The Path to Going Pro: How Annie Rodenfels Went from D3 to Elite Runner

Aug 14, 2025

Andrea Rodenfels, a 7x All-American and national champion, shares her inspiring journey from Division III runner to elite athlete. She discusses the unique challenges of competing at the professional level, including adapting training regimens with her new team, Meridia. Listeners are treated to insights on her double workouts, energy management for late races, and the cultural differences in steeplechase techniques. Annie highlights the importance of teamwork and camaraderie in achieving athletic goals, making her story both relatable and motivating.

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ANECDOTE

Late Bloomer: D3 To Pro Path

Andrea Rodenfels described her jump from D3 to semi-pro by steadily improving after starting serious training late in college.
She joined a semi-pro team with housing and gear, then earned a paid pro contract after continued progress and race performances.

INSIGHT

Team Freedom With Structure

Joining Meridia gave Andrea freedom to choose coaches while keeping team camaraderie and shared purpose.
She values teammates for motivation, accountability, and a less selfish approach to training.

ADVICE

Use Teammates To Raise Your Ceiling

Train with teammates to push pace, simulate race dynamics, and expose weaknesses under pressure.
Use teammates to both pull you and let you pull others for mutual improvement.

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Andrea (Annie) Rodenfels is a 7x All-American in the steeplechase and 5,000m, national champion, Drake Relays 3,000m steeplechase champion, and 2x Olympic Trials qualifier.

Annie is also one of the few pro runners to come from a Division III school. In this episode, we discuss her path to going pro:

The evolution of her career from college to now
Her experience with the new pro team Meridia
How she trains today (mileage levels, long runs, etc.)
Her approach to double workouts in one day
How she manages energy and caffeine for 8:30pm races
A lot more!

You can support her team Meridia by registering for their virtual mile here!

Resources:

More info about Merida from Colleen Quigley
Training & Coaching programs
SR's strength series

Thank you Avelo!

Avelo is the world’s smartest running shoe created by a team of ex-Nike engineers. I’m so excited by Avelo that I’ve been advising them for nearly two years. And the market has spoken - they raised over $100,000 on Kickstarter on their very first day because they’re doing something unique.

Embedded in their bouncy, lightweight Supertrainer is a sensor that measures impact and your running form, showing you how much force your body is experiencing and when during your run your form starts deteriorating. This gives you incredible insights into your unique form, how it changes, and when it breaks down so you better understand your injury risk and when you get fatigued.

The shoes never need to be charged and you can reuse the sensor in each pair of Avelo’s. Their app gives you real-time coaching that I had a lot of input on, based on your unique data. They’re still available on Kickstarter at 34% off for a very limited time, so get yours today!

Thank you to 2Before!

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Boost your performance and immune system with 2before: use code JASON for 30% off 20 packs and multi-serve packs at 2Before.com.

Thank you to 2Before for supporting Strength Running!