You may recognize Erica Weitz running through all the downtown Orlando neighborhoods.
- Erica Weitz raced for UCF Track from 2006-2009
- Weitz coached and taught classes at Wekiva High School from 2015-2018
- Qualified for U.S. Olympic Trials clocking 2:41:54 at Houston Marathon
“Running is something that I’ve always loved ever since I was young. And it’s also something that I knew I could be good at,” Weitz explained.
She started running when she was four years old. And now the Orlando resident has turned her passion into a fulltime business (Run With Erica) and competes full-time running in distance races.
“She’s really enthusiastic about running and it’s almost like it’s contagious,” Jasmine Tracey, who trains with Erica said. “So I get excited when I am going into a track workout.”
Before finding her stride, the UCF track alumna, worked as a high school teacher and track coach in Orange County for a few years. But last May she left her job.
“I started to feel a little bit burnt out and I wanted to see how I can maximize my potential in running and I figured that there was something else I could do that was going to make me a better runner and do what I love at the same time,” Weitz explained.
Erica wanted to keep chasing down her own goals of qualifying for the US Olympic trials; so she tightened up her diet, hired a new coach and saw the results on her stop watch.
“Just everything that I did was with the intention of racing, how is this going to affect my race? How is this going to help me qualify?” Weitz said of her training.
After falling short the last three years, the payoff came a couple weekends ago in Houston.
“When I crossed the line I couldn’t believe that I had now not only reached my goal but exceeded my goal and I know there is so much to come after this goal,” Weitz said of the race.
Erica set a new personal record, shedding three minutes and 30 seconds off her best marathon time in that race. The 30-year old clocking in at 2:41:54 and qualifying for the US Olympic Trials.
“I was crying my eyes out, getting emotional over her doing this incredible thing,” Tracey said of watching her coach cross the finish line.
“For most runners that is a big dream goal to achieve so it was so amazing to watch that all unfold.”
The entrepreneur is building herself back up to an elite level and inspiring all those around.
She’s got a lot of confidence going into those Olympic trials next March in Atlanta.
“Running the trials would be an amazing experience but now I am thinking –my ranking out of all the girls that have qualified for the trials is a higher than I thought it would be,” Weitz explained. “Now my goal is to work towards breaking 2:40 that would be my next goal.
Perseverance proving to be Erica’s crutch as she looks to shed even more time off her marathon time and make a run at representing the United States in the 2020 Tokyo games.