Welcome to the Allie on the Run show.
I'm your host, Allie Feller, and this is where I talk with people who are doing exciting things on the run and beyond.
From professional athletes and celebrity runners to the everyday amateur and back-of-the-pack runner.
We are here to celebrate everyone and anyone who enjoys a life on the run.
So, whether you are running towards something big or away from something that's been holding you back, I am here to hold your hand and help you pick up the pace.
My guest today is marathoner Amanda Vestry.
Amanda just made her 262 mile debut at the New York City Marathon, where she finished in ninth place in the women's pro field in a time of two hours 25 minutes and 40 seconds.
A heck of a debut.
Until just a few days ago, Amanda was living and training in Boone, North Carolina, with the Zapp Endurance Group.
Zapp announced earlier this year that they would be closing their team doors.
And in this conversation, Amanda talks about what that means for her, including where she's living now and who will be coaching her going forward.
And we of course do the full race recap, including how training went, how Amanda was feeling heading to the start line and how the race shook out.
I think you will all appreciate and relate to the parts where she admits that she fully blacked out and was really just putting one foot in front of the other, hoping for the best.
I am a big Amanda fan, and I was so excited to get to chat with her.
So please enjoy this conversation with debut marathoner Amanda Vestry.
Amanda Vestry, 225, 40 in New York, ninth overall, heck of a debut.
So excited to get to chat with you today.
Welcome back to the Allie on the Run show.
How are you doing?
Oh my gosh.
I am so excited to be back on the show.
I'm so excited to recap New York City Marathon with you and I'm feeling amazing.
Yeah.
I'm still riding a high from my marathon debut.
I can't believe I'm a marathoner.
So yeah, I feel like I'm part of the cool club now.
So yeah, you've officially been initiated.
Congratulations and welcome.
How's the body?
We're a couple days out.
We're recording this on friday after the marathon, which was on sunday.
So uh, mind and body where you at.
So a little bit of information about that is.
I felt like, you know, i would never feel the same again.
On monday morning when i woke up i was like wow, this is um, but honestly, only a couple days removed from From Monday, the day after the marathon, I'm feeling amazing and I'm itching to get back at it.
But I have self-control, so I haven't run because I think my body needs a reset.
But, yeah, body-wise, feeling good, feeling like the recovery is going well.
I can walk without, you know, being super tender, going down stairs and stuff.
So, yeah, feeling as good as I think you can feel after a debut marathon.
Where in the world is Amanda Vestry right now?
I am in Florida, USA.
Give us a little backstory.
What brings you to Florida right now?
So, yeah, I just moved out of Boone, North Carolina, on Wednesday.
Drove to Florida yesterday, which is Thursday.
And yeah, I mean, as many of you know, or I'm sure a lot of you have heard, that Zap Endurance is – the club team that I ran for and are closing their doors.
So all the athletes at zap are, you know, kind of slowly making their way um to out of state, back to their you know their homes, or trying to find other teams to join.
Um, fortunately I'm sponsored by Brooks, so nothing changes uh in in that sense for me.
But my location is going to be changing and right now i'm in florida with my parents, just kind of like decompressing after a really long build and um yeah, it's nice, it's beautiful here right now um, and yeah, i'm enjoying the sunshine for a little bit and uh, probably gonna do some good training uh in florida for the winter and also go up to flagstaff see some people train with some people go to Boulder a little bit later in probably January, February.
So yeah, just kind of hanging out right now and enjoying some time with the family.
So you're talking already about doing this again and about what training is going to look like in these places.
You are going
Do you already have something in mind for the spring?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I'm hooked.
I do have something in mind for the next six months.
I kind of have six seven, eight months.
I have you know, my ideal world schedule for what I want.
I've already talked to, you know, my agent and my coach about it.
So yeah, I think that's just the type of person I am.
Like I, you know a lot of people, I think, from a big training block.
They like to come down from that and really just not think about running.
But for me, I can enjoy recovery and time off just as much as I'm, you know, hoping for the future.
So, um yeah, I think I'm just kind of dreaming at this point, but um yeah, I'm already excited for the next thing.
So now I know you're not going to tell me while we're recording.
I'm going to try to convince you to tell me after.
But is it safe to assume that what you're eyeing in the spring is a marathon?
Yeah, definitely.
Um, definitely looking to get another marathon in.
Um Um, I think I think I'm suited for the marathon, you know, and uh yeah, I really, I really enjoy it.
I enjoy the build for it.
Um, I enjoy the work that goes into it and I have so much to learn.
Still, by no means am I a marathon expert, I think, which makes me excited about the marathon, because I think there's so many things left um to, to look at and to dive into in training um, for this block in particular, it was all about get to the line healthy.
Don't overdo it.
Hit, you know, base hits.
Don't be hitting home runs every workout.
And we certainly kept with that, um, kept with that pattern, um, throughout the whole build.
So just looking toward the future of, you know, the half marathon, the marathon, um just really excited about diving into different um training methods and applying a bunch of different stimulus to help get me faster in the shorter distances as well as the longer ones.
So did this all come together once you crossed the line in New York, or were you already planning your second marathon before even running New York?
No.
So it's, yeah, it's, it's the, it's the former.
This was.
This happened once I crossed the line and I, you know, got over my dramatic finish of like, oh my God, I can't stand whatever.
Once I stopped being a drama queen and I recovered just a few days ago, I already started thinking about how much I enjoyed the experience.
And you know, I think, like it's from an outsider's perspective, it would probably make the most sense to like – do a marathon in the fall, do a marathon in the spring, go back and forth, back and forth.
Um, but before new york, my whole outlook on that was, let's see if i even like like the distance in the race, and i won't be able to know that until i cross the line.
And when i crossed the line i knew like yeah, it was really hard the last six miles.
It was not easy at all.
But um, i knew that i wanted to run another one for sure.
