Tristin Colley began her running career nearly 15 years ago at the Boston Marathon. As a young girl she went to Boston to watch her aunt and when her aunt ran by late in the race Tristin decided to jump in and finish with her. Tristin’s full circle moment will occur this Monday as she races the (entire) Boston Marathon for the first time.
Ryan Ford will be joining her, just as he did for his stellar debut in New York last fall where he ran 2:11:08, the fastest American debut ever at New York. Similarly to New York, the Boston course presents unique challenges, and with successful experiences in New York both Tristin and Ryan are ready to take on Boston this weekend.
Ryan comes into his 2nd marathon following 2 excellent half marathons this year, a 1:00:59 at Houston and a 1:01:29 performance on the hilly US Half Marathon Championships course. He learned a lot from his debut in New York and has thrived off of a heavier training load for Boston.
Tristin came into New York after struggling for much of 2024 to recover from the Olympic Marathon Trials. She got her legs back under her in New York finishing as the 5th American and 13th overall. She has found her groove in this buildup and is looking forward to putting together the best marathon of her career in Boston.
This year’s race is perhaps the deepest in the history of the Boston Marathon on both the men’s and women’s side. One of the unique aspects, and great equalizers, of both Boston and New York is that there are no pacemakers. That adds an element of uncertainty, which can change the complexion of the race.
In a paced race the athletes know at what pace the groups will form and how the first 25k will unfold. In a pro field with roughly 30 competitors, knowing how the first half is going to play out makes executing your race much easier. When you don’t know what is going to happen around you until after the gun goes off it takes a lot of race savvy to sort things out on the fly.
Finding yourself running alone is a tough place to be, although in a field that small it’s nearly inevitable for portions of the race. One goal is to find a group to run with for a good portion of the race. However, those decisions have to be made quickly as the race unfolds in real time. And while that can create a lot of uncertainty, it also creates opportunity for athletes who are able to navigate that element well. Ryan and Tristin will be looking to put their racing chops on display once again this Monday.
Race Day is Monday, April 21st. For the first time the men’s field will start first at 9:37am with the women following at 9:47am.
The race will be shown live on ESPN2. You can also watch the local ABC stream on the Very Local App. Live tracking is available on the Boston Marathon App.
If you’re running the race, or just looking to glean a little marathon race strategy, check out Coach Ryan’s Boston course strategy here.