Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / Why Discomfort Breeds Success: 5X World Champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden on Handling Pressure, Bouncing Back from Injury & Leveling Up with Star Athletics

Transcript

Why Discomfort Breeds Success: 5X World Champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden on Handling Pressure, Bouncing Back from Injury & Leveling Up with Star Athletics · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You don't get anywhere in life by being comfortable. Most
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: of the time you grow, you achieve the things that
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  Speaker 1: you do by being uncomfortable.
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  Speaker 2: Hey everybody, Emily Abadi here. You are listening to another
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  Speaker 2: episode of Hurdle. a podcast featuring the mindset secrets and
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  Speaker 2: true stories of the most inspiring women in sports and wellness,
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  Speaker 2: empowering you to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life,
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  Speaker 2: and of course, conquer your own hurdles. This week's episode
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  Speaker 2: is extra special. I finally got to sit down with
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  Speaker 2: the one, the only Melissa Jefferson Wooden, live at the
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  Speaker 2: Nike House of Innovation on Fifth Avenue, leading up to
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  Speaker 2: Sunday's New York City Marathon. Melissa is an Olympic medalist,
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  Speaker 2: a five-time world champion, and one of the fastest women
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  Speaker 2: on the planet, running a blazing 10.61 in the 100
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  Speaker 2: meters and a 21.47 in the 200, making her the
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  Speaker 2: third fastest of all time. To say that I was
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  Speaker 2: excited for this convo is such an understatement. I felt
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  Speaker 2: so honored to have some of Melissa's time, especially in
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  Speaker 2: such an exciting time here in New York. In our conversation,
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  Speaker 2: she opens up about the mindset required to navigate intense pressure,
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  Speaker 2: why she chose to leave her comfort zone to train
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  Speaker 2: with Star Athletics alongside the best sprinters in the world,
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  Speaker 2: and how she bounced back from a winless 2023 season
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  Speaker 2: and a stress fracture to dominate the track in 2024
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  Speaker 2: and 2025. We also dive into the launch of her nonprofit,
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  Speaker 2: The Village Initiative, her favorite book recommendations, and what it
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  Speaker 2: really means to toe the line and shock yourself. Before
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  Speaker 2: we jump in, make sure you're following along with Hurdle
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  Speaker 2: on social. It's over at Hurdle Podcast. I'm over at
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: Emily Abadi. And can't forget about iHeart Woman Sports over
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: at iHeart Woman Sports. You can listen to Hurdle on
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  Speaker 2: the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: your podcasts. And just do me a quick favor. If
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  Speaker 2: you have yet to rate and review the show, it
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  Speaker 2: means the world to me if you just take a
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  Speaker 2: few seconds and head into wherever you're listening to this
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  Speaker 2: episode and do that today. Again, a huge thank you
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  Speaker 2: to Melissa for her time, Nike NYC for helping set
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  Speaker 2: this up, and all of you for coming back week
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  Speaker 2: after week. With that, let's get into it. Let's get
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  Speaker 2: to hurtling. I appreciate you all for being out maybe
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  Speaker 2: a little past your normal bedtime tonight, but with good reason,
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  Speaker 2: because I have an incredible guest for us this evening
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  Speaker 2: that knows a thing or two about running for sure,
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  Speaker 2: and certainly a thing or two about speed. She's a
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  Speaker 2: five-time world champion, an Olympic medalist, a Nike athlete and
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  Speaker 2: sprinter who competes in the 100 and the 200 World
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  Speaker 2: Please join me in welcoming to the stage, Melissa Jefferson Wooden. Hey, Mel. Hey, Kay.
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  Speaker 2: How are we tonight? How are you doing, really? You recently,
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  Speaker 2: this morning, landed in New York City. The vibes are high.
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  Speaker 2: How are you doing? I'm feeling good.
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  Speaker 1: I'm about over halfway through my off-season, so I'm definitely
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  Speaker 1: cherishing all of the free days that I have left
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  Speaker 1: before I have to go back to training, but I'm
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  Speaker 1: feeling good.
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  Speaker 2: Feeling good. Just to provide some context for those of
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  Speaker 2: you that may not be as well versed in the
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  Speaker 2: world of track and field as you are with road
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  Speaker 2: running and women's marathoning. Melissa runs 100 meters, her personal
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  Speaker 2: best time, 10.61 seconds. I can't even get up the
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  Speaker 2: stairs from the ground level in 10.61 seconds. She runs
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  Speaker 2: the 200 meter in 21.4 seconds. Seven seconds, making her
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  Speaker 2: the third fastest of all time. Yeah, we're amongst greatness
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  Speaker 2: right now.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you.
