Molly Seidel is a long-distance runner who surprised the world (and herself!) when she won the Bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympic Marathon in 2021—her third marathon ever. In fact, she went from no marathons to three in just 18 months.
While many people may not have heard of Molly Seidel, she is not an overnight success. Molly began the sport at a young age, winning many accolades in high school. But her training was derailed due to several injuries and a severe eating disorder.
It was after Molly got treatment and began living more healthily, did her running performance accelerated and she began to realize her true potential.
Molly Seidel is much-loved in the running community for her down-to-earth personality and approach to training. Indeed, she may train hard and run more than a hundred miles a week, but she ensures she’s having fun along the way!
Here in this article, we get to know more about who Molly Seidel is including:
- Where she lives
- What she eats and drinks
- What she runs in
- If she has a boyfriend
- Her running paces
- Who her coach and sponsors are
- How much money she makes, and much more!
Let’s get to know Molly Seidel!
How old is Molly Seidel?
Molly is 27 years old. She was born July 12, 1994.
Where did Molly Seidel grow up?
Molly grew up in the small town of Hartland, Wisconsin, which has a population of about nine thousand people. She attended nearby University Lake School with her brother Fritz and sister Isabel.
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Was Molly Seidel a good runner in high school?
Yes, Molly Seidel had many accomplishments as a high school runner including:
- Gatorade National Female Cross Country Runner of the Year
- Gatorade Wisconsin Female Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2011
- 2011 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships winner, with a 17:22.
- Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association cross country, 1600-meter, 3200-meter champ for all 4 years, totaling 12 titles
- New Balance Indoor Nationals mile and two-mile All-American honors in 2011
- Was inted to the Bupa Great Edinburgh International Challenge where she placed third in the 4k with a time of 15:16 as the first USA high school finisher
What are Molly Seidel’s running stats?
Molly Seidel is the first American woman to win the Olympic Marathon media in more than 15 years in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games marathon. She ran a 2:27:36 in the blistering heat (88 degrees Fahrenheit with a heat index of 105), becoming only the third American woman to win an Olympic medal in the event.
She also finished fourth in the NYC Marathon with cracked ribs, running a personal best time of 2:24:42. She was the first American and set a new American course record.
She also finished sixth in the London Marathon in 2020.
Molly has also represented the US in the Great Edinburg Cross Country Championship three times (2012, 2013, and 2018), placing third two times and 12th.
Molly also placed second in the 2018 USA Cross Country championship and qualified for the 2018 NACAC Cross Country Championships.
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Where does Molly Seidel live?
Molly lives and trains at altitude in Flagstaff, Arizona. She lived in Boston, Massachusetts before that.
What is Molly Seidel’s marathon pace?
Molly’s pace in the blistering Tokyo heat to run a 2:27 marathon was 5:38 per mile. Her pace to run a 2:24 in New York (with a broken rib) was 5:31 per mile.
Who is Molly Seidel’s coach?
Molly’s coach is Jon Green. Green is a former professional runner turned running coach. He is also the head coach of the Atalanta New York women’s professional running team.
What’s Molly Seidel like?
Humble. Funny. Lovable. These are just a few words to describe Molly who doesn’t seem to take herself too seriously. Her Instagram, Twitter, and Strava accounts are incredibly funny in which she is often seen joking around and poking fun at herself.
Molly also shares accounts of potential dates she’s encountered online who tell her running isn’t a real sport, or that they could beat her in a race. Or, men who mansplain running to her:
“On my flight was talking to a guy next to me & it came up that I run. He starts telling me how I need to train high mileage & pulls up an analysis he’d made of a pro runner’s training on his phone. The pro runner was me. It was my training. Didn’t have the heart to tell him.”
Related: What Makes David Goggins David Goggins?
Does Molly Seidel have a boyfriend?
No, it does not seem that Molly has a boyfriend, according to Instagram posts in which she jokes about potential suitors.
Is Molly Seidel sponsored?
Molly has a sponsorship deal with Puma.
What is Molly Seidel’s salary?
It has been reported that Molly Seidel has a current net worth of $3 million. This includes prize money for performance and her Puma sponsorship.
How did Molly Seidel do in the New York marathon?
Molly finished fourth in the 2021 New York City Marathon. She was the first American and set a new American course record. She did this with two cracked ribs.
It’s not known how the ribs were cracked. After the marathon, Seidel shared that she
“a month out from New York, I sustained an acute injury, which resulted in a fracture of my 11th and 12th rib on my right side. A week after that, I actually fell hard during a training session and I sustained major whiplash along my left side.”
What does Molly Seidel eat during a marathon?
Molly fuels with Maurten gels and drink mixes. Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics marathon, she ate raw fish every day leading up to the race:
“I had sushi the night before the Olympic marathon,” she said in a recent interview. She ingested raw fish over rice almost every day for the week leading up to the Olympic marathon.
She also eats doughnuts and drinks beer regularly.
How many miles a week does Molly Seidel run?
Molly’s peak marathon mileage is about 135 miles a week, that averages out to 19.2 miles a day!
How much does Molly Seidel weigh?
Molly weighs 115 pounds.
How tall is Molly Seidel?
Molly is 5 feet 4 inches tall.
What shoe does Molly Seidel train in?
Molly runs in the Puma Deviate Nitro which are touted among the most affordable carbon plate racing shoes. These are the shoes she wore to win her bronze medal in the Tokyo 2020 women’s marathon.
Where did Molly Seidel go to college?
Molly went to the University of Notre Dame from 2012-16 and then as a graduate student. She had many accomplishments including:
- Placed first in the mile at the ND Invite with a time of 4:44.75 (indoor).
- Placed First in the 10,000m at the Stanford Invite with a time of 33:19.60 (outdoor).
- 2016 Mary Garber Award (top female athlete in the ACC).
- 2016 NCAA 3,000 Meters Champion.
- 2016 NCAA 5,000 Meters Champion, to name just a few.
Does Molly Seidel drink?
Molly Seidel openly boasts how much she loves beer. In fact, after she ran the Olympic marathon, she said in her TV interview: “I’m so tired. Please drink a beer for me!”
When training, Molly drinks Athletic Brewing Company nonalcoholic beer. The company says this allows Molly to enjoy the tasty beer with friends while staying competitive:
“I only started running well when I started drinking beer regularly. It just brings me a lot of joy,” she’s been quoted as saying.
How many marathons has Seidel run?
Molly has run a total of four marathons: the US Olympic Trials in 2020, the 2020 London Marathon, the Tokyo Olympic Marathon in 2021, and the NYC Marathon in 2021.
She is slated to compete in the 2022 Boston Marathon this April.
What did Molly Seidel overcome?
Molly Seidel has been open with her battle with injuries including a sacral stress fracture and hip injuries; obsessive-compulsive disorder; and an eating disorder.
“When I was in the NCAA, it was obvious I was battling an eating disorder. It was so obvious that people would write on track and field message boards that I looked sick. But nearly four years later, I got to have ownership over my story, not just some random person commenting on a message board,” she shared in an ESPN article.
Molly got treatment at the REDI Clinic in Wisconsin for her eating disorder but says (as most ED-sufferers do) that she will never overcome the disorder.
“I relapse and I actively deal with the ups and downs that come with chronic OCD, depression, and anxiety. It’s not something that a nice tidy bow — like the Olympic trials or even the Olympics — can disguise,” she shared in the ESPN article.
But now that she’s open about it, she has the robust running community to support her.
And, we’d love to support you in your running goals. Check out our training resources from beginner to ultra-marathon.
