In the midst of medical school, Riley Howard nabbed an Olympic Trials Qualifier at the Boston Marathon.
Riley Howard may be a medical student, but he could very well be a professor in marathoning.
The 28-year-old from Anchorage put on a clinic at the 130th Boston Marathon, speeding to a jaw-dropping time of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 37 seconds to place 49th, qualifying for the prestigious U.S. Olympic Trials.
Competing in his fifth marathon, Howard was metronomic in his pursuits, recording virtually identical halves of 1:07:49 and 1:07:48.
The feat is particularly impressive, considering the arduous nature of the Newton Hills and the famed Heartbreak Hill.
“These are the days that remind [me] why I love to run,” shared Howard on social media. “An OTQ (Olympic Trials Qualifier) at Boston?!? Hands down, my best race ever.”
During his Boston debut last spring, Howard recorded the fastest time on the course by an Alaska-based athlete in a then-personal best of 2:22:24.
The Service High graduate continued to make strides at the 26.2-mile distance at the Indianapolis Marathon last fall, chopping off more than five minutes to finish in 2:17:11, despite experiencing back tightness.
And while his back wasn’t one hundred percent during the race, Howard still put together a race for the ages, averaging a sizzling pace of 5:08 per mile.
Riley Howard en route to his show-stopping performance at the Boston Marathon.
“Found a great group who were going for the trials and just rode it for as long as I could, and those miles just clicked off,” said Howard.
Howard becomes the first Alaskan to qualify for the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and first since the 2020, when five athletes made the cut. Times have only gotten faster since then, with the men’s standard lowering from 2:19:00 to 2:16:00.
“Body aches…but definitely going to savor this one for a while,” said Howard, who nabbed the OTQ with 23 seconds to spare. “Doing this while in med school makes it even better.”
One of the keys to his success? Logging over 600 miles at The Dome this winter.
Howard, who ran collegiately at Chadron State and Western Colorado, now owns the fastest time on the course by an Alaskan outright, surpassing Tony Tomsich’s 2:22:11 from 2023. Tomsich, who grew up in Fairbanks, currently resides and trains in Germany.
Howard also moves into No. 3 all-time in Alaska history, trailing only Eagle River’s David Morris — a former American record holder in the marathon — and Anchorage’s Aaron Fletcher, a 2020 Olympic Trials Qualifier.
Alaska Men’s All-Time Marathon
- David Morris, 2:09:32 (10/99)
- Aaron Fletcher, 2:14:45 (10/17)
- Riley Howard, 2:15:37 (4/26)
- Jesse Cherry, 2:16:31 (1/12)
- Tony Tomsich, 2:18:10 (12/23)
- Rick Wilhelm, 2:18:58 (1/93)
- Kris Mueller, 2:19:26 (10/86)
- Matt Adams, 2:20:27 (7/14)
- Will Kimball, 2:21:28 (10/99)
- Michael Wisniewski, 2:22:29 (6/09)
Source: Alaska Sports Report
Breanna Day of Eagle River was the fastest Alaskan woman in the race. The Chugiak High and Murray State graduate clocked a personal-best 2:57:04 to place 399th among women, while logging negative splits of 1:29:11 and 1:27:53.
Marko Cheseto, a former UAA standout who currently resides in Florida, won the T62/T64/T42/T44 para athletics division for the sixth year in a row, clocking 2:56:36. He also doubles as the T62 world record holder in the marathon; his para division (T62) includes athletes who have double amputations below the knee and compete with prostheses.
Marko Cheseto won the T62 para athletics division for the sixth year in a row in Boston.
More than 29,000 finished the Boston Marathon.
Kenya’s John Korir and Sharon Lokedi both defended their titles. Korir erased the course record from 2011 by running 2:01:52, to become the fifth-fastest marathoner in world history. Lokedi, who set the women’s course record last spring, took the win in 2:18:51. Colorado’s Zouhair Talbi set an American best of 2:03:45.
Here’s the place by gender for those who listed Alaska as their home state, in addition to those with Alaska ties:
Boston Marathon
Alaska Finishers
MEN
49) Riley Howard, Anchorage, 2:15:37
563) Uriah Lucas, Petersburg 2:34:12
918) William Aylward, Juneau, 2:37:56
1,452) Cody Priest, Anchorage, 2:41:56
2,124) James Miller, Anchorage, 2:46:18
3,583) Robert Pires, JBER, 2:53:46
4,656) Marko Cheseto, 2:56:36
5,160) Joseph Davis, Eagle River, 2:58:06
9,486) Tyler Rhodes, Nome, 3:12:53
10,541) Mark Curtis, Wasilla, 3:15:58
17,734) John McCall, Chugiak, 3:41:07
19,547) Jared Dimond, Fairbanks, 3:49:01
21,437) Chip Lende, Haines, 3:59:14
21,739) Gregory Finstad, Fairbanks, 4:01:09
24,255) Michael Bergholtz, Kenai, 4:24:51
26,243) Patrick Guilfoyle, Seward, 4:46:38
WOMEN
399) Breanna Day, Eagle River, 2:57:04
669) Ellie Weir, Fairbanks, 3:00:57
772) Abby Stemper, Anchorage, 3:02:28
1,256) Michelle Baxter, 3:07:20
1,416) Mariah Graham, Anchorage, 3:08:35
2,060) Adrianna Dong, Anchorage, 3:13:20
2,177) Evelyn Porras, Anchorage, 3:14:02
2,827) Rya Berrigan, Palmer, 3:18:05
2,927) Sarah Aarons, Anchorage, 3:18:37
3,311) Morgan Lash, Anchorage, 3:20:45
3,845) Lindy Henrick, Wasilla, 3:23:56
4,674) Amanda Day, Eagle River, 3:28:34
7,897) Kari Gondeck, Fairbanks, 3:53:53
8,471) Joanna Hinderberger, Juneau, 3:59:31
8,597) Eva Hall, Anchorage, 4:00:43
9,281) Carma Reed, Anchorage, 4:11:40
10,861) Katie Russell, Eagle River, 4:43:10
Breanna and Amanda Day — a mother-daughter duo — both competed in the Boston Marathon.
