Episode 8: Alicia Monson - US Cross Country champion and Olympic and World Championships 10km runner

Alicia Monson is an American long distance runner (5,000m and 10,000m) originally from Amery, WI. She attended the University of Wisconsin where she had honors including Big 10 track athlete of the year and 5,000m indoor NCAA title in 2019. After earning her degree in Dietetics, Alicia turned pro and joined the On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colorado. In her first year as a pro runner, she earned a spot in the 10,000m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games.

2022 has been a breakout year for Alicia. In January, she won the US Cross Country title. She carried that momentum into a phenomenal indoor and outdoor season that culminated in a 2nd place finish at the 2022 US 10,000m championships at the Prefontaine Classic to secure a spot on Team USA for the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Alicia has had some amazing performances in the Diamond Leagues, including a 5,000m PB of 14:31 in Oslo, which ranks her 3rd all time for US women. We’ll discuss some of the important aspects of her mental and physical preparation and how she maintains consistency at high levels of training. Let’s get ready to run with Olympic long distance runner - Alicia Monson!

What we talked about:

2:40- Introduction to Alicia Monson

8:45- Alicia’s mentality when racing

11:25- Managing efforts on different days of training

13:30- Signals to look for to determine when you are overtraining

16:40- Her race at the Olympic Trials and preparations for the heat at the Tokyo Olympics

23:00- Recapping her 2022 season

26:30- Training in St. Moritz

29:55- Altitude training

35:05- Priorities for recovery

40:15- Her race at the World Championships in Eugene

Show Notes:

Alicia on Instagram