July 9, 2025 • 31 mins
Allyson Felix—retired track star and mother-of-two—speaks with Sarah about her legendary career and the joys and challenges of juggling parenthood and multiple business endeavors. They discuss her new management company Always Alpha, her new documentary "She Runs The World," and her longtime advocacy on behalf of women and mothers, from calling out Nike's pregnancy policies to pushing for the first-ever nursery in an Olympic Village. This episode is the latest in our “Life Beyond” series, showcasing the extraordinary resilience and strength of successful women, diving deep into their lives, highlighting their personal journeys and sharing the ways they’re "Living Beyond" the labels they’ve been given by others.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're taking
you beyond parenthood. It's Wednesday, July ninth, and on today's show,
(00:21):
we're getting straight to my kick ass interview with legendary
sprinter Alison Felix. I've been wanting to sit down with
this woman for years, and I finally got the chance
to pick her brain. It's the latest installment of our
new series Life Beyond Living Beyond Labels, a powerful podcast
campaign brought to you by iHeart Women's Sports. Our guest
today is the aforementioned Alison Felix, retired track star and
(00:43):
mom of two.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
We talk about her.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Legendary career, the joys and challenges of parenthood while juggling
the demands of sports and business, her new documentary, her
new company, and more. Felix is a special sort of
advocate for women and mothers. She was the driving force
behind the Olympic Village's first ever nursery, and her battle.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
With Nike changed the game for moms in sport.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
She also makes it her mission to uplift folks, even
surprising a fan with breast cancer as part of The
Today Show's Pink Power Today campaign in twenty seventeen. This
episode is the latest in Our Life Beyond series, showcasing
the extraordinary resilience and strength of successful women diving deep
into their lives, highlighting their personal journeys, passions, and the
ways in which they're living beyond the labels they've been
(01:26):
given by others. My conversation with Alison is coming up
right after this, joining us now. She's the most decorated
athlete in track and field history, with a combined Olympic
and World Championship total of thirty one medals, and the
(01:49):
most decorated American track and field athlete in Olympic history,
having earned eleven total medals from five consecutive Olympic Games,
and the most decorated athlete in World Athletics Championships history
with twenty career medals. Her bravery and calling out Nike's
discriminatory policies against athlete mothers helped change standards across the
sports world and inspired her to launch her own footwear company,
says in June twenty twenty one, a Time magazine one
(02:12):
hundred most Influential People honore in twenty twenty and twenty
twenty one, number sixty three on ESPN's twenty twenty four
list of the one hundred Greatest Athletes of the twenty
first century. She recently launched Always Alpha, a talent management
firm fully focused on women's sports, and she'll be in
the twenty twenty five class of the US Olympic and
Paralympic Hall of Fame this summer. It's Alison Felix.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Hi, Alison, Hi, thank you for that intro. That was
so nice.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Well, I want to know when you hear all that,
what do you feel? Can you even grasp the enormity
of it all?
Speaker 4 (02:41):
I think it's so weird because it's like, I never
really set out to do any of those things.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
It was just a girl who loved to run.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
So it's weird now to be like on the other
end of it and see, you know what I've been
able to do my career, But disgrateful for for the
whole you know, the whole journey.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Yeah, I feel like when you look back at that
little girl that just wanted to run, if you tried
to pinpoint just one, maybe two qualities that most contributed
to your success on the track, what would they be.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
I think the one I would probably go back to
is just a determination that was different and just all things.
I think I was very just persistent and you know,
I wouldn't let things go and I really enjoyed like
getting better at something and not being deterred by failure
or you know, whatever the thing is.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
So I think that really pushed persistent.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Yeah, yeah, and that's necessary in track as a track
and field runner. In college myself, people would always basically
tell us your practice is our punishment. So being willing
to just punish yourself over and over again for the
love of the sport is it requires a special sort
of something.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
It's a pretty crazy thing, you know it is.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
It's like when you're talking about hundreds of a second
and you know, like what little you know biomechanics can
you change and.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
You definitely have to love it and you have to
be in it for the long run.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Well, I've wanted to talk to for literally years now.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
So I'm so grateful to have you join us to
talk about life beyond track, beyond parenting, and becoming this
new woman after your retirement. You just premiered your documentary,
She Runs the World, at Tribeca.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Tell us about the film.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
The film is really great.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
It goes over my career and my journey. It talks
about the fight from internal protections. It also dives into
the maternal health crisis that women of color are facing
here in America. So yeah, it kind of touches a
lot of passions of my heart. But yeah, I'm excited
that it's like out there and it was something very different,
(04:49):
you know, and I think, you know, it really pushed
on that level of being vulnerable and really kind of
sharing more than most people really know.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Well, you've been in the public spot like forever, but
most of the time when people are watching you, it's
either an interview or you're running. How different was it
to watch yourself in moments of being just like a
human or just being a parent, being a sister, being
a wife.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Yeah, it was so different, you know.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
I think just even the process of you know, following
me for a couple of years and going into some
of those like really personal moments and sharing that and
then when I, you know, saw the film in its.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Entirety, I really got it.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
And also just like audience reaction of how much of
my journey is just resonates with people, because you know,
we all go through things, and we've all been through
you know, difficulties, and so I think for me, it's
it's so much bigger than myself. I hope that this
is a film that other women see themselves, and I
(05:50):
think it also is a message that to change things,
it really takes a collective effort.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
I'm sure so many people will learn a lot from
the film and even feel inspired by feeling connected and
relatable to someone as successful as you. Even you have
your own struggles, but I wonder what you learned about
yourself from making or watching it because I have a
random example, but I remember my wedding taught me that
(06:16):
I don't like to be looked at unless I can talk.
I like being on stage. I love performing. I love
a crowd and an audience. I love attention. Except when
I was just walking down an aisle, I couldn't crack
a joke. I just had people looking at me, and
I was like I guess this is the best I'm.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Supposed to look. I'm trying my heart, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Like I realized that I have a thing with that
I like to be able to make a joke in
moments like that, and I couldn't. Did you find anything
that surprised you about yourself during the process?
