Erika Kemp has been running since high school and slowly inched her way up to the marathon distance! She is a 2x U.S. champion (15k & 20k distances) and professional runner for Brooks. As a New England native, her first marathon was Boston (naturally!) in 2023 where she broke the record for fastest marathon run by an American-born Black woman. Just a few years later in Houston she shattered her own record by 11:01 minutes. She runs for Brooks' elite team and trains out of Providence, RI. Today we dive in to:

• 2025 World Championships
• How she moved into racing the marathon distance
• Boston 10k for Women -- favorite moments!
• Why she chose the 2023 Boston Marathon as her first 26.2
• How she broke her own record in Houston
• How she trains her mind to show up in the strong and tough moments
• The ways she fills her cup outside of the sport
• The importance of the running community, especially her local Providence run club
• Lessons from her challenging race moments

Follow along with Erika on social: @imtinyrik

Follow along with Hannah on social: @_hannah.donnelly

To watch the episodes: NBC Sports Boston YouTube

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