Keep an Eye Out for Katie Izzo
By Annabel Gregg
I talk to Katie in June, but don’t finish transcribing our conversation until right before her last race of the season at the USATF Championships. It’s a beautiful summer evening in Manhattan, sun setting over the East River, where she’s racing the 10k on the coveted blue (!) track at Icahn Stadium (where I had my college champs, a million years ago). When we chatted, I asked her what she was looking forward to the most, and she said it was this race.
“I feel like I’m at a whole other level of my career right now, and I haven’t done one track race this season,” she told me. “I really have a feeling I’m gonna do well and put myself in a good position to place well.”
The gun cracks a commanding blank, and a dozen or so of the nation’s best distance runners start… jogging.
Indeed, the pace of this national championship race starts out slower than my tempo runs: after the huddled mass completes their halting first lap, the announcer says it’s something like 6:40 mile pace. Nobody wants to take the lead, a kamikaze mission. A few more laps, and still nobody wants to make any real plays. The laps tick away, and I keep yelling at the live stream: Somebody do something! Katie, go!
She hears me! So does newcomer Sydney Vaught, the 23-year-old in sleek tinted sunglasses who just recently went pro for Nike off the coattails of a resplendent senior year at the University of Arkansas. Vaught injects some pace around the two-mile mark. The only other Razorback in the race is 29-year-old Katie Izzo, one of the ambitious few who responds. You can’t take your eyes off the neon strip on the side of her adidas uniform.
A quartet separates from the mass, and Katie remains (seemingly uncomfortably) boxed in right behind her fellow Arkansas alum, sitting. “Izzo’s had a really great year on the roads,” the announcer comments. “She’s been in this position before, came in second at the USTAF cross country championships earlier this year. And she’s right there.”
The breakaway pack trots through the 5k at 18:09. I ran nearly as fast at my scrappy hometown 5k last month. The goddamn tension of this is wild. Talk about a slow burn. “We are going to see a massive negative split,” confirms the announcer. This last of the race isn’t for the faint of heart: everyone always thinks they have a great final kick. Who can actually hold on?
Four becomes three, then three becomes two. The gap between the leaders widens and widens, and then it’s just the Razorbacks. Vaught’s head is preternaturally still, and since you can’t see her eyes, she is this vision of a rote machine plowing forward, consistently applying speed to get further and further away from the rest of the contingent.
The only one sticking with her is Katie. For the final three miles, Katie doesn’t let Sydney get more than a stride or two away from her. Her eyes are open wide, mentally repeating an incantation: Stay with her. “Izzo’s right there. She’s not giving anything away.”
With 800 meters to go, Vaught throws down. Katie gives everything she has, but the newcomer pulls away. Katie holds on, powering through, spaces a gap between third place that nobody could make up.
It’s Katie’s first track race all year. And she earns a silver medal at a national championship. The only thing better than winning is almost winning: nothing quite fosters a hunger, exhibits the balance between gratitude and ambition, like second place.
Keep an eye out for Katie Izzo. Let me tell you why I will be.
Katie graciously agreed to an interview with me after her stellar performance at the Delightful Run for Women earlier this spring. The Flagstaff runner came all the way to lil ‘ole Albany for this 5k, and won the race with nearly a thirty-second lead. I wanted to talk to Katie because, in addition to being a very fast woman indeed, she also seemed so genuine: her smile is big and authentic and perennial, her sportsmanship is candid and frequent, and she’s had a lot of career ups and downs.
We chatted about a lot of things one doesn’t normally get to ask pro runners: Whether she’s ever felt like she did or didn’t “deserve” a race outcome, why she decided to take on the marathon (hint: Olympic dreams), if manifesting works and/or matters, and why breaking her leg into a million pieces actually turned out to be a blessing in diguise.
Please enjoy this delightful conversation with adidas’ next marathoner, Katie Izzo. If you’d rather listen to this interview podcast-style, visit my Substack.