Speaker 4 (06:45):
I think maybe something I knew, but I think it
was just emphasized in the whole process and seeing the
film is that I don't really like to be the
center of attention, you know, I don't really like all
eyes on me. And that felt a bit odd, you know,
especially because you know the whole film, like, you know,
sitting there and seeing kind of the ins and outs
(07:07):
of the journey away from you know, the field of
play all of those moments was like, Okay, it's probably
not my favorite thing, but I think the motivation behind
it was definitely like, Okay, this can have impact, and
you know a lot of other people go through these
same things, and that really kind of pushed me forward.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
The filmmakers who made the movie went to your parents'
house to see what kind of footage they could get
of the early years, and your dad came out with
boxes and boxes and boxes, four hundred hours of home
videos looking at your younger self, maybe seeing videos you'd
never seen before.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
What stood out to Yeah, I mean it's that's wild still,
Like I guess he was definitely before his time, like
all no cam horder, but it's just the joy, you know,
of childhood and just like being with my brother and
you know, playing in the backyard. I think that was
that was what was really cool to see, was just
(08:04):
growing and having fun and having no idea about sports
or anything like that, but just the foundation of being
with my family and so many of those lessons that
I feel like now are monumental I come back to
all the time. But I think it was in those
years that my parents really, you know, taught me some
of those really important things.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
And it's got to be kind of wild seeing yourself
very young, when you have young kids of your own,
that I'm considering what your parents were teaching you or
guiding you, or what's saying to you, and what you
might be repeating or doing the same.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Yeah, I mean, I just seeing myself at the age
I saw so much of my daughter Cammy, I was like,
oh my gosh, Yeah, okay, we kind of have the
same face all the things, so that was fun and
for her to see that as well. And the relationship
with my brother Wes and I and then Cammy and
my son Tree. I saw so much of that, like
him trying to entertain me and her trying to entertain him.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
So those kind of things were fun.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Also, Yeah, you also started Always Alpha. It's been around
less than a year. What inspired you to launch your
own management firm?
Speaker 4 (09:07):
It was really the thought of legacy, and I remember
having a conversation with my brother around I feel like
I've learned so much and have had so much experience,
almost like I wish I could do it again with
all this knowledge, and obviously not being able to do that,
I think the next best thing was saying, I want
to pass this on to you know, other women who
(09:28):
are at the peaks of their career, and I feel
like this could really be helpful. So that was really
the idea behind it. And also just seeing you know,
the momentum of women's sports and feeling like, you know,
women's sports marketing hasn't really existed and there hasn't been
this sole focus on marketing women in a different way,
(09:49):
and I think that opportunity to do things a bit
differently really excited us.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, what's been the most exciting part.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
I think just working with a amazing clients and we
have athletes, we have coaches, broadcasters, and just yeah, interacting
with them and hearing about things that they're passionate about
on the field of play and off. I think, you know,
oftentimes when you're at the height of your career, you're
you're really thinking about, you know, the records and all
(10:19):
of those things. But I think, you know, most people
have aspirations beyond that, and so to hear that early
on and to say like, okay, like how can we
put together a plan that includes that as well so
that you can really be your full self. I've really enjoyed,
you know, hearing all of those aspirations.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
And that's really nice for the person involved who does
need to focus on the task at hand, but knows
that they're not ignoring the future or putting aside something
that does need to get built over the course of time.
They just have other people to help them do it
and start looking out for opportunities, which is great.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
What's been the biggest challenge? This is a whole new
thing for you.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
Yeah, I think being on the other side of it,
you know, I think I've been used to you know,
when you're an athlete, you're in control of everything, and
you know it's really everything is on you. It's refreshing
to have a team and to get to collaborate and
work together. But I think also, you know, just releasing
that control sometimes is feels uncomfortable, but it's also I'm
(11:18):
trying to just welcome it more. And then just the landscape,
you know, we're really trying to do things differently, and
so working with brands that probably haven't focused on women's
sports before and trying to like educate them and teach
them and get them in the space. You know, we're
always going to be pushing forward in that sense.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
We're going to take a quick break when we come
back more with Alison Felix. You have been pushing for
yourself and others for quite some time. Notably, in May
of twenty nineteen, you pend an op ed for The
New York Times accusing your longtime sponsored Nike of refusing
(11:58):
to guarantee salary protections for FEEA athletes and the Monks
following their pregnancy. You were a star for Nike at
the time, but you also wanted to consider a family,
and you were seeing not only cuts in the contract offer,
but no guarantees for what would happen after you came back.
So can you take us through the process and the
(12:18):
feelings that you had leading up to that actually publishing
fear anger otherwise?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
I was terrified. I think that was the biggest emotion.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
You know, for the longest, I really wanted to like
fit in that perfect image and you know, head down,
do the work. Like I'm an athlete. I'm just supposed to,
you know, stay in my lane. And I had done
that really well for a long time, and it wasn't
until I was faced with this situation that that took
everything up.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
And I think also just becoming a.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Mother, the mother to a daughter, really was like, Okay,
it's it's on me to do something about this. And
so I think that was the feelings, everything from rage
that I'm even asking and pushing for this, to feeling
empowered to say I want to do something different and
I'm going to speak up about this because it's been happening.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
For far too long. So it was really scary.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
But I'm really grateful that I was supported in my
own family, with my friends and a lot of other
athletes who had been through something similar and who were
under NDA's and felt like, you know, I have people
standing behind me.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Tell me more about why your daughter sort of gave
you that last little shove.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
I remember, you know, really going back and forth of like, Okay,
is this something I'm going to do?
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Like am I going to put my name on this?
Speaker 4 (13:40):
And vividly there was this moment, you know, she I
had a difficult birth experience. She came two months early,
and I'm sitting in her nursery and just really you know,
contemplating this. And I think in those moments when she
was home from the nicqu just seeing how she fought
and then think about her growing up and the fight
(14:02):
that I was taking on. It was like, there's no
way that you and your generation are going to take
this fight on. At the time, I didn't know if
anything was going to come of it, but I just
felt deeply called to speak up, like I had a
responsibility now as.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
A mother, and that's something I hadn't felt before. You know,
I think it just it was a game changer for me.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
You know, I think a lot of women say that
that it sort of changes the perspective of who's first,
and who comes first, and what's more important, And you
quite literally recognize that this was about your fight, but
also changing the game for everyone that.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Came after you.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
And I think it's also hard to read you talking
about your relationship with Nike at that time and the
way they communicated to you what you meant to them,
and always using the phrasing we're a family. Yeah, and
you felt like, my family is telling me that I
want to make this personal choice and they won't support
me in it, that they might not be there for
(14:58):
me when I come back, and that I have to
hit sir times and goals in order for them to
still treat me as a member of their family. What
an interesting dichotomy to be creating an actual family and
find out at the same time that these promises made
to you were not true. And I think a lot
of us go through the naivete of loyalty to something
that we assume is reciprocal.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
And when people tell you you're just a number, you're.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Just a cog in the wheel or whatever it is,
you don't want to believe it because you put so
much time and effort and energy into it. So when
you do find out that that was true, what's that
emotion for you as you started to for the very
first time realize that Nike wasn't going to do right
by you.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
It was just like a gut punch, because it is.
