ORLANDO, FL — When Spencer Bossi-Johnson arrived in Orlando, FL to run in the Olympic Trials he had already accomplished a number of goals that his high school Bristol Central mindset couldn’t even imagine.
Bossi-Johnson set a modest goal for himself to finish somewhere in the top-75 or top-50 and just like he has up until this point, he continued to achieve his goals. Bossi-Johnson placed 42 out of 177 male qualifiers and 42 out of the total 317 participants.
He said he originally was ranked 154 entering the race, but managed to race smart and obtain his goal.
“It felt awesome,” Bossi-Johnson said. “I had probably about 20 or 25 people come down to cheer me on and they were all at the finish and when I crossed the line and I was able to find them all, I still didn't know what place I was in until my wife told me and it was just really exciting. Having coach [Tamara] Stafford there and my college coach and all my friends and family, it was just a great experience overall.”
Bossi-Johnson’s plan going into the race was to be conservative. He said he knew not to go out with the top packs and because it was in Orlando to stay aware of the weather and how hot it was. He said the staff did a great job maintaining the runners' hydration throughout the course.
He said despite wanting to stay with his four teammates throughout the race as well, they got out to a quicker start than he wanted so he slowed down until about mile 18. The running patience allowed him to turn it on towards the back half of the race.
“Around mile 18 I started feeling pretty good and that's when I started to pick off a lot of people,” he said. “I think I passed about 30 people between miles 17 and 20 going from about 70th place to around 50th. Then within the last six miles, I got all the way down to 42, which was not something I expected, but I was really thrilled that I was able to race smart and do my own race and not get stuck in all the hype of being at the trials and the excitement.”
Within marathons there are many variables at play that can challenge a runners race. Bossi-Johnson said when he races he always starts off conservatively and finishes strong. He said if a runner gets out too fast around mile 10 it’ll begin to hurt and those final six miles can feel terrible.
“I definitely took it easy and I'm glad that I did because like I said it's, it's easy to get caught up in like the cheers and the crowds and the excitement,” he said. “I'm just happy that I was able to stick to my plan and have a really good outcome.”
The Bristol Central product finished with a time of 2:18:15, averaging about 5:17 per mile. The timing was slightly down from his qualifying run of 2:17.06, which he accomplished at the California International Marathon in 2022.
He said he was happy to be around his previous time because it was a tough course where not many runners finished around their qualifying time.
“That was my second fastest marathon ever,” he said. “I was just thrilled with that because the conditions were pretty tough and not too many people were close to their PRs that day. So I think I raced tough and smart and I was really happy with that outcome.”
As for the overall experience, Bossi-Johnson enjoyed his Olympic stay in Orlando. He said it was a great feeling to be in the same hotel and the same area as the runners he looked up to as well as the runners that are headed off to the Olympics in Paris.
He said there were also nearly 100,000 spectators in Orlando so the atmosphere was simply “amazing.”
As for his next career accomplishment he plans to run more marathons starting with the New York City Marathon in November.
“I hope to keep this level of training up and hopefully I can qualify again in four years,” he said. “That would be awesome, but also you never know where life will take you. But right now, the plan is to keep going at the marathon and hopefully bring my time down a little bit more.”
