Emily Mackay is a rising star in the sport of track and field, and she flashed her potential throughout her rookie season.
The former Binghamton All-American became the 13th woman in American history to break 4:00 in the women’s 1500m with her 3:59.99 performance in France last summer. She also broke 4:30 in the women’s indoor mile, running 4:26.09 in Boston during the indoor season. Recently, she competed at the Pan American Games, where she took home the bronze medal in the women’s 1500m.
Mackay was ahead of schedule when it comes to what she was able to accomplish this season.
“I have a little bit. I think I was more so reflecting as it was happening,” she said. “And then by the time the season was over, I was burnt out and so ready for a break that I just didn’t think about running for probably a month. Plus, I took two weeks off from running. And though I was running, I was not thinking about running, I was just going through taking a huge mental break, because it was definitely a lot that first year. But thinking back and reflecting, I did take the time to really soak it all in and enjoy every PR and like, like breaking (four minutes in the 1500m) for example, that meant so much to me, that was just a huge barrier. And that’s just been my goal for the past couple of years, but it’s just something that I didn’t think that I’d be able to achieve for another one or two years. So I was just very thankful to have gotten to that level a little bit quicker than I thought was possible.”
Mackay, who runs for Team New Balance Boston, drew a lot of confidence from the success that she was able to achieve last season. While she’s excited about what she was able to accomplish, she knows that she’s capable of so much more on the track.
“I believe in myself a lot and I believe that I can keep making jumps,” she said. “And in my progress, I think that I still have a lot of like stones unturned, and a lot of things that I know that I can do better to get to even the next level. So I just still feel like there’s so much room for growth and so much opportunity to better myself as a runner. So I think that once I do those things, and once I refine the little things and the little weaknesses that I discovered this past year in my first year running professionally, I think that I will be able to hopefully shave off another, maybe hopefully, two to three seconds off my time. I mean, we’ll see. But, I’m just really excited for what’s to come.”
Mackay represented Team USA for the first time at the Pan American Games that took place in Santiago, Chile earlier in November. She took home a bronze medal in the women’s 1500m against a talented field of athletes. Having the opportunity to compete for Team USA was a big goal that she was able to accomplish.
“It was a really good experience,” she said. “I think I just checked off a huge box for me. I’ve been dying to represent Team USA, so just to have that first opportunity to do that and to put on the USA kit meant a lot. It was a huge goal and just something that I’m thankful to have done this early in my career. It’s something that I didn’t think that I would have the privilege of doing for another year or two. So I just knew in the back of my head, if I did get that phone call that I was going to jump on it, I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to represent Team USA, especially for the first time. I think that if I do have the privilege of making more teams, maybe I’ll be a little bit more choosy of which races I’m doing, but yeah, at this point, I’m gonna jump at that opportunity. So it was definitely unexpected, though.”
This season not only showed Mackay what she’s capable of doing on the track, but it showed her that she’s meant to be in the sport of track and field.
“Belief in myself for the future of my career,” she said. “I think this past year I really proved to myself that I do belong in the world of professional running. I just believe in myself – I’m not really putting any limits on myself. I think that the possibilities are endless of what I think that I can accomplish. This past year just got me really excited for the future.”
Mackay found a unique balance in the sport in her inaugural season, where she was able to balance the rigors of professional running, while also being able to have fun and do the things that she enjoys outside of running.
“I think it’s so important to be having fun,” she said. “That’s been my strategy this past year and I’m so thankful that it worked out because I also proved to myself this past year that I can run at the level that I want to be running at while still having fun and still having a life outside of running and prioritizing other things in my life as well as running. I obviously make a lot of sacrifices to be competing at this level, but not as many sacrifices as I thought I would have to make. I find time to still hang out with my friends once a week, I allow myself to have a glass of wine every now and then. I don’t restrict a lot of the things that I thought I would have to restrict myself from to compete at this level. I don’t need to take away too much joy from my life to still be really serious and get the work done.”