And it was a great lesson to learn that. So often,
I think we do preach family in companies, and I
think we talk about it a lot, and for me
it was a lesson, even in creating my own company,
that it's not a family because there is a business
aspect to it. And I think it's when you're an athlete.
(16:00):
You're going on this journey and you have these supporters
who are feeling like family, and you're going above and
beyond and you're giving everything you have to this.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
It's a weird thing, you know.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
And so when I realized that, and you know, the
veil was lifted and it's like, oh, no, this is
not family at all, it was hard. You know, it
was hard to process that and understand at the same time,
you know, starting a family and all of those things.
But I just realized, you know, at the end of
(16:30):
the day, it is about you know, the numbers on
the paper and the bottom line and all of that,
but it was it was difficult in the in the
process of.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
It, there is a freedom to learning that, and there
also is an opportunity for a spark of ingenuity because
I feel like a lot of women figure out that
the system isn't built for us and then change it,
and it happens maybe less often with men because they're
very much served by the system that we're currently in.
(16:59):
I think about Abi Wombach talks about in her book.
You know when they say if there's not a seat
at the table, pull up a chair, she says, screw
pulling up a chair, build a new table. Yeah, if
you're not going to have a seat for me at
the table that exists, I don't want to pull up
a chair. I'm going to just create my own table.
And it feels like that's very much what you did
in speaking out. And at the same time, that very
(17:20):
same month of May twenty nineteen, you testified before the
US House Committee on Ways and Means on the Black
maternal mortality crisis. You mentioned that your daughter's birth was difficult.
You had preeclampsia while pregnant, and then you had to
have an emergency C section. You not only are fighting
with your sponsor for the treatment that you deserve, but
now you're fighting on behalf of other mothers. Why did
(17:42):
that experience with your daughter, instead of wanting to stay
at home and cocoon and just care for her, why
were you so ready to get out and fight.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
I think once I had wrote that op ed and
it came out and I saw the response, and I
saw Nike other companies change their policy, I think for
the first time I understood what speaking out had the
power to do, and when you are vulnerable and when
you share that sometimes it can change things. And so
(18:12):
when I was going through the complicated birth of my daughter,
and I just I felt like my eyes.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Were open to a whole new world.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
I did not know the enormity of the crisis that
women were facing, and so it was kind of that
same feeling like if I can do something about this,
even if it's just raise awareness, then I sign me up,
like I want to be on board with that, And
so that was kind of I remember leaving the hospital
after a month of her being there and us leaving
(18:41):
as a family, and just feeling so much gratitude because
I learned of so many stories where that's just not
the case. And so that was the push to say, yeah,
I'm happy to testify. It's not something I probably would
have wanted to do in my past and such a
private person, but if this has the potential to change
the path forward, or you know, if someone learns about
(19:05):
signs of pre eclamsia, you know, through this process, then
it's absolutely worth it.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
You led me to my next question, which is you
start out by saying you don't love to be the
center of attention, and yet in all these moments you
are saying, I have the voice and the agency to
do something about this. So it's on me to say something.
What's your advice for folks listening who may think that
they're not built for that kind of fight or can't
(19:30):
imagine walking into a room to testify, or speaking out
against a boss or something like that. Did you have
to psych yourself up in the mirror? Did you have
to write down mantras? Did you have to eat a
certain kind of breakfast? I feel like, real strong, like,
what did you do to get yourself feeling ready for that?
Speaker 2 (19:46):
If that's not natural for.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
You, I would say definitely been exactly there in those
shoes and I never got to this place where I
was like I'm ready. You know, there was never this
feeling of confidence of like, Okay, I'm going to do this.
Like I was scared up to the very moments that
I press send on the op ed that until I
walked and you know, to the Ways and Means Committee,
(20:09):
like it never went away. So I think this illusion
that you have to feel so courageous and so powerful
and ready for the moment, it's not the case.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
I'll never forget.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
When I was going through all this, my brother West said,
you know, you can use your voice even if it shakes,
and I just kind of kept repeating that because it's
like I'm never gonna I'm never gonna be that person
that is like, you know, shouting from the rooftops and
so confident like in moments like this, but that's okay,
Like you can still move forward through the fear, through
(20:43):
the uncertainty, through all of that. And so that's what
I would say, And also that you don't have to
do it on the biggest stage. You know, we can
all hold people accountable in our own circles. We can
have conversation. So I think also, don't think you have
to have a big platform, you know, to bring about change.
I think we can all really bloom. We're exactly where
(21:05):
we're planted.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
I love that quote from your brother, and I love
the relationship you two have. Can you talk about what
it's been like to have your brother sort of managing
your career and now embarking on a number of your
other endeavors together.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
It's so much fun.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
I think people always just like, what is it like
to like work with a sibling and I.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Because we're all picturing our sibling that we fight with
all the time and that we can't imagine having to
coordinate with, and then you two are out there just
crushing it.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
I mean we've always had a special relationship since our
younger I mean we definitely did all the fighting also,
But then I don't know we I think it was
around middle school. We were at a new school, and
I think something clicked where it was like, oh my gosh,
we can be friends. And we've kind of been just
like really thick a sieves since then. And it's so
(21:54):
cool to be able to build with someone that you
love and that you trust.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
One hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
And I think our strengths and weaknesses are opposite, and
so we have a really great dynamic together and we've
been doing it for a really long time now, so
I think we're very secure in both of our roles
and it's really a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Also, biggest fight you've ever gotten in.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
I don't even remember anything as an adult.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
I mean I remember just like wrestling with him as
a kid, and he could never my parents never let
him like wrestle back with me, and I just took full.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
Advantage of that. So my mind.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
Immediately goes to like those those years where I was
just yeah, having my way.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
But nothing as adults. That's remarkable considering the stakes of
the work you're in.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Yeah nothing, nothing.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
I mean, we have good, honest, hard conversations all the time,
but I never leave those feeling like we are at
odds because we're on the same team, Like you know,
we want the same things and the end goal, and
so I think it's great that we can push each other,
but it never it never spills over into our brother
(23:04):
sister relationship.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
So in addition to all of that advocacy, you also
were the driving force behind the Olympic Villages first ever nursery.
You were part of a twenty seventeen Today Show Pink
Power Today campaign.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
You surprised a fan with breast cancer. Then you've fought.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
All these battles over and over for yourself and for others,
and I wonder what you've learned from those battles.
Speaker 4 (23:25):
I think the biggest thing is that you can create change.
