866. Molly Seidel, Ultramarathoner

"The last couple years have been so hard. I've been through so many ups and downs that I'm like, 'There is nothing in a race that I can experience that is worse than what I've just gone through.'"

Watch out, ultra world: Molly Seidel has arrived! The Olympic bronze medalist has officially moved from the marathon to the mountains. Molly just completed the Black Canyon 100K, where she finished fourth and earned a golden ticket entry to this summer's 100-mile Western States Endurance Run. Earlier this year, Molly made her ultra debut at the Bandera 50K, where she won the race outright, beating the first male finisher by six minutes. Her 4:09:39 broke a course record that had stood since 2012. In this conversation, Molly breaks down her day at Black Canyon, and talks about how she's feeling about this new-to-her adventure.

FOLLOW MOLLY @bygolly.molly

SPONSOR: Lagoon. Click here to take Lagoon's 2-minute sleep quiz to see which pillow is right for you, and use code ALI at checkout for 15% off your next Lagoon order.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• How Molly's feeling post-Black Canyon 100K (1:40)
• What's making Molly happy today (3:15)
• Molly reflects on a tough day at the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon, where she pulled out of the race at mile 18 (6:00)
• Molly's recap from the Bandera 50K in January, which she won outright (9:00)
• Why Molly decided to run the Black Canyon 100K (13:30)
• What Molly needed from her crew (26:45)
• Molly's Black Canyon 100K race report (29:45)
• Molly's highs and lowest from the day (50:30)
• How Molly is feeling about running Western States in a few months (53:40)

Follow Ali:

• Instagram @aliontherun1
• Subscribe to the newsletter
• Join the Facebook group
• Support on Patreon

SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show! If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!