The marathoner-turned-author on why Boston is her comeback race
Deena Kastor uses setbacks as springboards: “Disappointment, to me, means that I really care, and I know I have better in me, so let's get to better,” she said at a recent Asics media event for the launch of her new book, Let Your Mind Run. To do that, the American marathon record holder works on cultivating a growth mindset rather than a fixed one—and that’s what the book is all about: “It's about the mental journey,” says Kastor. “Positivity can sound like a cliché term, but it's my deepest hope that we presented it in a way that you really get to see that my struggle doesn't come from the fact that I came from a war-torn country or that I was abused—I come from an amazing family who flew in from California today to be a part of this book launch—but a lot of our struggles come from our perspective and our mentality. So if we can shift those, we can get on a path of growth and learning.” So while it is a memoir, Kastor says the book is more-so an instructional memoir. “It’s about my life on the roads and running and racing, but it wasn't my desire for you to learn more about me, but maybe discover and uncover more about yourself,” she says. En route to the Boston Marathon, Furthermore caught up with Kastor during her pit-stop in New York City. Here, our conversation.