Unless you were locked inside a sonic proof room all summer, you've heard Kendrick Lamar say something about 'popping out and showing people'. As luck would have it, Coach Kara Dudley and KDot are actually friends and he, as the literary genius of our time, was foreshadowing an absolutely insane day for our very own at the Valencia Marathon. Coach Kara took a quick break from her own coaching, to nab a big personal best in España a couple weekends back, so we had to catch up with her for a good ol' fashioned debrief.

Take a read!

What was your goal going into this race? 

My goal was to PR and run a 6:25 avg pace on my watch to be able to a run sub 2:50 with some wiggle room. The weather ended up being a bit warmer than ideal on the day so took a bit more of a conservative approach. So when I came in 11 seconds off my goal I was absolutely juiced and couldn’t care less about the numbers because I had no idea if I was even going to PR at all while I was out there and was so proud of the way I ran this race and getting a 4+ minute personal best!

How'd your training block go? 

So well. I really have been training consistently since March but didn’t start to feel super fit until my marathon block started in September. Executed every workout (even the ones that didnt feel great) and felt really strong. Also PRed my half in October by 5+ minutes so I had some proof on paper that things were going well. 

Did you approach it any differently to specifically chase this goal? 

I feel like I became a completely different runner this year. I was injured and couldn’t run for about 4 months after nyc marathon in 2023 - after a year of making huge progress, I was faced with a full year of dealing with building back my fitness after injury and breaking through some race anxiety challenges. The major differences in my progress this year: I stepped away from being married to the numbers and focused on effort and running within my heart rate ranges (that I know because of testing), reading so many books and listening to podcasts about sports psychology, slowed down my tempo runs and stopped running all out for every track workout, got really good at pacing, and started doing sauna sessions 4-5 times a week. The biggest difference is a change in my mentality around running and building some solid mental strategies. I owe so much of this to my coach, boyfriend, and fellow bandit program coach, Ned Trim. He’s changed my approach to training so much this year and has helped me become a smarter and more balanced runner. 

Talk us through the day before the race: 

I was so nervous! It's always different. Some races I'm not nervous at all and other times I'm an absolute headcase. Because I coach other people for my full time job, I knew it was going to be important to take some time away for myself so I got off social media for the days before the race, stepped away from work, and took the time to really be present with everything. 

What was going through your head? 

I knew I was ready from a fitness standpoint but the marathon is the marathon and the unknown of it is always scary. I was mostly nervous about the weather being around 60 degrees by the end of the race, but luckily my support system kept me grounded and sane through out the mental gymnastics of those days leading up to it. 

What’d you do during the day?

I did my shakeout solo, found a spa to sauna and relax during the day, hung out with Ned and let him ease my nervousness, and then had easy mac (minus the cheese) in the hotel room the night before the race. Plain noodles is always my go-to the night before the race. 

How was your mental game before falling asleep?

If I ever can’t sleep the nights before the race, I just start visualizing myself crossing the finish line at my goal time, partying the night after feeling so excited and proud, or whatever images of that day going well and it always puts me to bed. 

What time did you go to bed?

I was so tired that day, probably like 9:30/10pm for a crisp 4:30am wake up.

The day of the race, what are your final thoughts on the starting line?

Getting my heart rate as low as possible on the start line, relaxing, doing some breathing exercises, listening to some slow music, and just acting chill af to ease the nerves and come into it as clear-headed as possible.

Talk us through what you were thinking at 3-4 key mi/km markers on the course

• Mile 8: realized my tummy was upset and executed a bathroom stop on the side of the road behind a car in 7 seconds, record timing.
• Mile 16: My feet started to cramp up and the legs started to go, but aerobically I felt great, so I decided to just turn the brain off and let the legs keep going until they couldn't anymore
• Mile 18: Had fully hit the wall mentally and physically but I was still running on pace. I decided to start to let go of the numbers and run to my fitness, and took the foot off the gas for a couple miles and went by feel
• Mile 22: Somehow got a second wind, ran my fastest miles in the last 4 miles and when I saw the time over the finish and saw how close I was to break 2:50, I was shocked and ran as hard as I could for it

How did you feel and what were you thinking at the finish?

I fought for every second of it and just kept thinking that I want to finish this feeling proud that I left it all on the course by the end of it, no matter how hard it felt.

What would you say was the biggest contributing factor (in the build-up, or a mental leap you took, etc.) in achieving this goal?

Definitely having an amazing coach to look at my training from the outside in and provide another perspective, as well as all the work I did mentally to be able to show up for that moment when it got really hard. I ran through the feeling of “hitting the wall” for over an hour during this race and stayed on pace. There’s no way I could have done that without mental preparation.

What’s next? Any other races on the calendar? Are you setting any goals for 2025?

Honestly, I’m so stoked with what I’ve been able to achieve in this sport and I’m sort of over the numbers of running certain “times” and just want to continue to just get as fit as I possibly can and race to my fitness next year. Next year will be the year of fast half marathons for me! Project 13.1 in March, Buffalo Half Marathon in my hometown in May.

Thanks, Coach!