Jess McClain secured second place at the TCS New York City Marathon on November 1, marking the first podium finish for an American woman since Shalane Flanagan in 2018.
Running the 26.2-mile course through the five boroughs, McClain clocked a late-race surge past defending champion Hellen Obiri in the final strides. She finished just 41 hundredths of a second ahead of Obiri.
“I felt so good with 400 [meters] to go, and I just visualized all those moments in training where I did my fast repeats and reps thinking about that particular stretch,” McClain told theSkimm.
The 34-year-old athlete divides her time between running professionally for Brooks Running and serving as the executive director of the Love Up Foundation, a nonprofit for children in foster care. Her performance in New York follows strong showings as the top American finisher at the Boston Marathon in 2025, setting her sights toward the Olympic Trials on March 25, 2028, in St. Louis.
Before toeing the start line in New York, McClain received unexpected advice from her coach, David, which she credits with transforming her race-day mindset. Rather than emphasizing a strict podium goal, her coach gave her permission to perform without the crushing weight of perfectionism.
“I would be proud of your C-minus day. I would be proud of your A-plus day. Just go and be Jess,” McClain recalled her coach telling her, as reported by theSkimm.
Earlier in her career, particularly after an All-America tenure at Stanford and a series of injuries including a tibial stress fracture ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympic Trials, McClain tied her self-worth strictly to race results. That intense pressure eventually led her to step away from elite competition during the COVID-19 pandemic before she returned to the sport for fun by winning a local marathon in Mesa, Arizona, in February 2022.
Jess McClain, who nearly quit the sport before taking second place at the New York City Marathon, said finding joy in training was essential.
“I think reframing failure is super important,” McClain told theSkimm. “It’s OK to fail. It’s really cool to try, [fail], and then try again.”
Her second-place finish was the first time an American woman reached the podium in New York since Shalane Flanagan placed third in 2018. She accomplished this by passing defending champion Hellen Obiri in the final stretch.
She works remotely three days a week as the executive director of the Love Up Foundation, a nonprofit advocating for children in foster care. She credits having multiple professional passions with keeping her grounded and preventing burnout.
She is working toward earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for the Los Angeles 2028 Games. The qualifying process includes the Olympic Trials scheduled for March 25, 2028, in St. Louis.
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