DESERT DREAMS
By Brent Terry
When Kendra Molden toes the starting line for her first attempt at the 26.2-mile distance at the second annual Every Woman’s Marathon in Scottsdale on November 16, she will await the starting gun knowing she has a secret weapon. Molden, along with 7,000-plus new friends and competitors, will surge onto the sun-dappled Arizona streets knowing her not-quite thirteen year-old son, superfan, and part-time coach will be out on the course, offering enthusiastic support and sage counsel.
“When I go out for a long run,” Molden says, “he’s there when I leave, and he’s there waiting when I get back. He’s my biggest fan. If I call him from out on a run, he’s always there. If I say, ‘I can’t do this,’ he says, ‘Oh yes, you can.’”
Marathon weekend will be a weekend of firsts for the 911 dispatcher from Atlanta: First marathon, first time flying, first time to visit Arizona, first time running a marathon with her son and other adult family members cheering her on. But it will be far from the first time stepping out of her comfort zone and doing something remarkable. Raising a healthy, happy kid to the cusp of teenager-hood certainly checks that box. As does getting first responders where they need to be, shift after shift, month after month, keeping her city safe. Even lacing up the running shoes and hitting the streets for the first time was a leap of faith.
“I stepped on a scale two years ago and said, ‘Nuh-uh, this isn’t going to work.’ And my mental health wasn’t quite where I wanted it to be, either.”
So she, like millions of runners before her, laced ‘em up and hit the roads. She was also wily enough to know she lived in a city with one of the largest, most supportive running communities in the world, and she embraced that welcoming community from the start. From her running club, to a racing calendar chock-full of well-organized events, to fellow first responders willing to join her for after work miles in the dark, Molden has plunged into the Atlanta running scene, feet-first and with a smile.
That smile, which appears in all its toothy radiance in every racing photo on Molden’s Instagram, is evident in her voice when we talk on the phone. She loves to talk about her son, her work, but most of all she loves to talk about running.
“I’ve never done anything like this,” she says, speaking of her running journey, “The marathon is a dream!”
And as a runner with almost two years of miles under her belt, that dream seems more likely by the day to come true. She finished the Publix Atlanta Half Marathon last March, making a marathon the next logical step, and more recently, Molden has acquired the kind of wisdom that even bad runs can dispense.
“On last week’s long run, I was a bit shaky in the head,” she says with a laugh, “but I got it done.”
And when being called into work necessitated shortening her planned twenty-miler to fifteen, she simply added the twenty to a day off later in the week. Thus, one fewer long run in preparation became one extra!
When I ask her if carving out time to train is difficult, Molden, surprisingly, says no.
“I’m a big calendar person. If I put it on the calendar, I’m going to do it. Plus, I work from two o’clock to ten,” she says, “so I can usually get my run in before work and while my son is in school. And if I need to run after work in the dark, some of the officers are usually there to get in a few miles with me.”
Molden’s positivity and drive are matched by gratitude: for family, for community, and for running itself. That sense of gratitude and the willingness to embrace an available community has made a difficult and lonely undertaking considerably less difficult and lonely. Still, she is well aware of what has come to be known as the “Motherhood Penalty.” The motherhood penalty is the inherent bias, both in terms of time and of finances, against mothers—particularly single mothers—when compared to men or women without children. Simply put, kids are expensive and take a lot of time, which presents a barrier between motherhood and time-consuming, sometimes expensive endeavors like training for a marathon.
With this in mind, Molden delved into the wider running community, applying for a grant from For All Mothers+. For All Mothers+ was founded by Olympic 800-meter bronze medalist, World Champion, and mother, Alysia Montano, to create opportunities for mother runners to pursue their running dreams. In partnership with Strava and Every Woman’s Marathon, For All Mothers+ creates opportunities for mothers like Kendra Molden to shrink the motherhood penalty and make their running dream a reality. Molden’s essay was one of the several chosen from more than 900 applications, and grant money was awarded to help cover childcare and travel expenses to Arizona for Molden and her crew.
So now, the hay is mostly in the barn. Only a couple of long runs remain before race day. I ask her if, beyond finishing, she has any time goals for her first marathon.
“Under six hours,” she says without hesitation, “Buuuuut,” she adds, with just a hint of dreaminess to her voice, “5:30 is in the back of my head.”
And while not counting any chickens, Molden is already looking down the road to future events.
“My friends were raving about the Chicago Marathon. I felt a little jealous, a little left-out,” she laughs, “So, I am already in the lottery for next year!”
Other races are also being added to the calendar, like perhaps a return to Publix in the spring. And when I mention that a recent surgery had ruined my plans to run the 100k at the Undead Trail Party, a multi-race event in Pelham, AL, about 90 minutes from Atlanta, her interest piqued.
“They have a 25k? I should be able to do that!”
And given her idea for a gear update, I wouldn’t put a future ultra out of the question.
“I told my son that what I really need is running clothing with a pocket for a sub sandwich, or maybe Chipotle.” She laughs. “That would be perfect.”