Hiruni Wijayaratne, an 11-time national record holder for Sri Lanka and reigning South Asian Games marathon gold medalist from December in Nepal, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss achieving her fifth track national record by clocking 16:17.51 in the 5,000 meters Aug. 15 at the Music City Distance Carnival at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tenn. Wijayaratne, a graduate of Herndon High in Virginia along with University of Kentucky, eclipsed the national record of 16:17.82 set last August by Nilani Rathnayake in Sri Lanka. She now boasts outdoor track records in the mile, 5,000 and 10,000 meters, as well as the indoor mile and 3,000 meters. Wijayaratne, 29, also holds national road records at the 5-kilometer, 10-kilometer, half marathon, 25-kilometer, 30-kilometer and marathon distances. She revisits competing in oppressive heat and smoke in the marathon at the World Championships in Doha as the only athlete from Sri Lanka competing at the entire meet, in addition to rebounding three weeks later from the frustrating conditions in Qatar to complete the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Wijayaratne also reflects on winning the marathon gold medal at the South Asian Games in Kathmandu, as well as her personal-best 2:34:10 from last April at the Metro Group Marathon in Dusseldorf, Germany. Wijayaratne expresses gratitude for the 15-year coach-athlete partnership she has built with Pete Sherry, in addition to her relationship with fellow marathon talent and fiance Luis Orta, a 2016 Olympian representing Venezuela. She examines the supportive running culture in Colorado, where she trains, along with the professional opportunity Wijayaratne has had working as the business development and marketing leader at technology company RunCoach, which became available to her thanks to founder Tom McGlynn after she previously worked in a marketing role for Target. Wijayaratne shares her preparation for the Tokyo Olympics and how the extra year has been beneficial in her pursuit of breaking 2:30:00 for the first time in her career.