Half Marathon Training 2021 NYC Run Clubs Bring Energy to the Marathon When Annie Frisbie went through the halfway point of the The Fastest Shoes of the 2024 NYC Marathon, was nervous.
“A little concerned,” he told Runner’s World. “But everything looked great.”
It was Frisbie’s first marathon, and she, too, was trying to avoid freaking out from her vantage point at the front.
“I did realize, oh, holy s---, I’m leading the marathon, I probably shouldn’t be doing this,” she told Runner’s World. “But also you can’t think about it too much, otherwise you’ll panic. I tried to just accept it. It was nice for fluids, too, getting to your bottle quicker and thankfully that went smoothly.”
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Pretty much everything went smoothly in Frisbie’s race. She ran with the lead pack of women until the leaders surged partway up First Avenue. But she kept herself together and ran a strong second half, running almost an even split (1:12:43/1:13:35), and finished in seventh place in 2:26:18. She was the third American, behind Health - Injuries How to Get Into the 2025 NYC Marathon.
“The last two and a half miles were rough, but I feel like it’s rough for everyone,” Frisbie said. “I was kind of gaining ground on the two women in front of me, but I just had no kick or anything. I was just holding on for dear life.”
By holding on as well as she did, Frisbie is suddenly very much a part of the buzz around American women’s marathoning—and she’s only 24. Like Seidel, who is 27, Frisbie hails from Wisconsin. The two raced in a 5,000 meters once when they were in college—Seidel was a senior at Notre Dame, Frisbie was a freshman at Iowa State University. (Frisbie was starstruck.)
She has always gravitated toward the longer distances. As a senior at Iowa State in 2018, she was All-American in cross country, finishing 34th at NCAAs. When she joined Minnesota Distance Elite two years ago, she immediately started asking Lundstrom if she could do the marathon.
“The [marathon] trials were coming up, I agreed to let her run a half,” he said. “And she was like, ‘Well, if I qualify, I might as well just run, right?’ I said, ‘No, let’s hold off.’” (Frisbie didn’t qualify for the trials—she ran Houston in 1:15:48 in January 2020.)
in the lead, her injuries on and off, and during this buildup, she struggled with tendinitis in her left shin. Her highest week of mileage was 95 miles, and she did that only once. The rest of the time, she ran consistently in the 80- to 85-mile range. “Nothing too crazy,” she said. She likes the slower, steadier paces of training for the marathon—and she enjoys the roads.
Frisbie, who works 40 hours per week as a graphic designer for a healthcare startup, has no agent and no sponsors. She wore a mishmash of brands in her first marathon: Nike Alphaflys on her feet and a Nike top; New Balance bottoms. She took home $17,500 for her efforts today—$10,000 as the third American and $7,500 for finishing seventh.
She’s aware that her performance today could open doors to potential sponsorships. But short term, she doesn’t want to change a thing. “I really like how it is right now,” she said. “I enjoy having [work] in my life right now.” She works remotely, kept company by her dog, Billie, a toy poodle mixed with Pomeranian, who has his own Instagram account.
In several tuneup races this year, she showed promise. In July, she finished third at the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, the USATF 10K championships. In September, she was fifth at the U.S. 10-mile championships in Washington, D.C., in 52:26.
All of which told Lundstrom she would break 2:30 in her marathon debut. But 2:26? That was a surprise.
“It was a very good day,” he said. “She definitely rolls. The long stuff—she is just naturally suited for it. But still, a great debut. Definitely never expected this.”
CA Notice at Collection 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!