A: Do you think that running fast has made you a good person? Or has being a good person made you a fast runner?
K: I think being a good person and having positive characteristics has helped me become a fast runner. But it’s kind of all intertwined. I’m naturally very hard-working, and I think I have a big heart. When I love something or someone, I will put my all into it. I’m really into thinking of things as a ‘labor of love.’ I think all of those qualities have naturally led me to putting my whole heart into running.
There are plenty of fast runners who are good people, and there are also people who are fast that aren’t good people… but running is also so humbling; I think it makes you a better person too. It teaches you all these lessons. You learn so many great qualities and characteristics… when you are pursuing running fast.
A: Has that kind of mentality changed or evolved since becoming a pro runner?
K: I’ve always just loved the sport and done it for the love of it. But when you get to the professional level, things are naturally gonna evolve because the stakes are higher, and something that you love is now your career. I like to think it all comes down to pursuing it as a labor of love, and you have to pay more attention to the little details. You have to be more intentional about the little things.
A: I love “labor of love,” that’s such a good way to put [running]. Yeah, running’s your job now. You clearly always loved it. Are you ever not thinking about running? And if you’re not thinking about it, what are you thinking about?
K: I definitely think about running a lot. I am such a perfectionist and want to pursue excellence in the sport, so I’m always thinking of ways I can be better. I’m always listening to running podcasts with people who inspire me. Even not running-related; I’m always listening to podcasts to be a better athlete, or competitor, or just person in general.
But there’s also time where I need to turn off my brain, because I will also overthink about running and that drains me. I like to think of my brain as all energy. When I put too much energy into thinking about running, that can “overcook” me mentally and physically. So it’s definitely important to turn my brain off and be a normal person, which I think I do a good job at. I, like any other person, want to rot on the couch and watch Love Island. There definitely comes a point where I know I just need to stop overthinking about running and focus on other life things.
A: We have to get some running podcast recs.
K: Oh man, there’s so many. I like I’ll Have Another. I like Alie on the Run. The Running Effect. I’ve kinda gotten into the trail stuff, like Run Free. I’m not really loyal to one… any time someone I want to learn more about pops up, I want to hear their mindset. I always learn something from every single podcast!
A: So who’s someone you’ve wanted to learn more about recently?
K: Oh man. There are so many runners I look up to. I love Deena Kastor. And I love my coach Jen Rhines. They’re both Olympians, they’re so inspiring to me. Deena’s the former American marathon holder, and she wrote my favorite running book, “Let Your Mind Run.” Even though she’s been out of professional running for many years, her mindset is so positive and she’s so intentional about everything. She always has something new to say. I love listening to her stuff.
Katie winning the Delightful Run For Women 5k in Albany, NY this spring (Credit: Pat Hendrick).
A: I mean, you mention the marathon…! Any news on that front?
K: I generally don’t have The One yet. I know my goal is a winter marathon, just because I want to make sure I have enough time to prepare for it. I tend to race really well in the winter months… I mean, I can race well any time of year, but at least for training, I do well in the fall and cooler temps. Fall is the best time of year to run anyways!
It’ll be nice to not put a lot of pressure on myself and have plenty of time, because right now I’m in 10k training. Still waiting to decide, but letting the training come to me and when the time gets closer I’ll have a better idea of what I want to do.
A: That’s kind of fun… You know you’re gonna do it, and you’ll just kinda know when you’ve got The One.
K: Yeah! I have two sort of in mind, but I also think marathoners aren’t really supposed to say which one they’re gonna do… and honestly I’m really not sure. I think I wanna wait to announce it.
A: Of course, superstition, I get it. And yeah, you’re such a killer at those 5k and 10k-ish distances… what prompted this decision to do a race that’s roughly 10-15 miles longer than that?
