Dana Giordano is July Athlete of the Month

Dana Giordano (Boston Athletic Association/Boston, MA) is the USATF-New England (USATF-NE) Athlete of the Month for July 2020. On July 18, Dana competed in the MVMNT Race Series in Shrewsbury, MA, the first sanctioned track meet in New England since February and won the 1500m with a time of 4:10.79, not far off her personal best..
 
Dana achieved success early in her career. During her time at Bernards High School in Bernardsville, NJ, she was an All-American in the 2 mile and 3200m, while also winning an individual state championship in the latter. 
 
At Dartmouth College, Giordano was a cross country captain, three-time All-American, and seven-time Ivy League Champion. She also left her mark in the history books, setting school records in the indoor mile (4:36.57) and 3000m (9:07.28).
 
Since graduating from Dartmouth with a degree in psychology in 2016, Dana has continued to pursue her career as a runner. In 2018, she finished 10th in the 1500m at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in a time of 4:16.76. Since then, she has continued to make improvements, reaching personal bests of 4:08.62 in the 1500 and 8:55.14 in the 3000m.  Dana joined the BAA’s High Performance team, which aims to help athletes towards the goal of competing in the Olympic Games and IAAF World Championships.
 
Outside of her racing career, Dana Giordano launched her podcast, “More Than Running”, earlier this year. In her podcast, she interviews some of track and field’s most inspiring women, including those who influence the sport both on and off the track.
 
USATF-NE spoke with Dana about her accomplishments. 
 
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USATF-NE: Why did you decide to join the BAA?
 
DG: I was working full-time prior to joining the BAA, and I was really looking to be a part of a team that has a larger support system. I really liked how the BAA was a non-profit, because it has races and other events rather than just being a professional team because it was really important for me to be involved in the larger community. I also loved the history of the organization and all the work that they do in the greater Boston area, so I felt that it was just a really good fit for me. 
 
USATF-NE: You did some altitude training earlier this year in Flagstaff, Arizona with athletes including Olympic Marathon qualifier Molly Seidel. Do you have any other places where you like to train?
 
DG: Flagstaff was actually my first altitude camp in January. We were hoping to go back, but obviously things changed a little bit. I went out to Park City this summer and I really loved it out there, but I honestly do love training in New England. I would say my favorite place to train is at Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire.
 
USATF-NE: What do you consider to be your most memorable performance?
 
DG: Recently, my most memorable performance was definitely at BU this winter. I had a very challenging 2019 with some injury issues. It was my first professional season and I wasn’t very successful, so running a 3k time [of 8:51.71] that I think it was—well, obviously because the season was cut short—I think 25th in the world for this indoor season made me feel like I could be internationally competitive. It was definitely a huge accomplishment for me this indoor season. 
 
USATF-NE: Do you have a goal you’re working towards right now?
 
DG: Right now, with things being super strange, I’m just trying to work on my mental skills and being present in the daily training, and just kinda trying to shift all efforts towards the Olympic trials in 2021 and whatever route that takes us down because things are really weird right now, so just trying to stay healthy
 
USATF-NE: What motivated you to start your podcast, “More Than Running”?
 
DG: The podcast is super important to me because I felt like we hear a lot of stories from the same number of people, and you don’t get to hear a lot of diversity in voices. Through being in the sport, I’ve had the opportunity to meet such phenomenal women, and I wanted to create a platform where I could share their stories to a wider audience.
 
USATF-NE: You often close your podcast by asking your guests what they want their legacy as a runner to be. What do you want your legacy to be?
    
DG: I always go back to the same Maya Angelou quote, “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I want to be known as an inspirational athlete who encouraged people to use running as a way to make their daily lives better. Obviously I’d like to have some great personal performances, but at the end of the day, I would like to be known as a high-quality person who made a difference in others’ lives