At the California International Marathon in December 2022, more than 270 women finished in under three hours. Among them was Ariane Hendrix-Roach. She completed the race in a time of 2hr 35min 39sec, making her the second-fastest US-born Black female marathoner of all time – and qualifying her for the 2024 Olympic trials.
Throughout the history of marathon running, the number of Black women born in the US who have ever broken three hours adds up to 28. Sub-three-hour marathoners in the US include many white, Kenyan-born, and Ethiopian-born women – but not many US-born Black women. Why?
