#193 Brooklynn Harvey: FROM HER FIRST MILE TO 3:09

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Kristian sits down with Brooklynn Harvey, a 3:09 marathoner and running coach, to talk about her Boston Marathon experience, her running journey since 2021, and the honest story behind two stress fractures tied to underfueling and disordered eating.

Brooklynn shares how she went from her first mile ever to qualifying for and running Boston, and opens up candidly about a period where restrictive eating drove some of her fastest results, and why that progress ultimately came at a steep cost to her health.

She talks about what recovery actually looked like, how she rebuilt her relationship with food and training, and how she's approaching her current injury with a different mindset than the first time around.

The conversation closes with her coaching philosophy: consistency, easy days done easy, and building volume before adding speed.

In this episode:

- Running the Boston Marathon with her whole family there

- Going from her very first mile to a 3:09 marathoner

- Early lessons learned the hard way: fueling, gear, and race day basics

- Her history with disordered eating and how it intersected with training

- Two stress fractures and what each one taught her

- Rebuilding her relationship with food and her body

- Coaching philosophy: consistency, easy days, and building volume safely

- Staying connected to the sport while sidelined with injury

Content note: this episode includes a detailed, personal account of disordered eating and its physical toll. If this is a difficult topic for you, please take care while listening. If you are struggling with disordered eating yourself, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline is a resource worth knowing about.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and reliving the Boston Marathon experience

04:51 Who is Brooklynn outside of running?

07:01 What got her into running in 2021

09:02 Her first outdoor run and falling in love with it

10:03 Learning the hard way: her first half marathon

13:47 Deciding to chase a faster time

36:35 A 3:40 marathon and the start of a hard winter

37:23 Opening up about her eating disorder history

39:33 How underfueling fueled short term performance gains

43:16 A 3:24 marathon and chasing an even faster time

46:11 A 3:09 marathon and an emptiness after crossing the line

47:30 Hitting a turning point and starting to heal

48:22 Breaking her foot and the wake up call

52:28 Facing a second stress fracture and a different mindset

56:05 Turning to coaching while unable to run herself

58:32 Her coaching philosophy: consistency and easy days

1:00:04 Building volume and adding strength training

1:01:00 Introducing speed work safely

1:09:37 Fartlek training and running by time instead of distance

1:12:19 Closing thoughts and where to find Brooklynn

Brooklynn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b_harv_runs/

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Full episodes + the Boston 2025 documentary: https://www.youtube.com/@Warwickruns

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