Never has a runner from Kentucky finished inside the top 25 of the Boston Marathon, but that changed recently at the 122nd edition of the Boston Marathon. Former UK distance runner Zack Beavin, and recent MBA alum of the Gatton College of Business and Economics, cracked the top 25 at the Boston Marathon by finishing the 26.2-mile course in 2:30:56, which was good enough for 24th place out of an approximate 30,000 runners. Even more amazing, Zachary was able to achieve this amazing accomplishment while maintaining a full-time schedule in the One Year MBA program at Gatton.

Reflecting on his experiences in the UK MBA, Zachary said, “I’ve learned quite a bit over the last year regarding time management, prioritization and goal-setting. I've really enjoyed working and learning with a diverse group of individuals in the UK MBA program and their support has been tremendous.”

A 2:30 marathon and top 25 finish at the Boston Marathon would be a massive success to any of the runners who shared the course with Beavin on Monday, but Beavin’s finishing time was over nine minutes off his personal best, which has him feeling not completely satisfied with the race. Beavin’s time was slowed largely due to the toughest weather conditions that have ever been present at the Boston Marathon. Beavin had to fight a 20-mile per hour headwind, cold temperatures and heavy rain just to get to the finish.

“I’ve kind of come to terms with the positives of the race,” Beavin said. “Anytime you race a marathon, you learn stuff about yourself and how to better race marathons in the future.” 

Bevin's next goal is to qualify for the U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials where he has to run the 26.2 mile race in 2:19:00, which is an average pace of 5:18 per mile for the marathon. Beavin’s time at Boston was 11:56 off the Marathon Olympic Trials standard, but through 21 miles he was running with a pack that consisted of runners who had already achieved the qualifying standard. The fact that Beavin was able to race those competitors through a large portion of the race in brutal conditions gives him confidence that he can achieve the standard for himself on a better day.