After an impressive year on the marathon course last season, Tori Parkinson is looking to build upon the momentum and confidence that she gained as the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials looms on the horizon.
The former star track and field/cross country athlete at Utah State made a big splash in the marathon world last fall, when she toed the line against some of the best marathon runners in the world at the Chicago Marathon. Parkinson held her own against the competition, running a new personal best of 2:33.20. She finished 13th in the women’s race and was the 7th American runner to cross the finish line.
Her marathon time in Chicago also meant that she qualified for the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials that’s set to take place in Orlando next February. Parkinson gained a great deal of confidence from her performance at the Chicago Marathon, and she’s excited to use that confidence in this new season of racing.
“I’m excited because I’m coming in with a lot of confidence that I haven’t come into a racing season with before,” she said. “I’m excited to use that. I went into (the Chicago Marathon) just going ‘oh, whatever I can do, and I surprised myself. And this year, I have more confidence that I know I can do some cool things. So yeah, I think that excites me the most.”
Parkinson admitted that she didn’t have the easiest offseason due to an injury that she obtained that she’s now recovered from. The injury altered her training plan, as she was forced to cross train and rehabilitate her injury.
“It’s actually been kind of rough,” she said. “I had a little bit of an injury when I came back into it. I just had a right knee injury, so I had to do some rehab for that. Luckily, it didn’t last very long. I’ve done what I needed to do, and I’m happy that I was able to do that, but it was a little rough to be honest.”
While the injury that she had during the offseason wasn’t ideal, Parkinson was able to put her focus on other things. She graduated with her Master’s degree in Public Health and went snowboarding among other things. She admitted that the extra time and rest that she took after the Chicago Marathon as well as recovering from injury, was something that was necessary for her, especially as she looks ahead to the rest of the year leading up to the Marathon Trials.
“It was really good and I needed it,” she said. “And I don’t think I realized how much I needed it at the time. It was really nice to spend time with my family and to do some other activities like snowboarding. I think it’s going to help a lot with preventing burnout because this year is going to be long. I have my training season at the front end of the year, and I have to get ready for the Olympic Trials, and that’s going to be a grind. So I think it’s good to have that time to prevent burnout and enjoy life a little bit.”
Because of the long season ahead, Parkinson has put aside time for her to get the mental and physical rest that she needs to make sure that she’s keeping the balance between competing and enjoying life.
“I have some vacations planned, so that helps,” she said. “I’m just going to force myself to vacation a little bit. I just like hanging out with my family and my boyfriend. I think the more I hang out with them, they remind me to relax, they pull me out of that over focused mindset. So it’s good to have that balance and hang out with them.”
Parkinson kicked off her season with a 5k, and plans on competing in the U.S. Half Marathon Championships on Feb. 22-23. She wanted to ease her way into the season by running shorter races before she competes in Grandma’s Marathon in Minnesota in June.
“I think doing the shorter races was a good way to get myself back into running,” she said. “It seemed doable, it also seemed like a good plan to get some speed under me. So just kind of a little bit of mental and physical – it seemed like a good route.”
One of Parkinson’s goals is to set a new personal best this year in the marathon. While she’s excited for the challenges ahead that the season will bring, she won’t vary from the script of what works best for her.
“I definitely think fun is how I do best,” she said. “And so if I start losing the fun, I’m going to do worse. So I think the more fun I have, I need to keep reminding myself that that’s exactly what I need to be doing, and that’s how I get better. I think the more you overthink it, the worst. So just reminding myself of that.”