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  Speaker 2: And so I think tonight what we should start with
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  Speaker 2: here is, like I said, the energy in the room
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  Speaker 2: is palpable right now. There is a lot of excitement
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  Speaker 2: in New York City for what many of these women
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  Speaker 2: are about to do on Sunday. You know a thing
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  Speaker 2: or two about managing excitement. How do you set yourself
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  Speaker 2: up for success, Melissa, when the nerves are high?
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  Speaker 1: So the thing that I like to do the most
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  Speaker 1: or what I deem of most importance is trying to
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  Speaker 1: stay in the moment, not looking too much ahead, but
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  Speaker 1: also not trying to overdo it in the process. So say,
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  Speaker 1: for instance, the race is on Sunday, right? Today is Tuesday.
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to be doing everything that I can, obviously,
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  Speaker 1: to prepare for Sunday, but also just allowing myself to
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  Speaker 1: enjoy where I am right now. Looking back at what
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  Speaker 1: got you to where you are leading up to Sunday
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  Speaker 1: is going to be a thing that carries you to
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  Speaker 1: the start line and through the race and towards the
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  Speaker 1: finish line. So I would say that's the biggest thing
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  Speaker 1: is just trying to be.
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  Speaker 2: In the moment. Trying to be in the moment. And again,
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  Speaker 2: really hard to do when the stakes are so high. High. Inevitably,
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  Speaker 2: would you say that sometimes that little nagging voice creeps
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  Speaker 2: into your head? Oh, absolutely.
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  Speaker 1: It's very easy, especially competing at the level that I do.
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  Speaker 1: Those girls... they're fast. And so, you know, you have
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  Speaker 1: to come to training. You have to wake up every
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  Speaker 1: day with your mindset being at a certain level, whether
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  Speaker 1: it's in, okay, we're going out there to compete today,
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  Speaker 1: or even if it's just, okay, I'm going to see
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  Speaker 1: how much I can improve on what I just did
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  Speaker 1: yesterday in practice. And so making sure that your mindset
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  Speaker 1: is where it needs to be all throughout that, I
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  Speaker 1: feel like is the thing that makes the biggest difference,
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  Speaker 1: but also to understanding and knowing what you bring to
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  Speaker 1: the table. I don't take the line lightly or I
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  Speaker 1: don't take it for granted because I know that all
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  Speaker 1: of the other women that I'm competing against have worked
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  Speaker 1: just as hard to get to where they are and
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  Speaker 1: wanting to achieve the same things that I'm trying to achieve.
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  Speaker 1: But also too, I've been learning how to have the
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  Speaker 1: confidence in myself to know what I bring to the table,
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  Speaker 1: what I know that I've been putting in on a
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  Speaker 1: daily basis and knowing that once I do get to
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  Speaker 1: the start line, that I have nothing, no room for doubt.
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  Speaker 2: No room for doubt. What I'm hearing you say is
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  Speaker 2: that you're putting in the reps, the mental reps ahead
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  Speaker 2: of time, just like you're putting in the reps on
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  Speaker 2: the track ahead of time. And when you say that
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  Speaker 2: these things, these women know a thing or two about speed,
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  Speaker 2: let's just be clear. So do you. You came out
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  Speaker 2: of high school running a 12 flat. Again, I said
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  Speaker 2: just now, Her personal best is 10-6-1. So she has
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  Speaker 2: been for years working diligently to cut off 1.4 seconds
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  Speaker 2: thus far. Only thus far. Uh, so give us some
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  Speaker 2: context on that. I mean, you grew up and succeeded
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  Speaker 2: at this sport pretty early on, but I believe I've
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  Speaker 2: heard you say that you didn't really fully comprehend just
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  Speaker 2: how good you could be at it until you got
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  Speaker 2: to college.
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  Speaker 1: Yes. So like you said, I came out of high
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  Speaker 1: school running 12 flat. I went to, um, from a
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  Speaker 1: really small community, um, Georgetown, South Carolina, um, My graduating
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  Speaker 1: class from high school had 80 kids. So, you know,
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  Speaker 1: very small town girl, used to being the underdog and,
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  Speaker 1: you know, looking at all of the other schools and
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  Speaker 1: what they bring to the table when it's time to
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  Speaker 1: come to school. state meets or championships and things like that.
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  Speaker 1: Nobody's ever really looking at the smaller school. But the
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  Speaker 1: one thing that has never changed and has always been
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  Speaker 1: instilled in me is that it doesn't matter where you
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  Speaker 1: come from. If you put in the work and you
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  Speaker 1: have people who surround you on a day-to-day basis and
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  Speaker 1: they're pouring into you, they're encouraging you and saying like,
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  Speaker 1: you can be who you say you want to be.
