Emma Grace Hurley holds the American women's 8K record — she took it from Deena Kastor at the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle in March 2026, 21 years after Kastor set it. Eight days before this conversation, she finished fourth at the ASICS Falmouth Road Race in 35:36, eleven seconds off the win, on a day she was convinced would be a disaster. Ralph was working the medical tent at that finish line. She sat down with Ralph Reiff and Scott Hudson in her home neighborhood of Broad Ripple in Indianapolis, a week and a half out from the World Athletics Road Running Championships half marathon in Copenhagen and about six weeks from her marathon debut at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Scott has done her strength training and soft tissue work for more than two years. What makes this episode useful is the specificity. She walks through an ordinary ...