Rising Stars: Meet Bérénice Cleyet-Merle of Nashville American Track League Meet

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bérénice Cleyet-merle.

Alright, thank you for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us how you got started?
I am à track and field athlete and am from France. Six years ago, at 20 years old, I left France alone to fulfill my athletic dream in the U.S. Today, I am an international-level athlete. I have 2 master’s degrees (psychology and MBA). I can say that my American dream came true! Recently I won the 800m in 2’022’02 at the Music City Carnival in Nashville, part of the American Track League Pro Tour.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you overcome?
It wasn’t a smooth road. I had to face injuries, burnout, and Covid. I had the runner knee for a year, like any runner, and a sprained ankle that lasted 2 months. An injury is always hard for a runner because it itches you to run, but your body doesn’t let you. The hardest is to stay patient if you don’t want to make it worst. However, burnout is the opposite; your body is fine, but somehow your performances are stuck, and the more you push, the more your performances drop. I had two, one after a heartbreak. It took me two years to recover and come back to my level. My second one was due to too much pressure I would put on myself. I pushed through sickness and fatigue, stopped listening to myself, and paid for it with lower performances. Covid has been tough. We were at national the day before. We did our pre-race at the track and were excited and ready to go to bed and run the day after. I was seeded for the win. But our coach told us that the championships were canceled because of Covid, we had a hard tone to believe it, but that’s it. I lost a whole year to Covid.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a runner. I am a specialist in the 800 meters, 1500 meters, and the mile. I am the French national record holder and the D2 NCAA national record holder in the mile. My work is to run. It has its ups and downs. For example, I could lose my job if I get injured or don’t run fast. My job is also 24/7, with no weekends, no end of the day. But the ups are that napping is part of my job, and I get to travel the world and live off my passion.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
I recommend Strava! For any from any level, this app tracks your activity and connects you with other runners; you can create or run other people’s « segment,» which can be, for example, « 6th street,» a 300 feet part of your run where you can see every user of the app that ran it, their time and your rank. If you beat the time, you get the crown. There is also a reward for the people that run the most a route. All of it makes you more motivated to run and makes it fun!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @berenice.cleyet

Image Credits
Bilal Aouffen Abby Miller France Olympique