Archives: PNC's Kelly McQueen Gets After It!

Approaching her 40th birthday and with a set of personal bests gathering some dust, Kelly McQueen, a Senior Vice President for PNC Bank, the Women Run the Cities presenting sponsor, decided recently it was time to get after it again.

“Running sub-1:30 in the half marathon has always been a goal,” Kelly told The Connection. “I decided to pursue it with gusto now for several reasons – working from home gave me new flexibility on when I can work out, I have a milestone birthday in 2021, and I felt ready for the mental and physical challenge.”

As you might expect from a fast-rising banking executive who the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal has noted among their 40 Under 40, Kelly isn’t undertaking the challenge of bettering a 1:33 half marathon PR and a 3:27 marathon best in a slipshod manner. She’s doing so with the help of a coach with an Olympic pedigree – perhaps you've heard of her -- Carrie Tollefson.

“Carrie and I were reacquainted approximately two years ago when PNC asked her to be a motivational speaker and brand ambassador,” Kelly remembered. “Carrie is a world-class athlete with expertise in training to be your best as a runner. This combined with the fact that, like me, Carrie is busy, made her the perfect person to push me to “get after it”, while understanding the need to balance all the demands on our time – running, family, work, etc.”

The pair began their coaching partnership in May, in the midst of the corornavirus pandemic, necessitating a largely virtual relationship centered on a Google Docs training calendar, Garmin readouts, and text messaging.

“I am thankful for Carrie and her dedication to my success,” Kelly said. “She provides weekly workouts well in advance and touches base regularly to encourage/motivate me. Because of Carrie’s plan, I am definitely pushing myself harder, faster, and further than I would if I were running without her support.”

The Olympian, who has added coaching services to everything else she does in the sport, appreciates the relationship too.

“Kelly is willing to work hard, push her personal boundaries, and is laser focused, but she is flexible in a way that allows for this to be fun and motivating every week for her,” Carrie said. “It makes my job easy during these tough times. I maybe can't "see" her smile, unless on FaceTime or Zoom, but I can "hear" her smile and that ... is why I do this!”

An initial test of Kelly’s progress will come with a 10K run at the virtual Twin Cities Orthopedics’ Women Run the Cities, presented by PNC Bank in September, where she hopes to see development toward her half-marathon goal.  She plans a similar test effort at the virtual Medtronic TC 10 Mile in October ahead of her PR attempt at the Rock and Roll Phoenix Half Marathon in January. An attempt to improve her marathon PR is penciled into Kelly’s busy schedule – did we mention she’s a member of Twin Cities In Motion’s Board of Directors, too? -- for the 40th Anniversary Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in 2021.

And what would punctuating this journey with two sparkling new personal bests mean to Kelly?

“Any time you set a goal and achieve it, there is an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and joy,” she said. “I’ve benefited from hard work and preparation in both my athletic and work life and I feel that with Carrie’s support, I’m on that same “path to success” again. PRs in both races would prove to myself once again that I am capable of achieving my goals. It would motivate me to continue to set aggressive goals, not just in running, but my work and personal life as well.”

This article originally appeared in The Connection in June 2020 , TCM's weekly e-newsletter. Subscribe here.

Photo: Kelly (right) running with Carrie in 2020.