Schmitt embraces her return to competive running
Colorado native Rebecca Schmitt didn’t move to the Albuquerque area 12 years ago with the intention of enhancing her running career. That’s just a bonus. But, really, that running career itself is a bonus — a love rediscovered.
Schmitt, 33, qualified for the 2028 U. S. Olympic Marathon Trials with a time of 2 hours, 28 minutes, 39 seconds at the California International Marathon last Dec.
7 in Sacramento. She was the sixth-place women’s finisher. The startlingly rapid improvement in her marathon times, from 2:59.
02 in the 2024 Boston Marathon to 2:35. 08 at the 2024 California International to 2:33. 58 in the June 2025 Grandma’s Marathon (Duluth, Minnesota) to 2:28.
39, well under the Olympic qualifying standard of 2:37, might seem less surprising in view of her running history. The talent was always there. As a high school senior in Loveland, Colorado, Schmitt won a Colorado state title in the 3200 meters on the track.