A few months ago I wrote Make it Possible, Then Make it Normal, in which I described unceremoniously running my 3,000th mile of 2025 nearly two months before the year concluded. While I didn’t have a total mileage goal for the year, after hitting 3,000 with time to spare I naturally locked on to trying to reach 3,500. I crossed the threshold on December 30th, 2025 and finished with a final tally of 3,507.9 miles.
Reaching 3,500 miles was perhaps the least eventful running milestone in the last two months of the year. What I didn’t mention in that post was that I had two marathons remaining in 2025, and I had come into the year with a goal of getting a qualifying entry to the Boston Marathon in 2027.
The Wild World of Major Marathon Qualification Link to heading
World major marathon entry is quite confusing for those who are not well versed in the sport. Part of the issue is that every marathon has a slightly different process, with multiple avenues to being able to actually run in the race. Most races have some allotment of slots for runners with “qualifying times”. To get one of these slots, a runner has to run a fast enough time in a race where the course has been certified as eligible for qualification. Typically around a year before the race, qualifying standards for the various permutations of gender and age group are released and there is a window in which runners have an opportunity to achieve the standard, then apply for entry.
In the United States, there are three world majors: Boston, Chicago, and New York City. Chicago has the most straightforward process: they set a qualifying time and essentially everyone who qualifies gets entry into the race. For example, when I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2024 the qualifying time for my age group (Men / 16-34) was 3:05. I had run a 3:03 at the Ventura Marathon in 2023, which was within the qualifying window for Chicago 2024.
Boston and New York City are more complicated. They similarly set a qualifying time, but based on the number of people that apply as qualifiers, they will cut the time further and a fairly large number of people who “qualified” won’t actually get to run. Over the past few years, the qualifying and subsequent cutoff times have been dropping precipitously. For example, the qualifying time for the Chicago Marathon for the Men / 16-34 group in 2026 is 2:50 — 15 minutes faster than what I had to run to qualify in 2024!
Boston released the 2026 and 2027 qualifying times together, with the Men / 16-34 time set at 2:55. Because I was targeting 2027, I had the benefit of seeing what the cutoff time ended up being for 2026 (4 minutes and 34 seconds). I knew going into these last two races that I would almost certainly need to be running sub-2:50, and that every second that I could shave off would be valuable.
The Richmond Marathon (November 15, 2025) Link to heading
Considering I had come into the year with my PR sitting at just over 2:55 (my time from Chicago in 2024), running sub-2:50 would be quite the stretch. I had already run one marathon in 2025, and it was a brutal experience. Due to a very busy Spring, I had signed up for the Jackson River Marathon in Virginia in June. Anyone who has spent any time in the Southeast United States knows that June is not the time you want to be attempting to PR a marathon. I ran a 3:03, which wasn’t too bad considering the conditions, but I left that race wondering if my performance in Chicago had been a fluke.
Nevertheless, I had a strong Fall season and a decent build towards the Richmond Marathon in November. Richmond is not the easiest course, but the race is known for being well organized (it is literally referred to as “America’s Friendliest Marathon”) and relatively fast. We had a good crew from my local Durham running group, Monday Night Track Club (MNTC), heading up together, with some folks running the full and others opting for the half. My wife, Katie, also made the trip, and getting to see her at the end is always the best part of any race.
A lot of things went right in Richmond on November 15th. The weather was perfect: cold, but not cold enough to require wearing multiple layers. I started the race alone, but saw a group of Durham folks from Bull City Track Club, another local run group, ahead fairly early on in the race. I made a somewhat risky decision to pick up the pace to catch up and stick onto their pack. They had run Richmond in the past and were able to provide realtime advice on pacing and race strategy. Chatting with them made the miles pass quickly.
Fueling, an area I have historically struggled in, also went fairly well. I used my typical strategy of taking a Maurten gel every ~3-4 miles, but supplemented them with some chews about halfway through, and half of a banana with about 10k to go. I think the latter saved me from cramping, which is what had derailed me more than a year ago in Chicago.
Independent of time, one of my goals for the year was to feel strong at the end of a marathon. In the past, I’ve had races where I totally fell apart down the stretch, but even in the races where my pace remained steady, I still crossed the finish line feeling like I was about to collapse. I was ready for the same grind over the last few miles at Richmond, but I kept bringing down my pace and the pain never came. With around 2 miles left, I finally let myself believe that it was just going to be a good day.
As I came in towards the extremely steep finish of the Richmond course, I saw Katie and my friends who had already completed the half marathon. As they cheered me on, all I could do was smile and try not to let too much of the disbelief I was feeling inside show on my face. I crossed the finish line and stopped, but for the first time it wasn’t because I felt like I couldn’t take another step. As I looked down at my watch, a year of long runs and tough races played on fast-forward in my mind.
2:47.
Katie’s signs remain undefeated.