And i think, mission accomplished, because if you can leave the marathon with a good taste in your mouth for your first one, like I think that you're in a good place, versus finishing and being like wow, that was that sucked, like I don't want to do that again.
So yeah, that's kind of kind of my thought process as I settled uh, settled down Sunday night Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
So How long is the drive from Boone to where you are in Florida?
Because the thought of getting in a car for a long time after running a marathon does not seem appealing to me.
But you seem to be handling it remarkably well.
Well, I have very, very nice parents and they, so they came to New York to watch the race, which is awesome.
And I only saw them for like five or 10 minutes, but they were so excited to watch me finish my first marathon.
So they actually ended up.
Their flight got delayed Sunday night because they headed out the night of the marathon and got back to Florida on early Monday morning, I think at 1 am or something.
And then they drove down to Boone, which is like an eight-hour drive.
They drove down Wednesday.
And then we packed up everything Wednesday afternoon.
We slept at a hotel Wednesday night.
And then we all drove back together.
My dad drove with me in my car.
My mom drove back the truck.
So go mom, go mom, go mom.
Yeah.
Um, yeah, she's the best.
My, my parents are awesome.
So I had a lot of help.
It was not just me, but I will say going up and down those stairs.
Cause I'm on the second floor at the apartment.
I was, you know, my dad was sprinting up and he's like, you want to race?
And I was like, I do not.
I was like, I absolutely do not.
He's like, yeah, I think I got you right now.
I'm like, you absolutely do.
Congrats, dad.
Proud of you.
Good job, dad.
Race them while they're down, man.
Look at me.
Don't I look better?
I'm like, yeah, you look great, dad.
You look awesome.
What'd you do on Sunday?
Exactly.
All right.
So, with all of these changes in location and with the team, what will this next marathon build look like?
Who will be coaching you and telling you what to do?
Yeah.
So I am going to be working with David Roach.
Um, and as many of you I'm sure already know, uh, he's an amazing ultra marathoner.
Um, he is very, very in tune with, you know, heat training and his wife's a doctor.
Um, so they, those two, him and him and um, Dr Megan Roach are very knowledgeable and and they work with Jess McLean.
So that's how I was introduced to David.
And yeah, we've just been really hitting it off the past six weeks.
He's been kind of observing my training with Coach Pete and kind of advising me.
And yeah, just in this next transition, I feel that it's the best move for me.
And yeah, so we're gonna be working together And I'm really excited about it.
We have big goals.
And yeah, I really, really appreciate him taking me on because I know he's so busy with so many other coaching clients that he works with.
But it's really cool because we go unknowingly.
We went way back because the Mason Kopi and Emily Lane.
I lived with them before at Syracuse university for a year and Mason's coach was David at the time.
So I kind of have known about him for years now, but getting to start working with him is a really cool thing.
So kind of full circle.
What is most motivating to you now with one marathon under your belt?
Are you most excited about chipping away at that time?
Are you excited about podiums?
What are you, as you look at what you want to do in the marathon, what do you think about?
You know, I think it's hard to look at time from a New York standpoint, just cause it is such a difficult course.
But I think what most excites me is climbing up that ladder in the top 10 of these big world major races.
Um that, that's what initially excites me about the marathon not necessarily going and running, like you know, two 21 at a fast course or something.
I'm at heart.
I think I'm like a racer and I like to be in the mix.
So for me, um looking at that podium and dreaming about that one day is what motivates me right now.
I'm not saying that I'll be on the podium anytime in the near future, but it's nice to dream.
And I think anything can happen on the right day.
So that's what excites me.
Not necessarily the time.
Yay.
Well, let's do a little, uh, New York city marathon recap.
Shall we, if we were to go back to the beginning and you know we talked about this a little bit last year when you were on the show about the distances that you were eyeing but what?
Why the marathon now and why New York?
Yeah, so I think a couple of things.
The marathon now, because when the World Half Marathon Road Running Championships were canceled that were supposed to be this September when those were canceled, my fall was completely open.
And instead of my couple of options were really focusing on the half marathon and running you know 66 something and trying to trying to get a nice PR in there.
It was either that or it was running a marathon, a fall marathon.
And when I decided on a fall marathon, I then had to decide okay, basically Chicago or New York were my two options as, as it was for a lot of people
And ultimately it came down to the fact that I've run in so many New York road runner events so far and And I've had really great experiences not just in performance through the streets of New York but also just with the New York Roadrunners in general.
They really treat you like family.
They gave me a chance when I was very, you know, under the radar athlete.
And yeah, that meant a lot to me.
And I think the number one race that comes to mind when I think about New York is before this marathon was the New York mini, my first year as a pro and you know so much success there and the crowds were amazing.
The women I was running against were absolutely incredible and then again, like this past mini, running with a lot of the same women who were in this marathon, I just felt like home.
It felt like the right thing to do for my first marathon.
And then I think the second or third element that went into that was that my coach Pete, and I we didn't want our first marathon to be so much about time.
And New York's a perfect place to not focus on time because you're not running even every mile.
You're running 550 the first mile.
You're not running your, you know, at what pace you want around the first mile.
So you're less in your head.
I feel, or for me, I was less in my head about okay, like I want to be running, you know, like 530 flat, the whole, the whole race.
It was all over the place.
It was some 520s.
It was some, you know, 540s or whatever.
And I think there's time for me to run on a flat, fast time trial type course.
But I think that comes later in your career once you've had marathons under your legs.
And I was also advised by many of the top American women in the US telling me about their first marathons.
And, um, I took their advice and yeah, I think it paid off.
Who are some of those women that have given you that advice and that reflection?
So I'm so lucky to be able to talk to people like Dakota Popain and Annie Frisbee and Steph Bruce.
Um gosh, so many other amazing, incredible women um, who have run the marathon before me who, in the process of deciding between you know, Chicago and New York um, just kind of gave me their thoughts on what their first marathon experience was like.
And for someone like Annie Frisbee, for example, she debuted in New York.
