Marathon mark falls in Houston after 15 years
Keira D’Amato’s transformation into U.S. marathon record holder is maybe the most stunning story in American sports right now.
If you haven’t heard of her, consider:
After a mostly obscure college career at American University and an even less decorated attempt to make it as a pro, D’Amato quit running for eight years.
She spent those years having two children and growing her career as a real estate agent (which she still has not quit).
She only returned to running in 2017 because she signed her husband up for a marathon as a prank.
As late as February 2020, she was still an also-ran among the ranks of American marathoners, finishing just 15th at the Olympic Trials.
She signed her first-ever professional contact at the age of 36 last February. Now, she’s the fastest American woman ever in the marathon, breaking a record that stood for more than 15 years. Her 2:19:12 at Sunday’s Houston Marathon broke Deena Kastor’s 2006 mark by 24 seconds.
Maybe the most impressive part of her record, though, is that she called her shot weeks ago. “I know the American record. I know what that is,” she said in December. “If I’m around 2:20 shape, we’ll definitely go for it. If I’m close enough, I’ll go for it and see what happens — if everything goes well this month, if I’m in a position where I think that’s a good goal.”
D’Amato’s record run didn’t come out of nowhere. She started making a name for herself in late 2020, when she set an American record for 10 miles (51:23) and ran a 2:22 marathon to mark herself as one of the best long-distance runners in the country.
But 2:19 is on another planet; only a handful of women break 2:20 every year. D’Amato was blown away by it on Sunday.
“I keep checking it to make sure that that’s what I ran,” she said. “I just can’t believe it. I’m really tired but I’m really, really happy… It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can chase your dreams. I am so fortunate to have a family that supported that.”