Malindi Elmore is a longtime coach on V.O2. Over the last several years she has shocked the running world by transforming her career from Olympic 1500m runner to Olympic marathoner. In the early 2000’s she was a Canadian national champion middle distance star, (one of their best ever). 20 years later she’s one of the best Canadians ever in the marathon with a 2:24:50 PB at age 40. In 2021, she finished 9th in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics.
You just ran your second fastest marathon in Toronto and recently set a PB in the 10k at 42 years-old. You mentioned feeling more consistent and healthier post-kids. Why do you think?
My kids force me to be more focused on my training and structure. I know I have certain window I can train during the day so I can’t take them for granted and need them to serve a very specific purpose. I have a very good idea of what I need to accomplish in all my sessions, and I am very committed to achieving my goals. The rest of my day is spent focusing on work and family life balance so I do not stress about my workouts in these times outside training. I think kids provide me the structure and urgency I need to achieve my goals.
You mentioned hitting the “wall” at the end of this marathon. What’s your assessment? Anything you would have changed in the race or in your training to address?
My build-up to this race was interrupted a few times – a couple minor injuries during the build and then two weeks off for recovering from COVID. I knew going in I wasn’t in “peak” form but I was still in good shape. I actually surprised myself by how good I felt and how fast I was running during most of the race because my workouts did not necessarily indicate that I was ready to run 2:25. I was hoping and trusting that the work, taper and my mindset would bring out the best on the day and it did. I think the last 4-5 km hit me because of the adjusted training leading in – but it also hit everyone as it was slightly uphill into a headwind so in hindsight, I actually ran it quite well (second fastest female over last 7 km).
You mentioned running 100-mile weeks this summer and posted a pic of your treadmill. How often do you run on the treadmill and do you find it advantageous (besides convenience or necessity to watch kids?)
I love running on my treadmill! I think it gets me very fit as I set the paces and then just lock into them and get the work done. I find workouts easier to do than easy running as it gives a focus on the time and work. I really like using @Zwift (virtual running) so I have a visual and feedback on my running with the screen. It is very convenient with juggling kids, as well as our relatively extreme climate (winters are very cold and summers are very hot in Kelowna).
What’s next athletically?
All eyes on Paris 2024! I am really excited to see what I can do in the next two years to put myself on another Olympic team and compete with the best in the world.
Your oldest is now 8. Are you or do you plan to encourage running? What do you think is the best way to introduce young kids to the sport or sport in general?
My oldest son (Charlie) was in Toronto with me which was his first marathon experience and he loved it. He does a few kids races at my races but does not train or run regularly yet – we will wait til he is older or until he expresses interest. We expose our boys to lots of sports – soccer, swimming, gymnastics, cycling, skiing, hiking, etc and mostly hope our kids will be active and healthy people and also learn good values about working hard for goals.
I really believe in multi-sport for children and not becoming a single-sport athlete until much later in their life. I also firmly believe that the desire to pursue a passion has to come from within, and that my role as a parent is to follow my child’s lead.
Anything new you’ve learned as a coach now that you have many years of coaching athletes under your belt too? Has it helped you as an athlete as well?
I learn a lot from working with my athletes! It’s a win-win situation! I will never ask someone to do training I am not prepared to do myself and often test-run workouts before prescribing them. At the same time, it holds me accountable because I know if I want someone else to do certain training or maybe more importantly, believe in certain values and mindsets, that I have to be willing to do so myself. For example, trusting the process and doing the best you can do even when things aren’t “perfect”.
Connect with Malindi on her VDOT Coaching profile page.
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