And I think for the longest, I don't know when
I thought about doing things differently or you know, a
system that wasn't built for you. To me, I was like, well,
that's not my fight, Like that's gonna that's so big,
it's like so ambitious, you know, I how could just
me have any role in that? And I think what
(23:49):
I've seen is just there's power in the collective and
we all have to do our part. And it may
seem like it's really far off, or it may seem
like this one little thing is it's not going to matter.
And I think what I've learned is like every little
thing matters. You know, we all need to do, you know,
what we can. And sometimes you know that change is
going to come fast, and sometimes you know maybe we
(24:09):
won't even be here to benefit from it. But it's
never about you. I think that's the biggest thing. Another
thing that I've taken away is I think oftentimes when
you're trying to change something, it might start with your
scenario and you know what you've been through, and that's
the motivation, But it's going to be somebody else.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
You know.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Things are going to change when somebody else you know
is able to benefit, and that's you have to be
okay with that. That's the reward, is like, Okay, things
down the line are going to be different.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yeah, it does feel like sometimes you can feel worthy
in the most degrading and terrible moments if you choose
to take control of them and try to change them
going forward, even if it won't benefit you, because then
at least something comes out of it. It's so deflating
to just be mistreated or not given the right resources,
or not invested in, or any number of things and
(24:59):
not feel like they're there's anything you can do about it,
at least in your own small way, in your community,
or in your own big way, like you have, trying
to do something about it so the next person doesn't
face it feels like a stronger conviction even than fixing
it for yourself completely.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
Yeah, it's like taking ownership of that and saying yeah,
I'm going to flip this around and it's going to
be better for the next person.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Well, and so much of your advice, of course applies
to the battles you've taken on, but also just like
current times, everything is so overwhelming and terrifying and awful
and inhumane, and each of us, individually, I think, can
feel very trapped in that. But remembering that the battles
won at the lower levels, whether that's which judges are
(25:41):
voted in, or which community systems and policies are in effect,
and how that impacts the daily lives of the people
around us can still be something in our control, even
if the decisions made at the very highest levels can't.
And so I love your advice to folks that they
don't have to First of all, they can use their
voice even if it shakes. And secondly, it doesn't have
to be at the House committee. It can just be
(26:02):
in their own neighborhood. You know, you've made such a
name for yourself now as an advocate for moms. I
wonder do you ever feel pigeonholed. At one point you were, Oh,
she's an athlete, so we don't expect anything from her
except for Run Fast and now well she's retired. Now
she's a mom, so we're just going to talk to
her about all mom stuff all the time. Do you
try to get people to see that you contain multitudes
and you're multifaceted and you want to, you know, have
(26:24):
all sorts of things going on, or do you now
feel like you're the mom?
Speaker 4 (26:29):
I definitely don't want to just be the mom, you know.
I think there's so many things that I'm passionate about,
and I think having moved away from the competition of
it all, I think there's been more time to explore
those things. And so yeah, I definitely want to dabble
in all of the areas and show that, you know,
I am multifaceted, and I do there is so much
(26:51):
more to me. And even when I think about the
work that I do at Always Alpha, I want that
for our athletes as well, because I think you have
to really start that early, and I think there's no
better time than now. And we're seeing you know, just
rich stories, you know, off of the field of play,
other interests and passions and every person is like that,
(27:13):
and so I think we, you know, we have to
lean more into the holistic version than just yeah, putting
people in boxes.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
You had a legendary track and field career, nothing left
to win, nothing left to prove. But that doesn't mean
it's easy to walk away and find new passions and purposes.
What was the predominant emotion for you in the days
after officially retiring and knowing you wouldn't be competing again.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
I think there was a lot of grief.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
I had a lot of gratitude for my career because
it was incredible. I felt like, you know, not everybody
gets to end on their own terms and all of
those things, so so much gratitude.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
But I think I had to grieve it.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
It was like, you know, this thing that I've loved
for so long, I've been able to do and pour
myself into, and then one day it's just over. And
I think there's this weird thing because it goes on
without you, and you know, now you're on the outside
like looking at it, and all of those things are
challenging as you find your new path. But I think
it was like giving myself space to say, like, yeah,
(28:19):
I feel sad that this is over, and you know,
I'm gonna miss it and I'm finding my new way,
but my feelings are valid, and yeah, leaving room for that.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Are you competing at everything else?
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Now? Board games starts Hopscotch, Like, can you shut it
off or not?
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Really?
Speaker 3 (28:36):
I think it's who I am.
Speaker 4 (28:38):
I've definitely tried to find like new things, you know,
I'm trying to like not always be on a track somewhere,
but like started learning tennis and just in areas that
like I have no business being competitive in.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
So it's like very humbling, but yeah, it's it's in me.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
It's probably really good for you to be the very
best for a very long time and then start something
new and be like, oh oh this is tricky.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
It's so humbling, like it it's like nothing has transferred.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
That's funny, you know what. It's really good though.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
I read a whole book about how as adults we
are so used to being proficient that we stop trying
new things because it's uncomfortable to be bad at things,
and that the gift in that is so worthy of
the frustration or the awkwardness that you have. And oftentimes
people get really stagnant because they're not willing to try
new things and there might be something that they would love,
(29:28):
and they never discover it because they're too embarrassed to
just try.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
So I love that you're out there.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
I'm out there trying.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Swinging away.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Yeah, I did see you, though I didn't get to
go to a sport beach this year, which I'm very
bummed about. I was watching obsessively from Afar, but I
saw a little video of you and Can just a
couple of days ago. Everyone else probably drinking and apparel,
sprints by the beach, noshing on some snacks on that
great patio at the Carlton Hotel. You were running sprints
(29:56):
uphill during a very brief four forty eight hour trip
to France. When do you relax and when do you stop?
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Ever?
Speaker 4 (30:06):
You know, I see a good heal and I just
feel like it needs to be run like this.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Oh I don't know, it's ingrained to me. And then also,
you know, you gotta you gotta get it in where
you can.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
The travel schedule's crazy, and it's like, Okay, this is
a great this is my this is the workout area
that I have I'm.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Gonna do and it's it's so fun.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Yeah, I actually have to admit before my body completely
fell apart. And my spine turned to dust because of
an achilles tear and everything else. I used to go
to a park and do wind sprints. I used to
go do my hurdle drills and stadium stairs. I loved
that feeling of like pushing myself to exhaust and just
like when I was practicing for something.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
So I don't blame you that you're still at it.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
There's nothing like it.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
I hope your body holds up forever and you can
do that forever, because there's just so much joy in that. Right,
last question for you. If you look beyond the track
and beyond the parenting at Alison Feel, what will you find.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
I think just a person who cares for other people,
who loves family and friends, and just wants to do
something meaningful in the world.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Pretty simple.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
So far, so good. We're excited to see what happens next.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
Thanks so much for the time, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
could find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
our producers are alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rutterer.
