895. Molly Seidel's 2026 Western States Recap (With Special Guest Molly Reidy)

"Being able to go into a race where you are a rookie, it opened me up to take chances I wouldn't necessarily take. In the marathon, I felt like I got so scared of failing that I was really hesitant to make any moves, try anything big, or go for it. It was like a protective thing. 'I just want to play it safe so I can race as well as possible but not risk anything.' I think with this one, I went into this with nothing to lose. I'm gonna go out and try to race as well as I can and race hard and I know I'll probably make mistakes, but so what?"

Earlier this year, Molly Seidel — the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon — went all-in on ultra running, earning a Golden Ticket to the prestigious 2026 Western States Endurance Run 100-miler. In this episode, Molly recaps her 100-mile debut, reflecting on the highs, lows, river crossings, and more. She finished the race in 24 hours, 29 minutes, and 27 seconds. She was the 28th woman to cross the line, and came in 141st out of 323 finishers. And we're joined by a special guest: Molly's girlfriend, Molly Reidy!

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IN THIS EPISODE:

• How the Mollys are recovering from Western States in Wisconsin (2:00)
• What's making the Mollys happy today (3:20)
• How the Mollys met, and how Molly Reidy has learned about what it's like to date a professional runner (9:50)
• What Molly Reidy is like when Molly Seidel is racing (21:55)
• What Molly's Western States training was like, and how she prepared mentally for her 100-mile debut (31:20)
• How Molly assembled her WSER crew (35:30)
• Why Molly shaved her head before the race! (40:00)
• All about the Western States race plan (43:20)
• What the Western States start line was like, and how the early miles unfolded (45:00)
• The halfway point: when things started to go south for Molly (58:30)
• All about that final mile, and making it to the finish line (1:15:00)
• Lessons learned from WSER 2026 (1:30:25)
• What's next for Molly (1:36:40)

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