K: Well, my coach helps me plan races by thinking about going backwards from your goal race. I know this is super far out, but I am planning on racing the Olympic Marathon Trials, and I would love to make the Olympic Team in the marathon. And it’s not until 2028, but the marathon builds take so long, so working backwards from that, I want to get in two marathons before that to get a feel for it. And I’m sure you learn so much after each one…
It’s just a great time to try one out. I’ve only done three half marathons, so I haven’t done a lot of long races, but it just felt like the right time in my career to try it. I’ll be 30 at the end of this year, so this is a prime time to do it. This is the best I’ve ever been in my career, durability-wise, so it feels like I’m not rushing it. I’m excited to try to make that team.
A: Okay, our fingers are so crossed. All the faith in the world to you. Durability, too—that’s such a good way to describe feeling strong. I’ll have to use that when I’m feeling more durable.
This realm of confidence—you’ve talked about this ‘unwavering confidence’ in yourself, and I really revere that in you—tell me about where that ethic came from, since I think nobody starts with unwavering confidence. And has that been tested recently?
K: For sure. I’ve always found that I’m my most confident self when I’m running, when I’m racing. Running is such a God-given gift. I do feel like I’m being my best self when I’m pursuing this sport.
I started off in middle school doing mainly sprint events, then moved up to the 800 meters. Every time, I had this confidence that I would win, and those [distances] are just full-send events anyway. You kind of have to have confidence from the gun! I grew up in California but lived in Arizona, but… I feel like I did a really good job of, whatever level I was at, I believed that I could be the best. A lot of times, I would win.
Then, of course, in college and as a pro, that’s gotten tested a lot. I’m facing the best in the country and in the world. I’ve had a lot of setbacks with injuries, and obviously that knocks your confidence: mentally and physically, those really knocked me.
But recently, I found it again. This past year, something switched in my brain—I’m still trying to figure out what exactly switched—but I feel like I found that again. I’m just really embracing it. In the past, I’ve had bad races that would knock that unwavering confidence. But now I’m doing a better job… just because I had a bad race, I’m not letting that let me lose my confidence anymore.
That’s really just been in more recent years, and I think it comes back to having such a good foundation—mentally, physically, spiritually—where I have that grounded-ness, so I’m not able to get knocked off as much as I had before when I had a bad race.
The final three of the 10,000 meter race at USATF Champs, July 23rd in Manhattan (Credit: Track & Field News).
A: I’d love to hear more about the mental and spiritual grounded-ness… has that mental grit been what’s clicked? Do you think you’ve been practicing mental resilience as much as physical, as you’ve grown?
K: It all kind of has to align. I think a lot of times I’ve been a late bloomer for things; things take time for me to figure out. As I’ve gotten older, especially as a pro, it’s that mental side that I’ve really had to work on.
Living at altitude has helped a lot with my physical fitness and abilities, but I think the only way that you grow is through hardships. The only way to level up is to experience heartbreak and setbacks in your career. It allows you to step back and realize that the worst things can happen to you—whether it’s a broken leg or thinking I’m gonna win a national championship, then getting ninth—all these experiences teach you that you can get back up after those hard setbacks and the world doesn’t end.
A: Yeah, very high risk, high reward. I mean… we have to talk about your broken leg. It’s kind of infamous, and we’re coming up on the ten-year anniversary of it. You broke your tibia and your fibula. So… you have had some sucky injuries. And yet you’re this phenom now.
To tell a runner that loves to run, ‘You cannot run,’ sucks. Tell me about what went into the recovery, what happened to your confidence specifically, and what did the road back entail?
K: It was definitely a pivotal moment, not only in my running career, but also in my life. I’d never been injured in high school.
But gosh, it taught me so many lessons. When it happened, it was a complete break of both my tibia and fibula in the middle of a race. I had to scream for someone to come and help me. I delayed the [NCAA Championship (!)] men’s race. Was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. A week later, I had surgery where they put a titanium rod inside my tibia.
It was a total reset: mentally, physically, spiritually. I didn’t do any physical activity for seven months. I had to relearn how to walk again; I was limping. I had to go on the underwater treadmill. But I just needed that break physically.