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  Speaker 1: You can do more than you could ever imagine. And
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  Speaker 1: being able to have those types of people around me,
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  Speaker 1: not only my family, I call them my family, but
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  Speaker 1: they're also what I call my village. I'm a village kid.
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  Speaker 1: And they are the ones that drive me to get
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  Speaker 1: to where I am. And so, like you said, I
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  Speaker 1: didn't realize it until I got to college of, okay,
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  Speaker 1: you know what? We can really start to see where
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  Speaker 1: this thing can take us because Going to a smaller school,
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  Speaker 1: I never really experienced what it was like to do
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  Speaker 1: a full track and field season. So I would go
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  Speaker 1: from sport to sport. One year I ran cross country.
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  Speaker 1: Don't know why I did that. Shout out to you
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  Speaker 1: guys who run marathons because that's not my thing. But
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  Speaker 1: I will be there cheering you on. But I started
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  Speaker 1: out running cross country. Then I would go from cross
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  Speaker 1: country to basketball. And that career was short lived. It
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  Speaker 1: was too good for the world to see. I had
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  Speaker 1: to stop while I was ahead. But it was always,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I was in any and everything, just trying
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  Speaker 1: to stay active and trying to stay busy. So once
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  Speaker 1: I got to college, I gained consistency. I gained having
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  Speaker 1: a routine. And essentially, when you establish a routine and
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  Speaker 1: you establish consistency, that's when you start to see the success.
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  Speaker 1: That's when you start to see success. the difference and
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  Speaker 1: the change before your eyes, literally. I think about it
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  Speaker 1: all the time. Me and my husband, when we were
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  Speaker 1: in college dating, we, after a meet, it would, I
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  Speaker 1: would run really good and we would go and celebrate
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  Speaker 1: at Waffle House. And I remember the days where we
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  Speaker 1: would just be sitting there talking about like, oh my gosh,
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  Speaker 1: like it would be so crazy, you know, if you
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  Speaker 1: just went out there and ran 10-9. And just to
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  Speaker 1: think about things like that now and see how far
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  Speaker 1: I've came just over the years, but also just having
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  Speaker 1: little moments like that with the people that you love,
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  Speaker 1: joking about it, but also just speaking it too. And
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  Speaker 1: also believing it, I feel like is the thing that
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  Speaker 1: makes the difference.
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  Speaker 2: Speaking it, believing it, putting it out into the world
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  Speaker 2: and knowing that it can happen. Believing that it can
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  Speaker 2: happen is a massive unlock. In that progress, in that
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  Speaker 2: process of getting to a place where you began to
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  Speaker 2: unlock your own potential, you also had to develop your
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  Speaker 2: relationship with pressure because we know that with success comes
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  Speaker 2: more eyes. Talk to me about how your relationship with
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  Speaker 2: pressure has evolved over the years and how you manage
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  Speaker 2: it today.
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  Speaker 1: So me and pressure, we have a very interesting relationship.
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  Speaker 1: And I say that because a lot of times, especially
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  Speaker 1: over the past couple of years, well, really since 2022,
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  Speaker 1: these last four years, I've been in a, I found
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  Speaker 1: myself in a lot of high pressure races, but it
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  Speaker 1: tends to be the races that I run my best in.
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  Speaker 1: And not even from a standpoint of looking at the
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  Speaker 1: results that I put in, but just the way that
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  Speaker 1: I feel overall. And I think the idea of feeling
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  Speaker 1: the pressure, but also being able to approach it, or
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  Speaker 1: not necessarily approach it, but meet it, right? You meet
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  Speaker 1: the pressure. You can get up every day and look
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  Speaker 1: at yourself in the mirror and say, I know that
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  Speaker 1: today might not be easy, but I'm going to still
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  Speaker 1: give it everything I got, or I'm And a lot
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  Speaker 1: of times, especially now being a professional athlete, it's waking
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  Speaker 1: up every single morning, going to practice at 9 a.m.,
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  Speaker 1: knowing that the workout is literally going to kill you
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  Speaker 1: and you get in your car and you drive to
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  Speaker 1: practice and you do the workout anyways, because, you know,
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  Speaker 1: at the end of the day. if you can't meet
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: that pressure on that day of just getting through the workout,
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  Speaker 1: then how can you expect to do what you want
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  Speaker 1: to do when it comes time for the big meets?
