For years, the New York City Marathon has been a popular race for high-profile runners looking to take on the challenge of 26.2 miles. But one such notable athlete kept her presence in the 2021 race under wraps until she crossed the finish line.
Chelsea Clinton, 41—who is vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, teaches at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and has authored several books for young readers—finished in 3:59:09. She averaged 9:08 pace (with half marathon splits of 1:50:27 and 2:08:42) and got in under the 4-hour barrier she had set as a goal for herself.
Her parents, Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 42nd president and the secretary of state during the Obama administration, met her at the finish line.
Clinton, still sore from the race, spoke to Runner’s World on November 10 about her experience running through the five boroughs. She discussed her training, an inopportune injury, and the conversations she and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, had with their three children, ages 7, 5, and 2, about the effort it took to train for and finish the race. This interview has been condensed.
Runner’s World: When did you get the idea that you wanted to try a marathon?
Chelsea Clinton: Last year I turned 40. I had always thought about doing the New York City Marathon. When I turned 40 and thought, “I should do it.” But we didn’t have the marathon last year.
And so I was so thankful to have the chance to run the 50th running of the marathon. I’ve lived in New York City for 18 years, and most of those years I’ve cheered on the runners I don’t know and the runners I do know in the marathon.
How long have you been a runner?
I ran a little bit with my dad when I was in junior high and high school, but I didn’t really start running until I went to Stanford. I think just because it was so beautiful, and I had a lot of friends who had been runners. I’ve run, goodness, the last 20 some odd years.
When did you start training specifically for New York?
I started training four months before. I knew that I needed to train. I’d never run anything close to that distance.
Did you have a coach or a plan?
I did, and I’m not just saying this to you because you’re interviewing me. I looked at lots of different plans and some of them recommended running four days a week. I actually used the Runner’s World Sub-4-Hour Marathon Plan, which was five days a week.
I followed it really diligently until I tripped and fell [during speedwork on the treadmill] six weeks before the marathon. There’s no good story.
I wrenched my left foot and I bruised the bone and strained a tendon and thankfully have a really wonderful doctor and a great physical therapist, and I’ve never iced a body part as much as I’ve iced that left foot for the six weeks before the marathon. It got a lot of TLC of the cold variety.
I had to take three weeks off running totally. I biked and I did other things. I then kind of had to sort of feel out what I thought the best answer would be for the next couple of weeks to get back to hopefully marathon readiness. Thankfully, I was ready by the time Sunday came.
When do you train? Are you a morning runner?
Yes, I love running in the mornings. The long runs I would do on Sundays. I’m so thankful to my husband for keeping our children occupied while I was gone for increasingly longer runs over the months.
I like running all over New York City. I’ve seen so many different aspects of New York City I don’t know if I ever would have been able to see if I weren’t a runner, the different neighborhoods I could make it to. I love watching the city wake up.
There were a couple of days when it was 88, 90 degrees and I did revert to the treadmill. I found running in heat challenging.
Had you planned to run at an even pace to break 4 hours?
At the beginning I was running faster than I had planned—I was like, oh, gosh, I’m falling into the trap that all my friends who have run lots of marathons told me not to fall into, with the adrenaline. But I just have to enjoy this moment. And this is what’s enabling me to enjoy this moment. I just made the calculation, when I was in Brooklyn, that this is what feels right to me now. I want to soak in this experience, and I hope I’ll have enough left in me to still make it in under four hours. I did. With 51 seconds to spare.
I have to be honest, I didn’t quite follow my running plan on the day, but I think all the training and feeling in my body, what a 9-minute mile felt like, enabled me to adjust and still make my goal.
How was the day for you?
The day was incredible. It was even more of an amazing experience than whatever I had hoped or imagined it to be, the enthusiasm and the borough pride. I loved being in Brooklyn. Everyone was like, “We love Brooklyn!” [I’m thinking] I love Brooklyn. We made it to Queens and Queens was like, “We’re the best!” Yes, Queens is the best. You get to the Bronx and it’s like, “You’re not here for very long, but we are memorable.” I think, yes, I love the Bronx.
You get back into Manhattan and you’re like, ohmigod, I still have six miles to go.
