The Run Breiter Podcast

In this episode of the Run Breiter Podcast, hosts Sam Breiter and Colleen Mock sit down with Felicia Pasadyn, an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier who earned her standard at the New York City Marathon while balancing the demands of medical school and a high-level academic career.

Felicia is a former Harvard University scholar-athlete, where she competed as an elite NCAA swimmer, earning multiple Ivy League titles while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. After graduating from Harvard, she continued her academic journey with graduate studies at Ohio State before entering medical school at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Her background offers a rare combination of elite athletic performance, academic excellence, and a deep appreciation for evidence-based decision making.

After transitioning from swimming to running, Felicia quickly rose to the elite level in the marathon. At the New York City Marathon, she ran 2:35:17, placing among the top American women and qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Her journey challenges many of the narratives commonly seen in social media fitness culture and highlights what sustainable, long-term progress actually looks like.

In this conversation, Felicia shares her running and fitness story, how she structures training around the realities of medical school, and the science-backed strategies she relies on to stay healthy, consistent, and competitive. We talk about what she prioritizes, what she avoids, and how she adapts when life stress and time constraints are high. We also have fun with a game of overrated, underrated or properly rated, running edition! This episode is packed with practical advice for runners balancing ambitious goals with school, work, and real life.

Thanks for listening, and as always, Don’t Forget to Run Breiter.