Neely Spence Gracey has represented the U.S. on five international teams including the junior and senior World Championships Cross Country teams. Her 13th-place and top American showing at the 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships has been her proudest running accomplishment. “I really felt like I competed well and used my strengths to the best of my ability to maximize my performance,” says Gracey. In 2015, Gracey showed impressive results on the road. She began the year with a second place finish at the Tampa Half Marathon, then finished third at Gate River and followed with a win at the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon. At the U.S. 20K championships she finished fourth and at the 10 Mile U.S. Championships she was runner-up. A highlight of the year was her 1:09:59 runner-up performance at the Philadelphia Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon.

Gracey, born on the day her father was running the Boston Marathon, says, “it seemed only natural that this race should be my marathon debut. When I look at the elite start list, I am inspired to be the American that tries to break up the impressive international field.” Her dad, Steve Spence, ran the marathon in the 1992 Olympics, and Gracey says making an Olympic team is a goal of hers. A graduate of Shippensburg University with a human communication major and coaching minor, Gracey is married to Dillon, who is her co-coach with Steve Magness. In college, she was a eight-time NCAA Division II National Champion and set four NCAA Division II records. Gracey trains outside of Boulder, has a Vizsla puppy named Strider, and enjoys crafting, cooking, and reading. Gracey has a personal coaching business called Get Running.

“For myself and my fellow Boston Marathoners, we didn’t put in all this work to do anything on race day but #RunBold.”