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  Speaker 1: So I think, like you said again, or I've said
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  Speaker 1: it too, but it's really just training yourself to be
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  Speaker 1: consistent and also just knowing like, okay, if this is
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  Speaker 1: what I say I want to do, then I need
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  Speaker 1: to be making sure that I'm doing everything that I
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  Speaker 1: can to be able to do that.
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  Speaker 2: What I think is also so impressive about you is
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  Speaker 2: it's not just that you've chosen to put yourself in
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  Speaker 2: these high pressure situations. You've chosen to put yourself in
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  Speaker 2: tough environments so that you can excel in them better,
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  Speaker 2: specifically when it comes to changing to your training group,
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  Speaker 2: training with Star Athletics and working with Dennis. Talk to
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  Speaker 2: me a little bit about that decision and how it's
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  Speaker 2: helped you level up in the game.
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  Speaker 1: Yes. So my first year professional, I decided to stay
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  Speaker 1: with my collegiate coach. And it was my first year
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  Speaker 1: being a professional, but it was also my coach's first
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  Speaker 1: year coaching a professional athlete. And you look at what
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  Speaker 1: I did in college. I won the NCAA 60 meter title,
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  Speaker 1: came into the meet seated at number 12 and ended
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  Speaker 1: up winning the whole thing. Shocked the whole world. Mr.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: John from ESPN, he calls the Shauna Clears now butt
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  Speaker 1: kicking chickens. But to be able to come off of
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  Speaker 1: a year like that, go out to the NCAA outdoor championships,
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  Speaker 1: but not succeed the way that you want to, and
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  Speaker 1: then turn around two weeks later and become a U.S.
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  Speaker 1: champion in the 100 and make your first U.S. team
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  Speaker 1: that happens to be on U.S. soil. You're coming off
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  Speaker 1: of a year of just, wow, okay, we might not
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  Speaker 1: know necessarily what worked, but we also know that we
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  Speaker 1: can build on this and that we're in a good spot.
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  Speaker 1: So we go into that first year together. of saying,
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  Speaker 1: you know, okay, let's do this. We're going to have
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  Speaker 1: to do this differently. And that right there was a no-no.
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  Speaker 1: There was a lot of things that changed throughout that
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  Speaker 1: year that probably shouldn't have. But then also too, it
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  Speaker 1: was just us learning together, trying to figure it out together.
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  Speaker 1: And I remember going to a meet overseas or after
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  Speaker 1: I didn't make the USA team For the world championships
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  Speaker 1: in 2023, I went to a meet overseas and I
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: had a talk with my agent and he was talking
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  Speaker 1: with my Nike rep and the conversation came up of like, okay,
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: should Melissa stay? Should she go? But then also there
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: was a lot of other moving factors within that. My
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: collegiate coach was taking a new position at a new school, which...
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: you add in another variable of different changes and things
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  Speaker 1: like that. So a lot can happen. And now we're
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  Speaker 1: going into the Olympic year. So, okay, what do I do?
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  Speaker 1: And it was a conversation. It was hard conversations. It
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  Speaker 1: was not easy. I actually cried because Coach G is
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: like family to me still to this day he is. And,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I always give him credit for the relationship
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  Speaker 1: that we still do have because at the end of
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  Speaker 1: the day, we did what was best for one another.
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  Speaker 1: And the decision that I made to leave, obviously it
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: wasn't one that was easy, but it was necessary. And
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: the one thing that I've learned, especially now being in
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: Claremont and training with Star Athletics is you don't get
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: anywhere in life by being comfortable. Most of the time
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  Speaker 1: you grow, you achieve the things that you do by
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: being uncomfortable. No one grows from comfort. And that's what
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  Speaker 1: I've been learning. I feel like with track and field
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  Speaker 1: and also just with running in general, like what we do,
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  Speaker 1: it isn't easy. And a lot of people we do,
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: and we love to do things that other sports see
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: as punishment, but we love it because it brings us joy.
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  Speaker 1: It brings us peace. It gives us insight to, you know,
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: think differently and whatever the case may be. And so
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  Speaker 1: understanding that and bringing that to the table every single
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  Speaker 1: day of just saying like, you know, I know that,
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  Speaker 1: Each time that I step to the line, you know,
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  Speaker 1: it might not be easy or whatever the case may be,
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: but also I know that I need to do this
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: in order to get to where I want to go.
