Tim and I spoke before the Boston Marathon, a race that he grew up watching as an athlete and coach at Boston College, which is right after Heartbreak Hill. In the interview which took place on the Friday before the marathon, Tim shared that he hadn’t run in the last 7 days and more about the dark place he was in leading up to race day and how he was managing that.

Tim had a 2:21 debut at the 2013 Boston Marathon, and has brought his marathon time down to 2:11:56 en route to winning the USATF Marathon Championships at CIM in 2017. We talked about what got him out the door the first time, his progression and how he keeps the fire lit as a pro runner.

We talked about his love for the journey, both his own and those of the athletes that he coaches now at UMass Amherst and with McKirdyTrained. We dug into his Why and the spiritual and religious connection he feels when he’s running and racing.

Tim runs for Saucony and coaches at UMass Amherst and with McKirdyTrained, and can be found on Instagram at @timritchiewtd