My guest for today's episode is Weini Kelati, who's becoming synonymous with record breaking performances on the roads. Just last weekend at the 2025 Houston Half Marathon, Weini shattered her own American record, running 1:06:09 to take 16 seconds off the mark she set at the same race last year, battling cold temperatures, gusting winds, and a loaded international field. She delivered a gutsy performance, finishing second overall behind Ethiopia's Senayet Getachew.

In this episode, we dive into Weini’s journey over the past few months from setting personal bests on the track to her debut at the Paris Olympics. We hear about her mindset going into Houston, the tough moments she overcame during the race, and why she's curious about pushing herself to even faster times. Plus, we discuss how this record fits into her broader goals for 2025 and beyond. Yes, we also talk about her potential in the marathon. Weini continues to cement herself as one of the best distance runners in the country.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram

Guest: Weini Kelati | @weini_kelati on Instagram

Episode Highlights:

The following excerpt has been edited lightly for clarity. You can listen to the full episode with Weini Kelati on the CITIUS MAG Podcast.

Reactions after lowering her own American half marathon record in Houston:

“I was really excited! Training has been going really well. Every workout, every run that I did before the half marathon felt great. I could see that I was improving, so I was hoping for a good time. As Stephen [Haas] mentioned, running under 66 minutes was my hope because I knew I was in really good shape and that I was fit. But sometimes you have to go with however the race plays out as well as the weather. I have no control of the weather. It was very windy and cold that day.

I said, ‘It seems really hard to [run a half] marathon in this weather, but I'm just going to try my best. I know I'm in shape and I'm not going to let it hold me back from what I can do.’ I went out there, I ran my best, and I'm really happy with my PR. The mission was accomplished. I was a little bit short of my goals, but it's okay. Knowing how good training is going, I think I can run under 66 minutes in the future, so let's hope!”

Did she think she could win the race?

“Yes, I came with confidence. I said, ‘Whatever the race feels like, I’ve got to fight until the end.’ If I can do that, this is my race to win. I've been working as much as [my competitors have]. It’s just a matter of time. Some days you don't have a good day and some days you have a better day. Doesn't matter – I have to hang on and push myself to the finish. That's all I was doing.”

Her mindset on competing:

“Racing at a high level helps build your confidence. Once you race at the highest level, you learn something. The confidence comes with it… After the first year of [running] pro, the pressure hits you more because you want to do more. You want to accomplish more and you have bigger goals. When you fall short, the emotion really hits you. But you have to learn how to be strong and overcome the pressure that's holding you back. I think it was last year when that clicked for me. My training had been really good, so I didn’t know what was holding me [back] from performing well. I was doing good in some races, but when it came to championship races, it wasn't going my way.

I said, ‘Maybe it's the pressure or overthinking the race. I need to let go of whatever happens, focus on the present, and focus on what can go right, not wrong… I was trying to figure out how to prepare myself: the things that I need to work on and how to mentally get ready for it. It was also about focusing on my own race. That helped me a lot to do well.

I have been very confident in road racing. I have no pressure… Track races are a little bit different, but that mentality helped me a lot in making my first team and run on the highest stage. It brought a lot of confidence to me. I was like, ‘If I wasn't good enough, I wouldn't make it this far. Let's do this race just like any other race,’ instead of saying, ‘This is going to be hard.’ I'm like, ‘This is just another race. If it goes my way, that's okay. If it doesn't, we’re going to figure it out. Let's just do it.’ That helps a lot.”

Thoughts on moving up to the marathon:

“I’m not rushing myself. I know once I get to do it, I want to do it well. That’s why I’m taking my time doing the 5K and 10K on the road, which is going to help me build my speed. With the half marathon, we will try to keep lowering the time and once I feel confident about it, I am ready to move up to the marathon. I’m the type of person who likes to take it slow.”

Looking ahead to the U.S. Half Marathon Championships:

“Yes, I'm going to do that in a little over a month. Once I secure my spot for Worlds, I'm going to run another half marathon at Worlds too. It's going to be three half marathons this year, which is going to be fun! After the half marathon championship, we're going to focus on track racing, which is going to be more fun. I know going up isn’t easier than going down, but I feel more confident and more ready to do a half marathon than going back to the 10K. It just makes me stronger mentally to say, ‘This is almost half of it, let's do this.’”

Listen to the full episode with Weini on the CITIUS MAG Podcast.

___________________

Keep up with all things track and field by following us across Instagram, X, Bluesky, Threads, and YouTube. Catch the latest episodes of the CITIUS MAG Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. For more, subscribe to The Lap Count and CITIUS MAG Newsletter for the top running news delivered straight to your inbox.