Fast Women: Arianna Maida, from 3:05 to 2:42 in two years

Carrie Ellwood wins the USATF 25K Championships, sets a women's-only American record.

May 12, 2025

Issue 350, sponsored by Bombas

Arianna Maida runs the 2025 Boston Marathon.

With her Boston run, Arianna Maida gives back to the patients who inspire her

Arianna Maida finished 56th at this year’s Boston Marathon, ran a personal best of 2:42:07, and raised nearly $6,000 for cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. As she made the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston wearing her charity singlet, she was buoyed by the cheers for Dana-Farber, sometimes pronounced “Dana-Fahbah” by the Bostonians.

She was also inspired by her patients. Maida, 29, works as a physician assistant for Dana-Farber, in a skin cancer clinic. Most of her patients have metastatic disease. “I think about my patients a lot when I’m getting ready to do something hard,” she told Fast Women. “They’re going through something really hard with uncertain outcomes. So I feel like if they can do something hard, I can, too.”

A couple of the doctors Maida works with knew she was running the marathon and encouraged her to join the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge team. “My motivation comes from caring for this special patient population,” she said. “I was like, ‘Why not actually give back to the cancer research that goes into the groundbreaking advancements in medicine that help people live longer?’”

Because Maida already had her own bib for the race, her fundraising minimum was $4,000, which is actually on the lower side for Boston. But raising that amount was still a daunting task, especially considering that she’s not on social media. (Yes, that includes Strava.) Maida fundraised the old-fashioned way, mailing out letters to family, friends, and neighbors. And her brother’s band donated the proceeds from one of their shows to the cause.

Maida began running in middle school and was a local standout for Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, Massachusetts. She doesn’t remember her high school PRs exactly, but she ran about 5:20 in the mile.

When it came time to choose a college, she had some athletic scholarship offers, but ultimately she decided to put her academic goals first. She knew she wanted to become a PA, and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, in Boston, provided the most direct route to that goal. The school does not have sports teams, but she loved running and had the discipline to do it on her own. She didn’t see bypassing college running as a loss. “I think I still have a lot of energy and passion for running now because I went at my own pace,” she said.

Maida ran her first marathon, the 2017 Hyannis Marathon, when she was 20. She figured out what training to do on her own. Her goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon, and despite not fueling properly along the way, she did, running 3:08:51.

She ran her first Boston Marathon in 2018, when she was 22. In a torrential downpour, she finished in 3:10:29. She enjoyed the race, but as the local marathon, it was also one of the most convenient. She returned in 2019 (3:19:28) and 2021 (3:11:12).

Leading up to the 2022 Chicago Marathon, she began working with coach Fernando Braz, who had coached her during the summers when she was in high school. In Chicago, she lowered her time to 3:05:01. And she started figuring out what worked for her as far as training, fueling, and shoes. Eight months later, she had a bigger breakthrough, running 2:49:36 at the 2023 Grandma’s Marathon.

At last year’s Boston Marathon, Maida had another big day, running 2:48:50. And as the fastest female Bostonian in the race, she was honored at a reception, where she got to meet Mayor Michelle Wu. (This year, the competition was stiff and professional runner Jackie Gaughan earned that honor.)

Maida describes last November’s New York City Marathon, her seventh marathon, as a magical race. She made another big jump, running 2:42:22. Understandably, Maida’s confidence is still catching up with her legs. She has taken nearly 23 minutes off of her PR in less than two years. “After New York, I was like, ‘Okay, this is it. This is the best I can do,’” she said. “But then I trained through a tough winter and went and ran 2:42 again. Now I’m like, ‘Okay, I think I have more in me.’”

The snow, ice, and cold tested Maida’s dedication leading up to Boston. She still put in the work, but getting out the door was tough at times. Maida works four 10-hour days each week, and occasionally picks up additional shifts at the hospital, working with critically ill patients. During the summer, she’s up around 4:30 a.m. to get her training in. During the winter, she goes after work, in the dark.

Over the past year, she has bumped her peak mileage up to the low 80s, and many days, she gets in some of that by running the 2.5 miles home from work. It helps her get moving, when she’s tired after a long day of work, and it’s also one of the fastest routes home. Because of her work schedule, Maida does much of her weekday training alone. But sometimes, she’ll run with her boyfriend, who is also a fast marathoner and works for Asics. Generally, she trains outdoors. But for about two weeks over the winter, she had to join a gym so she could get access to a treadmill.