Mentally and spiritually, a lot of people didn’t know if I would come back to running again. I really felt like it was something from God that said I would come back better, faster, stronger than I ever was.
The comeback was very slow and steady. I remember just running for like thirty seconds on the track, walk-jogging. Literally starting from ground zero. But I think because I love running so much—and it goes back to that ‘labor of love’—I was able to stick it out and be patient with myself. Then I got hurt again the next year! Now I have two years where I didn’t even compete.
But it was such a blessing in disguise, because I was able to use those years of eligibility to go to Arkansas, where my career just completely took off. Had that never happened, I actually don’t know if I’d even be a professional, since that’s how I got my contract because I did so well there. So that taught me that everything happens for a reason.
I do tell this story a lot, but when I’m going through a hard time, and I’ve been injured plenty of times in between, it just is a reminder to me (and I have a scar to prove it); whatever happens, you’ll be able to find a way back, especially if you really care about it.
It took a village, too. I would’ve maybe transferred out of Cal Poly, but my teammates were so supportive of me and all the good doctors, and my family and friends. I owe it to them too. They just believed in me, and I have such amazing people in my corner, so that’s part of what allowed me to come back.
A: Do you feel like right now, you’re experiencing the inverse of that? You had this village supporting you during one of the worst times of your life; now you’re at one of the highest points! What is the village around you like right now?
K: You have the core people that are always there for you; my family continues to be to this day. Those same friends I had back ten years ago are still my friends now.
What’s changed a lot is I’ve had to create my own village here in Flagstaff… but it’s a great place to start. Pretty much every pro runner is here, and they’re all my friends too. So I have great friendships here, and I have an awesome supportive team that is growing, and my coach is very caring. I’ve had to work to find different PTs and massage therapists. I still feel like I have a village ten years later, but in a very different way than I did in college.
A: Yeah, now I remember you mentioning that during the media hour at Run For Women. You really had to go and seek that out. But I’m so happy you have that. Tell me about Flagstaff! It sounds like, culturally, such a cool spot for runners. What’d you do today?
K: Luckily I had a pretty cool day today. I did a twelve-mile run on a new trail I’d never done called Hart Prairie, a little past our mountain out here called Snowbowl. People will go up there for skiing, and it’s just beautiful. I actually got up to, like, 8,500 feet (Flagstaff is 7,000 ft elevation). Definitely a different run than I usually do, but it’s this climb to a beautiful meadow. Just gorgeous; you feel like you’re in Colorado. A little rainy, because it’s monsoon season. Then I came back and had breakfast with a friend. It’s so cool that that’s my job—frolicking in the prairie and then coming back and having French Toast and bacon. Later I’ll go in the sauna… Wednesdays are the best days because you just have the one run.
So, yeah. Flagstaff is one of the best places in the world to train. There are endless dirt trails, endless groups to train with, and what’s great and unique about Flagstaff is everyone is super welcoming and friendly. You can basically always find new people to run with, and everyone will welcome you with open arms. I get to train with all different people. Someone called me the Queen of Collaborations: any pro runner, regardless of brand, I’ve probably worked out with them. It’s so fun, just getting to meet people, and also say like, I just ran with this Olympian and I was able to keep up! That’s helped me a lot with my confidence… if I can keep up with the best in the world, then y’know, why can’t I also be one of the best?
A: Uh, yeah, you are one of the best! You’re only on an upward trajectory, so very excited for the next year and a half or so for you. And I’m jealous; I’ll have to visit Flagstaff sometime.
K: You should come out! You’d love it; there are so many cute coffee shops.
A: Okay, so here are some maybe more thought-provoking questions. Little weird.
I wanna talk about intentions in running. Do intentions matter in running? What about in racing? What are you thinking about when you’re racing?
