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News Brief

April 18, 2025BOSTON, Ma.

Blackford ready to tackle Boston in just his second marathon

Connor Blackford will lineup for the 129th Boston Marathon on Monday.

Connor Blackford will lineup for the 129th Boston Marathon on Monday.

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The Boston Marathon is a bucket list item for many runners, and requires years of training for most to turn in a qualifying time. But one Maryville native will get the chance to line up for the prestigious race in just his second marathon ever.

Connor Blackford, currently a freshman at Kansas State University, turned in a time of 2:41:52 last June in Denver, CO at the Revel Rockies Marathon. That was well below the threshold required for men 18 to 34 to qualify for Boston, and put him into a pool of racers ranging from amateur runners to world-class athletes.

"It's kind of a surprise to even be in this position." Blackford said. "I thought I was going to run that one marathon last summer in Colorado and then kind of hang things up, but I messed around and qualified for Boston."

Blackford was an all-state runner at Maryville High School. On Monday, he will be one of 24,069 to lineup for the 129th Boston Marathon.

"It's really just surreal that I'm going to run it in three or four days. Training has been great. I've put in a lot of miles for it, so I'm excited to get out there, enjoy the experience and see what happens."

Our full interview with Connor Blackford is available above.