And I think one of the reasons she ran so well there is because you're not – time doesn't come into – you're not thinking about time at all.
And in the marathon there are so many factors that go into successfully completing one that – the last thing you want on your mind is Oh no, that wasn't a five, 30 mile.
Like I'm falling off pace or, Oh no, that was too quick.
New York.
It doesn't matter.
Like you're, you're going to be running uphills like a little bit slower.
You're going to be running some downhills.
You're going to be running some flat.
Um, for me, this marathon was about finishing and wanting more at the end and knowing that we did not even touch the surface of um, you know, training that we could have.
We were very conservative in our approach.
So yeah, I just think, talking to so many people and Jess McLean, Erica Kemp, like Susanna Sullivan all these women that I'm talking to are the best marathoners in the world, like you know.
Um yeah, I've just been advising me throughout, throughout the journey and even on, like the fueling um, talking to so many of them about how they fuel and testing out different products and finding what works for me, and that's a big thing that David has been advising me on throughout this journey as well.
Um is, you know, fueling is your friend, carbs are your friend and you can do big fueling and big carbs even if you're not like a bigger, like athlete, like you can.
Still, you know, if your stomach can handle it, you can take in a lot of carbs and um.
At the end of the day, I think the marathon is a fueling equation.
Um, I think we really saw that with Jess McClain at Boston, because she fueled like crazy and yet she was top American.
She ran an insane time.
Um, so yeah it's been.
It's been nice to take in the environment around me and just learn from everyone.
And everyone's been so helpful in that.
What's your snapshot moment of the day when I say 2025 New York city marathon, what do you picture?
Gosh, those first 13 miles when I was with those women, with Safan Hassan, Helen O'Berry, Sharon Luchetti, Annie Frisbee, all these talented women running alongside my actual running heroes, was something I've never experienced before in that concentration.
That was insane.
I've run with those women before some of them, but doing it in my debut marathon on the streets of New York with people just absolutely screaming my name, screaming everyone else's name.
It was unlike anything I've ever experienced.
It was like absolutely incredible.
So that would be my snapshot moment for sure.
Oh, I love that.
Yeah.
So how was training highs, lows?
What'd you think of your first block of marathon training?
Yeah.
Um, My very first long run I did was in Florida in the summer.
Oh, that was awful.
It was a 20 mile long run.
Nothing super, nothing really specific or anything.
And that was rough.
I was like, Ooh, I don't know about this.
Like that sucked.
And that was in August.
Um, so the long runs uh, initially when they were in Florida they were pretty hard, but um, once I got to North Carolina and it got a little bit cooler um, I was able to do some really good work, some really good long runs.
The fueling came actually pretty naturally to me, which is great.
I've always been a runner that can just eat like a huge meal and then go run.
It doesn't bother me.
And I do think that's like really helpful in the marathon, being able to like train your gut, like that.
So fueling wasn't an issue for me.
And then there were definitely, you know, little hiccups along the way, little minor things that I was like oh, this is gonna take me out for a couple of days, and I mean same same across the board.
I think with most, most people training for a marathon, there's gonna be little niggles that come up when you're running over 100 miles a week, um so, but in general, nothing major happened that was like concerning to me at all.
Um, you know, there was weeks I was more tired than others.
There was weeks I was like, dang, does this what marathon training feels like?
Like, you're just tired all the time.
And I think the general consensus was, yes, like, you're going to feel tired a lot of the time.
But then you know, once I kind of got to the last few weeks, it was just about really not doing too much.
It was, you know, hitting the good, you know base hit workouts and then just getting to the line healthy.
And I think for the most part, we did get to the line healthy.
There were, there's still a few, you know minor, like weaknesses in my body that I need to work on, which I've been doing.
And I think strength training, getting stronger.
Like I said, the marathon is all about being really strong and kind of being a really well-rounded athlete and being really fatigue resistant.
So I think the more I, the more I get into marathon builds, the more resilient I'll become in these builds.
But overall, I was super happy with it.
So what were your goals for your marathon debut?
Truthfully, my if I were to give a time goal which was really the only thing that was in my head I just thought breaking 230.
Like if I could break 230 at New York, I would be super happy.
Like you know, I didn't have a time in my head other than like if you can break 230 at New York in your first marathon and just like finish it healthy, like that's good.
Like, you know, everyone has to start somewhere.
And that's – 230 is an amazing time.
Like, I think people – are so used to seeing these fast times now.
Um, but everyone's got to start somewhere.
And I bet bet you if you look at someone like Dakota Popain, I bet you if you look at her first marathon, it wasn't what she's capable of running now.
So I thought that the same thing applies to me.
Doesn't just cause I've run a good half marathon.
Doesn't mean I'm going to run a good full marathon or like I'm going to run like my potential for my first marathon, because it's such a different stimulus.
So that was my like time goal, I guess, in terms of play school, like the women in this field I was, I was like if I could just be in the same, you know, within 10 minutes of them whatever, like in the same vicinity, that would be great.
Um, I knew top American would be, you know, really difficult on a day like Sunday, just with the, the Americans we had in this field.
But, um, I'm really horrified. really happy with fourth American in that race.
Um, I think for future races, I want to be consistently top three American in a field like that.
But for the first one, yeah, no like crazy goals.
Even in my head, I'm like, I don't know.
I have no idea like what I can run.
Um, training did not indicate a two 25 40 at all.
So, um, Yeah, I think that's a good sign.
Great signs.
You blew every single one of your goals out of the water, which is just so fun.
It's going to be so awesome to see what you do in this distance, since you're literally just getting started.
The future is very bright for marathoner Amanda Vestry.
Let's go to race weekend.
When did you get into town and what did the days leading up to the race look like for you?
So I got into town Thursday.
I flew into Newark. scariest flight of my life.
It was really, really terrible weather, I'm sure.
Oh, that was the day of the rain and the storm.
Yes.
Interestingly enough, I was supposed to be shuttled out of Newark to the hotel with seven other athletes running the 5K and the marathon.