K: I think intentions definitely matter. Pretty much every thought you have is manifesting something. Intentions shape how you train and how you interpret what happens. But at the end of the day, your body is gonna respond to the actions of what you do and not what you meant to do. For winning, they definitely matter; you have to want it, you have to be so intentional about the lead up to it.
A: Okay. What if the person who wins [a hypothetical race] is super gritty and committed, but their motivation is that they’re super selfish and think they’re better than everyone else? Like an asshole? Nobody sees that externally, just someone working hard, but their motivations are really selfish.
K: Hmm… well, any athlete who cheats: you’re only cheating yourself. I think all of us can agree, like, what’s even the point? Like, I would never feel good about myself. You wouldn’t deserve it.
But yeah, in our sport, you have those types of [selfish] people. It really is a selfish sport. There are a lot of good runners in the sport, but there are also a lot of people who are only about themselves.
At the end of the day, life is so much more than running. Nobody’s gonna remember your race or care about your place or what time you ran at your funeral. They’re gonna remember the type of person that you were, not what you achieved. That’s the whole point of life: what kind of person were you? Did you love people? What kind of impact did you have on others? So maybe someone might beat out the “good human,” but it will all even out at some point. The Good Person will beat the Not-So-Good Person, eventually.
A: Dang, the funeral line really got me. At the end of the day, how we treat other people really is how we’re remembered.
You teed this up great with the “deserving-ness” comment. Does deserving matter in running? Have you ever felt like you didn’t “deserve” a race outcome? Do you think that matters if you’re winning, at the end of the day?
K: I don’t think anyone deserves an outcome, or deserves something more than someone else. You can’t control the outcome, that’s not in your control. You can never control how other people perform, you can only control all the hard work that you put into it before, and your attitude. That’s pretty much all you have in your control.
And I think a race is so much more than the days or weeks leading up to it. It’s a reflection of months and years and decades of work. There’s always an ebb and flow. You see the top people of our sport from a few years ago are injured now or not running well, and the people a few years ago that were injured or not running well, now they’re doing really well. I feel like everyone has their time to shine and do well, and sometimes it’s just not your time. For me, it kind of relates back to how everything’s meant to be. It’s all divine timing. But it’s an interesting question. Sometimes things just happen, and there are a lot of factors that go into racing too.
A: Yeah. What I took from that is you look at it all zoomed-out; deserving-ness is like your whole life cycle, it’s not just if you deserve the time you ran for a 5k on some random day. It’s the collective of everything that’s done. From what you’re describing, it sounds sort of karmic, too; like if you’re not doing well at this point, it could be reflective of something you earn in the future?
K: Yeah. I think it goes back to that intentionality. Your life is just a reflection of all your beliefs and your level of deserving-ness… everything that comes into your life is because of your self worth, and if you’re authentic and being your true self… but that’s a whole other topic, haha.
A: No, let’s get into that! Where did that ethic come from in you?
K: It sort of developed through my running career, since that’s just what I’ve known the most. A big time of my life when I realized that ethic is when I transferred to the University of Arkansas. I got really into manifestation stuff because all of a sudden I was a whole different person within six months. My best time in the 5k at Cal Poly was 16:08, and six months later I ran a 15:13 and almost broke the NCAA record! So I was like, there was a shift here…
I started listening to Law of Attraction stuff, and I realized later on that something happened to my brain too, where I was in a completely new environment, so my brain was like, Oh, I can be whoever I want to be. I wanted to be like my teammates who were All Americans and almost National Champions. So, the fitness leveled up from there, and then all of a sudden I was thinking I had a shot to win Nationals, when I didn’t even make it to Nationals the previous years.
That time of my life taught me how powerful your belief systems are, and surrounding yourself with people who you want to be like. I’ve learned that the term for that [kind of person] is called an Expander. A lot of my teammates expanded me; I thought if I’m keeping up with them, if I can do what they can do… that was a very powerful time of my life.
It impacts my life today, too, because I’ve seen such sudden shifts in my career. It’s cool, I get to think, if I did that before, now, why can’t I be an Olympian, if I can keep up with them?
