WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -This past weekend, senior Aidan Ryan '22 ran the fastest indoor 3000-meter race in NCAA DIII history. This took place at the University of Washington Indoor Preview, and included DI and professional athletes. Ryan chose to race here because he plans on visiting UW for graduate school, and couldn't turn down the opportunity to race in an environment capable of letting him pursue the record.
Ryan ran a time of 7:55.29, setting a new NCAA DIII record. This surpasses the previous record of 7:59.23 set by Dan Meyer which has stood for 28 years, but Ryan ran it at the Dempsey Indoor on a 300-meter track. Collegiate record books require the event to be run on a 200-meter track to count. Ryan's time for qualification purposes, however, converts to 8:00.81 which provides an optimistic outlook for the rest of the season.
The opportunity to compete in this meet came about a month ago but was not confirmed until 2 weeks ago. Ryan stated, "I had the record on my mind, but it was still somewhat of a surprise. I knew I was ready to take a crack at a personal record, but it being my season opener I didn't know what I was ready for." According to Ryan, racing in the right environment and putting in lots of good, hard training prior to the race aided in his accomplishment.
Unfortunately, Ryan had to attend this meet solo. However, he was supported by his teammates and coaches from a distance. Ryan says after the meet, "I felt grateful and relieved. A little sad not to be able to share the moment in person with any coaches or teammates, but I was really touched to have gotten so much support from afar."
Ryan worked with coaches Pete Farwell and Dusty Lopez to train for the race. According to Coach Lopez, "Aidan has always set high goals, and my main role has been helping him figure out how to achieve those goals." Coach Lopez and Ryan share a collaborative approach to training. "He and I both enjoy going back and forth with a million ideas about workouts, training structure, and ideas for future improvement. Then we always refocus on how those ideas can fit within a consistent and simple approach to the sport. I help Aidan (and myself) remember that every lofty goal has to be supported by good daily training decisions over a long period of time.", says Lopez. Approaching this specific meet with excitement and a sense of belonging was crucial in helping Ryan achieve this goal, as this can be a challenge when competing with DI runners and professional athletes.
He has a great natural ability as a runner, possessing smooth and efficient yet powerful strides according to Lopez. To complement that, he also enjoys competition and strives for big goals. Furthermore, once he reaches a new level, he continues to think of ways to keep advancing. As stated by Lopez, "anyone who watches Aidan at practice can tell that being there is a highlight of his day, which has been really helpful both to him and our team."
Due to his stellar performance, Ryan has been named National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season for a second time within the last 3 years. He had previously earned this honor on December 10, 2020.