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  Speaker 2: Something I think that's so important also about your story
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  Speaker 2: and you mentioned 2023 is that you didn't win a
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  Speaker 2: single race in 2023. And I bring that up not
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: to highlight necessarily the fact that you didn't win a
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: single race in 2023, but more so to highlight what
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: happened afterward and the mindset that was required to keep
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: showing up when things weren't going your way. To recap
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: again for those people that may not be well-versed in
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: track and field, In 2025 at the World Championships, Melissa
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: did something that has never really been done. She won
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: the 100, she won the 200, and she won the
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: 4x100 relay. Yeah. Absolutely phenomenal. And this is just two
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: years after not winning a single race. Talk to us
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: about that mindset. Talk to us about pulling yourself up
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: when things aren't going as you planned, whether that be
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: in the moment, like some of these women are going
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: to do on Sunday or just when life hands you lemons.
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  Speaker 1: Yes. So once I made the decision to leave, it's
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: kind of like, okay, like we're going to see how
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: this goes. I started out the year training and got injured. Well,
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: I already had a lingering issue, but it just turned
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: into a full blown injury. I had a stress fracture
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: in my shin. Um, and it, basically set me back
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: like two and a half months. So I made this
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: big change. I left my collegiate coach. I went, I
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: chose to come to Star Athletics. It was a decision
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: that I felt was best for me at the time.
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: I knew the biggest thing that I needed going forward
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: was training partners. And so to be in a group
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: where you train with the likes of Tanya Chateri, Sha'Carri Richardson,
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: Kayla White, like you're going to get that feel of
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: that high intensity and that pressure day in and day out.
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: And so- you start out the year with injury and
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: you're like, well, man, did I make the right decision?
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  Speaker 1: Like now I'm questioning everything because I thought that I
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: was on track to, you know, right. The things that we,
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: that we may not have done right in 2023. And
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: at that point I developed a saying of, you know,
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: one day, one practice, one meet at a time, because
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: after I got over my injury, it was the mental
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: part of it that I had to get back, you know,
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: telling myself every day that even though these girls have
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: been training and you know, they haven't really missed any
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: time and anything like that. You have to look at
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: where you are and look at your small gains every
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: day and take that as a win. I started, I
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: had to do that. And I feel like it was
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: the best thing that ever happened for me. And so
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: when I ended up making the Olympic team, we made
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: it together as three training partners. It was something that's
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: never been done. And we go to Paris and I
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: win a bronze medal individually. And I just remember crying
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: because it was like, you know, it paid off. And
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: in my eyes, my bronze medal is a gold medal
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: because of everything that went into that, every decision, every setback,
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: no matter what it was, it was a gold medal
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: in my eyes. And so also at the time I
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: was planning a wedding. So we were, my husband told
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: me once he proposed, he said, we're not going to
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: be at any venue or anything like that until after
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: you make this team and after you get a medal.
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: So you better figure it out. So I was like, okay, okay, okay.
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: And so- No pressure.
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: No pressure. All the pressure, actually. So we get to
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: the end of the 2024 season. I shut it down.
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: I'm doing things here and there. And we get into
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: the new season, 2025, and we get married. And so
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: after that, we go on a little getaway trip And
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: because we decided to wait until after the season was
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: over to have an actual honeymoon. And so on that trip,
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: Roland got this composition book and we named it. It's
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: called Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way after our last name.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: And it was a book that he said that he
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: wanted us to be our guidelines of, you know, when
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: time gets hard, when we feel like things may not
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: look bright, but we want to be able to look
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: back on the days where it wasn't good or it
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: was good and be able to share this with our
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: future children. And so when I write in a book,
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: it's my way of not only talking to our future kids,
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: but also to God. And when he's writing in the book,
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: he's solely writing to our children. And so in that moment,
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: he asked me, he said, what do you want to
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: do with this year? And I said, well, I don't
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: know how to feel One, I don't know where I
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: truly stand, but also I was so content with how
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: 2024 went last year because I knew everything that had
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: happened going into that. And so the one thing that
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: stuck true to that was even though I was happy
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: and content, it is also okay to still be a competitor.
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: at the end of the day. And so at that moment,
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: I made the decision to say, okay, I wasn't just
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: going to be in the mix anymore. I wanted to win.
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: And once I had that kind of switch, 2025 just
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: took off into something that I could never imagine.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: Never imagine. What a story, right? I need a journal
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: like this. There is something so valuable that you highlighted
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: about the importance of both being able to stay in
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: your own lane and and also the power of community.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: We sit here tonight in community with one another. Again,
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: when so many of these women toe the line on Sunday,
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: they'll be in community with so many others. Talk to
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: me about how pivoting, working with this training group and
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: surrounding yourself with people that challenge and inspire you has
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: been for your betterment.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: It's been the world. I've I don't think I have
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: the success that I do if I'm not in this
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: training group, in Star Athletics. And it challenged me in
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: ways that I never thought I could be challenged, not
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: only physically, like with the workouts and everything, because we
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: be out there dying, y'all. I'm not going to lie
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: to y'all. The workouts are not easy, but also mentally challenging.