A: I wanna ask about this idea you put out on your Instagram, of balancing ambition and gratitude. Those are sometimes seen as competing interests, but can work in tandem.
K: One of my big things I like to focus on in life is being grateful. I have this gratitude journal, and I feel like the more you’re grateful for in your life, the more good things will come back to you. I’m always workin on that. The nature of being a pro-athlete is always wanting to get better, always wanting more, and I don’t think you can ever lose that, because that’s what keeps you leveling up and reaching the best levels of this sport.
But I also think you’ll never be happy in life if you can’t be grateful for what you have right now, and the things you have accomplished right now. I’m always grateful just to be healthy… and I never want to jinx it (knocks on wood)! I love that balance because I always want to be a grateful person, but at the same time, I’m always gonna be ambitious. I think it’s a good blend to have: the gratitude keeps you grounded, the ambition allows you to be the best version of yourself.
I want Katie’s gratitude journal so bad, it’s so cute.
A: Wow, yeah. If you just have those two things, they sort of tug each other along, and will get you really far. What was the last thing you wrote in your gratitude journal? I may or may not have one in my notes app, and the last thing I wrote may or may not have been coffee.
K: Oh, what did I write? Always coffee… I try to do it every day, usually just three things. I’m grateful for so many things, but when you do it every day… yesterday I got this pine chai latte at this new tea shop I went to…
A: Pine chai sounds awesome, I have to try that…
K: It’s such, like, a Flagstaff drink. It had some pine? In it? And it was sweet. So good.
I’m grateful for my coach. He’ll always meet me and bike with me for my workouts. I’m really grateful for his care, and I know I couldn’t do it alone. He’s there for me whenever I need help.
But I’ll literally write, like, I’m grateful for Love Island. Just like the little things. And the big things.
Gratitude for the simple things… if you can’t enjoy those quiet moments, life goes by too fast. I try to slow down and appreciate those moments.
A: Yeah. There’s some Ferris Bueller quote about that that I know I won’t say correctly. But yeah! Those are the sprinkles on top of a sundae, those type of things.
But okay, sorry in advance. Rapid fire. I have a feeling you’re not gonna say Albany, and that’s okay. But, favorite place you’ve travelled to for running?
K: Albany was great; I had a great time there.
Favorite place, though, probably Spain. I got to do two cross-country races there, and the Valencia Half Marathon. I just love the culture and the people and the food.
A: Best thing you ate? Do you remember?
K: The paella was so good.
A: Favorite speed workout (knowing you’re in 5k-speedy mode right now)?
K: Gosh, I love some three-hundreds. You know, you can really get moving, but then you don’t have to do the last hundred. I love anything short. 4s, 3s, 2s.
A: You might’ve just changed my perception on 300s. In my mind, they were long 200s.
K: No! They’re just short 400s.
A: That’s so much better. All about mindset. What do you wish that interviewers asked you more?
K: I know it’s rapid fire, but that’s hard…
I guess the thing’s that you’ve been asking, like, the deep questions and things that make you think about your place outside of running, like being a good person. Manifestation stuff. All those things are interesting to me.
A: Okay, attention future interviewers: talk about manifesting more. Any races coming up?
K: Only two more races of the summer. My last one is I’ll do USATFs in the 10k! Then a break and reset and start the fall build.
A: Okay! We’ll be cheering you on. You’re on a cool trajectory right now, you have so much to look forward to. What are you looking forward to the most right now?
K: Track nationals. I feel like I’m at a whole other level of my career right now, and I haven’t done one outdoor track race this season.
I really have a feeling I’m gonna do well and put myself in a good position to place well. Then of course looking forward to the marathon build and curious to see what that will be like. And hopefully that will go well. But no matter what, I believe it’s a good distance for me, and I’m just excited to learn and grow. Lots to look forward to.
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Follow Katie Izzo on Instagram to stay tuned for her transition to the marathon!
