BYU senior Riley Chamberlain shattered the NCAA mile record on Feb. 14.
Chamberlain ran a 4:20.61 at Boston University’s David Hemery Valentine Invitational, finishing second behind New Balance’s Elle St. Pierre.
The BYU senior was followed by Oregon’s Wilma Nielsen (4:21.04) and teammate Jane Hedengren (4:22.22), who both dipped under the previous record and are now No. 2 and No. 3 all-time in the NCAA record book.
On Thursday, Chamberlain appeared on the CITIUS MAG Podcast to discuss her new record, BYU’s team culture, and how she and Hedengren push each other.
Here are four takeaways from her podcast appearance.
On her new record and championship pressures
Chamberlain said she is “trying not to focus too much on times right now,” but admitted the record is special.
“It is very special, and I feel very grateful to be able to say that, ‘Yeah, I’m record holder right now,’” she said.
Going into the race, Chamberlain said her focus was “on closing hard because that’s also how championship racing will go.”
The senior later acknowledged the pressure of championship season.
“Now we’re racing for titles and titles don’t get taken away. Records are meant to be broken. They will be broken, but titles don’t get taken away,” she said.
On training with Jane Hedengren
A lot of eyes have been on BYU’s freshman phenom Hedengren, who finished second at the NCAA cross-country championships and set records in both cross-country and track in her first collegiate season.
“And so also just like getting to work with Jane, she has helped me so much with my strength. And ... I’m inspired every day in practice. I get my butt kicked every day in practice, and so it’s ... been such a game changer for me this year.”
Chamberlain said she’s helped Hedengren with her closing, and in their speed sessions, Hedengren’s “always right behind me.”
Hedengren returns the favor in their strength sessions, according to Chamberlain, who said she is “definitely keying off of” Hedengren.
“She’s able to help me with pushing and grinding in the middle and just all the tempo and threshold stuff,” she said.
On BYU’s team culture
BYU coach Diljeet Taylor preaches high expectations and high love, which is felt in training, according to Chamberlain.
“I feel like that’s something that we do a good job with because I don’t know, you can’t have one without the other,” she said. “I think our team is definitely built on love and gratitude and then just always trying to push ourselves to be our best.”
That love between teammates is felt through being accountable to each other, Chamberlain said.
“When you’re in the middle of a rep and you’re like kind of dying off, and your teammate’s like, ‘No, you stick right here, you can do this.’ I feel like that’s where it shows up. So yeah, holding that person accountable, like, ‘No, you belong here’ and just building each other up, like positive things, positive messages to each other, and that’s definitely how it shows up in training.”
On coach Diljeet Taylor
Though everyone expected Chamberlain, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to go to BYU, she didn’t feel like she needed to go to BYU to be successful.
“I was like, ‘No, like, I can run fast somewhere else, too. Like, I don’t need to go there.’”
Her perspective changed when she spoke to Taylor, who she said Thursday was the primary reason she chose BYU.
“She sees more for you than you might even see for yourself, and she loves you and cares about you as a person, not just an athlete,” she said. “She wants to make sure that like your mental health is good — emotionally, spiritually, all the things — and so, that’s definitely what drew me to her and the program.”
