FRESNO AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Calif. -- U.S. Air Force Technical Sgt. Matthew Klundt, 144th Fighter Wing Security Forces, completed the 125th Boston Marathon October 11, 2021. This was the first in-person Boston Marathon since April 2019. It's also the first time in more than a century that the race has not been held in the spring.
Klundt, co-captain of the ten-member Air National Guard Marathon Team since 2018, ran the Boston marathon for the first time in 2015, completing the course in 2:51:26. This year’s marathon makes the third time he has run the Boston Marathon in person.
In 2019 Klundt hired a running coach to help him improve his technique and hopefully his overall time.
“Due to the pandemic, this was the first big event that I was able to apply those techniques and training, helping to improve my time.”
Klundt finished this year’s marathon with a time of 2:40:35. This placed him 308th out of 15,386 participants in this year’s Boston Marathon, beating his personal best time by four minutes.
“I hope my results help to inspire those I work with to excel—not necessarily in marathons—but in other similar activities,” Klundt said.
He was fortunate to have his wife and his three young daughters travel with him to Boston to support him.
“Seeing my family there cheering me on was the highlight of the whole marathon.”
Klundt typically runs 60 to 65 miles a week as part of his normal workout, running over 2,200 miles this year, while continuing to work shifts with the 144th Security Squadron.
“Staying physically fit is something we all have to do; I treat my training for marathons as another aspect of my work.”
The winners of this year’s Boston Marathon for men finished in 2:09:51 and for women finished in 2:24:45.