Elise Vives’s Road to the 2025 Boston Marathon

Athlete Overview – Background on Elise Vives

Elise Vives grew up in El Cerrito, California, where athletics played a significant role in her life from an early age. She competed at the Division I level for the Sacramento State University soccer team. Through her athletic background, she developed the competitive drive and discipline that would later fuel her marathon ambitions. After college, Elise established her career as a real estate agent, serving East Bay communities such as Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, and Piedmont. Even with a full-time job in real estate, she remained committed to an active lifestyle. Some other sports Elise is passionate about include skiing, running, cycling, and CrossFit. Inspired to push her limits even further, Elise felt drawn to the challenge of marathon running. The thought of tackling 26.2 miles inspired her to set an ambitious goal to qualify for the 2025 Boston Marathon in her first marathon.

This goal set the stage for Elise's journey from first-timer to Boston qualifier. In 2024, she signed up for the Hoag Orange County (OC) Marathon, aiming to complete her first marathon and run fast enough to qualify for the 2025 Boston Marathon. It was an ambitious leap for a first-time marathoner, but Elise's background as a competitive athlete gave her confidence. She approached this goal with the same mindset she developed during soccer, ready to apply hard work, strategy, and consistent training to turn her marathon dreams into reality.

Training for the 2024 OC Marathon

To tackle her first marathon, Elise committed to a 16-week training program developed by Ben Church, a seasoned endurance athlete with experience training athletes of all levels. Balancing her busy schedule as an East Bay realtor with a rigorous training schedule required a lot of dedication. Elise's training plan gradually increased her weekly mileage and included key workouts such as long weekend runs, tempo runs, easy runs, and interval sessions on the track. 

Cross-training remained part of her routine as well. Elise continued to do CrossFit and cycling on rest days to build strength and prevent injury. Running injuries are extremely common; a 2023 study found that 44.6% of runners sustained a running-related injury that year. Further highlighting the importance of including preventive measures like cross-training to reduce repetitive strain on the body. For Elise, this also kept training interesting and helped her avoid burnout.

Throughout the 16-week program, her training objectives were clear. She set her sights on completing her first marathon and running a Boston qualifying time for her age group. Elise aimed high, knowing that achieving a Boston Marathon qualifying time would require not just finishing 26.2 miles but running it fast.

Qualifying for the 2025 Boston Marathon at the 2024 OC Marathon

Race day at the 2024 Hoag OC Marathon provided ideal conditions for a fast first marathon. The early morning start and coastal course provide cool, stable weather. As the starting line filled with runners and excitement, the crowd thinned out shortly after the race began, allowing everyone to find their rhythm without excessive crowding.

Elise began the race conservatively, settling into her target pace while navigating the scenic course in Orange County. The early miles felt smooth, reflecting her dedicated training. However, as she neared mile 18, fatigue set in, and each step required greater mental strength. Despite hitting a wall at mile 20, Elise persevered and crossed the finish line.

As Elise crossed the finish line, a wave of emotions filled her. She had not only completed her first marathon but also achieved a time of 3:18:00. For context, the 2025 Boston Marathon qualifying standard for women aged 18–34 was 3:30:00. However, due to the high number of applicants, the actual cutoff time was 3:23:09, which meant that applicants needed to run at least 6 minutes and 51 seconds faster than the standard to be accepted. Elise's time comfortably met this requirement, securing her spot in the 2025 Boston Marathon. According to the Boston Athletic Association, the 2025 Boston Marathon had the second-lowest acceptance rate in event history. The event accepted 66.1% of the 36,393 applicants, admitting 24,069 individuals.

Key Takeaways From the Hoag OC Marathon

• Perfect conditions mattered: Great weather, an early start, and an uncrowded course provided an ideal environment for a successful first marathon.‍
• Mental resilience: Mile 18 was a huge test for Elise. It reminded her of how mentally demanding running long distances can be. But it also showed her the true capabilities of our bodies when we commit to consistency and train over a period of time.‍
• DOMS is real: The day after, Elise experienced really intense delayed-onset muscle soreness.‍
• Structured coaching works: A well-structured plan kept her on track, and daily check-ins with Ben allowed her to manage training demands easily.

