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This meant shed be representing Team USA in Tokyo this summer.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
SELF: You made your first Olympic team when you won the marathon trials in Atlanta.
What did that victory mean to you?
A.T.:That meant everything to me.
I went into the race as one of the dark horses.
I had a very long shot of making the team, but thats just what other people thought.
The course was very hard, and it was a windy day.
Going into a marathon, I dont worry too much about my competition.
I definitely felt like I was ready.
And once it actually happened, I was lost.
I knew I could do it, but I was in shock.
Now that I look back, I cant believe that actually happened.
And Im finally beginning to feel how I should have felt thenso proud.
Im going to go to Tokyo, and just thinking about that makes me so happy.
How do you feel about that decision?
For a few weeks I was just so emotional.
I needed to cry, but I never got myself to the point where I could cry.
I would go run, and then it would go away.
But Id have it again the next day.
For days, I would have that.
Finally, one day I was actually doing an interview and talking about it when I finally broke down.
I feel like crying that day kind of helped me let out some of the emotions.
It was definitely hard.
You put your life on hold.
Where do you find the balance?
You just never know whats going to happen next year.
You never know whats going to happen tomorrow.
How are you balancing that perspective?
Im crocheting a lot thanks to my business [AllieResiliencyHatson Etsy].
Im beginning to see the brighter side of things, and honestly, Im doing okay.
I am beginning to accept that next year is not really that far.
How has the postponement affected your training?
Im not doing top-notch training or anything.
Im actually still doing my building very slowly.
And so Ive been running really easy.
Ive had a couple of workouts here and there.
Im not too worried about how fast I run.
Ive been running by feel, basically.
Unless I feel like I want to push.
Some days Im like, Im just going to take a day off.
Do you want to get fit now when you dont even know when youre going to race again?
How do you handle the days when you dont feel motivated?
Then I get super motivated.
I cant wait for the next morning so I can go do my run.
For me, running is not just my job.
Running is something that I need.
I really need running.
Even when I crochet in the morning, by the afternoon, I am losing my mind.
When I go out and run, I just come back and feel fresh.
Your partner, Tim Gannon, is a physicians assistant.
What is that like during the pandemic?
There were times when I just felt trapped.
There were times when it really freaked me out.
But he hasnt actually had to treat a COVID-19 patient yet.
I read on Twitter that you considered renewing your nursing assistance license.
Have you given more thought to that?
I love working with people.
I love being useful.
Running is a part of my life.
Its so much part of my life.
It almost defines me in a lot of ways.
Now that I dont get to do that with racing, sometimes it feels like Im not being useful.
Im not helping people.
I thought, If this continues to happen, I would love to go volunteer.
So I thought about doing that, especially if we had more cases.
I told myself I was going to wait until the end of May to see whats happening.
Nursing is something Im very passionate about.
Working with people is something Im very passionate about.
And if the opportunity presents itself, I dont think I would hesitate.
You earned your degree in public health science from Wichita State University.
Were you thinking about nursing?
I did all my prerequisites classes for nursing school.
And actually, last spring I took the nursing school entrance exam and I passed.
But realistically, I dont think I could do both at the same time.
How has the postponement affected your family on a personal level?
We decided that 2020 was the year to probably start to make a run at have a family.
We thought we could go to the Olympics and maybe run a fall marathon and then start a family.
This is something thats been a dream of ours for a long time.
And so right now we dont know.
It feels like that opportunity has been taken away from us.
We dont know what we want to do.
Its the uncertainty that keeps me up at night.
Do we want to wait to have a family until after the 2021 Olympics?
But what if the Games dont even happen in 2021?
Thats one of the hardest things for me to try and figure out.
It impacts my career.
It impacts the opportunities that I have at the Olympic level.
Its definitely been hard.
How have you been coping with those struggles and moving forward each day?
I have some really good people around me.
Ive surrounded myself with people who care about me for who I am.
My partner, Tim.
Hes an incredible person.
My manager, Merhawi Keflezighi; my coach Ben Rosario; my teammates.
I think also knowing that I am not the only one who is affected.
The entire world is affected by this.
And so I do the little that I can do to make the world a brighter place.
Thank goodness for my business.
At a time like this, I can send people hats and they get excited.
Most of my time is spent crocheting, especially when my partner is at work.
What advice would you offer to runners right now?
The simplest advice Ill offer is find a hobby in addition to running.
I think thats the only way to find a distraction right now.
I think, more than anything else, we need a distraction.
We cannot go see our families.
We cannot go see our friends.
It can be really hard.
Well be able to race again, and hopefully thats sooner rather than later.
And talk to your friends.
Just because you cant see them doesnt mean that you cant call them and talk to them.
If possible, find some sort of therapy, because this could be very challenging.
I think its strength if you might recognize that you need help and go after that help.