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: You know, you come to practice every day and it's
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: not like we're all in different events. We all run
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: the same thing. And so luckily for the last couple
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: of years, you know, there's been at least three of
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: us competing for the same event. So, you know, you
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: have that camaraderie of us all trying to make the
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: team together. Whereas on the men's side within Star Athletics,
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: there's about, there was nine of them and there's only
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: three spots, right? So, you know, the the intensity or
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: the vibe of that is slightly different. We're still a
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: family at the end of the day, but you can
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: feel it on a regular day basis. And so being
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: in this group, training with these girls, it taught me
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: to always cherish where you are and never take for
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: granted what you have and the gift that you have,
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: but also being able to lean on one another to
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: get to where you need to be. Those girls, they
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: are my sisters. And like I said before, like if
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: I don't, I don't know if I have the success
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: that I do without them, because not only do we
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: get the testing physically and mentally, but we're also there
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: for one another. We're a family at the end of
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: the day. And we're there to have the hard conversations
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: with one another. If one of us is slacking, hey,
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: get it together. Or I can go to someone like
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: TT or Kayla and be like, hey, I don't know if, like,
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: I don't know, I just feel off. And they're pouring
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: into me like, you know, do you realize who you are? Like,
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: do you understand the things that you've already done? But
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: then also too, and them doing that to me, I'm
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: doing that to them too. So it's reciprocated and, you know,
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: it's just a really great thing to be a part of.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: And it's just beautiful.
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it fills up your cup. Again, we're a sum
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: of the people that we spend our time with, right?
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: And you guys are spending a lot of time together
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: doing really hard things, really hard, exhausting things. I want
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: to talk about where your mind goes when things feel
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: like you are just out of gas. Now, again, I
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: recognize that a 10, 20 second race is very different
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: than a marathon. However... You still have to have a
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: certain amount of self-talk to handle the type of training
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: that you do. So talk to us a little bit
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: about how you navigate the windy road of physical exhaustion.
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: And what do you say to yourself when it feels
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: really hard?
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: So the one thing that I always say to myself
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: when it gets really hard is... Just especially now, I'm
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: about to go back into fall training. And so fall
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: training is about as close as I would get to
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: ever thinking that I could run a marathon one day
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: because we don't run... I run the 100 and 200,
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: but everything we do in fall training is above 200 meters.
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: So.
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: I'm telling myself every day, just get through fall training.
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: And then once we get through fall training and the
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: workouts kind of shift a little bit, but they're still hard,
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: I'm like, you just got to get to the week
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: of the first meet. And then once you do that,
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: it's kind of like a stepping stone. I look at
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: it in different stages and just give myself a goal
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: or something to look forward to that can get me
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: to that next point.
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: Tell them about the 5-2-5. Okay, so....
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: The 5-to-5 is a 500, two minutes rest, and then
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: another 500. Now, when we do this, all of our
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: fall training happens in the grass. So for a short sprinter,
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: someone like me who only runs 10 seconds, a 500 is,
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: that's a little long. It's a little long. But crazy enough,
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: when I first joined the group, I had never, I
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: don't think I ran a 500 in a workout before.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: probably since my freshman year of high school. And the
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: first week I got to Florida, I ran three 500s
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: in one week and I came home and I looked
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: at Roland and I said, I don't know who I
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: thought I was or what I wanted to do, but this.
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: Is not for me.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: This is not for me.
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: This is not for me. But again, you know that
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: you're the kind of person who does hard things and
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: you choose a tough path to get to where you
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: want to go. A tough path, again, that is one
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: that is not often... traveled. Speaking of this, it also
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: requires you to often put on a persona. We've seen
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: your serious face when you get on the track and
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: it is very real. With that said, have you ever
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: felt pressure to perform in a certain way to put
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: on that persona? Do you feel like it helps you?
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: It hinders you? Give us the lowdown on what that's like.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: So I don't really think necessarily I have a I
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: genuinely just think it's me. Like, you get to see
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: the different parts of who Melissa is. And I say
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: that all the time because, like I said, I came
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: from a small town and, you know, there's not a
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: lot of people out there who they know of me,
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: but they don't know me, right? And so to be
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: able to showcase, you know, different sides of myself that
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: is all true and authentic to who I am and
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: what I feel like is important at the end of
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: the day, I feel like is You know, it's something to,
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: I like it. It's so crazy because this guy, his
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: name's Tristan. He does a lot of my content for me.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: And he was at the Prefontaine meet this year. And
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: it was his first time traveling to a meet with us.