They did not make it to their selected times.
Their flights got delayed or canceled that day.
That was a super... crazy way to start the weekend but once I got to the hotel kind of got resettled I was all right but yeah travel was super brutal that day um did not it was not able to run outside when I got into the hotel so I ran on the treadmill at the Hilton um and then Friday morning woke up it was much better um conditions out so I got out for a run um I got I did like a few handful of like 90 second pickups on the run through Central Park just to kind of keep the legs a little bit fresh.
And then yeah, just really like Friday was all about just like relaxing, kind of getting into you know good sleep schedule again after the travel day, because I have to drive two hours every time I travel, because I drive from Boone to Charlotte and fly out of Charlotte.
So yeah, Friday was catching up on sleep.
And then I had a little Brooks event, Brooks interview with Colin Benny, Susanna Sullivan and the Brooks crew there.
So we did that.
It was just a little cute Q&A interview outside, just like down a few blocks from the hotel.
So that was really fun.
And then I got dinner with my coach.
We went out and I think I just got like pasta or something and then saturday's the big day saturday is you know i'm weighing out my bottles i'm doing bottle like decorations um i'm doing gear check i'm doing tech meeting um all the things that all the marathoners have to do on saturday so saturday ends up being a little bit more I wouldn't say stressful, but a little less relaxing than Friday because there's a lot of things you have to be doing.
Did all that on Saturday, dropped my bottles off and I got super anxious about that because I was like, please don't spill my bottles.
Please keep every last drop in there.
That was a weird experience.
I was like, I feel like I'm dropping my kids off.
The bottles are leaving me.
I was scared about that, but They were fine.
My bottles were all there, which I was happy about.
And I, I just decorated them.
So very ugly because I wanted them to stand out.
What does an ugly bottle decoration look like?
It was just like the ugliest orange and blue.
It, well, it was neat.
Okay.
I can't say ugly.
They're neat.
They're like the New York Knicks colors.
They're they're orange and blue.
Like you know, a little bit of an ode to my Syracuse orange too, but just the way that I I put them on my bottles.
It was very ugly.
Um, but I was like talking to coach P.
I was like I hope Sheila doesn't have the same color combo as I do, because Sheila was on my table.
We were table one position one and two.
So I was like I'm like I hope, I hope she doesn't have that.
You know those ugly bottles like I do.
But she didn't, which is great.
Um, but I thought about that and I was like what happens if two athletes have the same bottle colors?
Like what?
What happens if they're on the same table?
Do they get it mixed up?
Like, I hope not um, but that didn't happen so I don't have to worry about that.
That's just my anxious brain being like, oh my gosh, what if she has the same bottles?
I do, so I dropped the bottles off and then we did the tech meeting.
I sat next to um Annie Frisbee for that one and the Minnesota Distance Elite crew.
I love them so much so I hung out with them, did the tech meeting um, And then we had an athlete dinner on Saturday.
So all the athletes and agents and coaches um can come to.
I think if you have a ticket, you just do a little dinner and they have, you know, a spread for everyone.
Um, and yeah, then I hit the hay.
I went to bed at like seven 30, and then I woke up at like three 45 and I was like I can't, I can't sleep anymore.
Time to get up.
So yeah, then we were on marathon marathon morning and Yeah, when you woke up, how did you feel?
Were you nervous?
Were you okay?
No, I was extremely nervous.
I mean people who are really close to me, like my parents and Coach Pete, have seen what the last, the three weeks before the marathon did to me.
I mean, I was getting very nervous about it.
I think the distance, more than anything, really intimidated me because in training obviously we didn't go anywhere near 26 miles, anywhere near the pace.
I was supposed to be running for 26 miles and My biggest fear was the unknown of the distance.
I think that's what scared me the most, which is a relief looking back on it, because now that I know I have completed the marathon, That doesn't scare me as much.
So I woke up that morning very nervous, went down to get some food at the the hotel does a little breakfast spread for everyone got some coffee and And yeah, just kind of sat in my room, got changed, got everything I needed for the race and then the buses left early.
The buses left at I think, 545 and then we were on the road to the Ocean Breeze Complex to do warm-ups and stuff.
Did you sit with anyone on the bus, or did you sit alone?
No, I did sit alone, plugged my music in, which is a first for me.
I never listen to music before races, but – it ended up being a very long bus ride.
So I listened to the new Taylor Swift album.
It was so good.
Everyone's hating on it and I don't get it.
I don't get the hate.
I actually really enjoy it.
Um, so I listened to that and that did not even give me like that gave me maybe halfway through the bus ride.
And so then I transitioned from T Swift to like a little bit more like rap.
You know, just kind of getting in that zone.
Um, My Spotify is so funny.
It's the most random compilation of artists you'll ever see.
But the Taylor Swift really got me into a good headspace and just kind of like relaxed vibe.
And then we got to the track and I did like a 10 minute jog and just sat around, rolled out a little bit.
And then we got back on the bus and we headed over to the start line.
So yeah.
Yeah, bring us to the start line.
Paint the picture of where you are, what it's like, how it felt to you as a first-timer, what stands out.
So yeah, the first thing that kind of stood out was the entire bus ride, and then on the way to the start line, we had police escorts.
So it was really legit like all right, these ladies and these athletes who are racing today are – like priority right now for the start of this race.
And that felt kind of weird to me because I was like, wow, the pressure's on us.
Cause we're the, like we're, you know, the wheelchair athletes and us are the opening act.
So um, that felt like like I got a little bit nervous from that, but when I got off the bus I had my shoes on, like my racing shoes on.
And then all the women were walking, um, to do some stride outs.
And then Sam Grotewald was like, all right, ladies, like time to get over to the start line.
Um, that's when I saw you and I gave you a hug and that really put my mind at ease.
Um, cause I was like, all right, Allie's going to be out there watching.
Like we've got good vibes coming our way.
Um, and all the, like not, not one of these women or any of these athletes are, they're all nice.
