Five Questions with Lauren Kleppin

Published by Daily Relay on January 24, 2014

Today, we were lucky enough to catch up with Lauren Kleppin, as she comes off her runner up finish at the USA Half Marathon Championship. Check out her website, blog, and follow her on Twitter @LaurenKleppin.

1. Daily Relay: First off, congratulations on a big 3 minute PR and 2nd place finish at Houston. Leading up to the race, did you feel you could run a time like 1:12:12?

Lauren Kleppin: Thank you! I definitely knew I wanted a PR in Houston at the USA Half Championships, but the Rolling Stones sang it best; “You can’t always get what you want.” Luckily, everything came together for this race and I got more than what I wanted, or expected. Going in, I knew there was a stellar field of athletes to compete against that would help push the pace, on a course that has been thoughtfully planned to produce fast times (and American Records). I have to give credit to my coach, Andrew Kastor, for opening my mind up to the possibility of shooting for a time 1:13:30, which was comparable to my collegiate 10K best of 32:49. Prior to Houston, I hadn’t raced for over 3 months, so I was kind of jumping back into the scene without any real indication or validation of fitness besides some solid workouts in the past month. In the middle of my race, around mile 8, I distinctly remember mumbling out lots of “Holy [four letter words]” in disbelief, as I realized a huge PR was coming to fruition. That was the moment in which 1:12 finally became reality- when I told myself to “Believe…” when I realized I wouldn’t have a problem hanging onto and defending my pace, and my second place for another 5 miles to the finish.

2. Daily Relay: You have been training with the Mammoth Track Club under Coach (Andrew) Kastor. How did all of that come together and how has the move gone so far?

Lauren Kleppin: My move to Mammoth Lakes is something that was just meant to be. Since my running roots began back in Wisconsin, maybe even before I was running- I had always been “California dreaming” and gazing west. There are so many strange connections that eventually put Mammoth Lakes on the map and led me to Mammoth Track Club, that I couldn’t possibly explain it any other way.

The move (which happened this past September) has been great, which I believe is reflected in my racing results. My past teammates always said I was an emotional runner, so if I am “on”, I am usually happy. Simply put, if I can run around in the mountains, spend my free-time outdoors with cool and adventurous people, be far away enough from distractions, yet close enough to a brewery for a treat every now and then, I’ve got what I need.

Add a passionate, knowledgeable, loyal coach and some kick-@$$ teammates to the mix, and I honestly don’t know what I want for Christmas next year… I am incredibly content here.