Ethan Shuley Runs 2:07 in Osaka, Becomes Sixth-Fastest American Marathoner Ever

​Ethan Shuley did not start the weekend as a known name in American distance running. By Sunday afternoon in Osaka, he had run himself into the history books.

​The 27-year-old American clocked 2:07:14 at the Osaka Marathon on February 22, finishing 14th in a deep international field. The time makes him the sixth-fastest US marathoner ever on a record-eligible course.

​Ahead of him on the all-time list are Conner Mantz, Khalid Khannouchi, Galen Rupp, Ryan Hall, and Abbabiya Simbassa.

Until this race, Shuley had no sponsor and no agent.

​His path to this result has been unconventional. A strong high school runner in Kentucky, Shuley won two state cross country titles before serving a Mormon mission in eastern Ukraine.

​At BYU, injuries limited him to one race. After the pandemic, he stepped away from competitive running.

​He moved to Tokyo in 2023 for work and film studies.

​At first, he trained casually and even attempted a 100-mile trail race, dropping out at mile 60. Gradually, he increased his mileage and added structured workouts.

​His marathon debut in late 2024 was 2:20. In less than 18 months, he improved to 2:18, then 2:11, and now 2:07.

​He currently trains under coach Isaac Wood, averaging about 115 miles per week

       

       if(window.strchfSettings === undefined) window.strchfSettings = {};
   window.strchfSettings.stats = {url: "https://therunningweek.storychief.io/ethan-shuley-runs-207-in-osaka-becomes-sixth-fastest-american-marathoner-ever?id=890225961&type=26",title: "Ethan Shuley Runs 2:07 in Osaka, Becomes Sixth-Fastest American Marathoner Ever",siteId: "23843",id: ""};
           (function(d, s, id) {
     var js, sjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
     if (d.getElementById(id)) {window.strchf.update(); return;}
     js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
     js.src = "https://d37oebn0w9ir6a.cloudfront.net/scripts/v0/strchf.js";
     js.async = true;
     sjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, sjs);
   }(document, 'script', 'storychief-jssdk'))