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: And he said he like, watched me in real time
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: kind of like transform from being like, oh, like laughing,
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: joking around and stuff. And it had just got really serious,
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: really fast, but it was pre-me and we got business
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: to handle. So, you know, I was like, okay. But
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: I think, I think also too, at the end of
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: the day, like being in, being in track and field,
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: but also being a sprinter, especially in today's world of sprinting,
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: you know, you have to have that level of Confidence
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: or kind of like zeroed in, locked in kind of
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: ordeal going on. But it's just to really showcase who
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: you are and what you're about to do.
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: The competition is real. Yes. And there's a lot of it.
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of really amazing women at the top
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: of their game right now. You talked about maybe what
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: people see when you step onto the track. Right now,
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: if someone goes to your Instagram page, they see... a
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: world champion five times over with 175,000 people plus following her.
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: But when you look in the mirror, Melissa, what is
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: it that you see looking back at you?
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: That's a good one. I just see a girl, well
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: now a woman, who has done nothing but always wanted
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: to be a good person. And someone who wants the
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: world to see her for who she truly is. And
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: then also, like you say, you know, there are people
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: at the end of the day, like there are always
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: going to be narratives of like, oh, who's your favorite?
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: Who's not your favorite? Or what do you think this
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: person can do versus that person? But when I look
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: at myself in the mirror, I want to be able
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: to be proud to look at who I am and
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: proud of the things that I'm doing. But not only
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: on the track, I don't take lightly family matters. Family
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: is a big one for me. Family and friends, spending
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: quality time with family and friends, making sure that whatever
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: I'm doing, it's intentional. And it's not just I'm just
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: going with the flow or doing stuff because it looks
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: good or whatever the case may be. I want it
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: to be because it speaks to who I am authentically.
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: Speaking of things that make you proud, you've had a
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: big week. Yes. Do you want to tell them about
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: something that makes you proud that you've done this week?
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: A little nonprofit action? A little charity action? Yes.
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: So... I recently launched my nonprofit, The Village Initiative Incorporated,
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: and our mission is to empower youth in communities everywhere
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: through connection and opportunity. Being a place where families can unite,
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: youth can dream boldly, and entire villages can thrive through events, mentorship,
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: and meaningful growth.
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: You've never said that before. That was perfect. Oh, thanks.
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: You know, I've really been practicing that at home. I'm like,
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: I got to get it together. But so this past,
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: these past two weeks, I did a two-part launch. And
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: so we did a festival in South Carolina back at,
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: back in my hometown at my high school where it
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: all began. And it was just my way of trying
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: to introduce us into the community and saying like, We're
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: bringing out different community vendors and retail vendors and things
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: like that for people within the community to see what
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: all is at their hands, what all resources are there
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: for you to have. A lot of times I feel
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: like people nowadays... You have families, you have communities, but
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: I don't feel like it's as strong as it used
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: to be. And so I want to do my part
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: in trying to bring that back. And because I say
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: all the time, I'm a village kid. I didn't get
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: to where I got to today because my parents thought
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: that they could do it all by themselves. And so
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: I think it's so important now, especially for our youth
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: today and really young women as well, just knowing like,
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: you know, you don't have to do it alone in
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: a world where you're told oftentimes that you can't. obviously
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: you can, you just need the people backing you and
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: in your corner to be able to push you and
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: say like, hey, you can do that. And actually what
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: people say you can do, it doesn't matter. And so
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: after we did the festival, we did a gala in Orlando, Florida,
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: which I now reside. And it was our main source
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: of fundraising for what we plan to do. And it
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: was a beautiful night. I could only, I it was
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: like one of those where you just had to be
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: there to see. But it was a beautiful night. We
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: met our goal, sold out crowd for the first year.
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: And it just made me really excited for what's to come.
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: We have some initiatives coming up where we're going to
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: be doing our part in the community where we're pouring
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: out resources for underserved and Title I schools, whether it
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: be in the athletic, academics, or fine arts and STEM department,
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: you know, being a resource there for the schools and
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: saying like, hey, you know, you're here teaching our kids, but,
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: you know, you don't have to do it alone as well.
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: And then also trying to take the burden of that
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: from the school system, but also the parents as well
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: and the families.
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: Really beautiful way to give back and congratulations on hitting
• 33:36
  Speaker 2: your goal. That's so, so exciting. Now, As you said,
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: this is a lot to be excited about beyond the nonprofit.
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: What else are you looking forward to right now?
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: Right now? Um, I'm looking forward to just seeing, seeing
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: what happens next. Um, I say I'm trying to do
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: a better job of, you know, being more active and
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: stuff on social media and, but also to like wanting
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: to showcase to the world who I, who I am.