On weekends, she trains with a group of local women who have similar goals. “They've helped me normalize things like running 80-mile weeks, incorporating strength training into my marathon block, getting sports massages, using Normatec boots, and all of those little things that I never would have really known,” she said.

Maida has also gotten a lot of support from her patients. Some of them are aware of her running accomplishments and have become her unofficial fan club. She did not ask them to contribute to her fundraiser—especially since they are already covering the costs associated with their own medical care—but some of them did anyway. And many of them sent her messages through the patient portal, wishing her luck before Boston and congratulating her afterward.

“They always ask me about my running and try to tease me with time goals, like, ‘What about 2:39?’” Maida said.

First, she’s taking a break, which she needs after running three marathons in a year. But Maida would love to break 2:40, and maybe even 2:37, the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying time, even if the 2028 standard is faster. And she wants to try out racing on a flatter, faster course.

“I’m finally learning all the things that it takes,” she said. “It’s really cool putting myself in the mix from being sort of a nobody. That’s what I love about marathon running and the running community in Boston.”

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Carrie Ellwood sets a women’s-only American record, wins her second national title of the year

Carrie Ellwood pulled away from Megan Hasz after 15K and powered to her second national title of the year, winning Saturday’s USATF 25K Championships, hosted by the Amway River Bank Run, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ellwood put together a stellar performance, running 1:22:27 and shaving five seconds off of the women’s-only American record that Betsy Saina set at this race a year ago.

Hasz finished second, 85 seconds back, in 1:23:52, and Kassie Parker finished third in 1:24:26.

Back in January, Ellwood earned her first national title at the USATF Cross Country Championships. The field that day was abnormally small, with only 12 women finishing the race. And Saturday’s 25K was similar in that it didn’t attract the same kind of depth that it usually does. But the race has attracted some big names in recent years—including Saina, Keira D’Amato, Erika Kemp, Annie Frisbie, Dakotah Popehn, Emily Durgin, and Aliphine Tuliamuk—and Ellwood ran faster than all of them.

Not all aspects of setting an American record are glamorous. “Just got done drug testing at a Kay Jewelers in Colorado Springs to get my American record ratified,” Ellwood later wrote in an Instagram story.

Ellwood earned $10,000 for the win, and the prize money went 10 deep, with Hasz earning $5,000 and Parker taking $2,500. There was also a $2,500 equalizer bonus, but it’s unclear what will happen with that. Ellwood narrowly held off men’s winner Casey Clinger, but according to the race broadcast, the women were supposed to get a 9:45 head start this year, but they accidentally got 10:30, last year’s advantage.

After teaching first grade for years, Ellwood, 31, decided to go all in on running this year, and it’s paying off. Since winning the cross country title, she has officially joined the Asics Mammoth Track Club, and she has set 10-mile (52:23) and half marathon (1:09:35) PRs. But Saturday’s run was her best yet.

After the race, Ellwood said on the TV broadcast that she will be running Bolder Boulder on May 26, and then a marathon this summer in Australia. (Results)