(31:42):
Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and
Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones and I'm
Your Host Sarah Spain
This show is independently created by iHeartMedia. Novarda's Pharmaceuticals Corp.
Is the exclusive advertising partner. It is intended for informational
and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice.
Please speak with your healthcare professional before making any treatment decisions.
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're taking
you beyond parenthood. It's Wednesday, July ninth, and on today's show,
(00:21):
we're getting straight to my kick ass interview with legendary
sprinter Alison Felix. I've been wanting to sit down with
this woman for years, and I finally got the chance
to pick her brain. It's the latest installment of our
new series Life Beyond Living Beyond Labels, a powerful podcast
campaign brought to you by iHeart Women's Sports. Our guest
today is the aforementioned Alison Felix, retired track star and
(00:43):
mom of two.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
We talk about her.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Legendary career, the joys and challenges of parenthood while juggling
the demands of sports and business, her new documentary, her
new company, and more. Felix is a special sort of
advocate for women and mothers. She was the driving force
behind the Olympic Village's first ever nursery, and her battle.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
With Nike changed the game for moms in sport.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
She also makes it her mission to uplift folks, even
surprising a fan with breast cancer as part of The
Today Show's Pink Power Today campaign in twenty seventeen. This
episode is the latest in Our Life Beyond series, showcasing
the extraordinary resilience and strength of successful women diving deep
into their lives, highlighting their personal journeys, passions, and the
ways in which they're living beyond the labels they've been
(01:26):
given by others. My conversation with Alison is coming up
right after this, joining us now. She's the most decorated
athlete in track and field history, with a combined Olympic
and World Championship total of thirty one medals, and the
(01:49):
most decorated American track and field athlete in Olympic history,
having earned eleven total medals from five consecutive Olympic Games,
and the most decorated athlete in World Athletics Championships history
with twenty career medals. Her bravery and calling out Nike's
discriminatory policies against athlete mothers helped change standards across the
sports world and inspired her to launch her own footwear company,
says in June twenty twenty one, a Time magazine one
(02:12):
hundred most Influential People honore in twenty twenty and twenty
twenty one, number sixty three on ESPN's twenty twenty four
list of the one hundred Greatest Athletes of the twenty
first century. She recently launched Always Alpha, a talent management
firm fully focused on women's sports, and she'll be in
the twenty twenty five class of the US Olympic and
Paralympic Hall of Fame this summer. It's Alison Felix.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Hi, Alison, Hi, thank you for that intro. That was
so nice.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Well, I want to know when you hear all that,
what do you feel? Can you even grasp the enormity
of it all?
Speaker 4 (02:41):
I think it's so weird because it's like, I never
really set out to do any of those things.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
It was just a girl who loved to run.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
So it's weird now to be like on the other
end of it and see, you know what I've been
able to do my career, But disgrateful for for the
whole you know, the whole journey.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Yeah, I feel like when you look back at that
little girl that just wanted to run, if you tried
to pinpoint just one, maybe two qualities that most contributed
to your success on the track, what would they be.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
I think the one I would probably go back to
is just a determination that was different and just all things.
I think I was very just persistent and you know,
I wouldn't let things go and I really enjoyed like
getting better at something and not being deterred by failure
or you know, whatever the thing is.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
So I think that really pushed persistent.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Yeah, yeah, and that's necessary in track as a track
and field runner. In college myself, people would always basically
tell us your practice is our punishment. So being willing
to just punish yourself over and over again for the
love of the sport is it requires a special sort
of something.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
It's a pretty crazy thing, you know it is.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
It's like when you're talking about hundreds of a second
and you know, like what little you know biomechanics can
you change and.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
You definitely have to love it and you have to
be in it for the long run.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Well, I've wanted to talk to for literally years now.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
So I'm so grateful to have you join us to
talk about life beyond track, beyond parenting, and becoming this
new woman after your retirement. You just premiered your documentary,
She Runs the World, at Tribeca.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Tell us about the film.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
The film is really great.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
It goes over my career and my journey. It talks
about the fight from internal protections. It also dives into
the maternal health crisis that women of color are facing
here in America. So yeah, it kind of touches a
lot of passions of my heart. But yeah, I'm excited
that it's like out there and it was something very different,
(04:49):
you know, and I think, you know, it really pushed
on that level of being vulnerable and really kind of
sharing more than most people really know.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Well, you've been in the public spot like forever, but
most of the time when people are watching you, it's
either an interview or you're running. How different was it
to watch yourself in moments of being just like a
human or just being a parent, being a sister, being
a wife.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Yeah, it was so different, you know.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
I think just even the process of you know, following
me for a couple of years and going into some
of those like really personal moments and sharing that and
then when I, you know, saw the film in its.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Entirety, I really got it.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
And also just like audience reaction of how much of
my journey is just resonates with people, because you know,
we all go through things, and we've all been through
you know, difficulties, and so I think for me, it's
it's so much bigger than myself. I hope that this
is a film that other women see themselves, and I
(05:50):
think it also is a message that to change things,
it really takes a collective effort.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
I'm sure so many people will learn a lot from
the film and even feel inspired by feeling connected and
relatable to someone as successful as you. Even you have
your own struggles, but I wonder what you learned about
yourself from making or watching it because I have a
random example, but I remember my wedding taught me that
(06:16):
I don't like to be looked at unless I can talk.
I like being on stage. I love performing. I love
a crowd and an audience. I love attention. Except when
I was just walking down an aisle, I couldn't crack
a joke. I just had people looking at me, and
I was like I guess this is the best I'm.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Supposed to look. I'm trying my heart, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Like I realized that I have a thing with that
I like to be able to make a joke in
moments like that, and I couldn't. Did you find anything
that surprised you about yourself during the process?
