Molly Seidel: How distance runner overcame 'imposter syndrome' and 'blew away' her expectations in the marathon

By George Ramsay, CNN

Updated 0920 GMT (1720 HKT) March 20, 2022

Seidel celebrates as she crosses the finish line of the women's marathon at last year's Olympic Games.

(CNN)Mastering the art of marathon running is a lifetime pursuit for some, but it seemed to take Molly Seidel roughly two-and-a-half hours on one windswept morning in Atlanta a couple of years ago.

That was during the US Olympic trials when Seidel, competing in her first ever marathon, stunned the field to place second and qualify for the US team. Fast-forward to 2022 and, three marathons later, the 27-year-old Seidel can now call herself an Olympic medalist and the fastest American woman ever at the New York City Marathon. Having taken to the start line of her debut marathon in Atlanta hoping to place in the top 20 — with the prospect of competing, let alone medaling, at the Olympics a remote thought — she's the first to admit the race «blew away all of my expectations.» «Life has a funny way of giving you what you need before you think you're ready for it,» Seidel tells CNN Sport, weeks out from the fifth marathon of her career in Boston next month. Read MoreWhile many distance runners step up to the 26.2-mile marathon distance towards the end of their careers, Seidel was a comparatively early convert having made the switch from track racing in her mid 20s. Partly, that was due to her frustration with running 10,000m on the track — «I kind of kept banging my head against the wall with that one,» she says — and partly due to ambitions she had held growing up. «I always kind of dreamed of doing the marathon,» Seidel adds. «I think there's just this kind of like glamor and mystery around it, and especially for a younger runner who enjoys doing the distance