This week on Conversation Pace with FRE, we sit down with Sarah, Sophie, Taylor, Courtney, and Kristyn to recap the California International Marathon. It was a historic day in Sacramento. Fifty-five women and fifty-two men qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials, and the race also served as the USATF Marathon Championships. We talk about the strategies they use to get through tough moments, what it feels like to run a personal best by ten minutes, and what it is like to share the course with Courtney Dauwalter.

Today we chat with Lin Gentling, one of the most respected leaders in American ultra-running, about the behind the scenes postponement of the 50k World's.

Lin is a veteran athlete, coach, race director, and international team leader whose career spans more than three decades. Her service to the sport is exceptional.

A former elite athlete herself, Lin was the 1991 TAC (now USATF) National 100K Champion, a member of the 1991 and 1992 USA National 100K Teams competing at the World Challenge, and a multi-time USATF National Age-Group Marathon Champion (2007, 2008; 3rd in 2009).

Her leadership footprint is extraordinary. Lin served as President of the American Ultra Running Association (1997–2000) and later became the IAU Americas Representative (2012–2018). Within USATF, she has been a long-time member, including service on the Executive Masters Committee, the MUT Executive Committee, and the Minnesota Association Board, where she chaired the MUT Committee. Since 2009, she has also served as a USATF Liaison to National Championships.

Perhaps nowhere is her commitment more visible than in her role as a USA National 100K Team Leader. Lin has led U.S. teams at World Championships and World Cups across more than 25 international events from Belgium to Japan, Russia to Qatar, South Korea to India, and beyond, shaping generations of American ultrarunners. She has also led U.S. 50K National Teams in Romania and India.

Beyond competitive ultrarunning, Lin’s influence extends across coaching, athlete development, and community leadership. She is a long-time race director, a coordinator and coach for the Rochester Running Club’s marathon training programs, and a sports psychology consultant for high school, collegiate, and individual athletes.

A scholar as well as a practitioner, Lin holds a BA in Biology and Psychology from St. Olaf College (with honors) and an MA in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sports Psychology from the University of Minnesota.

From world stages to local communities, Lin Gentling has dedicated her life to advancing endurance sport and developing athletes.

Anne-Marie Blaney is a decorated distance runner and 2024 University of Central Florida Hall of Fame inductee. She has established herself among the most consistent and competitive athletes on the national stage. She has earned standout results across multiple disciplines, including a 4th-place individual finish and team title, at the 2017 and 2024 USATF Club Cross Country Championships.

In international competition, Anne-Marie represented the United States at the 2019 World Athletics Cross Country Championships, finishing as the third American. She continues to compete at the highest level, running her PR of 2:29:25 at the 2024 Chicago Marathon. She also finished in 2:31:32 at Boston 2023 and was 9th American.

A four-time Olympic Trials qualifier (twice in the 10k and twice in the marathon), Anne-Marie is fully committed to pursuing her athletic career at the most elite level, with her sights set on the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. She trains daily while serving as both team captain and social media coordinator for the Brooks Hansons Distance Project, who she currently trains with in Michigan.

We talked about:

Stoke Nut Butter: https://stokeperformance.com/pages/about

and Forward Focus Running where Anne-Marie coaches: http://www.forwardfocusrunning.com/about-coach-anne-marie.html

On IG:

Follow Anne-Marie: @amblaney

Follow Front Range Elite: @front.range.elite