Elle Purrier has been on a roll that a pandemic couldn’t stop.
Grant Fisher Wins Olympic Trials 5K, 4:16.85, before COVID-19 shut down all racing. During the summer, she got in a few quick time trial-style races, before leaving her training base in the Boston area and going home to northern Vermont, where she Shoes & Gear a few miles from the Canadian border. In September, she married her high school sweetheart, Jamie St. Pierre.
Other Hearst Subscriptions strength workouts, which yielded a second American record when racing returned: On February 13, she ran the 2 mile in 9:10.28, taking 8 seconds off the previous mark held by Jenny Simpson.
In May, she added personal bests in the 800 (1:59.99) and 1500 meters (3:58.36), becoming only the third American woman, after Shannon Rowbury and Shelby Houlihan, to run sub 2:00 for 800 meters, sub 4:00 for 1500 meters, and sub 15 for 5,000 meters. (The only blemish on her spring racing record was a 2:03.30 for 800 meters at the end of May, in unseasonably cold, wet, and windy Massachusetts weather.)
→ Join Runner’s World+ to get the latest running news, training tips, and exclusive workouts!
Should You Wear ‘Super Shoes’ Every Day Runner’s World on May 18 about her preparation for the Olympic Trials, where she’ll most likely run the 1500 meters. Here are five takeaways:
Purrier attributes her recent success to steady training during the pandemic.
“I think it’s year after year, doing a little bit more,” she said. “Last year I was really able to just focus on my training, and also take a break from racing. It was kind of refreshing in a way to be able to spend time at home and just get in strength-based workouts and training. I really think as we get older, we get stronger.”
Purrier has been at the same consistent mileage for the past year. “I run about 80 miles a week, and last year if I did that three weeks in a row, I would be exhausted,” she said. “Now I can do that and I’m not nearly as tired as I was before.”
She sees her husband sporadically during racing season, more in the fall and winter.
“In the summer and the fall last year, I was with him pretty much all the time. That was really nice,” Purrier said. “I’m at home in Vermont right now. We came back to the East coast [from altitude training in Flagstaff, Arizona], and Mark [Coogan, her coach] was like, ‘Yeah, go home.’
“It works out. We’re pretty used to it,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the months when I do get to spend a little bit more time with him. He made a trip out to Flagstaff. Usually, he makes a trip out there for 5 or 6 days.”
Purrier has been able to avoid major injuries.
“I haven’t had to take a long time off because of an injury,” she said. “I think I have a pretty good handle on my diet and eating enough calories and getting all the nutrients that I need. I think that has been a big factor in never having a stress fracture. Also, I get a lot of treatment, to make sure my hips are even and things like that. I try to stay on top of that. A lot of running injuries are from doing something over and over and over again, [creating] imbalances you don’t know about.”
The Olympic Trials have been on her mind for a couple of months.
“I’m really nervous,” she said. “I think it’s always in the back of my mind at this point. But I’ve definitely gotten a lot of confidence from the last couple of races I’ve done.”
She doesn’t overthink the shoe technology.
“I’ve been racing in the same spikes since 2019. I like them a lot. I feel really fast in them,” Purrier said. “I think it’s somewhat of a mind game with the spikes. Obviously there’s proof that there’s an advantage with the Nike spikes, but I’m just like, I don’t know, I believe in New Balance’s products. I trying not to think about it. They’re spikes.”
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!
