The 2023 Chicago Marathon was one for the books, and it showcased some of the best talent in the world. Among those talented athletes that stood out in a big way was Tristin Van Ord.
The talented athlete who competes for ZAP Endurance based out of Blowing Rock, North Carolina ran a new personal best at the Chicago Marathon, racing to 2:25.58. She finished as the 7th fastest American woman in the race and finished 14th overall in the women’s field.
As the U.S. women’s distance and marathon running scene continues to grow and excel, Van Ord is excited to not only be a part of the conversation, but to be among the best of the best when it comes to the marathon.
“It’s crazy, because if you were to tell me even three or four years ago that you’re gonna run this time and you’re gonna have a goal to be in the top 10, or even make the Olympic team at the Trials, I would have told you that you are crazy,” she said. “If someone told me that, I would have been like no way, I want to keep getting better, but, I don’t know if I can get to that point. But now it’s so exciting being part of it, especially with women’s marathoning in the U.S. right now. It’s like we’re all competing with each other, but we also all want each other to do really well. And I can’t think of a single person in the sport right now who’s running around the same times that I am that I have a problem with. I genuinely like all of the women that I’m running with right now. And being part of that and like elevating each other, it’s just the coolest thing ever.”
The 2024 Olympic Trials Marathon, to be held in Orlando on February 3 in the coming year, will showcase some of the best women’s marathoners in the U.S. as well as in the world. Van Ord took a great deal of confidence away from her performance at the Chicago Marathon, and she looks to use that confidence headed into the big race.
“I’ve always been the type of athlete that’s had trouble with confidence a little bit and believing in myself and having faith in myself that I can do big things in the sport and make teams and go out and really be a contender with that,” she said. “We didn’t have to run Chicago because I already had a mark for the Trials. And I think just getting in that build up, staying healthy and running another PR, I think it’s given me confidence, but using that confidence in my training – hitting times in workouts that I used to think I could never run before racing, doing build up races and racing against people that I never thought I would have been running with in the past. I think it’s kind of something that the race has given me going into 2024 and just trying to do big things at the Trials.”
Van Ord trains with an elite group of athletes with ZAP Endurance in North Carolina. Her teammates have a close bond that resembles a family, and the family-like atmosphere gives her peace and assurance that no matter what happens, her team has her back.
“I think it’s easy to get into, because I do fall into it sometimes where it’s like, okay, I have to perform well or else I’m not gonna make money, or maybe my contract is gonna run out,” she said. “You kind of get into that spiral a little bit as you would with any other job – you want to perform so that you can keep your job. But specifically with my teammates and the team that I’m on, we’re like a family, and I trust them so much. And so I know that regardless of my performance, they’re going to have my back. And even if that means I start running poorly, eventually my contract would get cut, but I just know that support system is there. I think just kind of like having that security and sense of peace around it allows me to just go out and have fun, and I just run so much better when I’m having fun too.”
Coming into the Chicago Marathon, Van Ord’s personal best time in the marathon was 2:27.07, which she set at the Houston Marathon as the top American finisher.
She credits her steady improvement in the marathon to her support system and teammates at ZAP Endurance, which provided her with an opportunity to have fun and do what she loves every day.
“I’m so incredibly grateful that I have this opportunity and I’m so grateful for ZAP and just all of my teammates and my coaches for giving me this opportunity,” she said. “So I think it’s sort of this calmness and knowing that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing right now, and I’m secure in that and I’m not panicking, and I just keep getting better, and just trusting in my training, listening to my coaches and just having a good time. I think having fun and having a good time out here is one of the most important things for longevity and just having fun with the sport.”
