Because of her finish in the recent Cellcom Marathon, Anna Gruesen, a senior here at Notre Dame, qualified for the Boston Marathon on April 17, 2023.

Gruesen started training for the Cellcom race in January but had only started long distance running this past year. 

“For most of my life and high school career, I have been a sprinter and I would only run a max of 400 meters. After running with the cross country team during this past summer, I truly fell in love with long-distance running,” she said. 

During the pandemic Gruesen used running as an outlet to relieve stress and just ended up falling in love with the sport. 

When she runs cross country, she runs with a big group of teammates, but when she is training for her longer marathon runs, her mom rides her bike next to her with energy gels and her water. 

“To me, running is like ‘moving meditation’ and helps me clear my mind. It makes me feel accomplished and ready to tackle whatever the day brings me,” said explained.

Gruesen tries to keep her pace at about an eight-minute mile, and her average pace was 7 minutes and 41 seconds. 

In order to qualify for the Boston Marathon in her age category, you have to be able to run a 3 hours and 30 minute marathon. Gruesen’s time in the recent Green Bay Cellcom Marathon was 3 hours and 20 minutes, 10 minutes faster than the qualifying time. 

At the time of the race Gruesen will be in Boston attending Boston University. 

She continues to train and is excited for the big race coming up in April 2023.