37-year-old realtor who quit running for 8 years smashes American marathon record
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 over 15 years. Her 2:19:12 at Sunday’s Houston Marathon breaks 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 on Sunday 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 after breaking the record and winning the race by 10 minutes. “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.”
In the half-marathon at the same event, 38-year-old Sara Hall also broke the American record, matching her husband’s still standing U.S. mark run on the same course in 2007. Hall ran 67:15, just under two minutes behind winner Vicoty Chepngeno. Hall showered praise on D’Amato after her performance. “It’s incredible. It was just so awesome to see her back here,” she said of D’Amato. “We were both in tears. Her story’s so inspiring. I think what’s special about this moment for both of us today — we both have kids, we both have a lot going on in our lives, and I think people can relate to that, all the masses out there today.”
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