Like you, you've, you've got the best in the world.
Like Helen O'Berry, um, she talked to me at the New York mini and said the nicest thing to me.
And it's just like, it's, it's a good competition environment.
It's not like we want to, you know, rip each other's faces off.
It's everyone's trying to do their best, but we also want everyone to do their best as well.
So I wasn't intimidated by any of the athletes.
It was very like very much a calming environment in that sense.
But yeah, when I heard the wheelchair athletes go off, and then Frank Sinatra um, that was when I was like wow, I'm at the New York city marathon and I'm about to start.
So yeah, that was a good, uh, hearing Ted's voice.
I was like, all right, this is cool.
This is happening.
And yeah, it was, I was hanging out quite a bit with Annie.
Like I kind of, Annie was kind of my emotional like support person in a way because she's so nice.
She's Minnesota nice.
Like very nice, and i lived with her at iowa state for a year.
So i was kind of like annie, like what do we do now, you know, like kind of asking her, she's such a good, he's such a great person.
So then the gun went off and i was, that was it.
It was just like all right, race mode now.
Um, and yeah we, we got off, we got up that hill.
We got down that hill and we started screaming like the miles were screaming for a.
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Okay, so before we break down the mile-by-mile, what was your talk with your coach before this?
Did you have a race plan?
Because in a field like some of those women you mentioned Helen O'Berry, Sharon Locchetti, I mean.
Absolutely.
Stackfield, Stefan Hassan, the wild card that could run this in a million different ways.
What was your race plan?
Were you going to go with every move?
Were you holding firm to a pace?
So initially the race plan was to hold firm to a pace and not, not stray too far from it.
Like I was looking at running like five 35s, you know.
But I think we were a little bit naive going into that, thinking that you could completely control your own race plan.
Because if you do that in a race like New York, you're going to be running a lot of it alone.
And I also didn't want to run alone.
So the race plan was pretty much out the window once I realized we are running so fast right now.
And unfortunately I do think that that cost me probably a good minute or so off my actual time because I just went out way too hot for the training that I had done.
I think I went through 71, 11 in the half, which is like two 22, 30 pace.
So yeah, I mean in terms of the execution of the race I.
I know now that that was probably not the smartest move, but it's New York go big or go home.
Like I'm a racer at heart.
It was my first marathon.
I'm going to make mistakes.
I'm going to learn from them.
I wanted to race with those women.
I wanted to run with them.
I wanted to get as much energy as I could from the crowd.
And to be fair, like the women I was around, I've raced with a lot and competed against a lot.
I just raced with Sarah Vaughn, Annie Frisbee, Fiona O'Keefe, like Emily Sisson.
I've raced them at the mini.
I've raced them at, you know, 6K champs.
And obviously they're different races, but I didn't feel so uncomfortable knowing that the American women were up there.
I'm like, all right, well, I've raced with them.
I know that I can hang with them for a little bit at least, which I know now is a pretty naive way of thinking, because 262 miles is a super long way.
Long story short, I'm rambling here, but I did not stick to the race plan.
I went out too hot, but I don't care.
I'll learn from it.
This was not a race.
To say this was not the race, to be like hey, we're going through and you know 71 30, and then we're going to negative split that New York is not the race for that.
For it, at the level that I'm at currently, there will be races in the future that that might be the race plan, but and I'll be able to stick to that if I have a pacer, but you can't, I can't expect myself to, I think, like nail pacing in that type of environment on the first try.
Um, so yeah, I paid for it at the end, but I really don't care.
I had so much fun out there doing it.
And I think you could make an argument that that first half, even though it was too hot, I felt no pain because of the crowd and because I was with the women at the front.
So it's like kind of – there's pros and cons to it, right?
And I think – I don't know.
I think everyone goes out too hot probably their first marathon.
And if they don't, good for them.
But I did, and that's fine.
I love your perspective of like –
Yeah, this is my debut.
Nothing to lose.
Let's go see what happens.
There is nothing to lose, right?
You never know until you know.
And I know me.
I know me as an athlete.
Had I not gone out with those women in the first half, I would have said well, what if I did this, though?
Would I have run faster?
Would I have placed higher?
I don't know.
No one knows.
So hindsight is 20-20.
I ran the race that I ran.
And if people think I blew up, fine.
I don't care.
Like, I will... run a fast course one day with a pacer and I will pace myself.
But this was not the race to do that.
Oh, I love that so much.
All right.
So running up and over the Verrazano, what'd you think?
You know, I didn't think much of it.
I thought it was fine.
Like I practice a lot on hills and I think I'm a pretty powerful athlete, pretty strong athlete.
I always joke.
I think that The Sweet Road long run that we used to do at Syracuse is still in my DNA.
It's this long run of death that we did in college.
And every time Coach Bell told us like hey, Sweet Road on Tuesday or Sweet Road on Sunday, I'd be like, oh boy, it's going to hurt.
And it's this really long run that we used to do just basically up a hill.
So, yeah, the hills were –
I think that actually I enjoyed the Hills because it was a break mechanic like biomechanically, to kind of like shorten your stride up and like um uh, get a little bit of a change in in the mechanics that you were using in the muscle groups you were using.
Um, so yeah, I enjoyed it.
I thought it was great.
All right.
So then you're in Brooklyn and you're in Brooklyn for a while.
What do you remember most about running through Brooklyn?
Very loud.
Brooklyn was super loud.
Lots of great energy.
Um, I mean, the crowds along the entire course were amazing, but specifically Brooklyn was pretty awesome.
And I was feeling really good.
And I heard a lot of cheers for Safan Hassan, like a lot of cheers for her, which is funny.
And yeah, I think I was still in a daze at that point.
Like, oh my God, this is happening.
So yeah, Brooklyn was great and I was feeling really good.
So yeah.
No notes there.
I got all my bottles.
My first bottle that I took was the 5K mark.
That was when I was like, oh, wow, we're in it now.
