This week’s episode is Elly Henes, the 2021 NCAA 5000m champion who recently signed with Adidas and is now training in Flagstaff, AZ. Elly is a 15:18 5k runner who finished 6th at the 2021 Olympic Trials, and she now trains with Olympian Rachel Schneider and NAU head coach Mike Smith.

For the first 20 minutes or so of this episode, we talked about astrology, botched photoshoots, and teenage rebellion, but we also got very in-depth about Elly’s journey from high school to professional running and the lessons she’s learned as she’s grown up and her relationship to the sport has changed.

We covered everything from dating to coffee orders to Christmas movies, and we definitely went deep on the introspection side of things. This was a delightful conversation with one of the most entertaining, honest people in the sport and you’ll really enjoy it. Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and until next time, this has been Run Your Mouth.

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Quotes and Notes

On falling in love with running:

“Making NXN with my team made me fall in love – not just with the sport, but with my team. Working with and for each other toward a common goal is why cross-country has always been my favorite.”

On finding success at the end of college:

“I started setting process goals and focusing on loving the sport itself. And by my fifth year, the results showed. There were people who felt like I came out of nowhere to win the 5k [at NCAAs], and I just laugh because it may seem crazy to you, but sophomore year Elly set that goal.”

On overcoming self-doubt when turning pro:

“I had to learn to believe in myself. It can be scary to commit and go all-in for something even if it could fall through. It’s hard to do. And it takes a lot of courage to even try.”

On her relationship with running now:

“In this sport, we talk a lot about not letting running define you. Running doesn’t define me, but it’s a part of who I am. It’s in my family, it’s in my relationship, it’s in my relationship with my coach, and I’ve been lucky to find people who understand who I am as a person in the running world and beyond.”