The following interview has been transcribed and edited lightly for clarity. You can listen to the full conversation with Adaejah Hodge on The CITIUS MAG Podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

Did you choose this sport? Did the sport choose you?

It was kind of both. My granddad and my mom also ran track so I just tried it and I fell in love in the first race that I did. I was just five years old and I kept running after that.

What have your grandparents made after seeing all of this success that you’ve had?

They’re very proud. My grandpa calls me after every race and says, ‘Oh my gosh. You did so well! I’m proud of you.’ Unfortunately, he and my mom didn’t get to the places that they dreamed to be so I’m hoping to carry on the family legacy.

What were those dreams?

They both wanted to be in the Olympics. They both wanted to be world-class athletes. Coming from a small island like Tortola (in the British Virgin Islands) it was very hard since it’s small and you’re just running against the same people. I’m glad I got to step out of that boat and get the opportunity to run against different people and have the resources here.

That’s one thing that’s different for you and your story. You represent a small island and not the United States. How much pride do you take in where you come from?

I’m very proud. It was definitely a hard decision picking between BVI and the United States but my heart belongs in the BVI. I grew up there. Every time I go home, I get these butterflies and I don’t want to come back because it’s my little paradise and my little escape. It’s very prideful to represent them on the big stage.

I’ve never been. If I close my eyes, can you describe what it was like growing up there?

It was very fun. I was outside every day, climbing trees, eating mangos, and going to the beach every weekend with my family. It was just island life.

At what point did you start to notice the talent that you have on the track?

It was right after one of my club team coaches passed away back in 2017 after Hurricane Irma. I was like, ‘I have to step up my game and just stay focused because I have a goal and a dream that I want to achieve.’ He always told me that I could achieve this dream. It just gave me grit and encouragement to continue to strive for greatness.

What was your goal and how did you end up here at Montverde Academy?

I was like more like God spoke to me and one day he told me if I stayed where I was, I would be stagnant and fall into a bad crowd. I just realized I had to move not just for myself but to put my family in a better position.

How quickly did you take to the training here? What was that first day of training like?

Before practice started, I was so bored. I would beg my teammates to come and run a mile with me. Once practice started, I took that all back and decided I needed to be bored again. Practice was hard on the first day but I quickly adapted to it. Right now, even though it’s still hard, I’m still getting used to it but I understand that it’s for a reason.

What does a week look like for you? The life of a high schooler is much different from a professional runner. You have to balance school work with all of this training.

A week is very stressful. Now with summer break, I’m happy. When there was school, it would be a 7:45 school starts and goes until 1:30. Then at 2:45, we practice until 5:30. Then comes homework and right to bed. You don’t have much free time for yourself. It’s hard and stressful to balance but that’s the life of a student-athlete.

On top of that, you have a leadership position within the school?

I’m one of the prefects here, which is someone that helps the administrators as dorm parents. I live here and I’m one of the boarders. Me and my friends decided to take a leadership position and leave our legacy at Montverde.

We see you on the track but we don’t know what you’re like in the classroom. What are you like as a student?

I’m a very outgoing student. I feel like I have to answer every question when the classroom is quiet and the teacher asks a question, I’ll step up and answer it. My favorite subject was math until this year.

What happened?

It just got to the point where it got too stressful since I take honors math. It was stressful balancing track and school. Of course, school came first. I got a B so I was mad at myself. I’m an overachiever. So now my favorite subject is chemistry.

Back to the track, how do you define what a good race is?

I could give you the textbook answer and say executing well. But honestly, it depends on what we’re working on in practice that week and whether I achieve that and can do better. In every race, I can be proud of myself if I win, draw or lose. It’s OK. I always know I have a drawing board I can go back to.

We’re sitting in the team office. I’m looking at this whiteboard that has all these sayings written by members of the team. You wrote, ‘You can’t compare yourself to others.’ Why did you write that one down?

As a teenager in life, not even just being an athlete or anything, with social media we always compare ourselves to others. It’s very hard sometimes if you feel insecure about what you’re doing. Honestly for me in track, I see these times and can think, ‘Why am I not there yet?’ I put a lot of pressure on myself but I remind myself that it’s OK and I have time and I’ll get there soon.

When we look at your results leading into New Balance Nationals Indoors, one thing that sticks out to me is that when you race, you’re ready. People didn’t know what to expect indoors because you didn’t race as many 200s before Boston. When you’re in practice in the months leading into it, what’s that like knowing that you’re cooking up something for the world and we’ll get to see the big reveal eventually?

That’s my favorite part. I’m not much of a racer. I don’t like to race too much. I’m more of a training person. When I train, I know that I’m ready for what’s ahead. I know that I’m ready to do something big.

It all started in the fall. I came here and I had to work on a lot of things including my form and my acceleration. Going into racing, I was super excited to race in my first race back. I was just happy. I knew that everything was coming together basically like a puzzle. We were finding new things to put in. Leading up to Boston, I was just trusting my training and I didn’t go into it thinking I was going to do crazy stuff. Of course, that was the goal but we weren’t beating on the door that I have to do this. It was more about going out and having fun because this is a sport I love.

What are you like getting into the blocks? You’re friendly, laughing and joking with your teammates but there’s a time when that competitor turns on.

It’s not even ‘On your marks.’ As soon as I step on the track, it’s game face and poke face on to do something special.

There was the epic shot of you at New Balance Nationals when you crossed the finish line of the 200m and were pointing at the clock. When you see that photo, what are you thinking?

It was like, ‘Oh I did it!’ Coming down the last stretch, I didn’t sense anybody next to me. I thought, ‘This is probably really fast’ and I didn’t know the time. What am I going to do? I’m like two meters out from the finish line and decide to point. I pointed. I didn’t plan it beforehand. I just thought of it in the middle of the race.