ST. LOUIS — It's been a hot one in Tokyo as all the athletes compete on the world's biggest stage and the weather made no exception for those who had to run 26.2 miles. While one St. Louisan missed out on the opportunity to make the U.S. marathon team for these games, she's now running under the sun in Arizona with her sights set on the 2024 games in Paris.
"I love it," Julia Kohnen Griffey said. "It's fun. It's a challenge don't get me wrong. Moving to Arizona and now I'm training with some of the best of the best. We'll be doing anywhere from 100 to 120 mile weeks."
Griffey is from Florissant and started her career as a soccer player. She played at Southern Indiana and then eventually started running cross country. She reached All American status, qualifying for the 2020 U.S. Olympic marathon trials. She ended up finishing 10th. But she's ready to go for the next games.
"Hey the next Olympic trials is in three years," Griffey said. "I don't have four years, it's only three years away now. I feel like I belong. I feel like I should be doing this."
Griffey says she fell in love with those 26.2 miles about five years ago.
"I did the Chicago marathon in 2017 and that's when I was like 'ok marathoning is my thing,'" Griffey said.
She admitted that it's not always easy to keep going.
"26.2 miles is long," Griffey said. "It's a mental game too, but you have to trust that you put in the work. The body is capable of going further than you think."
She puts in the work each and everyday training in Arizona because of what she knows she can get out of it.
"It's hard," Griffey said. "It's really hard but it pushes me, it's making me better and that's why I'm there is to be pushed and challenged and see how good I can get."