I just took my first bottle.
That was fun.
Were you nervous about grabbing it?
I have been practicing quite a bit with bottles, but I still was unsure of how it would exactly play out on the course.
And then once I saw the first table, I was like, okay, this is fine.
Um, I had spoken to several of the athletes, um, in the race, like, Hey, I'm table one.
Can I just get over here?
And everyone was super kind.
They were like, yep, sure.
I'm table five, like whatever.
Um, so in that sense, yeah, it was super easy.
I just grabbed the bottle pretty easily.
I've been working, I've been using the same bottles all um all fall, so that I know how it feels to grab it.
Um, I'm, I can basically down the drink in like 20 seconds.
So that was super easy.
And then just through it.
So yeah, the, the fluids went extremely well, which is great.
Was there much chatter other than, Hey, I'm at table five, go ahead.
Was there much chatter among the pack?
Yeah.
You know, I forget which mile this was.
I felt so bad and I almost offered her my gel, but So I kept a spare gel in my bra because I didn't take gels on the course.
I took a drink mix.
But I had a spare gel just in case I dropped one of the bottles.
And Sarah Vaughn, pretty early on, I think she either missed her bottle.
Someone missed their bottle because she was talking to Fiona, I want to say.
Yeah, I think it was Fiona.
And I saw Fiona giving her her bottle.
Um, so I think they were kind of sharing a little bit, because I think she either missed a bottle or something happened.
So I remember watching that and almost being like trying to dig my gel out of my bra like, Hey Sarah, do you need this?
But I was just, I was being a little bit selfish.
I was like yeah, but Amanda, what if you drop a bottle and then you like you're at mile, you know 16 and you really need it?
So I kept the gel, but I did feel bad.
I think she missed a bottle and next time I'll take two gels so that I can give someone else one.
But yeah, I just felt kind of bad.
But yeah, that was all I remember about the bottle chatter.
It was pretty easy.
So yeah, I was glad about that because I was nervous about that.
So you go through all the different neighborhoods in Brooklyn, then you are in Queens and you're about to head up and over the Queensborough Bridge.
Let's talk about that point in the race.
That's halfway mark, right?
Well, the halfway mark is the Pulaski Bridge.
So let's go to halfway because that's a sneaky bridge that I don't think gets as much attention.
The Pulaski is the halfway point.
Pulaski is before the – yeah, okay.
Yeah, before the Queensborough.
Pulaski I remember distinctly, because that's when I was just ever so slightly getting off the group again and I remember – being in total shock when I saw 71 minutes and I did get like a surge of like shoot, like that's way too fast, like way way, way too fast.
So I freaked out a little bit, uh, passing the halfway mark.
But at that point I was still in contact with like, I could see Annie up ahead.
Um, I could see Emily Sisson up ahead and I was catching her a little bit.
Um, At that point Jess Warner Judd was a little bit behind me, but I knew I still had some people to run with.
So that was a sneaky bridge, but nothing crazy.
And then like you said, the Queensborough Bridge, that was quiet.
That was pretty quiet.
I was pretty like, ooh, this is kind of weird.
I'm running the New York City Marathon.
There's no one saying anything, no more cheers, no nothing.
So I was pretty in my head at that moment.
But there was a bottle station under the bridge and, or like under the like overpass.
And I grabbed my bottle.
I composed myself.
Jess Warner Judd passed me at that point.
Emily was coming back to me a little bit at that point.
Annie was pretty, pretty well and well and far ahead at that point, but I could still see her up in the distance.
And it was at this point in time I was like all right time to kind of hunker down, because you've got like 10 miles to go.
Like you still, you still have a lot of running to do right now.
So yeah, I just tried at that point to stay in contact with Emily Sisson as much as I could.
And I was running behind her for a really large portion of the, those final 10 miles of the race.
Got up to her, next to her, a couple of times, but I was really hoping we could work together a little bit over those, those last like eight to 10 miles and Um, but yeah, nothing really stands out other than that.
I was starting to, you know, not aerobically get tired by starting to tighten up.
I was starting to feel the mechanical load in the mechanical stress that I had put on my body in that first half.
Cause I don't know if you do the like the mile pace per mile on those first 13 miles, but it was way ahead of where I wanted to be in my five, 35 rhythm or whatever I had wanted to run.
So I was definitely feeling it at that point mechanically, but aerobically I was still feeling good.
So I was like get to the next bottle station, keep taking your fluids and, you know, keep it together.
That was my whole like mantra at that point.
So then you make that turn onto first Avenue, long, wide, straight, slightly uphill first Avenue.
What'd you think?
Loud, very loud.
Yeah.
Very, very loud.
Yeah.
I mean, at this point in the race, I don't know what mile was, what mile is this mile?
15, 16 or like 16, 17.
Yeah.
My whole thing was get to the next mile, get to the next mile.
Unfortunately, at that point I was so stressed about like how fast I had gone through the halfway point that I was.
I don't think I got to enjoy it as much towards the end, like the last 10 miles of the race, because I was like gosh Amanda, what did you just do that for?
Like, you're going to kind of pay for it.
But, um, yeah, I just remember like very loud screaming.
There was times where I was kind of like, gosh, I wish it wasn't so loud.
Um, but you know cause?
I think there's a certain point in the race where you start to become so overly stimulated with the crowd energy that you just kind of like for me.
For me anyways, I just kind of wanted some quiet at that point.
Um, but yeah, I got through it and, like I said, my whole mantra was getting to the next bottle station because um, I knew that once I got to like 25k and 30k and I got to that 36k mark because there was only seven bottles on the course and they moved it from 35 to 36 once I got to the 36k I was like all right, we're like, we're fine, like you're gonna make it.
Um, but Yeah, that was pretty much it.
I don't remember much from it, to be honest.
I think I was blacked out.
I was going to say, do you remember the Bronx?
The most memorable thing about the Bronx, I think, is that it's mile 20 and it's the.
