York City Marathon — her first marathon in two years. But the Molly who will be lining up in Staten Island this year is very different from the fresh-off-earning-an-Olympic-bronze-medal Molly who ran it in 2021. (Her 2:24:42 is still the fastest time run by an American woman in NYC.)
In this conversation, Molly talks about the highs from the past few years, including that fourth-place finish in New York City in 2021 and an eighth-place finish and personal best (2:23:07) at the Chicago Marathon in 2023. She also talks about the lows, including what was going on behind the scenes during those races, injuries, mental health struggles, and sponsorship changes.
She offers updates on her new coach (Left Jonathan Green's track club in May 2025), her new home base in Austin, Texas, her new lesbian relationship, and her new relationship with running, and talks all about her training (only threshold (no repeat workouts) in the first 6 months in Flagstaff), mindset, and goals for race day in New York City as it leads to February 2028 Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles.
She's a lesbian now? And isn't Notre Dame a catholic school? So their 2 best runners in history are both gay? I'm not religious but I know the Bible.