Professional track & field athlete Valery "Val" Tobias recently had a breakthrough race to run 1:59.55 and finish second in the 800m at the USATF Indoor Championships. That qualified her to represent the U.S. at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, which take place March 21–23 in Nanjing, China.

Val was born in Texas but lived in Mexico until middle school, when she moved back to the U.S. Her teachers discovered her talent for running during a gym class mile, and she's been on an upward trajectory ever since.

She was a four-time All-American in the 800m for the University of Texas and is now in her second year of professional running, for the Brooks Beasts. After struggling a bit during her rookie year, her hard work is paying off now.

If her mention of swearing on NBC made you curious, you can watch the clip here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEYPB8pn14Y&t=180s. It was pretty mild.

Follow Val on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valerytobias/

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Heather MacLean shares her remarkable journey from growing up in a low-income family to becoming one of the best runners in world. This one is for anyone who loves an underdog story.

She discusses growing up with seven siblings and a single mother, joining her high school track & field team by chance, and becoming the first person in her family to graduate from college. She also talks about navigating her early professional running years while often working full-time.

Heather discusses overcoming the biggest injury setback of her career, and also tells the story of her recent engagement. ("You can't propose to me when I'm wearing a stupid Santa hat!")

Follow Heather on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_maclean31/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

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Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!

Professional marathoner Keira D'Amato discusses her upcoming book "Don't Call it a Comeback: What Happened When I Stopped Chasing PRs, and Started Chasing Happiness."

She also discusses overcoming her fear of failure, her move to Utah to train under coach Ed Eyestone, the supportive running community she's found there, and how her Boston Marathon training is going.

Preorder Keira's book: https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/dont-call-it-9781250344946/ (Available September 9, 2025)

Follow Keira on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keiradamato/

Sarah Lorge Butler on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slorgebutler.bsky.social

Fast Women on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastwomen/

Fast Women on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fastwomen.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Fast Women newsletter: https://fastwomen.substack.com/

Thanks for being one of the original listeners of the Fast People podcast!