The well-rounded runner
There may soon be a new arrival at Elle St Pierre’s dairy farm in Vermont – a reminder of Scotland that will be a little different to the gold medal she flew home with after a memorable World Indoor Championships 3000m victory in Glasgow.
During their visit to the UK, the St Pierre clan made a trip to Pollok Country Park, situated on the south side of the city, where they came across the fold of Highland Cattle which call it home.
“I think we're actually going to get one,” says the American, who was immediately smitten. “There was a sign telling you all about the cows at the park and a little blurb that said that the breeders sell the draws of semen from the Scottish Highlanders around the world. So I think we can order some and it will come in the mail.”
St Pierre is speaking to AW only a few days after her homecoming as a world champion. She has been inundated by messages of congratulations. “A lot of people reaching out, congratulating me, hugging me and telling me how excited they are,” she says.
However, the notion of her getting carried away is quickly dispelled. When you’re the mother of a one-year-old boy and living on a busy working farm, there’s a to do list which includes a great deal more than just getting in the daily miles.
“It feels like I won the world championships and then a few days later I was back in the cow shit, you know?” she laughs. “The cows don’t care.”
St Pierre wouldn’t have it any other way. Coach Mark Coogan describes her as a “homebody” and it’s abundantly clear that running is not the centre of 29-year-old’s universe.
“I would say I'm pretty well rounded,” she concurs. “I have a lot of things that fulfil me in my life and a lot going on. I think that's been to the benefit of my running career because it's not necessarily putting all my eggs in one basket. Right now I'm really focused on my training, but it's not the only thing that I have to put my energy towards.”
Her son Ivan is chief among those and he played a starring role in Glasgow when he accompanied his mother on her round of post-race TV interviews and promptly tried to grab the interviewer’s microphone. His very presence made a big difference, while the biggest event in the St Pierre household upon their return was the celebration of his first birthday.
“She's a happier runner now,” says Coogan, when speaking about St Pierre’s comeback from having her first child. “Because she's a homebody, whenever we go to Flagstaff [for altitude training a few times a year], she's always wondering what's going on back home and misses everybody.
“This time, she had Ivan out there and her husband came for a week and she had a friend come out and help for a week. She said it was the best training trip she’s ever had. She wasn't thinking about home the whole time.
“And her whole attitude for running was just phenomenal. I think she's realised there are things that are more important than running and she's just going to do her best.”
With being fit for this summer’s Olympic trials the main priority, there was no rush for St Pierre
to suddenly get back up to speed following Ivan’s arrival. It was an approach between she and Coogan which revolved around flexibility and honesty.
“I just started slow,” she says. “It was maybe six weeks after I had Ivan that I was back to running three to four miles a day and then I just slowly progressed into workouts.
“I remember my first workout and it was fairly painful and not very fast. I just stayed consistent and, come the fall, I was feeling fitter and more like myself.”
New York’s Fifth Avenue Mile in September marked St Pierre’s return to racing, before she began stepping things up in training with her Boston-based New Balance group. A sign that she was getting back on track arrived towards the end of last year.
“In December, we were like: ‘Let's see what kind of form you’re in’,” says Coogan. “We did two by 3000m with five minutes rest and she ran 8:52, then 8:42. So we knew her strength was there because that’s hard!”
St. Pierre adds: “That was a workout I had done two years before at around the same time of year. This time it was a little bit faster than the workout I had done two years prior, so that was really exciting and definitely a turning point.”
That aforementioned altitude trip to Flagstaff then laid more groundwork for what proved to be an impressive indoor season, opening with second place in the 3000m at the New Balance Grand Prix, before breaking the American record in the Wannamaker Mile (4:16.41) at the Millrose Games in New York, then winning the US Indoor 3000m title.
The signs were good heading towards Glasgow, yet this would be a step up and St. Pierre didn’t know entirely what to expect, coming up against the likes of the formidable Ethiopian 5000m world record-holder Gudaf Tsegay, as well as Kenya’s steeplechase world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech, home favourite Laura Muir and the in-form Australian Jessica Hull.
“It’s fun to look back, now that I know how it ended,” she laughs, admitting to having watched the last lap back more than a few times. “I remember the pace being fast from the start. I was like: ‘This is fast and kinda scary’. I felt like: ‘Oh my god, I guess I'm just going to sit on this pace and see what happens. Then the laps kept coming and I didn't drop off.
“I didn't feel like I got in over my head, which is what I was afraid of, so I just held on, and then there was 400m to go and I'm like: ‘Okay, time to kick’.”
In the closing stages, St. Pierre advanced from fourth place and found only Tsegay standing in her way. She sensed her opponent beginning to fade on the final bend and seized her chance, moving out and charging through the line in an American record of 8:20.87 that put her third on the world indoor all-time list.
“I was nervous up in the stands watching that,” says Coogan. “When it was down to four of them, I knew Elle was going to get a medal and that made us relax a little bit. But then when she kicked it was like ‘Whoa!’”
St Pierre had a similar feeling, too.
“I’m just so proud of myself,” she says. “I honestly feel pretty different. It was probably the best race of my life and sometimes when you're training and things are hard, the races seem really far away, it seems like this huge thing to think about but I just went to Glasgow and I did it. I just went there
and I won.”
Now it’s back to work ahead of those Olympic trials following a championships which could barely have gone better for America’s middle distance line-up, given the gold medals for St Pierre (3000m) and Bryce Hoppel (800m), silvers for Yared Nuguse (3000m), Cole Hocker and Nikki Hiltz (1500m) plus bronzes for Hobbs Kessler and another of Coogan’s athletes, Emily Mackay, in the 1500m.
“I was really excited to see Emily get a medal as well,” says St. Pierre of her training partner. “We've been working out together and I knew that she was fit. We're all just so excited and it definitely says a lot about Mark’s coaching and the athletes we have on the team.”
All will now throw themselves into training with confidence levels fully topped up and a huge incentive. St. Pierre’s only Olympic appearance to date came at the Covid-affected Tokyo Games. She would dearly love to make it to Paris for what promises to be a very different kind of experience, albeit the women’s 1500m will be one of the most fiercely contested events on the schedule.
“I’m in awe that I beat some of the athletes that I did [in Glasgow],” she adds. “Their resumés speak for themselves and I'm just really glad that I gave myself a chance.
“You always imagine yourself being there in that lead pack, but to go out and actually do it and to know what it feels like and know that I can beat them… it's definitely a huge confidence booster going into the summer.
“There are so many amazing athletes to be running against and it's just a privilege because you don't get to run against Gudaf Tsegay or Faith Kipyegon just any day. When you run against them it’s in major championships and this indoor meeting was a huge opportunity for me to get that experience. I'm really thankful for that and definitely looking forward to more this summer.”
» This article first appeared in the April issue of AW magazine, which you can buy here
