Chasing a dream: Brady Chase qualifies for Boston Marathon

Not many people can say they qualified for the Boston Marathon. Fewer still can say they qualified for it in their first marathon, but that is exactly what Brady Chase did. 

Chase graduated from Black Hills State University in 2018 and started teaching at Hill City Elementary School immediately after. Currently, he teaches third grade and coaches middle school girls basketball and middle school track. 

“When I started doing the middle school coaching for track, I kind of fell back in love with running,” said Chase. 

Chase ran cross country and track all four years in high school and his freshman year of college. After that, he decided organized college sports were not for him. He did leisurely races but became more interested in mountain biking and gravel bike racing at the time instead. 

When he started coaching track in 2021, he wanted to stay in shape and go running with the students he was coaching. So he started running eight to 10 miles a day and going for a 20 to 25 mile long run on the weekend. 

“It’s one of the few times in my day when I can just kind of shut my brain off,” said Chase. “It’s just kind of a time to be with myself. Out here we’re so lucky with where we live that you really just get lost in where you’re at.”

Along with this, Chase said the long runs are a great time to think through things because there is nothing distracting you.

Another reason he started running is, “I found that it really helped me out mentally. I wouldn’t get as anxious or anything like that, and it gave me a lot of time to process stuff.” 

When talking about running and training with the high school cross country and track coaches, Joe Noyes and Jared Noyes asked what Chase’s goal was.

Chase said he did not have a goal to which they responded, “You’re doing a really good job. You should really try doing a marathon.” 

“So they really encouraged me to actually take it somewhere,” said Chase. 

The first marathon Chase ran was the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon in the summer of 2023. 

“I really had no expectation going into it. I knew I wanted to qualify for Boston, and I thought if I did it at my first marathon I ever ran, it would be a really nice feather in my cap,” said Chase. “I ended up not only qualifying by several minutes, but I ended up getting second overall.” 

Chase said a big part of this was he ran with a friend for 20 miles who is the head cross country and track coach at Black Hills State. They talked the whole time and both ended up going faster than either of them thought they would go. 

Along the way, Chase saw friends from Hill City who gave him the energy to keep running. He said, “They were super energetic. They were kind of electric.” 

The coolest part, he said, was seeing coach Laramie Harvey and a bunch of the Hill City students handing out the medals at the finish line. While everyone else looked tired, Chase said he was ecstatic and practically tackled Mason Buehler after crossing the finish line. 

“I got super lucky, and I nonsensically trained well enough,” said Chase. “It was obviously a difficult thing, but I surprised myself. I didn’t think I was capable of what I did.” 

Three weeks later, Chase ran at the Missoula Marathon and once again fell in line with a couple of other runners.

“It ended up just being 26 miles of conversation. It’s way more relaxing and it’s a lot easier to do than people think,” said Chase. “There’s a social aspect of it that’s really nice. It kind of takes your mind out of it.”

He finished in two hours and 46 minutes which was his best time yet. He then entered this time to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Usually to qualify runners between 18 and 34 have to complete a marathon in three hours. This year there were so many people signed up, that the time limit was lowered to two hours and 53 minutes. 

“So I got really lucky that I just happened to go that much faster,” said Chase. 

All told, there will be around 30,000 people running in the Boston Marathon along with Chase. 

He said, “There will be a gambit of different ages and people there. That’s, I think, one of the cool things about running is that anyone can do it.” 

Chase said the course is hard with rolling hills as you get past mile 18. Then there is the famous Heartbreak Hill as you reach mile 20. 

“I think that will make it more fun, and a little bit more entertaining,” said Chase. “From what I’ve heard, it’s a party for 26 miles, especially if you really don’t take it that seriously.” 

Chase is hoping to complete the race in two hours and 45 minutes. However, he said the crazy atmosphere might make it hard to focus on timing as he experiences everything. 

“Each race has its own strategy, and my strategy for this one is to just enjoy it,” said Chase. 

This year the Boston Marathon is April 15. Chase will travel to Boston a few days in advance to prepare, and his wife and parents plan on joining him.

“It will be a family affair. Between my wife and my parents, they’re the people I want there the most,” said Chase. “Having them there I think will be a huge inspiration. Seeing them at the finish line is something that I don’t know if I’ll be able to put into words even after it’s done.”

Chase is most looking forward to participating in a race of this magnitude. 

“It’s kind of the premier marathon here in the United States,” said Chase. 

He said most of the time you watch sports knowing you will never be able to compete on the professional stage, but at the Boston Marathon Chase will run with professional runners and share the space with them. 

“It’s going to be one of those things that is going to be an experience of a lifetime, and hopefully I can experience it a few times,” said Chase. 

He also said, “I just hope it’s an experience that I can bring back and maybe have a couple of third graders say they’re proud of me. That’s something that really warms your heart. Those are things that you tell people when you get older.” 

In the meantime, Chase said the hardest part about training for the Boston Marathon is finding time and understanding that he has to sacrifice time with friends and family to prepare and compete at the level he is aiming for. 

“It makes it easier when you have friends like mine and family like mine that understand,” said Chase. “That’s who I am as a person right now. I’m just a runner.”

If you see Chase out running, he said to feel free to honk, wave or ask him questions. 

“The community of Hill City has been more supportive than I could have ever imagined. And that’s what I think is so cool about this. That’s why I love teaching here. That’s why I love being part of this community,” said Chase. “To see that this town has taken such interest in just some dude, it’s more than I could have ever imagined.”

Chase is expecting to participate in many more marathons after this and might try longer races in the future. 

You can follow his journey on Instagram @chasing_brady.