At this point it’s a well-worn trope: small-town kid shows up in the big city with nothing more than a bundle full of dreams, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to see their name in lights. (Okay, so maybe Elle Purrier St. Pierre’s dreams aren’t of Broadway stardom, and her suitcase is presumably very nice and full of top-of-the-line New Balance gear, but still.)

The last time we saw her in the Wanamaker Mile back in 2020, Purrier St. Pierre was breaking the tape and lowering the American Record to 4:16.85 in the process. At the time was an eight-second personal best!

Coming into this year’s race, Purrier St. Pierre was as undisputed a favorite as favorites can be. Yet the crowd was perhaps even more excited about the possible X-factor, Athing Mu, who received one of the louder ovations you’ll ever hear at a track meet. Her ability to run 1:55 for 800m is one variable that you don’t necessarily want hanging around late and was sure to impact how the race unfolded.

Elle controlled it from the front with a swift opening half of 2:09. Hot on her heels was Mu (who dropped out at 1400m, reminding us that even when the world’s best doubles her racing distance, all bets are off) and an always fast-closing Josette Norris, which ensured the pace remained honest until the field was eventually ground down and only the defending champ remained.

We briefly chatted with the winner of the 2020 Olympic Trials 1500m and now 2x Wanamaker Champion, to hear a bit more about her win, as well as her plans for the rest of indoor:

THE LAP COUNT: I know we saw each other after Millrose on Saturday but didn’t actually get to speak specifically about the race. How are you feeling about it? I hope happy!

Purrier St. Pierre: I definitely wanted to go after a PR, but I didn’t put too much pressure on myself because it was my first race back since Tokyo. It was a rust buster — obviously, I am in better shape than in previous years for a similar opener. But I wasn’t disappointed because if you only compare it to that race in 2020 then it’s putting the bar really high. I don’t want to say I wasn’t expecting a PR — I think I could have, but a win is a win.

TLC: The tactics of having multiple people in a race who aren’t afraid to take the lead and push the pace always makes for a great subplot. Did you think you’d be the one at the front? And for those of us who were never comfortable pushing the pace, how are you so good at it?

Purrier St. Pierre: wouldn’t say I planned to lead, but sometimes I can’t resist. Koko was running more conservatively and beforehand I wasn’t sure how’d it go. I wanted to get into 3rd so I wouldn’t have to lead the whole thing, but once I took it over I was good with it.

My advice would be just to practice it — we trade off in practice and that helps. A lot of it just comes with confidence and it’s hard to say “just have more confidence!” because that’s not easy. But it’s believing in yourself and having the strength to do it. I ran 4:19 leading the whole thing, but when I ran 4:16 I was chasing. There’s always that feeling of “oh my gosh someone is coming up on me!” and that’s not always as fun as chasing people.

TLC: I heard a rumor about the workout you did in Phoenix before Millrose, which probably gave you plenty of confidence. How are my sources?

Purrier St. Pierre: Ha! It’s true! We ran a 1k a week out and I was feeling pretty tired from that — it was sorta in the back of my head. We came through the 800 in 2:03 and then I closed to run 2:34. The time doesn’t surprise me because Mark has us do that sort of thing a lot right before we race. I also don’t really know what 1k times are worth so it doesn’t seem that crazy. For example, last year before the New Balance Grand Prix I did a 4:30 mile, some 400 repeats and then another 4:30 mile.

TLC: You have been dominant on the domestic scene as of late and I assume your goals are now beyond making teams and more about being a world-beater. Do you have plans to do more international racing during the regular season? It seems like there might be some parallels there coming from college.

Purrier St. Pierre: I’d like to go abroad more, but it’s been difficult. My first year when I went it was fun racing a bunch of people I never had before — I definitely want to do it more. Of course, the U.S. Championships are my main goal and I am going to prioritize that over everything else. I haven’t thought of that college comparison before, but it makes sense. It was always a big step up going to NCAAs where everyone was so good.

Do you have any expectations for your race this weekend in Staten Island? I know a lot of athletes struggle with getting back into the routine again after the Olympics — has that been the case for you?

Purrier St. Pierre: I am coming down from Vermont to race the 3000m and hoping to get a PR! [Note: her current PR is 8:36.41!] After Tokyo, it honestly was hard to get back in the swing of things. It just felt like a lot once I was back. I was tired and just wanted to be home and not talk to anyone for a little bit. Coming off of that high where it’s the most amazing meet I had ever been to… it was one extreme of happiness to then the post-Olympic blues. I got back into things in November, December, but it wasn’t until last month in Flag that things got dialed in and I felt ready to get after it again.

Photo by Johnny Zhang/@jzsnapz