On Monday, Apr. 21, UO Junior Alexandra Aeschliman will stand on the starting line of the Boston Marathon. She plans to run the Eugene Marathon less than a week later.
While many runners can only dream of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, Aeschliman attained her BQ (Boston Qualifier) at her very first marathon, the Portland Marathon in 2023. She went into the race without any expectations and ended up beating the qualifying time by 15 minutes for a final time of three hours and 15 minutes.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I guess I did that,’” Aeschliman said. “It wasn’t a goal that I had in mind. It was just something that kind of happened incidentally.”
A year later, at the 2024 Portland Marathon, Aeschliman beat her BQ time for a PB (personal best) of two hours and 51 minutes. Due to a minor bout of posterior tibial tendonitis, she isn’t trying for a PB at Boston. Her goal is simply to have fun.
“I just want to run and not be in pain,” Aeschliman said. “Boston is such a rare opportunity so I just want to enjoy myself.”
As for the Eugene Marathon, Aeschliman’s only objective is to make it to the start line. If her tendonitis flares up after Boston, she will forgo the race. She hasn’t even told her parents she’s running Eugene — she doesn’t want them to worry that she’s overdoing it. If she feels good after Boston, then she will let them know.
“After I run Boston, if I don’t feel absolutely dead, then I’ll have a fun time in Eugene,” Aeschliman said. “The marathon is coming to me so I would love to run it if I can.”
For Aeschliman, two marathons in one week — 52.4 miles — is well within her normal running range. During her Boston Marathon training block, Aeschliman averaged around 70 miles per week, peaking with an 85-mile week.
Aeschliman runs seven days a week — two speed workouts (one of which she does at Hayward Field with the UO run club), one long run and four easy runs. For Aeschliman, an “easy run” is 10 miles at a 7:30-to-eight-minute pace.
“I don’t recommend doing 10 for easy runs. It’s just what I do,” Aeschliman said.
As a biochemistry major, Aeschliman’s busy schedule often interferes with her running time. Alongside a full load of classes and her job as a scribe for an orthopedic surgeon at Slocum Center for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, Aeschliman is conducting an independent research project at Benoit Lab for Therapeutic Biomaterials. She’s had to get creative to fit in her workouts. Some days that means waking up at 5 a.m., and other times she straps on a headlamp and goes running at night.
“I promised myself that no matter how busy I get, I will always make time for running,” Aeschliman said. “I might not have time for a full eight hours of sleep or hobbies other than running, but I always make time for running.”
Aeschliman ran track and cross country in high school and joined the UO Run Club her freshman year, but now she mostly trains alone. As a self proclaimed introvert, running is Aeschliman’s “me time.” When the week is finished, she has one thing on her mind — her Sunday long run.
“I love getting out in the morning when there’s very few people around and feeling like I have the world to myself when I’m running,” Aeschliman said.
After a long week of research, a run is the perfect way to clear her head.
“If I’ve been thinking about molecules all day, I can go out for a run and just not think about molecules,” Aeschliman said. “Or sometimes my run will facilitate thinking and then I’ll be able to take a step back and identify what I was missing in my research.”
Aeschliman has developed an extremely positive relationship with running, but she said she had to change her mindset to get to where she is now. Like so many distance runners, Aeschliman has struggled with an eating disorder, and through her recovery she has redefined her attitude toward running.
“As I’ve recovered over time, running has become a way of celebrating strength,” Aeschliman said. “Now I run for strength and power instead of running to be thin.”
Boston will be her fourth marathon, and certainly not her last. Aeschliman hopes to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Trials Marathon, but otherwise she just wants to run marathons as a hobby.
“I see the little 80-year-old women out there running marathons and I’m like ‘that’s gonna be me one day,’” Aeschliman said.