Did you see a lot of people you knew along the course? And did your husband and kids see you?
It was just wonderful and I had friends that I saw all throughout the race and that just made it so much fun.
But really the most special moments were when I saw my kids. They made it to two different places and Marc was there at the finish line. They were so proud and so excited. They made me the cutest signs. My daughter yelled so loudly she was hoarse that night.
I am so proud that my kids saw their mom set a goal and beat that goal. We had lots of conversations, because initially they were like, “Mom you’re going to try so hard and you’re going to win.”
And I’m like, “No. I’m going to try so hard and I’m going to finish.”
They said, “But you can win, Mom.”
“I can’t win. If I work really hard, hopefully I can finish in about twice the time that people who are going to win finish in.”
And there were all these wonderful conversations around, we can do hard things at different points in our lives. Sometimes it really is about the effort toward those hard things and enjoying the effort and enjoying the event and it’s often not about winning.
My 2-year-old didn’t really understand what was going on. On Sunday night he was like, “No like wide races. Mama gone too long.”
“Oh yes, I’m sorry, sweetheart. Mama was gone too long today in the wide race.”
Had you planned to run with former pro soccer player Abby Wambach?
We knew that each other was running. I think we were just surprised we saw each other at the start and it was so nice. I adore and respect and love Abby, and it was so nice to share a little bit of that experience with her. But definitely after mile 11, I was like, I cannot keep up with the Olympian. I need to slow down a little bit or I will hit the wall. It was an unexpected gift at the moment.
Did you hit any rough patches?
I think that the bridges were harder than I had thought. The last six miles were challenging. But worth it.
You were running for City Harvest, which works on hunger issues in New York?
I was. I definitely saw people cheering on City Harvest. It was also really nice how often I would see people who were there for Every Mother Counts or Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the other organizations. People were cheering on everyone who was in identifiable nonprofit shirts that ran by. There was so much support for those of us who were running for a cause.
Were you recognized by strangers?
Yes. And everyone was so nice. As I got slower, around 21, 22, 23, 24, I would run by and I would hear shouts behind me, “Go, Chelsea!” and I would turn back and be like, “Thank you!”
Were you doing the calculations at that point to figure out how slow you could go and still break the four-hour mark?
Yes. When I had run more quickly than I had realized for the first half, I was doing the math in my head, how slowly can I run in the moments when I know this is going to be really hard and then what will I need to do toward the end? I kept constantly recalibrating. And then, going up 5th Avenue, I could feel myself slowing more and thought, “Oh no, I hope I didn’t miscalculate.” And then I got into Central Park and the energy really helped carry me through.
Your parents seemed really proud of you.
Ohmigosh, so excited. I was nervous because of my injury, like oh, gosh, I hope I can make it. I actually called my mom at mile 11. I’m sure this is like breaking some sort of marathon protocol. I probably shouldn’t have called her, but I called her like, “I”m going to make it. You have to come.” She was like, “We’ll be there.” I was like, “Okay!” She was like, “Wait, aren’t you running?” ... “I am.”
Did you enjoy the signs people held?
So many funny signs. And so many, “Go random stranger” signs. I was like, “Yes, I’m a random stranger. Thank you!” Lots of signs supporting moms, which was great, like, if you gave birth to a child, you can do this. “Yes, I’ve given birth to three, I can.”
What kind of shoes do you wear?
I run in Brooks [Adrenaline GTS 21]. I’ve tried lots of different shoes. I have been dedicated to those shoes.
Are you hooked on marathons now or are you saying, “Never again?”
Well, I have to say I finished and I thought, “That was amazing. I want to do another one.” And then Sunday night I was like, “Ohmigosh, I’m so sore. How could I ever do this again?” We’re talking now and it’s Wednesday and I’m like, “I could totally do it again.” It’s a little bit like having children. It is something I would love to be able to do again
If I do it again, though, I would want to have a coach or friend. As extraordinary as it was and as much as I loved doing it as a New Yorker in New York City, it would have been nice to share the experience with someone. I said, “Marc, what do you think?” He said, “I love you so much. I’ll cheer harder next year. I’ll try to be in even more places.”
Hopefully I have some friends I can persuade.
Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
