Jess McClain discusses finishing seventh at the 2025 Boston Marathon, where she ran 2:22:43, was the top American woman, and PRed by 3:03. She discussed hiring David Roche as her coach, as well as some of the training and fueling changes she made leading up to the race.

Jess lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and runs professionally for Brooks. But she also has a full life outside of running. She discussed her work with foster youth and rescue dogs, and how she balances that with her training.

See chapter markers for more episode details.

And if this episode left you wondering about U.S.'s selection procedures for the World Championships marathon, you can read about them here: https://www.flipsnack.com/USATF/2025-world-athletics-championships-marathon-selection-procedures/full-view.html

The Road to Tokyo rankings are here, and you can sort by event and country. https://worldathletics.org/stats-zone/road-to/7190593?eventId=10229534&country=USA

Jess McClain on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesstonn/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

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Emily Infeld, 35, recently set a 10,000m personal best of 30:59.38. Three days later, she unexpectedly got a call asking if she would like to take part in Grand Slam Track's first Slam, in Kingston, Jamaica. She flew out 13 hours later.

Despite the late notice, she held her own, finishing fifth overall and leading the way for the Americans.

Emily won a bronze medal in the 10,000m at the 2015 World Athletics Championships, and she's been through many ups and downs since then. After spending the first 12 years of her professional career as a Nike athlete, she signed with Brooks in January. And she's back to working with her college coach, Chris Miltenberg.

Emily talked about how her training has changed, getting the Grand Slam call (on April Fools' Day no less), and proving herself right.

Emily Infeld on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyinfeld/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

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Sarah Lorge Butler caught up with Ahmed Muhumed shortly after he ran a 53-second personal best of 27:03.19 for 10,000m at The TEN, which puts him seventh on the U.S. all-time list.

Ahmed was born in the Somali region of Ethiopia and moved to Oregon in 2011, when he was 13 years old. Though soccer was his first love, a PE teacher discovered his talent for running and encouraged him to go out for cross country and track. In addition to balancing his academics and athletics, Ahmed worked several jobs throughout high school, which was a tough balance at times.

He ran collegiately for Boise State and Florida State, and finished 20th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, but his accomplishments weren't quite enough for him to earn a contract right out of college. At first, he tried balancing work with post-collegiate running. But when he found himself nearly being chased down by a high schooler in a race, he knew something had to change.

He quit his job and moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, with his savings. He began working out with athletes who were faster than him, and it didn't take long for his hard work to pay off. In September, 2023, he signed a professional contract with HOKA NAZ Elite.

Ahmed Muhumed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahmedmuhumed14/

The 2016 Runner's World article about him, from when he was in high school: https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a20796173/a-rookie-pacer-causes-a-collision-but-sportsmanship-wins-the-day/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!