At the Olympic Trials, the 32-year-old Sison He was asked on stage at the awards ceremony. She talked about how she calms down before a race like the Olympic marathon: “I’m married to a therapist, so he’s very supportive of me with all this stuff,” she said with a laugh.
It probably helps to know that you’re the fastest American female marathoner of all time. Sisson set an American record of 2 hours 18 minutes 29 seconds at the 2022 Chicago Marathon, placing second, and from that day on, many fans considered her a sure thing to make the Olympic team.
But she hasn’t always been an ace at 26.2 miles. She dropped out around mile 22 of the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials, but then qualified for the 10,000 meters at the pandemic-postponed Track and Field Trials. After Tokyo, Sisson returned to marathon training, racing twice in Chicago to find her pace at the distance.
Before she knew it, the Olympic cycle was back on and it was time to focus on the 2024 Marathon Trials. She came to the Trials with more distance, more experience, of course, but also a little wiser. She’s been taking the time to dig into the root causes of recurring issues, such as the side pain she’s had in some races, which she says may be due to a biomechanical issue related to the way she runs.
“You get more out of the days that don’t go well than the days that do,” Sisson told SELF. “I think I handled the distance well at the 2024 Trials. I feel like my body is getting stronger and 26.2 miles isn’t as scary anymore.”
Sisson has trained in Phoenix, one of his home bases, to prepare for the Florida heat, as well as in Orlando and Flagstaff, Ariz., for altitude training. (He also made several stops at his Rhode Island home, close to longtime coach Ray Tracy.) Leading up to Paris, Sisson is stepping up his training in the hills.
While she’s running around 130 miles a week, she doesn’t think much about who she’ll see on the starting line in August. Instead, she’s focused on staying as healthy and injury-free as possible and getting as strong as possible. Those are the things she can control, which Sisson always makes her number one priority.
“All I can control is what I can do to get there,” Sisson said. “If I’m worried about what other people are doing, I can’t focus on what I’m doing.”
She’s also looking forward to looser restrictions in Paris. In Tokyo, COVID-19 restrictions barred athletes from being with family or friends and required them to leave within 48 hours of competing; that won’t be the case this time. Her supporters, including her husband, Shane Quinn, a therapist, will be there to cheer her on, and she plans to vacation in Nice after the closing ceremony.
When thinking about how he could leave Paris feeling satisfied with his performance, Sisson said he would simply like to feel that he couldn’t have done more, or better, on the day, regardless of the result.
