Episode 94: Olivia Ballew on her Marathon Olympic Trials Journey, Boyfriend/Coach Relationship, and Work-Life Balance

Olivia's Bio: Olivia Ballew is an Olympic trials qualifier in the marathon and will be representing Brooks Running. Following high school graduation, Olivia decided to focus solely on academics and took a break from running competitively. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After graduating from UNC in 2012, Olivia worked as a full-time research scientist for two years before being accepted into a PhD program at Indiana University in 2014. While attending IU, Olivia began running again. During this time, she met someone who not only encouraged her running but who became both her boyfriend and coach, Brad Robinson. Together, they developed a focused training plan of running, strength training and nutrition. In the three years since Olivia began training again, she has qualified for the 2020 US Olympic Trials in the marathon in a time of 2:43:15. Olivia has begun her final year of study at IU and will graduate in the spring 2020 with a PhD in Genome, Cell, and Developmental Biology. She plans to continue pursuing research after she graduates. Questions: How did you get your start in running? How do you balance training and your Ph.D program? What sparked your interest or motivation to qualify for the Olympic trials? What’s been the most rewarding part/aspect of your running journey thus far? What has been the most difficult part of training for the Olympic trials? How do you fit in recovery and meal planning/nutrition after training sessions? What are you most looking forward to after the Olympic trials? What is currently making you thrive? What does being a Strong Runner Chick mean to you? How to connect with Olivia: IG: @oballew