Maegan Krifchin’s past month has been rather eventful, having completed three marathons. The first of the trio began on November 6, at the New York City Marathon. She completed that marathon in unexpectedly and unseasonably warm temperatures with a time of 2:40:52. Not content with her time and placement, Krifchin then went on to finish second in frigid conditions at the Philadelphia Marathon. She managed to run faster than two weeks prior with a time of 2:31:42 missing the victory by just six seconds. Krifchin’s time secured her a spot in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Completing the trio of marathons was the California International Marathon (CIM), which also doubled as the USATF Marathon Championships. Krifchin finished seventh with a personal best of 2:29:21 to close the year off. Krifchin has been a competitive marathoner for the past ten years; at the 2016 US Olympic Marathon Trials, she finished seventh overall. After completing three marathons in 32 days, this personal record for Maegan was a long time coming.
How was your mindset going into your third marathon in 4 weeks?
“I had the most calm and relaxed approach for #3. There was zero pressure. I honestly was just thrilled by the challenge of all the racing. I think with two in me already, I was super confident in my marathoning ability and my race plan. The two prior were a little more aggressive at the start, so this time I was going in with a slightly more conservative race plan.”
How did you prepare for this race?
“All my training had been done for New York, so the last two were sort of coasting through. I took a few days off after New York. I did a few easy runs and hopped in on a shorter interval workout with our mid distance crew (repeat miles). Next thing you know it is race week again! I felt that there was not much thinking needing to be done, which was nice. Having that approach worked for Philly, so I basically repeated it for CIM.”
One fun fact or an interesting thing that happened?
“Basically surprising the coaches and organization that I was racing… and actually pulling it off! Another that might make others nervous is deciding what racing shoes I was going to wear the night before CIM.”
How did you feel after the race?
“I felt really good! Mentally, it was “mission accomplished” and I was proud to reach the goal I set out to do and pull off this crazy schedule. As of now, my body feels great, not sore or beat up at all, which is a nice sign for how getting back into training will be. Lastly, the marathon is always a reunion of runners, so I got to see a bunch of friends and hang out all day/evening after the race.”