Speaker 4 (06:45):
I think maybe something I knew, but I think it
was just emphasized in the whole process and seeing the
film is that I don't really like to be the
center of attention, you know, I don't really like all
eyes on me. And that felt a bit odd, you know,
especially because you know the whole film, like, you know,
sitting there and seeing kind of the ins and outs
(07:07):
of the journey away from you know, the field of
play all of those moments was like, Okay, it's probably
not my favorite thing, but I think the motivation behind
it was definitely like, Okay, this can have impact, and
you know a lot of other people go through these
same things, and that really kind of pushed me forward.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
The filmmakers who made the movie went to your parents'
house to see what kind of footage they could get
of the early years, and your dad came out with
boxes and boxes and boxes, four hundred hours of home
videos looking at your younger self, maybe seeing videos you'd
never seen before.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
What stood out to Yeah, I mean it's that's wild still,
Like I guess he was definitely before his time, like
all no cam horder, but it's just the joy, you know,
of childhood and just like being with my brother and
you know, playing in the backyard. I think that was
that was what was really cool to see, was just
(08:04):
growing and having fun and having no idea about sports
or anything like that, but just the foundation of being
with my family and so many of those lessons that
I feel like now are monumental I come back to
all the time. But I think it was in those
years that my parents really, you know, taught me some
of those really important things.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
And it's got to be kind of wild seeing yourself
very young, when you have young kids of your own,
that I'm considering what your parents were teaching you or
guiding you, or what's saying to you, and what you
might be repeating or doing the same.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Yeah, I mean, I just seeing myself at the age
I saw so much of my daughter Cammy, I was like,
oh my gosh, Yeah, okay, we kind of have the
same face all the things, so that was fun and
for her to see that as well. And the relationship
with my brother Wes and I and then Cammy and
my son Tree. I saw so much of that, like
him trying to entertain me and her trying to entertain him.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
So those kind of things were fun.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Also, Yeah, you also started Always Alpha. It's been around
less than a year. What inspired you to launch your
own management firm?
Speaker 4 (09:07):
It was really the thought of legacy, and I remember
having a conversation with my brother around I feel like
I've learned so much and have had so much experience,
almost like I wish I could do it again with
all this knowledge, and obviously not being able to do that,
I think the next best thing was saying, I want
to pass this on to you know, other women who
(09:28):
are at the peaks of their career, and I feel
like this could really be helpful. So that was really
the idea behind it. And also just seeing you know,
the momentum of women's sports and feeling like, you know,
women's sports marketing hasn't really existed and there hasn't been
this sole focus on marketing women in a different way,
(09:49):
and I think that opportunity to do things a bit
differently really excited us.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, what's been the most exciting part.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
I think just working with a amazing clients and we
have athletes, we have coaches, broadcasters, and just yeah, interacting
with them and hearing about things that they're passionate about
on the field of play and off. I think, you know,
oftentimes when you're at the height of your career, you're
you're really thinking about, you know, the records and all
(10:19):
of those things. But I think, you know, most people
have aspirations beyond that, and so to hear that early
on and to say like, okay, like how can we
put together a plan that includes that as well so
that you can really be your full self. I've really enjoyed,
you know, hearing all of those aspirations.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
And that's really nice for the person involved who does
need to focus on the task at hand, but knows
that they're not ignoring the future or putting aside something
that does need to get built over the course of time.
They just have other people to help them do it
and start looking out for opportunities, which is great.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
What's been the biggest challenge? This is a whole new
thing for you.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
Yeah, I think being on the other side of it,
you know, I think I've been used to you know,
when you're an athlete, you're in control of everything, and
you know it's really everything is on you. It's refreshing
to have a team and to get to collaborate and
work together. But I think also, you know, just releasing
that control sometimes is feels uncomfortable, but it's also I'm
(11:18):
trying to just welcome it more. And then just the landscape,
you know, we're really trying to do things differently, and
so working with brands that probably haven't focused on women's
sports before and trying to like educate them and teach
them and get them in the space. You know, we're
always going to be pushing forward in that sense.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
We're going to take a quick break when we come
back more with Alison Felix. You have been pushing for
yourself and others for quite some time. Notably, in May
of twenty nineteen, you pend an op ed for The
New York Times accusing your longtime sponsored Nike of refusing
(11:58):
to guarantee salary protections for FEEA athletes and the Monks
following their pregnancy. You were a star for Nike at
the time, but you also wanted to consider a family,
and you were seeing not only cuts in the contract offer,
but no guarantees for what would happen after you came back.
So can you take us through the process and the
(12:18):
feelings that you had leading up to that actually publishing
fear anger otherwise?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
I was terrified. I think that was the biggest emotion.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
You know, for the longest, I really wanted to like
fit in that perfect image and you know, head down,
do the work. Like I'm an athlete. I'm just supposed to,
you know, stay in my lane. And I had done
that really well for a long time, and it wasn't
until I was faced with this situation that that took
everything up.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
And I think also just becoming a.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Mother, the mother to a daughter, really was like, Okay,
it's it's on me to do something about this. And
so I think that was the feelings, everything from rage
that I'm even asking and pushing for this, to feeling
empowered to say I want to do something different and
I'm going to speak up about this because it's been happening.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
For far too long. So it was really scary.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
But I'm really grateful that I was supported in my
own family, with my friends and a lot of other
athletes who had been through something similar and who were
under NDA's and felt like, you know, I have people
standing behind me.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Tell me more about why your daughter sort of gave
you that last little shove.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
I remember, you know, really going back and forth of like, Okay,
is this something I'm going to do?
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Like am I going to put my name on this?
Speaker 4 (13:40):
And vividly there was this moment, you know, she I
had a difficult birth experience. She came two months early,
and I'm sitting in her nursery and just really you know,
contemplating this. And I think in those moments when she
was home from the nicqu just seeing how she fought
and then think about her growing up and the fight
(14:02):
that I was taking on. It was like, there's no
way that you and your generation are going to take
this fight on. At the time, I didn't know if
anything was going to come of it, but I just
felt deeply called to speak up, like I had a
responsibility now as.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
A mother, and that's something I hadn't felt before. You know,
I think it just it was a game changer for me.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
You know, I think a lot of women say that
that it sort of changes the perspective of who's first,
and who comes first, and what's more important, And you
quite literally recognize that this was about your fight, but
also changing the game for everyone that.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Came after you.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
And I think it's also hard to read you talking
about your relationship with Nike at that time and the
way they communicated to you what you meant to them,
and always using the phrasing we're a family. Yeah, and
you felt like, my family is telling me that I
want to make this personal choice and they won't support
me in it, that they might not be there for
(14:58):
me when I come back, and that I have to
hit sir times and goals in order for them to
still treat me as a member of their family. What
an interesting dichotomy to be creating an actual family and
find out at the same time that these promises made
to you were not true. And I think a lot
of us go through the naivete of loyalty to something
that we assume is reciprocal.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
And when people tell you you're just a number, you're.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Just a cog in the wheel or whatever it is,
you don't want to believe it because you put so
much time and effort and energy into it. So when
you do find out that that was true, what's that
emotion for you as you started to for the very
first time realize that Nike wasn't going to do right
by you.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
It was just like a gut punch, because it is.
And it was a great lesson to learn that. So often,
I think we do preach family in companies, and I
think we talk about it a lot, and for me
it was a lesson, even in creating my own company,
that it's not a family because there is a business
aspect to it. And I think it's when you're an athlete.
