Six months ago, doctors told Boulder Running Company/adidas elite runner Tera Moody that she "may never run the same again."

Moody, 30, of Colorado Springs, needed bunion surgery and there were no guarantees for full recovery. But Moody had other ideas. With only a few months to train for the biggest race of her life - so far - she went to work. Last week at the World Track and Field Championships in Daegu, Korea, she proved that she can run with the planet's best distance runners.

Moody finished 17th in the marathon with a time of 2:32:04, only 67 seconds off her personal best, and 2:50 off the world podium. So much for bunion surgery.

We tracked her down in Daegu. Here is a quick interview.

You were injured this year, lost some valuable training time, but still battled back to run 2:32:04, finish 17th and lead the American women at worlds. How does that feel?

I feel great about my performance at worlds. I had  major foot surgeries in the beginning of February and couldn't run for four months. Some doctors I consulted with said I might never run the same again. I guess there can be a lot of complications with bunion surgery. It was a long recovery process but running worlds was very important to me and I worked incredibly hard to stay in shape. I was getting physical therapy almost every day and doing a lot of exercises. I spent a ton of time on a stationary bike. I think that was actually really beneficial because it was great heat training. You don't get any breeze on those things and it gets really hot.

We read that you ran with the lead pack for much of the race at worlds. What was that like?
The race was an awesome experience. I felt really good almost the whole way. There were a couple of rough patches in the last few miles but no major wall or anything. The air felt really thick and it was definitely hot out there. But I had a ton of fun. I was a little frustrated by the super slow pace we started at so I just ran my own race and went to the front at times. A lot of the women would surge then slow down but I just tried to stay relaxed and consistent in my pace. So sometimes I would be at the front and when they surged I would be out the back.

At some point you fell of the pace a little. What happened?
I didn't really fall off the pace. I actually had a negative split by almost two minutes. My first half was 1:16:49 and my second was 1:15:15. I am really happy with those splits. The front runners ran an even bigger negative split but I wasn't ready for that. I want to get to the point where I can do that and I hope to keep improving. Having a foot that works much more efficiently should really help. 

What moment about your world championship experience will you always remember?
The entire world championships has been absolutely amazing. I am having the best time!  I'm so honored to be here representing my country in such a major event. I'm so thankful to be back to racing and really just trying to soak everything up. The race has been the major highlight but I have also really enjoyed watching the track events and hanging out with the other women on the marathon team and meeting new people. My parents even came all the way over for the meet. We made it on Korean TV while we were doing an herbal foot bath.

Now it's on to the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Januray. The top three earn a place on the U.S. Olympic team. What do you need to do to make that happen?
My main goal is to make the Olympic team and I feel pretty good about my chances. It's going to be extremely competitive this year. But I feel like I have a lot of room for improvement especially after coming off such a long break. If I can stay healthy and get some more miles on my legs between now and January I think that will put me in a good position.

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VIDEO: Interview with Tera following win in Top Ten race

More about Tera:

Moody lives in Colorado Springs, is coached by Brad Hudson of Boulder and owns TLM Properties (a rental company). She runs for hours on the treadmill at 24 Hour Fitness and enjoys training with her Boulder Running Company teammates in the Garden of the Gods, Palmer Park and on Gold Camp Road. 

Her personal best in the half marathon is 1:12:30. Her best 5K is 16:14. She finished fifth at the 2008 U.S. marathon trials, was the Big 12 champion in the 10,000 as a freshman at the University of Colorado. She is also a two-time Illinois High School gold medalist in the mile run.