38. Christina Aragon

This episode is an interview with professional runner for Nike, Christina Aragon. Christina is a Montana native where she grew up running and doing gymnastics. She was a 12x state champion between track and cross country, and even competed in the Olympic trials in the 1500 as a high schooler. Christina went on to run at Stanford University, where she was a 9x All-American and the 2016 U20 World Championships bronze medalist in the 1500. After college, Christina signed a professional contract with Nike and moved to Eugene to join the Bowerman Track Club, which has now morphed into the Oregon Track Club. Most recently, she finished 10th in the 1500 at the 2024 US Olympic Trials.

In this episode, we talk about:

What it was like balancing both gymnastics and running at a high level in high school, and how she ended up making the hard decision to give up gymnastics to focus on runningHow she navigated pressure as a high school runner and why she found national competitions helped take the pressure offHer struggles with body image that impacted her fueling starting her senior year of high school, and how this impacted her transition to collegiate runningHow losing he period for 3 years ended up leading to a 3 year injury cycle, and why it’s so important to fix the root cause of the issue and to allow your body to go through pubertyHow guidance from a teammate and coach helped her pull back her training and eat more to ultimately regain her health and get back to runningWhat her transition from collegiate to professional running was like, and how she has been able to focus on honing in her mental skills for racing