Montgomery’s Alan Ash Headed to 4th Boston Marathon

Alan Ash is gearing up for his 4th Boston Marathon.

“I’m excited. Always a little bit of nervous, a lot of excitement,” said Ash.

He says his training this year has been injury free, and he’s grateful for what he has been able to accomplish.

“I do two-a-days most of the time throughout the year. It usually looks like an easy 2 miles in the morning before school. The majority of my mileage comes after school. A lot of times I’ll get a few miles from some of my athletes. We will wrap up practice and then I’ll go for 8, sometimes 10 miles after that,” said Ash.

In last year’s Boston Marathon, out of more than 27,000 runners…. Ash placed 39th over all.
He was the 15th American male and the first Alabamian to cross the finish line at a personal best of 2 hours 31 minutes and 16 seconds.

“My first year, I was 148th. My second, I was 127th. So really last year, I was really hoping top 100, so those last 6 miles I’m really pushing it and racing trying to get the next person. I was just thinking 99th, 99th. And I got back to the hotel and finally saw my parents. They told me I got 39th, and I couldn’t believe it,” said Ash.
Even though he has accomplished a lot, Ash says he knows he doesn’t do this in his own strength.

“For me, I just know that God has given me this gift. This platform. I get to use this to coach kids here at Jeff Davis and reach out to kids in the community. And just like I’m getting right now, just glorify him through this gift,” said Ash.

Ash says he would appreciate your prayers during the race. You can also track him by texting 234567 with the message “RUNNER.” Then you will get an automatic reply instructing you to enter his bib number, which is 152. You can also track him here.