At 32, elite Boston marathoner Katie Kellner hits her stride

It’s hard to imagine Katie Kellner working as a biostatistician, probably because it’s almost incomprehensible how she could sit still for so many hours.

The Boston-based elite runner is preparing for her second Boston Marathon, just six weeks after competing in the Olympic marathon trials. At the peak of his training, Kellner runs about 110 miles per week. Normally, that looks like two major workouts and 12-16 cool miles on his “easy” days.

But there was never really a time when Kellner was not move forward at full speed.

“When she was excited as a child, she would just run around the house. She was making this circle around a few pieces that were all connected,” said Kellner’s father, Steve. “In general, she wasn’t a great walker. She has always been a runner.

Still, as a shy seventh-grader, Kellner’s parents had to push her to join the cross-country team. After she hid the extracurricular activity form from them the year before – despite being a self-proclaimed “rule follower” – they insisted she try a sport.

When Steve asked his daughter how tryouts went after the first practice of the year, Kellner responded “good” with a shrug.

However, Steve and his wife, Anne, would learn that their eldest had done much better than she let on. Kellner finished as the team’s top girl, setting the tone for what would be a highly accomplished career as an elite runner and coach over the next 20 years.

“She was pretty good at running from the start,” Steve said. “And it’s something that she showed a lot of passion and enjoyment for from the beginning.”

The 32-year-old would also admit that her career — something she never planned to pursue, even running cross country at Cornell University — is rooted in a true love of the sport.

“When I was a kid and started running, my dad always told me before every race that it didn’t matter if I won, it was a successful day if I had fun,” Kellner said. “That’s what running has always been for me. There was never that pressure to race at certain times or to get certain places. It’s always about having fun. »

Steve vaguely remembers instilling that mindset in a young Kellner, but he never knew how deeply that advice resonated. To this day, he says his daughter maintains the same calm and confidence every time she crosses the finish line – win or lose.

In his 11 years in the professional field, Kellner has had far more successful races than not. After graduating from Cornell in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in human biology and health, she jumped straight into the world of elite running.

The triple marathon Olympic Trials qualifier completed her most recent appearance on the world stage last month, placing 37th overall with a time of 2:36:07. Her qualifying performance at the Berlin Marathon in September, where she finished fourth fastest woman, was another accolade to add to her long list of achievements.

“She always loved to compete,” Steve said. “She always managed to have a lot of fun with it and I think that contributed a lot to her dedication to the sport and her coaching career.”

Kellner’s coaching company, Forward Focus Running, was launched in 2018 while she was running professionally and earning her master’s degree in public health from Boston University. When the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown hit Boston exactly two weeks before the marathon runner was set to start her first post-college job as a biostatistician, fate continued to push Kellner to pursue running full time .

Back home in West Windsor, New Jersey, the pandemic continued to strain her remote public health work. However, at the same time, the opposite was happening in his side hustles.

“As the pandemic went on, I was getting all these requests from customers because more and more people were running,” Kellner said. “I had to refuse because I was doing this job that I didn’t really like doing. It kind of crossed my mind like, “Maybe I could do coaching full time,” and I ended up quitting the biostatistics job and going all in.

Today, Kellner personally trains about 60 clients and has had to hire additional trainers to accommodate more runners.

“Everything went well,” she said, laughing.

Kellner’s longevity as a professional athlete and coach – a world that can be all-consuming for some – is undoubtedly attributed to his adaptability and affection for his sport. Even after her first marathon in 2016 (at the Olympic Trials, no less), Kellner never imagined herself competing at this level again.

“You can do this for a while.” I feel like that’s a question that maybe Katie, 40, should ask Katie, 32,” she said, reflecting on what she wishes she could say to herself after his higher education.

“It’s crazy to look at this now, eight years later, and I’m still doing this. Even doing this at a higher level than at 24. And I was far from finished at 24. So just to relieve some of that anxiety of like, “You can keep doing this.” You may be doing this in a different way – you may not be part of such a structured team. But there are so many ways to continue playing this sport and competing at a high level for a long time. »

Kellner tries to guide the runners she coaches — who range from new 5K runners to professionals — by relying on the same advice her father gave her nearly two decades ago. Ahead of this year’s Boston Marathon, Kellner encourages his athletes to get back to basics.

“Having fun is very controllable. You can’t control whether you win first place. You can’t control how others train. To some extent you can’t control if you get injured or the weather is bad and you can’t run for a while,” Kellner said. “There are so many things about time and goals that are beyond your control. But having fun is largely within your control and I think a lot of times when you’re having fun you tend to run well and do a good job. This is a common thing I say to many of my athletes.

When Kellner steps up to the starting line Monday morning, she’ll have the same goal she always has: just enjoy the ride. And after crossing the finish line a little more than two hours later to reunite with her family, she will celebrate the race with a burger (and a side of satisfaction).