Emily Harrison has the 15th fastest marathon qualifying time heading into the January 14th Olympic Marathon Trials.  She qualified at the 2011 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon running a stellar 2:32:55.  Harrison is supported by the McMillan Elite Training Group based out of Flagstaff, AZ.  The University of Virginia All-American continues to enjoy the peacefulness running brings her.

Runners Feed: Take us through a typical day of your life

Emily Harrison: We have our main run/workout of the day around 8:30 each morning, then it’s back home by late morning for breakfast, shower, etc. Sometimes I then babysit in the afternoon or coach an after-school elementary track program. If I don’t have any obligations, I’m usually relaxing or taking a nap. Typically, I go for a shorter second run around 4 in the afternoon and get in a core routine.

Find Motivation to Run in the Morning!

RF: Do you work full or part-time while training? If so, what do you do? If not, what has kept you afloat while you pursue your dream?

EH: I’ve been very fortunate that my family helps me out quite a bit while I pursue running professionally, but I’ve also found I do best when I have something else besides running to occupy my time. I have a couple families I babysit for part-time, and I also do the elementary school track program a couple times a week.

RF: Who introduced you to the sport of running? And what about running do you think has kept you coming back for more?

EH: I started running track in middle school because my friends were going to try it and also because I wasn’t really interested in any other sports. It’s funny that before that, I used to not enjoy going for runs with my mom.  Having early success kept me coming back for more and continually increasing my goals. I also just love the daily grind of going out the door and logging in the miles and the challenges that come with it. I’ve always enjoyed the solitude and peacefulness you can find out there.

Rapid Fire

RF: Sock or no socks?

EH: Socks unless it’s track season then it’s definitely no socks.

RF: Breakfast the day of the race?

EH: Either a piece of bread or a rice cake with jelly.

 

Suggested Reading: Double Dipping-Learn about Running Twice a Day!

See Interviews with other Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifiers

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