We love celebrating our athlete's any chance we get. Despite a year filled with ups and downs and some highs and lows, our Elites have so much to be proud of. We asked them to share their favorite moment from the past year and it was all smiles from these incredible women!
COLLIER LAWRENCE
"Running the Black Canyon 100k through the Arizona desert and being crewed by these amazing women. We give the racer a lot of credit for the endeavor in an ultra, but the crew is really what makes it all happen. These three kept me moving, kept me fueled and hydrated, and made sure I didn't get completely fried by the sun so that I could let my body do what it was capable of on that day. The crew set the stage for the performance and I can't imagine doing it without them. The matching outfits really topped off the whole day."
THERESA HAILEY
"My top moment was qualifying for the 2024 Marathon Olympic Trials at Chicago. :) I’m super proud of this accomplishment because I had a shortened training cycle due to COVID and I ran a negative split race by 2 minutes!"
MADDIE STRANDEMO
"My top moment from 2022 was racing an indoor mile last year at UW. Rebecca paced the race, which made it super fun, and her pacing was perfect and led me to a big PR! It always feels like I have a “home crowd advantage” when I race at UW (even though I’m not from Seattle) because Oiselle knows how to show up and CHEER!" :)
MEL BRIGGS
"My top moment from 2022 was the NYC Marathon. It was really important to me to do this race with a more fulfilling purpose than just racing to race. I care a lot about climate change advocacy, so I raised money for Protect Our Winters and I was so happy with how well it did and how excited people were about it. I wanted to have a positive experience all around, and I think this picture captures how I felt about the entire weekend."
Photo credit Jess Barnard / @jesssbarnard
MARIA MITCHA-COFFEY
"My top 2022 moment was deff racing at World Championships and finishing 22nd in the world, it wasn’t just the honor of repping all of the USA or racing the first home soil World Champs, it was how alive I felt throughout the race. I honestly haven't had that magic racing feeling since becoming a mother, having my daughter and family there was the icing on the cake!"
KENDRA CHAMBERS
"My top 2022 moment was definitely toeing the line at The 2023 USA national championships in the 800 meters and being competitive the rest of the outdoor season. After moving cities, having a late start to training, a coaching change, and other major changes in my life, to be honest, I was not expecting to do much in the 2022 outdoor season. I was able to find happiness in running again and a new Coach and training group at Texas A&M University. Getting to the line at USA’s and was a mixture of a dream come true and hard hard work! I have to give credit to my training partners, Coach Mallard and all the support from Oiselle and my fellow birds. I have to say it was surprisingly a great season where I felt competitive and healthy and extremely grateful. I’m so excited to see what this upcoming season has in store!"
Philip J Bond / @007trackfan
CARRIE MACK
"My top moment from 2022 was my first race back and first race with LW teammate Theresa Hailey the Eugene 1/2 marathon this spring. It was incredible racing together and getting back out there for the first time since having Lewis. And I snagged a PR!"
REBECCA MEHRA
"Last January I won a 3k at my new home track in Seattle, and came back to pace my teammate + buddy Maddie Strandemo to a mile PR!"
Photo credit David Jaewon Oh / @thisisdizzle
JENNA FESEMYER
"My favorite athlete moment of the year was making my first NYRR podium (2nd place) at the Mastercard New York Mini 10k! This race is so special to me because this was the historical 50th running of the event and it’s a celebration of women of all ages and paces coming together to accomplish a common goal. It made me emotional to see women, on and off the course, empowering each other to make it to the finish line! I also had the treat of meeting with the New York Volée, which is one of my favorite things about traveling to races! I’m looking forward to the Mastercard Mini 10k and more Volée meet-ups in 2023."