Fast Women: Maia Ramsden makes a change

Jane Hedengren and Pamela Kosgei go 1-2 on the NCAA all-time 10,000m list.

Apr 06, 2026

Issue 402

After a whirlwind college career, Maia Ramsden is forced to take a step back

When Maia Ramsden arrived at Harvard University in the fall of 2020, she had no plans to run professionally. She was a three-time New Zealand U20 champion with untapped potential. But with personal bests of 4:30 (1500m) and 2:10 (800m), she thought she would run in college and then go to law school or get a Ph.D.

But in the best possible way, things didn’t go to plan. Four years later, she graduated as a three-time NCAA champion, became the first Ivy League athlete to be named a finalist for The Bowerman, qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games, signed a professional contract with On, and joined the Boulder-based On Athletics Club.

But Ramsden hit her first major road block at the beginning of 2025. In her first season of professional running, she suffered an injury that ultimately required surgery, which she had in July of that year. After doing a lot of reflection during the recovery process, Ramsden, 24, decided to move back to the Boston area. She has resumed working with her college coach, Alex Gibby, and is hoping to return to racing soon, but she’s also keeping the big picture in mind.

A global upbringing

When Ramsden races internationally, she represents Aotearoa New Zealand, but because of her father’s work with the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she grew up on three different continents. She was born in New York (she has dual citizenship) and briefly spent some time in Boston before moving to Wellington, New Zealand, for her early elementary years. From ages 7 to 16, she lived in the Solomon Islands and Fiji.

It was in Suva, Fiji, that Ramsden discovered her love of running. She ran an 800m in PE class and her teacher, Fesaitu Mario, asked her if she wanted to come by the track after school. He was a javelin coach with an outside-the-box approach to training, rooted in a good understanding of physiology. One day a week, they’d play touch rugby, another they might do barefoot sprints on sandflats.

“He gave me so many mental skills but also a love of the sport,” Ramsden told Fast Women. “And he was always saying, ‘You’ve got time and there’s no rush here. As long as you’re having a good time doing what you’re doing, stick at it.’”

Ramsden’s family moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a city with a strong running culture, for the tail end of her high school career. Because she had had multiple coaches throughout high school, her training varied, but it all left room for growth. And when Ramsden wasn’t in season, she wasn’t necessarily running at all.

When she got to Harvard, the 40 miles per week she was initially assigned felt like a lot. “I’m pretty sure I told Gibby I was running 20 to 30 kilometers a week, and he thought I meant miles, so we had a little bit of a startup issue there,” she said.

Ramsden’s transition to all aspects of college life was unusual, because she arrived on campus in the middle of the pandemic. Classes were taught online, and only a small fraction of the student body was on campus. And though NCAA competition had resumed, the Ivy League did not allow conference schools to take part during the 2020-21 academic year. The setup allowed Ramsden to meet a lot of people who weren’t on the cross country or track & field teams, pursue some other interests, and gradually adjust to college running and academics.

During the spring semester, two of her teammates, seniors Abbe Goldstein and Tessa Medrano, arrived on campus and helped teach her more about being a college athlete. “I felt like this lucky little first year because these two older girls just took me under their wing, showed me what to do, and how to do it,” she said. “I think my transition to collegiate sport was much easier because first I got to figure out the training, and then in my sophomore year, I got to figure out how to do the racing piece.”

Ramsden was a quick study, and by the end of her sophomore year, she finished 10th in the 1500m final at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. That race was a turning point for her. “Gibby was like, ‘You can be on the podium. It’s up to you, you’ve just got to decide.’” Ramsden put in a great summer of training, and, when school resumed, running had moved a little higher up her priority list.

Her work paid off throughout the year, but no more so than when she kicked to a surprise win in the 1500m at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The following fall, she signed an NIL deal with On, and in 2024, she swept the NCAA indoor mile and outdoor 1500m titles, anchored Harvard’s distance medley relay to a win at Penn Relays, finished 10th in the 1500m at world indoors, and became an Olympic 1500m semifinalist.

Maia Ramsden represents Harvard at the 2024 NCAA Indoor T&F Championships.

Going pro

Ramsden graduated in 2024 with a degree in History and Literature and gave up her remaining year of NCAA eligibility to sign a pro deal with On. She loved her first fall in Boulder. “The more experienced people on the team just scooped all of us newbies up,” she said. “Everyone was organizing social events, we were hanging out, and the team is so great.”

Then came the injury. Ramsden still managed to qualify for world indoors for the second year in a row. But while getting back into training in the spring, she tore her Achilles. Imaging showed that there was enough tendon damage that she would need surgery, and because she had a Haglund’s bone spur that was poking deep into her tendon, it needed to be removed.

Ramsden had remained remarkably healthy during her time in the NCAA. “I think it was a combination of good management and a lot of good luck,” she said. “But it also meant that I was really unprepared to be injured as a pro, because I’ve never had to figure out the mental skills to get through something like this or listen to my body in that way before.”

