Ben Blankenship, who was a 2016 Olympian in the 1500 meters, where he finished eighth, is making his marathon debut next month.
He’ll run the McKirdy Micro Marathon in Rockland Lake State Park in New York, about 30 miles northwest of New York City, on October 14.
The course is a flat 2.94-mile loop, and it is geared toward athletes trying to run qualifying times for the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials. It promises bottles for all entrants and pacers. Men need to run sub-2:18 to make it to the Trials in February in Orlando.
Blankenship, 34, was for years among the country’s best middle distance runners. He ran personal bests of 3:34.26 for 1500 meters and 3:52.51 for the mile. In 2019, he made the U.S. team for the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, but in subsequent years struggled to stay healthy enough to compete to make U.S. teams.
He told Runner’s World that marathon training suits him. “It’s been a blast,” he said. “We haven’t probably done the most typical or traditional marathon build. We’re really focused on successful big sessions and putting the emphasis on running marathon pace for as long as we can throughout the build.”
Ryan Hall, Blankenship’s coach, has kept his mileage at about 85 miles per week, with one day off each week.
Blankenship says he doesn’t mind going out to run the long, steady efforts that marathon training requires, and 2 hours pass quickly. “I’m really good at not thinking,” he said. “So miles go by really fast. But I’m really dumb. So I’m like, ‘Yeah, I can run 4:55 [per mile pace] for this long!’ Then I’m like, ‘Oh, this is really hard. It’s getting really hard.’”
On Tuesday, Blankenship ran the full marathon distance in training on a bike path south of Springfield, Oregon, where he lives. It took him 2:25, and he ran a significant negative split.
“It’s nice to go out there and say, ‘Okay, I can run 2:25 a little more casual than I thought I could,” he said. “I knew I wanted to go the distance before the race just to see how my body would respond. Everything is a little bit uncharted.”
Blankenship was a Nike athlete for more than 10 years, but he is currently unsponsored, and he is not fooling himself that he’s likely to pick up a sponsor if he has a successful marathon debut.
“Running is still super traditional,” he said. “Especially on the men’s side. You get to a certain age and you kind of become a fossil, a relic. Running brands are still in that niche where you get kind of old and they’re like, ‘Okay! Have a great career! This was awesome.’”
He called many race directors of marathons just to try to get a spot on the starting line, and he was unceremoniously turned down. “We reached out to a bunch of Majors and even smaller marathons,” he said. “Nobody wanted me.
“It’s a weird one,” he continued. “I was really excited to move to the roads and debut in this marathon and I’m super fortunate that McKirdy set up this Micro Marathon, otherwise I don’t think we’d have an opportunity. I’ve been in this situation before, I’ve been in this sport a long time, so make the best out of it.”
A successful day for Blankenship on October 14 will include staying positive on each lap, gaining momentum throughout the race, and nailing the sub-2:18 he needs to get into the Trials.
“The marathon is the kind of the furthest thing I could do from where I was that I felt like I could have some success,” he said. “We all define success a little bit differently. I think when we race here in in month, it will be super fun.”
Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