You know they have the signs that say welcome to the wall.
Anything stand out from that point to you?
There was a really funny sign, but I'm not going to say it on here.
The sign was funny.
Yeah.
I remember looking at that person, though, and just kind of, like, laughing.
There was a few signs I looked at, and I was like, that is so funny, dude.
Like, that's hilarious.
But, yeah, there was a few really funny signs that made me laugh, which I appreciated.
I always appreciate funny, just a little bit comic relief.
I'm a very, like, I love jokes.
I love funny people.
So I was able to laugh still, which I knew was a good sign.
But, yeah, nothing really.
So you weave through the Bronx, you survive it.
You eventually go through Harlem, which is usually loud and very fun.
And then you are on that long fifth Avenue stretch.
What had you been told about fifth Ave?
But how, what mile is that?
I don't know.
It's like 23.
It's just the long straight.
You're running alongside central park is on your right, but you're not in the park yet.
It is long.
It is uphill and it is late in the race.
Yeah.
So at that point I think I blacked out like 23 to 26.
I gotta be honest.
It was like, I remember at one point catching Emily, we ran together, Emily left me.
And, like I said, I've been having this like little.
I've been having this little ligament impingement thing which thankfully has gone away with like just proper rest and recovery after this marathon.
Um, but it's something I had been dealing with all build and And it really reared its ugly head those last like four miles.
And so at that point, with the lactic acid coursing through my body and that ligament pain that I was feeling, I was totally just like get to the finish line.
I don't remember anything.
I just remember pain like this hurts so bad.
Um, I mean, actually, no, I will say the one thing to backtrack a little bit.
Someone shouted to me, only six miles left.
And I was like, you can go.
I was like, you can literally go, like, shove it.
Like, don't say that to me right now.
I wanted to be like, literally F you.
Like, that's the worst thing you could say to me right now is that I only have six miles left.
Like, you're basically telling me I have, like, two hours of running left when you say that.
That was awful to hear.
So I heard that. in those last three miles, I was just, um, I don't know.
It felt like I was running on like lactic legs.
It was like I was in an 800 and I was rigging.
There's no other way to describe it.
It was awful.
It was a terrible feeling.
Um, I was, there was one step I took that I almost dropped.
I'd almost collapsed because of the lactic.
Um, the only other time I've experienced that was I was in a track race in the last 50 meters.
I just fell down because of the lactic acid.
So, um, I don't remember anything.
I don't remember the cheers.
I don't even remember Erica.
Erica took a video of me and was cheering for me.
I would have, I would have remembered Erica's voice.
I didn't even remember.
But I saw the video and I was like, she was there.
I was like, Erica was there.
Where were you?
I was a blackout.
It was like, get to the line.
Which sucks.
Cause, like I think if I could have been like mentally in it a little bit more at the end, I could have stuck with Emily and over those last you know cause I think I think she put 35 seconds on me.
I was really upset about that immediately, but then I was like Amanda, you could not have done anything else.
You were like the marathon distance really showed out over those last six miles and it showed my inexperience.
But again, I don't look at that as a negative.
I look at that as a huge positive because even though I felt that bad, I still didn't blow up.
I still kept it together.
Um, so yeah, I had a couple really rough miles in there for sure, but that's to be expected.
Like everyone's going to have some rough miles, and I crossed the line and was just like, thank God, that that's you know.
Thank God, my body can stop now.
And I crawled, I just started crawling.
I crossed the line and I crawled and yeah, that's, that was it.
That was, that was my marathon right there.
Did you know where you were in terms of placement when you finished?
No, the only thing I had a pretty good idea of it was that I was the fourth American, which sucked.
I really wanted, like secretly, I really wanted to be top three American, but just I just gave it up at the end.
I just, you know, Emily pulled away and then I, I was like, gosh, she's the American record holder.
You don't need to stay with her, whatever.
But, um, Yeah, I was bummed that I wasn't top three, but I had no idea I was in the top ten.
So when Josh told me, yeah, you were ninth.
You were ninth in your first world major.
I was like, dang, you know what?
That's pretty good.
That's not bad at all.
I was pretty happy with that.
Yeah, I think in this type of field.
I remember Annie Frisbee saying to me before the race this is the most loaded field that she's ever been a part of or seen.
I think With that being said, I was happy with the ninth place finish.
And, yeah, once I found that out, I was like, okay, you know what?
Maybe my legs don't feel so bad.
Maybe I should sign up for the next one.
Josh, get on the phone.
Josh?
Oh, he's – first thing he said to me, he's like, I got you.
You know, like we – He knew.
He knows before I know.
He's like, oh, I knew.
Like, it's fun to be working with Josh.
He's awesome, and I love –
I just love we have such a great relationship with um.
I have a great relationship with him and Carrie and now, like his family, I've met um his, his kid at one of his kids, Asher like it's all great.
It's, it's all really fun.
And then the best part of the day was, um, my parents came down from the grandstands.
I got to see them.
Um, I really only got to see them for a short period of time cause they had to get back to you know, get ready to go to the airport.
But, it was, they were like, that was awesome.
Like we get it now we get the marathon.
We understand the magic of it.
Um, just like they were like just seeing like your, your roommate Annie, coming in, just seeing like you guys at this level, they were like it's so cool.
So um, it was great to see them after and just celebrate and yeah, all good feelings after the race.
A hundred percent.
You mentioned in your post after the race saying hi to Matt James mid-race.
Matt James was one of the athletes who started early with the MasterCard priceless start.
Are you a big Bachelor Nation girly?
How do you know Matt James?
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
I watch Matt's season 100%.
I'm not as good about following it now, but I love The Bachelor.
I love The Bachelorette.
I mean, I like dramatic shows.
I like... those shows that you can just put on in the background.
And it's not that serious.
You know, everything doesn't have to be that serious.
It's good comedic relief.
It's fun to see everyone dressing up.
But I'm a big Matt James fan just because, like, I'm a big fan of him, Zach Clark, like, Tayshia.