Dr. Amol Saxena, who has operated on many world class runners, performed the surgery in July 2025. Ramsden could have chosen a less invasive procedure with a shorter recovery time, but she wanted to take care of the problem for good. “If I was closer to what I thought the end of my career would be, maybe I would have chosen that option. But I made this decision because I want to do this until I’m like, I don’t know, 35.”

Following the surgery, Ramsden couldn’t put any weight on her leg for a month, and then she was in a boot for eight more weeks. Once she was able to travel, she went home to New Zealand, which gave her the opportunity to pause and take stock of how she was feeling.

“When I did that, there were actually some things about life—less so about running, because that wasn’t even in the picture at that point—that I realized I was really missing. Like friends and family, and my boyfriend, who lives in New York. I missed being close to the water, and the academic stuff that makes me feel really fulfilled. I could get that in Boulder, but it’s easier for me to gain library access in Boston.

“I missed the friction of city life, even though it makes things take a little longer. Like I love hopping on a bus or the T to get where I need to go. I only got my driver’s license when I knew I was moving to Colorado, so I’m a pretty anxious driver.”

Ramsden thought it over for a few months, and then started having conversations to determine if returning to Boston was possible. She made the move in early February, and remains sponsored by On. She arrived in Boston just in time to experience the worst of a rough New England winter. But because she was still cross training quite a bit at the time, she switched her workouts around to make training through it manageable.

Ramsden has been back to running on the ground since the final days of 2025, and she has built back gradually from there. She had gotten up to 50-60 miles per week plus workouts, until she experienced a small setback recently, but she’s still hoping to return to racing in May. Ramsden hasn’t ruled out racing at this summer’s Commonwealth Games, but she’s managing her expectations.

“Gibby keeps saying, ‘Don’t make a one-year problem a two-year problem.’ And he’s right. The overarching goal of this season is to start next season healthy and ready to train hard. And I have to keep reminding myself of that.”

Ramsden can find some silver linings in her injury. It’s made her more resilient and more grateful for her ability to run. And she appreciates the support she’s gotten from those around her. “I feel really grateful that no one in my circle has ever expressed doubt at my ability to get back to where I was and get better than that,” she said. “I have a lot of doubt about that, as anyone would. But no one around me has even let a crack of that show. And for me, that really works.”

Living an ocean away from much of her family isn’t easy, but being back in Boston allows her to see her sister, who is a first-year student at Tufts, once a week for dinner, and she and her boyfriend can meet up at her grandparents’ house which is in the middle.

Ramsden took a six-month academic break after graduating from Harvard, but she’s already back in school. Thanks to a scholarship from High Performance Sport New Zealand, she’s working toward a master’s in Pacific Studies through the University of Auckland. And after missing her high school graduation due to the pandemic and her college graduation due to a track meet, Ramsden is going to do her best to make it to her graduation ceremony, when the time comes.

Though she’s no longer part of a team, between her former teammates and some of the local pros, Ramsden has found plenty of people to train with in Boston. In recent weeks, she’s run with 2021 Olympian Heather MacLean quite a bit. “I hope she knows… I was in college in 2021 and I was like, ‘This woman is one of my heroes.’ Now I’m getting to share miles with her and that is so cool. And I did a workout a couple weeks ago with Sophia [Gorriaran]. Last time I worked out with her, she was so young, now she’s like a completely new runner, which is just cool to see. I’ve been loving the collaborative nature of Boston running. I think people here are really excited to make things work to line up with one another.”

Jane Hedengren leads early in the Stanford Invitational 10,000m. *(Photo by Randy Miyazaki)*

Jane Hedengren and Pamela Kosgei both dip under the collegiate 10,000m record

When I saw that BYU’s Jane Hedengren and New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei were entered in the 10,000m at the Stanford Invitational, I figured I’d be writing about another collegiate record this week. No matter that Hedengren had never raced a 10,000m before. Kosgei and Hedengren had already proved themselves to be among the NCAA’s best ever in the 5,000m, and excelled in the 6K in cross country. And if you’re a distance specialist, racing a 10,000m is a pretty similar skill.

The meet was surprisingly not livestreamed, so everything I know about the race comes from looking at the splits. (Update: Thanks to Bob in the comments for pointing out that there’s a low quality video shot from the stands here.) About six runners hit the mile together, right around 5:00, but on the next lap, it became a two-woman race. Hedengren led at 17 of the 25 lap splits, but it’s good to see Kosgei helped out a bit, too. And I imagine Kosgei being in the lead with 800m and 400m to go helped Hedengren find another gear.

Hedengren used a 66.11-second final lap to win in 30:46.80, and Kosgei took second in 30:49.99. Both dipped under Parker Valby’s collegiate record of 30:50.43, from 2024. Valby was a pretty dominant collegiate runner two years ago, so this is just further evidence of how quickly the standards are rising in the NCAA. Hedengren’s performance also places her seventh on the U.S. all-time list. After running her first 5K in about 15:33, she covered the last 5K of the race in roughly 15:13.

Behind the lead duo, 10 more women broke 32:30, led by Eastern Kentucky’s Edna Chelulei, who ran 31:33.57 for third.