(16:00):
You're going on this journey and you have these supporters
who are feeling like family, and you're going above and
beyond and you're giving everything you have to this.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
It's a weird thing, you know.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
And so when I realized that, and you know, the
veil was lifted and it's like, oh, no, this is
not family at all, it was hard. You know, it
was hard to process that and understand at the same time,
you know, starting a family and all of those things.
But I just realized, you know, at the end of
(16:30):
the day, it is about you know, the numbers on
the paper and the bottom line and all of that,
but it was it was difficult in the in the
process of.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
It, there is a freedom to learning that, and there
also is an opportunity for a spark of ingenuity because
I feel like a lot of women figure out that
the system isn't built for us and then change it,
and it happens maybe less often with men because they're
very much served by the system that we're currently in.
(16:59):
I think about Abi Wombach talks about in her book.
You know when they say if there's not a seat
at the table, pull up a chair, she says, screw
pulling up a chair, build a new table. Yeah, if
you're not going to have a seat for me at
the table that exists, I don't want to pull up
a chair. I'm going to just create my own table.
And it feels like that's very much what you did
in speaking out. And at the same time, that very
(17:20):
same month of May twenty nineteen, you testified before the
US House Committee on Ways and Means on the Black
maternal mortality crisis. You mentioned that your daughter's birth was difficult.
You had preeclampsia while pregnant, and then you had to
have an emergency C section. You not only are fighting
with your sponsor for the treatment that you deserve, but
now you're fighting on behalf of other mothers. Why did
(17:42):
that experience with your daughter, instead of wanting to stay
at home and cocoon and just care for her, why
were you so ready to get out and fight.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
I think once I had wrote that op ed and
it came out and I saw the response, and I
saw Nike other companies change their policy, I think for
the first time I understood what speaking out had the
power to do, and when you are vulnerable and when
you share that sometimes it can change things. And so
(18:12):
when I was going through the complicated birth of my daughter,
and I just I felt like my eyes.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Were open to a whole new world.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
I did not know the enormity of the crisis that
women were facing, and so it was kind of that
same feeling like if I can do something about this,
even if it's just raise awareness, then I sign me up,
like I want to be on board with that, And
so that was kind of I remember leaving the hospital
after a month of her being there and us leaving
(18:41):
as a family, and just feeling so much gratitude because
I learned of so many stories where that's just not
the case. And so that was the push to say, yeah,
I'm happy to testify. It's not something I probably would
have wanted to do in my past and such a
private person, but if this has the potential to change
the path forward, or you know, if someone learns about
(19:05):
signs of pre eclamsia, you know, through this process, then
it's absolutely worth it.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
You led me to my next question, which is you
start out by saying you don't love to be the
center of attention, and yet in all these moments you
are saying, I have the voice and the agency to
do something about this. So it's on me to say something.
What's your advice for folks listening who may think that
they're not built for that kind of fight or can't
(19:30):
imagine walking into a room to testify, or speaking out
against a boss or something like that. Did you have
to psych yourself up in the mirror? Did you have
to write down mantras? Did you have to eat a
certain kind of breakfast? I feel like, real strong, like,
what did you do to get yourself feeling ready for that?
Speaker 2 (19:46):
If that's not natural for.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
You, I would say definitely been exactly there in those
shoes and I never got to this place where I
was like I'm ready. You know, there was never this
feeling of confidence of like, Okay, I'm going to do this.
Like I was scared up to the very moments that
I press send on the op ed that until I
walked and you know, to the Ways and Means Committee,
(20:09):
like it never went away. So I think this illusion
that you have to feel so courageous and so powerful
and ready for the moment, it's not the case.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
I'll never forget.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
When I was going through all this, my brother West said,
you know, you can use your voice even if it shakes,
and I just kind of kept repeating that because it's
like I'm never gonna I'm never gonna be that person
that is like, you know, shouting from the rooftops and
so confident like in moments like this, but that's okay,
Like you can still move forward through the fear, through
(20:43):
the uncertainty, through all of that. And so that's what
I would say, And also that you don't have to
do it on the biggest stage. You know, we can
all hold people accountable in our own circles. We can
have conversation. So I think also, don't think you have
to have a big platform, you know, to bring about change.
I think we can all really bloom. We're exactly where
(21:05):
we're planted.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
I love that quote from your brother, and I love
the relationship you two have. Can you talk about what
it's been like to have your brother sort of managing
your career and now embarking on a number of your
other endeavors together.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
It's so much fun.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
I think people always just like, what is it like
to like work with a sibling and I.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Because we're all picturing our sibling that we fight with
all the time and that we can't imagine having to
coordinate with, and then you two are out there just
crushing it.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
I mean we've always had a special relationship since our
younger I mean we definitely did all the fighting also,
But then I don't know we I think it was
around middle school. We were at a new school, and
I think something clicked where it was like, oh my gosh,
we can be friends. And we've kind of been just
like really thick a sieves since then. And it's so
(21:54):
cool to be able to build with someone that you
love and that you trust.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
One hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
And I think our strengths and weaknesses are opposite, and
so we have a really great dynamic together and we've
been doing it for a really long time now, so
I think we're very secure in both of our roles
and it's really a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Also, biggest fight you've ever gotten in.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
I don't even remember anything as an adult.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
I mean I remember just like wrestling with him as
a kid, and he could never my parents never let
him like wrestle back with me, and I just took full.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
Advantage of that. So my mind.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
Immediately goes to like those those years where I was
just yeah, having my way.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
But nothing as adults. That's remarkable considering the stakes of
the work you're in.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Yeah nothing, nothing.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
I mean, we have good, honest, hard conversations all the time,
but I never leave those feeling like we are at
odds because we're on the same team, Like you know,
we want the same things and the end goal, and
so I think it's great that we can push each other,
but it never it never spills over into our brother
(23:04):
sister relationship.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
So in addition to all of that advocacy, you also
were the driving force behind the Olympic Villages first ever nursery.
You were part of a twenty seventeen Today Show Pink
Power Today campaign.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
You surprised a fan with breast cancer. Then you've fought.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
All these battles over and over for yourself and for others,
and I wonder what you've learned from those battles.
Speaker 4 (23:25):
I think the biggest thing is that you can create change.
And I think for the longest, I don't know when
I thought about doing things differently or you know, a
system that wasn't built for you. To me, I was like, well,
that's not my fight, Like that's gonna that's so big,
it's like so ambitious, you know, I how could just
me have any role in that? And I think what
(23:49):
I've seen is just there's power in the collective and
we all have to do our part. And it may
seem like it's really far off, or it may seem
like this one little thing is it's not going to matter.
