American Marathon Record Podcast: Keira D’Amato and Deena Kastor
By LetsRun.com
January 18, 2022
American marathoning fans, it does not get any better than this – the last two American record holder in the marathon coming together to pay their respects to one another and have a changing of the guard.
Keira D’Amato, the new American record holder in the marathon, fresh off her 2:19:12 in Houston, and Deena Kastor, who held the record for 15 years and was voted the female US distance GOAT by you, joined us for a LIVE edition of LetsRun.com Track Talk on Wednesday night, January 19, 2022.
Keira’s story is amazing and Deena is a legend in the sport, so we decided to get them together and let American distance fans interact with them live. Thankfully for us — and for all of you — they agreed.
We recommend the whole thing below.
You can watch in the YouTube player below or on other LetsRun.com social channels.
Highlights (with timestamps)
1:25 Deena called Keira after Sunday’s race to congratulate her on breaking the AR — just as Joan Benoit Samuelson did for Deena in London in 2003
6:13 Deena on holding the record for 18 years and whether she was surprised it was broken in Houston: “I knew time was ticking. It was time.”
8:54 Keira on her struggles during the race in Houston and putting on her “big girl pants” to fight through them and get the record
16:45 Keira on the advantages she has training and racing in 2022 that was not available a generation ago
18:48 Keira describes her 3:49 marathon debut at the 2013 Missoula Marathon and what her running looked like from 2014-17
27:25 Deena on how supershoes are allowing athletes to extend their careers: “the foam technology that all the shoes are using right now are really helping people stay injury-free, get in more miles without sustaining injuries”
28:58 Will Keira give up real estate after her American record bonus for Houston?
32:35 The incredible story of Keira and Deena’s first meeting
37:35 How Keira responds when doubters suggest she might be doping
44:53 Keira on her next goal in the sport
46:57 Keira explains the support she gets at home from Team D’Amato
52:24 Keira on her coach Scott Raczko and why they work well together
59:28 Keira and Deena share their hardest workouts ever