A portrait of Allyson Felix in Santa Clarita, California (© Getty Images)
After competing in several relay races this spring, World champion Allyson Felix is now ready for her international season debut in Doha. She also tells IAAF readers about her most recent project and her boyfriend's dad fight against cancer.
"Hey people!
“I’ve run three meets this season at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee/Rafer Johnson Invitational (12 April), the Mt. San Antonio College Relays (20 April) and the Penn Relays (26 April) but my season will officially begin at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix in Doha (9 May).
“This is my fourth time competing at this meet and it’s become a bit of a tradition for me to open my season here.
“I was unsure if I would be able to run at Doha this year because there might have been a conflict with my graduation at USC.
“I found out that Doha and my graduation were on different days a few months ago which, was great because I didn’t want to miss either.
“Graduating from college definitely ranks very close to competing in the Olympics and other athletic accomplishments. It is so special to me because it was a very difficult journey and to finally complete it means the world to my family and me.
“After Doha I will run at the adidas Track Classic (18 May) where I will run my first 200m. Then it’s the Reebok Grand Prix (31 May) and Prefontaine Classic (8 June).
“I’m pleased with where my fitness is right now. I had a lot of fun competing with my team-mates at local meets. Penn relays was also very exciting as it is every year.
“Unfortunately my boyfriend (Kenneth Ferguson) was unable to make it to Penn.
“Ken’s dad is battling Stage 4 lung cancer. The situation is extremely difficult and everything has happened very fast. Ken not only is going through the rigors of training but also has to go back and forth from Los Angeles to Detroit to spend this precious time with his father.
“Kenneth is an exceptionally strong person and right now our faith is completely in God. We would definitely appreciate your prayers.
“I just shot a cover for Sports Illustrated for Kids with skateboarder Ryan Sheckler for their August issue. It’s always fun to do something different and riding on his skateboard was very cool.
“I’m really excited about a project that I’ve been working on with my brother Wes. About a year ago we really saw a need for a service that helps women live a healthy lifestyle through fitness.
“So we created Glisten, a free fitness newsletter for women. Each newsletter contains a 45-60 minute workout and there are video tutorials that ensure that you are doing each workout correctly. Glisten is going to be launching in the summer, but we have an informational site up now so you should definitely go check it out and sign up! www.iglisten.net.
“My brother, Wes, came up with the idea for Glisten about two years ago. He was going to dinner with a couple of his friends, but they wanted to go and workout first. Three hours later they were finally ready to eat.
“Wes asked what they did for their workout and when he found out that it was nearly an hour and a half on the treadmill. He knew there had to be a better way. He came home and talked with me about the idea and what it would need to look like from a woman’s perspective. At the time we were both really busy, but about six months ago we thought it would be the perfect time to really get working.
“Finally, I have to give a shout out to the USC women’s track team. They defeated UCLA in a dual meet for the first time since 1992. Although I do train at UCLA everyday there are a few individuals from across town I rooted for, but make no mistake I'm a Trojan!
“Until next time. Talk to you soon.”
Allyson