Training for the 2025 Boston Marathon

After qualifying for the 2025 Boston Marathon at the OC Marathon, Elise set her sights on an even bigger goal. For Boston, Elise's goal was to run a sub-3-hour marathon. Therefore, she began a new training cycle with Ben Church to chase that ambitious goal. This time, the plan included more intense race simulation workouts, increased weekly mileage, and a greater emphasis on nutrition and recovery.

Goal: Run a Sub-3-Hour Marathon

The Main Changes to the Training Plan Included:

• Race simulation workouts: Elise incorporated workouts at race pace during long runs to become comfortable running faster for extended periods. See an example of a workout below.
• Higher weekly mileage: During the third month of training, the peak period, the mileage was increased by an additional five miles.‍
• Nutrition and recovery: During the OC Marathon, Elise felt her on-race nutrition could improve. She found that the BPN Gels were the best for her. 

This time, the training was more mentally demanding, and Elise trained completely alone. However, her experience and Ben's daily support helped her stay on track throughout the training cycle.

Boston Marathon Race Day Preparation

Elise traveled from California to Boston a few days before the race to adjust to the time difference and prepare mentally and physically. Her pre-race prep included:

Day Before Race: 

• Bib pickup: The Boston Marathon Expo traditionally takes place at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center (900 Boylston St., Boston). It runs for three days over race weekend, typically from Friday to Sunday, leading to the marathon on Monday. Elise received her bib on the Saturday before the race.
• Shakeout run: Elise ran 3 miles the day before the race.
• Fueling: Elise consumed between 450 and 500 grams of carbohydrates the day before the race. She also used electrolyte formulas such as LMNT and Gatorade to stay hydrated.
• Gear check: Laying out race day clothing, shoes, eight gels, and layers for the early wait in Hopkinton.

Morning Before Race:

• Fueling: Elise ate one and a half plain blueberry bagels and Stinger waffles the morning before the race. She also drank a whole bottle of Gatorade.

2025 Boston Marathon Results

The Boston Marathon lived up to its storied reputation. The city's energy was electric, with spectators several rows deep lining nearly every mile and an estimated 500,000 fans cheering on the runners. The Newton hills between miles 16 and 21 were challenging for every athlete. However, the energy from the downtown Boston crowd gave the runners an uplift.

As Elise turned onto Boylston Street, the final stretch was a blur of noise and adrenaline. She crossed the finish line in 3:07:00, setting a personal record by 11 minutes. Although she narrowly missed her sub-3-hour goal, the outcome was still a significant improvement from her first marathon and clearly shows what's possible next.

Key Takeaways From the Boston Marathon

• Training alone built mental toughness: Running solo prepared Elise to push without external motivation. She proved to herself that she could stay focused and driven on her own.
• Challenging course, rewarding experience: The Boston Marathon was much hillier and harder than the OC Marathon. With over 800 feet of elevation gain on the route, a late start time, over two miles of walking before the race started, and dense crowds, the race was more challenging than expected.‍
• Spectator support: Spectators lined the course from Hopkinton to Boston, and their enthusiasm was incredibly motivating as Elise ran. The city's crazy energy gave her a noticeable boost, especially during the later miles, when exhaustion set in.‍
• Travel adds complexity: A 5-6 hour flight and a 3-hour time difference added unexpected challenges with nutrition and sleep.

Elise's journey from a first-time marathoner to a Boston Marathon finisher shows what can be achieved through hard work and consistency. In just one year, she transformed from questioning whether she could complete 26.2 miles to running an impressive 3:07 at one of the world's most challenging and iconic races. Her story serves as a reminder that every runner starts somewhere and significant goals are within reach with the right mindset and training.