And I think what I've learned is like every little
thing matters. You know, we all need to do, you know,
what we can. And sometimes you know that change is
going to come fast, and sometimes you know maybe we
(24:09):
won't even be here to benefit from it. But it's
never about you. I think that's the biggest thing. Another
thing that I've taken away is I think oftentimes when
you're trying to change something, it might start with your
scenario and you know what you've been through, and that's
the motivation, But it's going to be somebody else.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
You know.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Things are going to change when somebody else you know
is able to benefit, and that's you have to be
okay with that. That's the reward, is like, Okay, things
down the line are going to be different.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yeah, it does feel like sometimes you can feel worthy
in the most degrading and terrible moments if you choose
to take control of them and try to change them
going forward, even if it won't benefit you, because then
at least something comes out of it. It's so deflating
to just be mistreated or not given the right resources,
or not invested in, or any number of things and
(24:59):
not feel like they're there's anything you can do about it,
at least in your own small way, in your community,
or in your own big way, like you have, trying
to do something about it so the next person doesn't
face it feels like a stronger conviction even than fixing
it for yourself completely.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
Yeah, it's like taking ownership of that and saying yeah,
I'm going to flip this around and it's going to
be better for the next person.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Well, and so much of your advice, of course applies
to the battles you've taken on, but also just like
current times, everything is so overwhelming and terrifying and awful
and inhumane, and each of us, individually, I think, can
feel very trapped in that. But remembering that the battles
won at the lower levels, whether that's which judges are
(25:41):
voted in, or which community systems and policies are in effect,
and how that impacts the daily lives of the people
around us can still be something in our control, even
if the decisions made at the very highest levels can't.
And so I love your advice to folks that they
don't have to First of all, they can use their
voice even if it shakes. And secondly, it doesn't have
to be at the House committee. It can just be
(26:02):
in their own neighborhood. You know, you've made such a
name for yourself now as an advocate for moms. I
wonder do you ever feel pigeonholed. At one point you were, Oh,
she's an athlete, so we don't expect anything from her
except for Run Fast and now well she's retired. Now
she's a mom, so we're just going to talk to
her about all mom stuff all the time. Do you
try to get people to see that you contain multitudes
and you're multifaceted and you want to, you know, have
(26:24):
all sorts of things going on, or do you now
feel like you're the mom?
Speaker 4 (26:29):
I definitely don't want to just be the mom, you know.
I think there's so many things that I'm passionate about,
and I think having moved away from the competition of
it all, I think there's been more time to explore
those things. And so yeah, I definitely want to dabble
in all of the areas and show that, you know,
I am multifaceted, and I do there is so much
(26:51):
more to me. And even when I think about the
work that I do at Always Alpha, I want that
for our athletes as well, because I think you have
to really start that early, and I think there's no
better time than now. And we're seeing you know, just
rich stories, you know, off of the field of play,
other interests and passions and every person is like that,
(27:13):
and so I think we, you know, we have to
lean more into the holistic version than just yeah, putting
people in boxes.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
You had a legendary track and field career, nothing left
to win, nothing left to prove. But that doesn't mean
it's easy to walk away and find new passions and purposes.
What was the predominant emotion for you in the days
after officially retiring and knowing you wouldn't be competing again.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
I think there was a lot of grief.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
I had a lot of gratitude for my career because
it was incredible. I felt like, you know, not everybody
gets to end on their own terms and all of
those things, so so much gratitude.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
But I think I had to grieve it.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
It was like, you know, this thing that I've loved
for so long, I've been able to do and pour
myself into, and then one day it's just over. And
I think there's this weird thing because it goes on
without you, and you know, now you're on the outside
like looking at it, and all of those things are
challenging as you find your new path. But I think
it was like giving myself space to say, like, yeah,
(28:19):
I feel sad that this is over, and you know,
I'm gonna miss it and I'm finding my new way,
but my feelings are valid, and yeah, leaving room for that.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Are you competing at everything else?
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Now? Board games starts Hopscotch, Like, can you shut it
off or not?
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Really?
Speaker 3 (28:36):
I think it's who I am.
Speaker 4 (28:38):
I've definitely tried to find like new things, you know,
I'm trying to like not always be on a track somewhere,
but like started learning tennis and just in areas that
like I have no business being competitive in.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
So it's like very humbling, but yeah, it's it's in me.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
It's probably really good for you to be the very
best for a very long time and then start something
new and be like, oh oh this is tricky.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
It's so humbling, like it it's like nothing has transferred.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
That's funny, you know what. It's really good though.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
I read a whole book about how as adults we
are so used to being proficient that we stop trying
new things because it's uncomfortable to be bad at things,
and that the gift in that is so worthy of
the frustration or the awkwardness that you have. And oftentimes
people get really stagnant because they're not willing to try
new things and there might be something that they would love,
(29:28):
and they never discover it because they're too embarrassed to
just try.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
So I love that you're out there.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
I'm out there trying.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Swinging away.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Yeah, I did see you, though I didn't get to
go to a sport beach this year, which I'm very
bummed about. I was watching obsessively from Afar, but I
saw a little video of you and Can just a
couple of days ago. Everyone else probably drinking and apparel,
sprints by the beach, noshing on some snacks on that
great patio at the Carlton Hotel. You were running sprints
(29:56):
uphill during a very brief four forty eight hour trip
to France. When do you relax and when do you stop?
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Ever?
Speaker 4 (30:06):
You know, I see a good heal and I just
feel like it needs to be run like this.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Oh I don't know, it's ingrained to me. And then also,
you know, you gotta you gotta get it in where
you can.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
The travel schedule's crazy, and it's like, Okay, this is
a great this is my this is the workout area
that I have I'm.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Gonna do and it's it's so fun.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Yeah, I actually have to admit before my body completely
fell apart. And my spine turned to dust because of
an achilles tear and everything else. I used to go
to a park and do wind sprints. I used to
go do my hurdle drills and stadium stairs. I loved
that feeling of like pushing myself to exhaust and just
like when I was practicing for something.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
So I don't blame you that you're still at it.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
There's nothing like it.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
I hope your body holds up forever and you can
do that forever, because there's just so much joy in that. Right,
last question for you. If you look beyond the track
and beyond the parenting at Alison Feel, what will you find.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
I think just a person who cares for other people,
who loves family and friends, and just wants to do
something meaningful in the world.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Pretty simple.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
So far, so good. We're excited to see what happens next.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
Thanks so much for the time, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
could find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
our producers are alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rutterer.
(31:42):
Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and
Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones and I'm
Your Host Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
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