Monica Puig on running two marathons in one week, meeting Eliud Kipchoge, and her next endeavor - triathlons
The 2016 Olympic champion in tennis completed the Boston and London races in a seven-day span, getting advice from world record holder Kipchoge along the way. She spoke exclusively to Olympics.com about what's next.
Tennis
In her storied career as an elite tennis player, Olympic champion Monica Puig had played countless tournaments over a one-week span. That's the typical calendar for the sport: An event begins on Monday and finishes up on Sunday.
But this month, the now-retired Puerto Rican ran not one but two marathons in a seven-day span, competing in the prestigious Boston and London Marathons on 17 and 23 April 2023, respectively.
It's an unthinkable accomplishment for most, especially considering that Puig had completed a marathon just once before, in New York City last year.
"I don't think I was ever this mentally strong when I played tennis," Puig, 29, told Olympics.com just 48 hours after finishing her run in London. "The fact that I'm able to push myself to these new limits... When you cross the finish line, you're like, 'Okay, what's the next race? I'm signing up!'"
Ever the athlete, Puig is halfway to a new goal: She's set to run all six of the Abbott World Marathon Majors by the end of 2024.
"I have fallen in love with the sport of running because I have really fought hard to do something new in my life," said Puig, who retired from tennis last year. "It's become my new life and it's so liberating."
But why the six majors in less than two years? "I'm very competitive," she said with a smile.
Monica Puig: Meeting Eliud Kipchoge, "the GOAT of the GOATs"
As Puig has jumped into the marathon world with her running shoes on, she's discovered a whole new community of athletes, but none quite like Eliud Kipchoge, the two-time Olympic champion and marathon world record holder (2:01:09).
The Boston Marathon team arranged a meeting between the two Olympic champions, with Puig gifting the Kenyan running legend a signed racket - and Kipchoge giving Monica something priceless: Marathon advice.
"He's the most surreal human being I've ever met," a still awe-struck Puig said about the 10-minute encounter. "We talked a little bit about running and he gave me advice, and for me, it was such a cool moment to meet him. He is, in my opinion, the greatest athlete in the world at anything. He's like the GOAT of the GOATs."
Kipchoge showed off some of his tennis skills, too: Bouncing the ball off of Puig's racket. "Someone's going to have to take the racket away from him," Puig joked as Kipchoge continued. "He'll be doing this for hours."
It was a rare encounter of two Olympic champions - one in Kipchoge who continues to look to break records, and another in women's singles gold medallist Puig, who is charting a new course in her post-competitive life.
"He says to me, 'Just run hard and you'll be done in two hours!'" Puig recalled, smiling. "And it made me laugh so hard because I told him, 'Well, maybe you will be done in 2 hours. Maybe it'll take me a little bit more time than that!'"
But perhaps Puig should heed that advice. She's shaved nearly an hour off of her marathon time in just three races:
- New York City 2022 - 4:32:39
- Boston 2023 - 3:50:46
- London 2023 - 3:42:04
Puig chases marathon majors - and triathlons
But as the Rio 2016 tennis champion and former top 30 star on the WTA Tour, Puig has always been hungry for more. The Puerto Rico star said she plans to race the Chicago Marathon this October before eying Tokyo and Berlin next year to complete the Marathon Majors.
"I'm just trying to continue to fuel that competitive fire because since my career was cut short, I still want to compete, I still want to succeed," Puig said, noting the shoulder injury that knocked her out of tennis for good.
But that doesn't just mean marathons, she revealed. This September, she and husband Nathan Rakitt plan on competing in their first triathlon, a half Ironman near their home in Atlanta, entailing a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride, and half-marathon run.
To Puig that sounds just right.
"The half marathon run doesn't feel very scary to me anymore," she said. "I get to the halfway point and I feel fresh. So, it's kind of like, 'Okay, I can swim, I can bike, and I can do this [distance] to finish. So we're going to start with a half."
Puig has plans to return home to Puerto Rico for a half Ironman in March, as well.
But for an Olympic champion who is still in some of the best shape of her life, is Puig considering making a dash at marathon running for real? Maybe LA 2028?
"Even my mom asked me that," Puig laughed. "She's like, 'Maybe you can consider this as like another Olympic career?' I have to laugh. I'm like, 'No, mom, I'm not going to do that!'"
Puig continued: "Obviously I want to continue to get better and to run really, really good times. In the future, running a sub-three [hour] marathon would be really cool. But you know, you need to get there and that takes time."
"My professional career is over. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to want to excel in other things like marathon running. This is a hobby and it's a great outlet for me."