The Art of Transformation

In an interview for Marie Claire, Pappas discussed the best and worst parts of being an elite athlete, her shift from being a professional athlete to a professional storyteller, and her advice to others who are navigating uncommon career paths.

One revealing snippet: “I weighed 108 pounds at the Olympics. I'm much bigger now. My body changed and it was really hard for me at first because I looked bizarre in the clothes that used to look really good and I felt bizarre. What I had to do was start to get comfortable with myself naked and be like... I'm choosing this because I'm not running 120 miles a week. Once I got comfortable with the choice of lifestyle, I was like, they're just the wrong effing clothes. Change your clothes. If I can stand behind the life choices I'm making as a whole, how can I be upset about not running five seconds faster or…even five minutes even close to my PR right now? I believe in the life I'm choosing.”