Competing in her first marathon, Fiona O'Keeffe qualified for the Paris Olympics in record time.
O'Keeffe, a Davis, California, native and Stanford graduate, is the first woman to win the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in her debut at that distance.
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"It's still like a dream come true," she said.
She finished in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 10 seconds – a trials record and more than 30 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
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"I guess I was surprised to win, yes," she said. "I believe that I had a good shot at making the team, and that was my main goal was just to come in top three ... For the first half of the race I was just trying to stay calm and composed. I was just feeling good and I wanted to give myself a shot, so I just kind of went for it."
O’Keeffe doesn’t listen to music during her runs. Instead, she has mantras she tells herself during a race, especially when it gets hard.
"Don't make any decisions before you get to the next water station," she said. "Stay committed through this bit. Be ready for when it gets hard, but also be ready to embrace it. It sounds crazy, but that's the fun part, too."
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In Paris, the marathon route will include landmarks like the Louvre, Château de Versailles and the Eiffel Tower.
"Hopefully those landmarks are a little bit of like mental refresh in the marathon," O’Keeffe said.
Olympians won't be the only ones allowed to enjoy the route. Amateur athletes will be able to run it during a nighttime race.
"I think it's really cool the way marathons can connect with the general public, too," O’Keeffe said. "I think that's a great idea to have the course be open to the public."
As for O’Keeffe, she's hoping Paris is just the start.
"This was certainly a dream that I've had for a long time, going to the Olympics," she said. "I just want to take this as far as I can. This was just my first marathon, so I'm hoping this is a step along the way, a really exciting step. Hoping it's just the start of the journey."
