Episode 686: Elena Hayday’s 2:24 Boston Breakthrough and the Road to the Olympic Trials

About this episode

Elena Hayday discusses her breakthrough performance at the Boston Marathon and her journey towards the Olympic Trials while balancing her studies in neuroscience.

This episode is sponsored by Kava Haven, Batch, Goodr, and Tailwind Nutrition. I’m excited to share this conversation with Elena Hayday, who just ran 2:24:45 at the Boston Marathon to finish as the sixth American woman in a massive breakthrough performance. This episode is a crossover with Road to the Trials, the podcast I co-host with Peter Bromka and Matt Chittim, and it’ll also air over there next Monday. Peter joins me for this conversation as we talk with Elena about the jump from 2:30 to 2:24, what clicked for her in Boston, and why she’s quickly becoming one of the most exciting marathoners to watch in U.S. distance running. Elena runs for Minnesota Distance Elite and is currently studying neuroscience as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota. We talk about balancing school and training, qualifying for the Olympic Marathon Trials at Grandma’s Marathon, and what she’s learning as she continues leveling up in the marathon. She’s thoughtful, grounded, incredibly tough, and I think you’re going to love getting to know her story. Topics Discussed Elena Hayday’s breakthrough 2:24:45 performance at the 2026 Boston Marathon Chasing faster marathon times after years of…

People in this episode

Host: Lindsey Hein

Guest: Elena Hayday

Topics covered

• marathon performance
• Olympic Trials
• athlete training
• neuroscience
• nutrition
• personal growth

Keywords

• Elena Hayday
• Boston Marathon
• Olympic Trials
• marathon training
• neuroscience
• nutrition
• Minnesota Distance Elite

Sponsors

Kava Haven, Batch, Goodr, Tailwind Nutrition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Minnesota Distance Elite

Places: Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon, Grandma’s Marathon, University of Minnesota

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