Kaneland alum Matt Richtman becomes first American to win Los Angeles Marathon since 1994

When Kaneland alum Matt Richtman toed the starting line of the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, his name was only well known in two places – the Kane County area and Bozeman, Montana, where he went to college the past two years.

But after crossing the finish line, that list has increased significantly. And for good reason.

Richtman became the first American to win the LA race in 31 years, crossing the line in 2:07:56 for the title. His time also was the seventh-fastest marathon recorded by an American.

Not a bad feat for his second marathon.

“This is something you always dream about, right?” Richtman said. “Just being in contention with those top Americans, and this being in the US too, is super special. Having all the American support out there too was definitely a special feeling at that finish line.”

Richtman, wearing all Acics gear after signing a shoe deal with the company in January, didn’t make his official move for the lead until there was about 10 miles left. After spending the first half of the race in the lead pack gauging how his fellow competitors were faring, he started to push the pace at the 16-mile mark.

And while some racers responded to the move initially, it was never enough to take the lead back.

“I knew we did have quite a few guys in our group still, and going into the end of the race, I didn’t really want to have that big of a group,” Richtman said. “I wanted to whittle it down a little bit and to put the pressure on them. I actually didn’t really plan on making a huge move like that. It just kind of worked out where I did have a small gap, and I realized that no one was really going with me.”

Richtman first got the idea of running a marathon shortly after the end of his college racing career, where he finished as a two-time NCAA All-American in cross country. After running his final race with Montana State in May, he made his post-college debut in June in the Missoula half-marathon in Missoula, Montana, running a 1:05:46 for second place.

“I really enjoyed that first half-marathon,” Richtman said. “It was a great experience. I had a lot of friends and former teammates all in the race with me as well. So it was a special moment, just to be in that group.

“And from there I just had so much fun, and I thought ‘You know, and I might as well continue on.’ ”

Shortly after his race, Richtman moved back home to Elburn, and it was there that he planned and began his first marathon training block. He also went back to his old stomping grounds, volunteering to help his former cross country coach Chad Clarey at Kaneland, where he earned seven all-state honors and won a Class 2A cross country state title before graduating in 2018.

And while he was with the team, not only would he run alongside the kids, but he would also get some help from his former coach on bus rides to meets.

“We would ask him questions, but then he would go dig deeper into finding out the answers to what those things were if he didn’t know himself,” Clarey said. “A lot of what he’s done is he’s applied what he’s learned from many different people throughout his running career, and he’s basically done this on his own. He doesn’t have a marathon running coach, he’s coaching himself, and apparently he’s doing a pretty good job of it.”

Richtman made his marathon debut in the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis. He ran a 2:10:45 to take fourth place.

And while he now knows he was a little more reserved in that race, it gave him a good feel on not only how future marathons would go but also that the training block he followed was working.

“It helped to reassure me that this training is working for me and I like where it’s going,” Richtman said. “I could take that next step to just change training a little bit to hit the areas that I really was looking at that I thought I missed out a little bit on in the Twin Cities race.”

While most of his training was on Illinois soil, Richtman spent the final month or so of his training block in Bozeman. He then made a stop in Atlanta to run in the USATF Half-Marathon Championships, where he finished sixth in 1:01:14.

But the entire way, no matter where he was in the country, Richtman said he’s felt nothing but support from the Kaneland community.

“There’s so much that goes on from training and support and everything, it’s years of preparing for this moment,” Richtman said. “So a huge portion of that does come from Illinois through high school and even into college. I’ve gotten I don’t know how many text messages and supportive comments from back home, but it’s incredible to see that the whole community has really showed their support.”

One of those many messages came from Clarey, who said that even with the spotlight on him, he was still the same high school runner he remembers, especially with his humble demeanor and flashing “that same Richtman smile.”

“I loved listening to his remarks when he was being interviewed, and he kept pointing the finger at other places,” Clarey said. “He doesn’t need to shine. He doesn’t need the spotlight, and he’s always been that way.

“When he would finish a cross country race in high school, he would stand at the back of the shoot and he would fist bump or high five or handshake all the competitors in the race that he was in at the end of the competition. He appreciates the rivalry, and he hopes that they can help make them better. And in the process, he enjoys the improvement that he can make with them.”

While Richtman isn’t sure what his next steps are for upcoming races, there’s one thing that he knows for sure.

The marathon has changed his life.

“This race was definitely a huge step in the right direction,” Richtman said. “It just gave me a lot of useful knowledge, not only from the race itself but just confidence wise, and where I can go in the future.

“The Olympics is a long ways around down the road, and I don’t really want to think about them yet, just because I still have a lot of work to do. But it’s definitely the dream.”