Run your own race. When Minneapolis resident Annie Frisbie made her marathon debut in last month’s New York City Marathon, she did just that. As Frisbie emerged among the leaders in the race—a race that included the gold and bronze medalists in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympic Games—she pushed the competition from her mind. “I was mostly just focusing on checking in on myself and how I was feeling,” said Frisbie to the New York Times. In a story published December 5, the New York Times highlighted Frisbie and her running coach, School of Kinesiology faculty member Chris Lundstrom, PhD, who has trained and mentored her along the way.

Frisbie and Lundstrom connected when Frisbie, a River Falls, Wisconsin native, relocated to the Twin Cities to be closer to home and discovered Minnesota Distance Elite, a training group that prepares post-collegiate distance runners to compete with the best in the nation and world. Lundstrom is the group’s head coach—and, like all members of the group, holds a 9-to-5 job. Lundstrom directs the School of Kinesiology’s Sport and Exercise Science and Physical Activity and Health MEd graduate programs, a post he’s held since 2018.

Frisbie’s performance in the New York City Marathon landed her in the record books as the fourth-fastest marathon debut for an American woman, and the fourth-fastest American woman (ever) to run the New York City Marathon.

Since the race, Frisbie has been approached by companies seeking to sponsor her and agents hoping to represent her. But she and coach Lundstrom are taking this one workout, and one race, at a time. “It’s not worth spending a ton of energy on dreaming about what’s possible when you just need to do all the things, and the athlete needs to stay healthy and make progress,” Lundstrom said to the New York Times.

Hear more from Frisbie and Lundstrom (including their thoughts on training during Minnesota winters!)