Additional Results

Shelby Houlihan got herself out of a box late in the race and won the Oregon Twilight 1500m in 4:05.78. Swoosh TC runners Gabija Galvydyte and Karissa Schweizer went 2–3 in 4:05.89 and 4:06.01, and Eleanor Fulton was fourth in 4:06.66. Because of her four-year doping ban, this was Houlihan’s first race at the new Hayward Field. She was originally planning to run a 5,000m, but the meet ended up not having one on the women’s side. It sounds like Houlihan and Schweizer will both be racing the Rome Diamond League 5,000m on June 6. (Results | The 1500m on YouTube)
After a couple years of struggle, it’s great to see Canada’s Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, 29, running well again. She won the 3,000m at the Belfast Irish Milers Meet in 8:39.35. She wrote in an Instagram post that she had a pacer for 800m, but was on her own the rest of the way. And she ran her last kilometer in 2:43. “Rowan and I have worked very, very hard over this past year to get my fitness back into a good place, and my confidence to follow suit!” she wrote. “It’s not been an easy journey but guys, I think I’ve finally got my mojo back.”
At Azusa Pacific University’s Franson Last Chance meet, Sammy Watson won the 800m in 2:00.50, and NAU’s Agnes McTighe won the 5,000m in 15:44.82. (Results)
I was impressed to see that former Rice standout Alyssa Balandran lowered her 800m PR by more than two seconds, running 2:02.10 to win at the Arkansas Twilight meet. (Results)
Also in the impressive PR department, Boise State’s Kaiya Robertson won the 1500m at the Portland Twilight meet in 4:10.15, more than four seconds faster than her previous best. (Results)
At Tuesday’s Liberty Twilight Qualifier, Asics pro Rachel McArthur, who doesn’t run the 800m much these days, won the event in a 2+ second PR of 2:02.29. (Results)
Jessica McGorty won Charlotte’s Meck Mile, a road race, in 4:41.7, and kudos to Amanda Vestri for dropping down in distance. She finished fifth in 4:47.8. (Results)
After a rough year last year, Athing Mu-Nikolayev is easing her way back into racing. Last month, she raced 3K of a 5K. And on Sunday, she ran a 1500m at the very low key Very, Very Last Chance meet at Cal State University Los Angeles. She won the race by 55 seconds, in 4:21.18. I hope the other two runners in the race appreciated the opportunity to line up with the Olympic champion. (Results)
There were many eyes on the Cocodona 250 (yes, that’s miles) this year, partially because Courtney Dauwalter was running. Dauwalter made it 108 miles before dropping out due to a “total body shutdown.” Rachel Entrekin became the new star of the show, and she went on to win in 63:50:55. This was Entrekin’s second Cocodona win in a row, and this time, she broke the course record by more than seven hours, and she finished fourth overall. (Results)
The mixed 4x100m relay debuted at World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China, and Canada won gold in 40.30. The U.S. dropped the baton and did not make the final. Spain had a fantastic meet, upsetting the U.S. women in the 4x400m relay to win, 3:24.13 to 3:24.72. Great Britain won the 4x100m relay in 42.21 seconds, with Spain finishing a close second (42.28). The U.S. quartet finished fourth. The U.S.’s Chris Robinson, Courtney Okolo, Johnnie Blockburger, and Lynna Irby-Jackson earned the lone U.S. gold of the meet in the mixed 4x400m relay, running a championship record of 3:09.54. (Results | Women’s 4x400m replay | Mixed 4x400m replay | Mixed 4x100m final)

Correction: Last week, I mistakenly wrote that Addy Wiley was the lone American in the Shanghai Diamond League 800m, but Sage Hurta-Klecker finished seventh in a season’s best of 1:59.11. I watched the race in the middle of the USATF 5K Championships and clearly did not give it my full attention.

A throwback photo of Victoria Jackson at the 2006 USATF 10K Championships.

Podcast Highlights

Sarah Lorge Butler, who covered 12 years of Des Linden’s marathon career while she was at Runner’s World, talked to Linden on the Fast People podcast. Topics included Linden’s Western States pacing plans, how much she paid for her Boston Globe ad, why her story appeals to fans, her second book, why a camera crew has been following her, and Sarah’s unfortunate encounter with Des’s late dog. I was encouraged to hear that Linden hasn’t ruled out a second edition of Save the 10,000.
A new episode of Fast People, with sports historian and former pro runner Victoria Jackson, is out as of this morning. Jackson discussed the massive changes coming to the NCAA, what’s currently happening with the House vs. NCAA settlement, and how cross country and track & field coaches can think creatively about the roster limits they will likely be dealing with soon. Jackson was a collegiate runner, and seeing how football and basketball players were harmed by the collegiate system, while she benefited from it, inspired some of the work that she does today. I thought this was a fascinating episode and it influenced the way I view some of the upcoming changes.
Jess McClain was on The Lane 9 Podcast, and though I shared two podcasts with her last week, this one covered some different topics. She discussed her initial experience as a professional runner and why that ultimately didn’t work out. And she also talked about her fueling throughout her career and what she has learned along the way.
Josette Andrews was on I’ll Have Another not long after winning the USATF 5K Championships. After a rough year last year, I’m just enjoying seeing things click for her this season.
Sinclaire Johnson was on the B Scar TV Podcast. The episode was recorded in January, but there was still some interesting stuff in there. I learned that her maternal grandfather is from Jamaica, but she’s never been there. So clearly she needs an invite to the Grand Slam Track event in Kingston next year.

Thanks again to Bombas for supporting Fast Women this month, and remember to take advantage of those discount codes while you can. I am also eternally grateful to everyone who helps keep this newsletter going via your support on Venmo and Patreon.

It was nice to have a slightly quieter week in the running world, because there won’t be too many more of those. I hope you all have the best week possible.

Alison