Like, seeing all of them out there is, like, so cool.
Like, I think it's great for the sport because they're bringing more eyes to it.
And yeah, I'm a huge Matt James fan because, like he does, like his Instagram, like he does all these cool food reviews in New York.
And I'm like, gosh, that looks so fun.
I love how into running he is now.
I love what Zach Clark's doing.
So I, it was probably only the second or third mile I looked over.
I was like, that's, that's definitely Matt James.
So I was like, Matt James.
And he looked over and he's like, you're doing great.
And I was like, Thank you.
And I mean, the girls around me are probably like, what are you doing?
But I'm known for this.
Like at the New York committee this past spring, people still bring it up to me.
We were, we were walking over to the lead athlete tent for the, before the start of the race.
And I saw Mike Tyson walking in the park and I was like, Oh my God, guys, it's Mike Tyson.
And they were like, like what?
And I was like, it's Mike Tyson.
And I stopped, like everyone stopped.
And I feel like a couple of the girls were annoyed.
And I was like, I'm sorry.
Are you not excited about Mike Tyson?
Like that's Mike Tyson.
And we still talk about it.
A couple of the girls like still talk about it to this day.
They were like remember when you saw Mike Tyson and we all like, we were all like stopped and we're all trying to get in the zone.
And you're just like, oh my God, it's Mike Tyson.
But I don't care.
I am not too cool to like recognize people.
I think it's awesome.
I love it.
Yeah, I also love the camaraderie among your fellow marathoners, which you've talked about quite a bit.
But Emily Sisson commented on your post saying that she was glad you got to work together for a bit.
I know it sounds like those were in some of the blackout miles.
Is that yes, accurate?
Yeah she she's she, definitely.
She was the one that I was really.
Just, she was the only person I was really seeing like in my vision, not in my vision, like I didn't black out, but you know mentally mentally, the only person I was focused on in those later stages of the race was Emily, because she was just right in front of me.
And I kept thinking, like you know, there was so many thoughts of like Emily is the American record holder.
She's done so many marathons.
Even if she's having a tough time out there right now, she knows how to finish a marathon.
Like she's done this before.
You just need to keep your eyes up on her.
Even if she gets in front of you a little bit, keep your eyes up on her, finish this race.
And I did that.
I told myself, if Emily can do it, you can do it.
Keep your eyes on her.
It was really only over those last one and a half to two miles that she had eventually pulled pretty far ahead at that point.
I think she put, like I said, like half a minute on me.
But at that point, yeah, it truly was just kind of like rigging those last two miles body-wise.
And again, I think...
Marathon after marathon after marathon, your body will know how to handle that stress.
But Emily really got me through the worst parts of it because I just I know her accolades.
I know she's the best and one of the best in the world.
So still being around a person like that gives you confidence.
So like, all right, you're you're still good.
Like, you're fine.
So it was awesome to run with her.
She's been a hero of mine, like in the running space for a while.
So really, really cool to be able to run with her for a little bit.
So it's still very, very early to have these conversations.
But we all know that 2028 Olympics are happening in L.A.
So I think that, more than any other year, it's going to be such an exciting time for Team USA because home turf, home field advantage.
Is it safe to assume that, off of your marathon debut, that this is the team that you will be looking to make in 2028?
Yeah, I definitely think so.
And, that being said, like everyone probably who's listening to this like follows so closely the American women in the marathon.
And there is just absolutely no shortage of super talented athletes in the marathon.
And so I would be remiss not to say like, it's going to be the hardest team ever to make.
It will be a dog fight to make that team.
Um, Am I up in the equation yet?
I don't know.
It was only my first marathon, but I can hope and dream that three years time I am in a position that I can do that.
But I think, like Natasha Rogers said it best, the marathon is about lifetime miles, stacking bricks on bricks on bricks.
The marathon is not something that's mastered in your first build or your second build.
It's It's accumulated over time.
And I think I'm in a timeframe, right now, where the next three years, or however long we have, will be enough time for me to get to that confidence level to say I'm I'm fighting for this team.
But right now yeah, it's just, it's a dream, you know, it's.
It's something I think so many people are shooting for, and it's definitely the next step.
But I'm the type of athlete where I I just get excited about the next season.
Like I love the training.
I love each and every race for different reasons.
And while the Olympic trials are maybe the biggest goal or accomplishment of them all, I'm not even thinking about it right now.
Like I'm, I'm focused in on like, Hey, let's get your half marathon time better.
Let's, you know, let's get into this next, you know, big block of training.
Let's get faster.
Let's let's PR on the 5k.
Let's PR on the 10k.
Um, So yeah, well, I'm totally hooked on the marathon distance, 100%.
I have so many more goals I have between each build and before 2028.
So yeah.
Yay.
I love it.
Well, you have so much to be proud of.
I have loved recapping all of this with you.
Just so happy for you.
So I loved our start line hug.
That was the highlight of the day for me.
So yeah, just great to see you out there crushing it.
And can't wait to see where you'll be racing this spring.
Thank you.
So glad to recap this with you.
Yay.
Congratulations.
Keep resting.
See you at the next start line.
See you there.
Thank you so much for being here for this episode of the Allie on the Run show with my guest, Amanda Vestry.
Amanda, congratulations.
You are awesome.
You are so easy to root for.
And to everyone else who's out there watching recovering, i hope, from the new york city marathon.
Uh, you heard amanda say it she still hasn't run, she's still taking the time off.
So this is in case you need to hear it permission to do the same.
So many people will rush back to their workouts and their activity.
Give your body a break, take it easy, go for some nice walks.
You will be back on the run in no time, i promise.
What else can i tell you?
Alley on the runsubstackcom is the newsletter i'm on instagram at alley on the run one.
I love you.
Viore is our supporter for this episode.
Viore.com slash on the run is going to save you 20% on your first Viore order.
You've got this.
You're doing great.
Thank you for joining me on the run.
