Before she became a mega-star, the pop sensation was a promising high school runner.
These days, it seems like everybody is talking about “your favorite artist’s favorite artist,” the Grammy-nominated Chappell Roan. Elle is speculating on her second album. HuffPost has analyzed the hug that irrefutably proves there’s no beef over SNL’s Moo Deng sketch. America: The Jesuit Review is comparing her to Pope Francis because…why not?
And now, Chappell Roan is even being discussed here in Runner’s World. And no, it’s not just because most of the tracks off The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess would make for an excellent running playlist.
Rather, we took notice that running plays a huge part in Chappell Roan’s live shows. Roan will frequently jog in place amidst performing her hits like “Hot To Go!” without missing a beat. Fans of hers on TikTok have often remarked about the sheer physical stamina such an active performance style requires, and Roan hasn’t been shy about acknowledging the work that goes into it.
In one video, Roan notes that “it is very hard,” and that her preparation for her tour involved “two months of cardio vocal training, every day running the set while jump roping or HIIT workout.”
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But Roan’s history with running reaches back long before she was prepping for the Midwest Princess tour. In fact, the Missourian girl who would one day earn herself a Best New Artist Grammy nomination was at one time a high school cross-country standout.
According to MileSplit, Willard High School’s Kayleigh Amstutz—the artist soon-to-be known as Chappell Roan—ran her 5K personal best of 20:06.96 during her freshman year at a sectional meet in 2012. That qualified her for the Missouri State Cross-Country Championships as an individual, where she ran 22:03.85 to finish in 149th place. A MileSplit photo gallery offers a rare glimpse of a pre-Midwest Princess Roan (bib 853) in action.
Roan competed in cross-country through her junior year, running in a few track meets along the way. She’s listed as having PRs of 7:00.12 for 1600 meters and 3:07.03 in the 800 meters.
But running, eventually, took a back seat to music. Roan graduated high school a year early to focus on performing, according to Biography.com, and at 17, she signed to Atlantic Records, launching her on a path to fame.
Roan, now 26, has since earned countless fans across the world—including runners, like this guy, who ran 74 kilometres on a route inspired by her breakout album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