Richmond Marathon Pacing
| Mile | Pace (m:ss) | Elevation (ft) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:42 | 27 |
| 2 | 6:34 | -4 |
| 3 | 6:32 | -7 |
| 4 | 6:38 | 32 |
| 5 | 6:30 | -5 |
| 6 | 6:28 | 18 |
| 7 | 6:28 | -111 |
| 8 | 6:33 | -32 |
| 9 | 6:34 | -6 |
| 10 | 6:40 | 56 |
| 11 | 6:22 | -20 |
| 12 | 6:32 | 83 |
| 13 | 6:19 | -20 |
| 14 | 6:18 | -45 |
| 15 | 6:18 | -62 |
| 16 | 6:23 | 71 |
| 17 | 6:21 | 39 |
| 18 | 6:25 | 33 |
| 19 | 6:07 | -32 |
| 20 | 6:12 | 12 |
| 21 | 6:07 | -2 |
| 22 | 6:08 | -10 |
| 23 | 6:17 | -5 |
| 24 | 6:09 | -22 |
| 25 | 6:07 | 14 |
| 26 | 5:59 | -36 |
| 26.2 | 5:25 | -90 |
The Rocket City Marathon (December 14, 2025) Link to heading
It is typically not advisable to run marathons less than a month apart, but one of my closest friends, Avery, was building to his first marathon after running the half at Richmond, and I couldn’t turn down the chance to try to go sub-2:45 before the year ended. The Huntsville “Rocket City” Marathon is one of the last races of the Fall season, with the typically mild Alabama December weather and relatively flat terrain providing a great environment for fast times.
Unfortunately, the weather was absolutely brutal. At the start line, the temperature was 24 degrees Fahrenheit, but high velocity winds made the “feels like” temperature a crisp 7 degrees. Somehow, it got even colder throughout the race. To add insult to injury (or perhaps the other way around), by mile 4 my stomach was churning and I badly needed to visit a restroom. I kept going, but the discomfort never went away. My motto going into this race was “give yourself a chance”, so I gritted my teeth and tried to keep 2:45 in range.
One thing that kept me going was getting to see my parents multiple times throughout the race. Huntsville is not too far from Nashville, TN, the city where I grew up. They travelled down to Huntsville with me and Avery, and they provided some much needed encouragement as we trudged our way towards the finish line.
2:45 was not in the cards, but I crossed the finish line at 2:50, a time I felt okay about considering the conditions. Most of all, it made me feel like Richmond was real, and that with more work I could eventually get to 2:45. Making the day even better, Avery had an awesome marathon debut, and we were able to commiserate about how terrible it was to run directly into a headwind for the last 2 miles.
Avery and I after finishing the Rocket City Marathon. It was the first race I had ever run that finished indoors, which, considering the weather, was an extremely welcome quirk.
Rocket City Marathon Pacing
| Mile | Pace (m:ss) | Elevation (ft) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:26 | -4 |
| 2 | 6:20 | 20 |
| 3 | 6:18 | 1 |
| 4 | 6:26 | -1 |
| 5 | 6:24 | 19 |
| 6 | 6:27 | 10 |
| 7 | 6:11 | 15 |
| 8 | 6:20 | -32 |
| 9 | 6:18 | 31 |
| 10 | 6:17 | 16 |
| 11 | 6:18 | -23 |
| 12 | 6:17 | -20 |
| 13 | 6:18 | -10 |
| 14 | 6:16 | -27 |
| 15 | 6:13 | -9 |
| 16 | 6:22 | 14 |
| 17 | 6:16 | 29 |
| 18 | 6:24 | 0 |
| 19 | 6:16 | 12 |
| 20 | 6:17 | -30 |
| 21 | 6:22 | -18 |
| 22 | 6:24 | 31 |
| 23 | 6:38 | -7 |
| 24 | 6:39 | -39 |
| 25 | 6:43 | -4 |
| 26 | 6:27 | 14 |
| 26.2 | 6:07 | 3 |
Looking Ahead to 2026 Link to heading
So where to go from here? Durham received some exciting news at the end of 2025 with the announcement of the Garmin Durham Marathon, which will take place in May 2026. Outside of that, I’ll be back for a sixth year at the Blue Ridge Relay, then I’m headed back to Chicago in October! Though it is incredibly unlikely I will make the very aggressive cutoff time for New York City, I’ll cross my fingers and apply as a qualifier. Then it’ll be time to turn my attention to Boston in 2027.
I would consider 2025 somewhat of a breakthrough year for me when it comes to running, which is interesting considering that life outside of running was generally pretty hard and chaotic. Running is certainly not the only way to learn more about yourself, but it is surely one of the most visceral. I think with so many things feeling like they were outside of my control in 2025, running offered a respite where I could continue to explore the limits of what is possible. Running past, or even running headlong into my limits is where I find some of my greatest joy in life.
Running is a privilege, and I’m incredibly grateful to all of the people in my life that make it possible and run alongside me. Andrei, Ethan, Avery, Alex, Katelyn, Karen, Xander, Langston, Paul, Jules… there are too many to name. Most of all, thank you to Katie. Because of you, I never explore alone.