Alicia Monson wants to show you what she can do

Words by Laura Markwardt. Photography by Colin Wong.

Set 5,430 feet (1,655 meters) above sea level, Boulder, Colorado, is a playground for athletes seeking the endurance-boosting benefits of thin air and broad horizons. Nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the city balances the buzz of a creative metropolitan hub with the rugged beauty of the American Midwest. 

“I love training here in the fall,” says record-breaking distance runner, Alicia Monson. “I’m not just on the track all the time, and I can escape to the trails and explore.” 

For high-performing Monson, the high-altitude home of the On Athletics Club (OAC), is the perfect city to practice her craft.

Right now, Monson’s preparing for what promises to be a momentous 2024 season, starting in New York City at the 116th Millrose Games.

“The top end of my fall base training load is 98 miles (157km) a week,” Monson says. I like to get close to 100 miles, but not quite hit it.”  

Competitive running rewards consistency, and that comes with conservatism – recovering to train the following day, and staying healthy for months and years. As Monson’s star continues to rise, her deliberate training practice leaves her some fuel in the tank, both physically and psychologically.

This meticulousness in training allows for high drama in racing. Monson first won the Millrose 3,000m back in 2019, when she was still running for University of Wisconsin–Madison. Fast-forward to the same race in 2023, and she set a new North American indoor record of 8:25.05, beating her personal best by more than six seconds, and 20 seconds faster than she’d been in 2019.

When Monson pins on a race bib, any trace of conservatism falls away. “Every race is a blank slate. I'm always trying to push my limits, and that's how I've progressed,” she says. “You just have to be prepared for anything, honestly – that's the job, just to be ready for it.” When the starter’s pistol fires, anything is possible. 

Maintaining such a high level of athleticism – one that can keep up with her ‘no limits’ mindset, is what makes Monson such a thrill to watch in action. In March 2023, she took the North American 10,000m record with 30:03:82 – pushing through 25 laps at a grueling, consistent pace. 

Of course, Monson feels the burn. She’s just cultivated the internal tools to manage it, “I visualize scenarios before races – I know I'm going to be in pain, but I run that pace in practice, so I just have to deal with it,” she says. “I reset one lap at a time, try to stay calm, and stay in the moment.” 

Monson’s unfazed about Millrose switching its traditional 3,000 meters for a 2-mile (3.2km) race in 2024. “That'll be interesting because I haven't run two miles since like High School,” she says. 

For someone who’s used to 5 and 10K, Monson’s ability to endure the small stretch from 3K to 2 miles isn’t going to be her limiting factor: “I’ll just run it like a 3K and then hold on for another 200 meters,” she says. “Luckily, holding on is one of my strengths.” 

That will to hold on – to push her limits – has propelled Monson over the line every time, even when it means overriding her mechanisms of self-preservation. 

At the women’s 10,000m U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, in 2021, the temperature on the track was a searing 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius). In the intense fever-heat of the last stretch, Monson fell to third place, collapsing shortly afterward with heat stroke and hyperthermia. But she still made the cut – claiming the last qualifying spot for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

Monson’s perspective is typically pragmatic, “I needed to do more heat training before that race. I've had good races and bad races, and I've learned from them all.”

You win, or you learn, as the old adage goes, and Monson’s always looking at how she can put herself competitively at the top of the world. “I'm sure we [the OAC] are going to do a lot of heat training before Paris 2024 [Olympic Games] too, because it's supposed to be another hot year."

Temperature aside, the stakes at the Olympics this summer will also rise. Every event – including taking fifth in the 10,000 meters at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest back in August 2023 – is a stepping stone on Monson’s journey to Paris. And she knows what it will take to deliver a medal-winning performance: “After taking fifth in Budapest, I felt I didn't do anything wrong other than needing to get better. It’s just that simple. I’m using those races to help me improve for the summer, which will be my goal-focus of the season.”

Monson reframes the “overwhelming” pressure of the start line, as a pivotal moment to realize her athletic potential. “If you think ‘oh my gosh, there’s so much noise and so many people are watching me right now’ you can switch it to, ‘alright, I'm going to perform, and I’m going to show them what I can do.’” 

No stranger to applause, Monson performed in musical theater while at Amery High School, Wisconsin. Her innate ability to adapt from the controlled environment of the auditorium – where actors recite a tightly rehearsed show – to the chaotic, reactive world of competitive running, reflects her attitude at large: every moment in the spotlight is an opportunity. 

Today, Monson praises her support team – both backstage and on track. From her boyfriend, runner Benjamin Eidenschink, with whom she shares her beloved dog, Burt, “I read a sports psychology tip about dogs helping you live in the moment – it’s cool that there’s actually positive science behind having a pet,” she laughs, to her family, and her OAC Coaches – Dathan Ritzenhein and Kelsey Quinn. 

“One of the reasons the OAC team is successful is because Dathan and Kelsey care about you as a person,” she says. “Everyone has their own unique thing. As athletes and as a team, we want to show good sportsmanship, and have fun too.

Ritzenhein’s strategic training schedule is flexible enough to allow for both fun and collective progress. In 2023, U.S. distance runner, Josette Norris Andrews joined the OAC, and it benefits all athletes to push each other, “Dathan writes the training to overlap with the team as much as possible, and running with Josette has been great. I help her more on the longer reps, and then try to stick with her on the reps that speed up at the end.”

Having the OAC’s history-making distance runner, Hellen Obiri, in Monson’s athletic orbit, is also a gift. “Hellen was an incredible track runner, and now she’s absolutely crushing marathons. It’s inspiring to me to have someone to look up to, and someone I can follow.”

Monson knows that her drive to give everything in the pursuit of breaking records is a delicate balance, “You need to be happy to train,” she says. She knows too, that the training miles are the practice. The racing miles are the performance – and when the crowd roars, Monson’s ready to run with it.