BYU had a stellar meet overall as Taylor Lovell PRed by 36 seconds (!) to win the 5,000m in 15:15.46, Carmen Alder took the 1500m in 4:08.56, and Raygan Dimond won the steeplechase in 9:55.03. And one day after taking second in the 1500m (4:09.29), Stanford’s Mena Scatchard won the 800m in 2:00.50. (All results)

Additional Results

Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich already holds the world record in the 10K with a 28:46, and on Saturday, she produced her second sub-29 performance, winning France’s Urban Trail de Lille 10K in 28:58. According to this race report, she hit 5K in about 14:14, which is flying. It’s nice to see her rebound nicely after she suffered from hypothermia at the NYC Half. Ethiopia’s Marta Alemayo ran almost as fast in the accompanying 5K, which she won in 14:15. Alemayo was a few days shy of her 18th birthday, which is incredible, but it’s hard to know whether to trust the ages of young Ethiopian stars given the country’s recent history of age manipulation issues. But at any age, that’s fast. (Results)
South Carolina’s Salma Elbadra won the 800m at the Florida Relays in 2:00.62. (Results)
Indiana’s Veronica Hargrave won the 800m at the Battle on the Bayou, hosted by LSU, in 2:02.08. (Results)
Paris Peoples won the 600m at the Miramar Invitational, running 1:23.45. (Results)
Great Britain’s Clare Elms set a world best for the 60-64 age group on Saturday, running 17:45 at the Top Flight 5K. According to Athletics Weekly, she’s the oldest woman ever to break 18 minutes in the 5K. (Results)

Podcast Highlights

Emma Bates’ appearance on the Ali on the Run Show had to be the most listened to podcast episode in running last week. I appreciated hearing her discuss the challenges of combining family planning and professional running, and how her hemochromatosis diagnosis complicated things. As for parting ways with UCan, her account differs from theirs in that she did not mention there ever being an offer in November. (She accused them of posting “false timelines and flat out lies.”) Both parties agree that there was discussion of a different deal that Bates would have been on board with in December, but they disagree about whether it was a firm offer. Without being in the meetings, it’s impossible to say whether UCan’s decision to ultimately offer Bates less had to do with Bates’ pregnancy, the company’s finances, or something else. But hopefully all of this has served as a reminder to companies about the importance of clear communication, considering the optics of their decisions, and parting with athletes on good terms, whenever possible. “I don’t want to write off UCan as a company, I don’t think they deserve that.” Bates said. “I think if they don’t learn and change and grow from this, then it’s an issue.” (The timing of this article from Runner’s World, about runners discovering they can take gels while giving birth, made me laugh.)
On a related note, I appreciated Kara Goucher and Des Linden’s discussion of what it means to be dropped by a sponsor, and other aspects of the business side of running, on Nobody Asked Us. That part starts around the 25:30 mark.
I thought Alexa (Efraimson) Gusman and Maddie Alm’s discussion of the importance of fueling for performance on The Fueling Forward Podcast was excellent. If you’re well informed about REDs, and you’ve heard their stories before, you might not learn much. But a lot of people could benefit from hearing what they have to say, and their voices are so important in counteracting the growing amount of irresponsible messaging that’s out there.
It was good to hear how Jess McClain got through wrongturn-gate and how her Boston Marathon prep is going on Ali on the Run. And I also enjoyed hearing from two others who are getting ready for Boston: Susanna Sullivan on Citius Mag and Australia’s Izzi Batt-Doyle on Run With It.

Additional Episodes: Megan Connelly discussed qualifying for the Olympic Marathon Trials on Getting Chicked (I think the line “I was stuck at 3:07 for five years” might inspire some people.) | I enjoyed learning more about Sanu Jallow-Lockhart’s journey from The Gambia to Arkansas on The Hog Pod with Bo Mattingly | I appreciated hearing Great Britain’s Jessica Warner-Judd discuss her medical journey on Podium Athletics | Rebecca Schmitt talked about going from 2:55 in the marathon to 2:28 on Road to the Trials | Grayson Murphy on For the Long Run | Abby Hall on Running Long | Sophie Seward on Conversation Pace with FRE | Sylvie Abel on Women of Distance

Upcoming

Sunday’s USATF 10 Mile Championships, hosted by the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, has attracted a stellar field. Weini Kelati headlines, and she’ll be up against Emma Grace Hurley, Karissa Schweizer (running her longest race yet), Ednah Kurgat, Katie Izzo, Molly Born, and others. The race includes some excellent international runners as well, and it will be interesting to see how the overall race affects the U.S. championship race. I expect Uganda’s Joy Cheptoyek, who is coming off a runner-up finish at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in January, and Ethiopia’s Asayech Ayichew, who was fourth in the same race, to lead the way.

The pro women start at 7:18 a.m. ET and the race will stream live on USATF TV.

Because most of the racing for the week wrapped up on Saturday, I spent most of my Sunday working on a project for next Monday’s newsletter. April is going to be a big month, and I am so grateful to everyone who is making this content possible with your support via Venmo or Patreon.

I hope you all have a good week.

Alison

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