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: You know, I like to game. I like spending time
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: with friends and family. I like reading. We just got
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: a lot of renovations done in the house, so I'm
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: enjoying the new house. I'm trying to get everything done
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: and situated before we start back training because once that happens,
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: it's like, okay, whatever is done in here is done.
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: But just really looking forward to what's next.
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: Do you have a book recommendation for the newly formed,
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: as of this moment, Nike running New York book club?
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: Okay, so... Um, off rip, I would say Verity by
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: Colleen Hoover.
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: I'm seeing a lot of head nodding. Yes.
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: She's a good one. And I would also say Liz Tomford.
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: She has a series called the Windy City Series. It's
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: five books. And then you have a sixth book that's
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: kind of like not really a part of the series,
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: but all of the characters are like, um, within. And
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: then also to, um, Anything, I'm all things Kennedy Ryan.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: I love her. She, the Skyland series, the Soul series,
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: the Renaissance series, all of them. I love all of them.
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: But Liz Tomford, Colleen Hoover, and Kennedy Ryan, those are
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: my girls.
• 35:16
  Speaker 2: I see the notes apps out open. So we're all
• 35:19
  Speaker 2: good here. Okay.
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 35:20
  Speaker 2: Before I let you go, two things. Firstly, you have
• 35:23
  Speaker 2: an opportunity to offer yourself a piece of advice. Looking
• 35:26
  Speaker 2: back on that really difficult 2023, not knowing that you
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: had a historical 2024, 2025 on deck, knowing what you
• 35:34
  Speaker 2: know now, what advice would you offer to your younger self?
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: I would say to.
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: Keep dreaming like your dreams aren't too big. And even
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: though sometimes they may seem big, they might they may
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: seem like it's a lot. As long as you stay
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: true to who you are and you know that your
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: intentions are good, you're going to continue to shock yourself.
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: You're going to continue to be in spaces where you
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: didn't think you belong or didn't deserve to be. And
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: now look at where you are. So just just keep
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: being Melissa.
• 36:07
  Speaker 2: Keep being Melissa. Keep being Melissa. All right. Before, finally,
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: I really let you go. We have a little rapid fire.
• 36:15
  Speaker 2: Nothing like a rapid fire at a live event. Okay.
• 36:18
  Speaker 2: I think we know the first one. Sprint versus distance, Melissa. Sprint.
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: That is the fastest I've ever answered a rapid fire question,
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: by the way.
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: What is something about marathon runners that actually blows your mind?
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: The fact that y'all can run for that long. Like,
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: that is insane. me trying to process someone running a marathon,
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: like 26.2, 26. Thank you. Thank you. I didn't look
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: that one up. I think I knew that one for real,
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: but no, like running 26.2 miles and not stopping. I
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: don't think people understand how incredible that is. It's, it's
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: very inspiring and essentially like it goes to life, right? Like,
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: Just keep going. Don't stop.
• 37:06
  Speaker 2: Don't stop. Melissa's ready for Celebrity Jeopardy at any given moment.
• 37:11
  Speaker 2: Have you ever run in Central Park?
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: No, I've never ran in Central Park.
• 37:14
  Speaker 2: Melissa's now accepting candidates to go for a run in
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: Central Park with. When I think of New York, my
• 37:19
  Speaker 2: first thought is pizza. All right. If you had to
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: answer that question again, what would your second thought be? Cheesecake. Oh, weird.
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: She's like regretting that answer. And last but not least
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: on our rapid fire here today, subway, taxi, or Uber? Uber. Uber.
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: When you're not local, it makes sense.
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: I'm going to give that to her. Yeah, I'm sorry.
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: I came here a couple years ago and I was
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: on the subway and let's just say I was like,
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: Can't do it.
• 37:48
  Speaker 2: I can't. We have all been there. Melissa, last departing
• 37:54
  Speaker 2: words for those that are toeing that starting line coming Sunday.
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: What do you have to say to them?
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: Go to the line on Sunday wanting to be the
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: best version of yourself that you can be. And if
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: you go to the line trying to be or being
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: the best version of yourself that you can be, I
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: guarantee you, you will shock yourself. I do it every time.
• 38:15
  Speaker 2: Yes. Well, that was amazing. I'm inspired for the next
• 38:20
  Speaker 2: week and then the next year and then the years
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: to come after that leading up to LA 28. Melissa,
• 38:25
  Speaker 2: thank you so much for sitting down with me today.
• 38:27
  Speaker 2: As I say on the show, another hurdle conquered. Catch
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: you guys next time.
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: Thank you.