Each week, the Record (using a script in R) randomly selects a student at the College for our One in Two Thousand feature, excluding current Record board members. This week, Berit Olsson ’24 discussed her motivational tactics in both studying astrophysics and completing ultramarathons, as well as her progress on her Williams bucket list. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Max Billick (MB): I heard you’re an avid marathon runner.
Berit Olsson (BO): I started getting into distance running during COVID. It was like, you know, “What do I do with all this time?” I think it’s just something about pushing my body to these limits that seem really impossible, but then they really are possible. It’s kind of beautiful and really fun. Whenever I feel like, [in] other areas of my life, I can’t do things, it’s good proof that I can do really hard things.
MB: What is the hardest marathon you’ve run?
BO: I ran a [50-mile] ultramarathon in the fall, so that was definitely the hardest. It was in Vermont, and it was a trail run, so there was lots of elevation. But it was really fun.
MB: I saw that you’re also an astrophysics major. How did you decide to major in that?
BO: I came here planning on being a physics major, and I found physics pretty tough. I wanted more of an application. I was like, “You know what, let’s just do it — let’s just major in something that sounds really scary, and maybe it’s not so scary.” Turns out it is a little scary, but I’m too far in now to stop. [Laughs.]
MB: Are the motivational tactics for studying astrophysics similar to running an ultramarathon?
BO: Yes! Oh my gosh. Studying astronomy gives me this very out-of-body perspective on the world, and I love it. It makes me remember that, when I’m struggling, those things are small and we are all a part of this bigger, beautiful, picture of some sort — and I just love that. I feel the same way when I do really long runs. You’re in this pain cave, and you realize that the world is so much more than the pain you’re experiencing right now. It’s just beautiful, very personal, yet very out-of-body at the same time. I do find a lot of similarities between the two.
MB: So more astrophysicists should run 50-mile ultramarathons!
BO: I think so — I recommend it.
MB: I did some internet sleuthing, and I found your page for the College’s cycling team — tell me about that!
BO: I’m actually one of the captains of our cycling team. I started biking in high school — it was sort of the way I bonded with my father. I think it took us a while to become friends, you know, but we got it through biking.
I think freshman year, especially, there wasn’t a whole lot to do because of the [COVID-19] restrictions on campus. [Biking] was one of the ways I was able to get off campus, which was really nice. And it’s just really fun. Our team is small, but I’m pretty close with everyone on the team. The other captains, Ray Wang [’25] and Juliet Berton [’25] are my really close friends. I don’t think I would have become as close with them if it weren’t for biking, so I’m grateful for that.
MB: Is there anything else you’d like the College community to know?
BO: I’m recently a Goodrich barista, which is pretty exciting. I have applied to Goodrich, like, five times and they rejected me time after time. And this past time, I just decided, “You know, don’t hold back.” So I submitted, like, eight selfies of me drinking coffee. And it seemed to work: They decided to hire me for my last semester. But hey, that’s pretty exciting! What else? I am also taking a bunch of art classes right now.
MB: What prompted the art classes?
BO: Again, I’ve tried to take a lot of art classes, and I kept getting rejected from them. But then, I think, because I’m a senior, they let me into the classes this year. So I got into two of them and I was like, “Alright, I guess I’ll take them both!”
MB: It sounds like you’re using the fact that it’s your last semester to really make a lot of progress on your Williams bucket list!
BO: Yeah, I think my big piece of advice to the last-semester seniors is: It’s a golden ticket!
