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After Marathon Trials, Tierney Wolfgram Heading Back To High School Track

Published by
DyeStat.com   Mar 3rd 2020, 4:17pm
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Youngest Competitor At The 2020 US Olympic Team Trials Marathon Shares Her Experience And Next Steps

Story and Photos By Elizabeth Carey for DyeStat

At the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the marathon Saturday in Atlanta, the youngest competitor, Tierney Wolfgram, toughed out wind and hills with a record-deep women’s field. The 16-year-old high school junior at Woodbury High in Minnesota ran 2:42:47 to finish 76th in what she says will be her last marathon. 

That is, she estimates, until she’s at least 22.

Wolfgram raced boldly and ran early miles with the lead pack before falling off the pace.

“I got too excited,” she said after the race.

But that didn’t ruin her day, even as she struggled to get fluids down and battled the elements.

“I about got knocked off my feet so many times because of the wind. I did not expect that. But it was a great experience. I really liked it,” she said. 

Wolfgram is shifting her focus to track and cross country, in search of the team experience in both high school and college.

“I just really want to be with a group of girls, because that’s what I’ve learned here," she said. "The (women) are all nice. You’re competing against each other but they are all trying to lift you up as well. Like when they pass you they tell you to ‘Come on, come on, come on.’ And you need to have to go with them or say ‘Good job, but I can’t.’ I really loved the field here. Everyone was just very motivating the whole time.”

In her first marathon, the 2018 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, Wolfgram ran 2:40:03 and placed sixth overall. Then 15 years old, she led the race through 10k, set a personal record through the half (1:16:35), and was the first American finisher. The debut qualified her for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials, among 511 total qualifiers, via the women’s “B” standard of 2:45. 

Her first marathon time also landed her less than six minutes off the U.S. high school girls record of 2:34:34 set by Cathy Schiro at the 1984 Olympic Trials in Olympia, Wash. In a podcast recorded earlier this month, Wolfgram told Carrie Tollefson she had that record in her line of sight, adding that “as long as I run my hardest I won’t be upset.”

Wolfgram found early success — as well as obstacles — in shorter long-distance events. In 2017, as a freshman, she won the Minnesota high school cross country championship and the Nike Cross Nationals Heartland Regionals. She felt, though, that the longer the race, the better. That’s when she started training for the marathon. Between the road races and scholastic seasons, she faced injuries — including three stress fractures — and transferred schools.

She told Tollefson she’s worked to improve her sleep, nutrition, and mental health to prevent additional injuries, plus deal with setbacks and pressure from the public. 

Prior to the Trials, she spent two months training in Albuquerque, N.M. to prepare. Her mom and dad alternated trips between there and Minnesota. Coached remotely by Jay Stevenson with input from Ryan Hall — the fastest American marathoner (2:04:58) — Wolfgram logged high, hilly mileage with daily doubles and afternoon sessions with the Albuquerque Academy high school boys team.

“I really enjoyed my time there, and now I get to hobble around,” she said after the race, half-serious because her legs felt “awful.” 

She’ll return to her hometown in Minnesota and compete for Woodbury High in the upcoming spring track season and also next fall in cross country. 

Elizabeth Carey (http://elizabethwcarey.com/) is a freelance writer and running coach based in Seattle, Washington. She writes DyeStat’s Running Issues column



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