Molly Seidel jumps into the trail running scene

The 2020 Olympic marathon bronze medallist, Molly Seidel, was spotted making her trail racing debut last weekend at the UTMB Speedgoat Mountain Race in Sandy, Utah. Seidel ran the 28K in a time of 4:13, finishing 35th overall and eighth among the women.

The 28K race was held on technical terrain at Snowbird Lodge Resort and features over 2,000m of ascent over Mount Baldy and the Peruvian Gulch. Seidel entered the race under the alias Molly Shapiro (Shapiro being the surname of her boyfriend, Matt), but was spotted crossing the finish line in her Puma racing kit.

Earlier this month, Seidel declared herself out of the World Athletics Championships due to a stress reaction in her sacrum. She took a step back from the sport to work on her mental health and training with ADHD.

In June, Seidel said she has been taking Adderall to help her cope with her ADHD. The stimulant drug used to treat attention deficit disorder is currently on the banned substance list for in-competition use by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Seidel applied to WADA for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE), which allows the athlete to take the medication during competition, but her application has not yet been granted.

Newly crowned U.S. mountain running champion Tabor Hemming won the women’s race in 3:27, while Hillary Allen was second, only one minute back in 3:28. Robyn Lesh of New Zealand finished third in 3:34.

The founder of the Speedgoat Mountain Race is none other than Karl Meltzer, one of the U.S.’s greatest ultrarunners, who currently has an active streak of 20 straight years of winning a 100-mile ultra race.

Full results from UTMB Speedgoat Mountain Race can be found here.