Ruti Aga says a pivotal moment in her career was winning the 2015 Lisbon Half Marathon in a very competitive field. From there she knew she was ready for the marathon and made her marathon debut in Vienna, finishing second in 2:25:27. She followed that performance with a third-place finish in Berlin. Her half marathon best was recorded last year at the Houston Half Marathon (fourth, 1:08:07). As a junior, she won the silver medal in the 5,000m at the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships and placed fifth at the 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. The following year she won the 5,000m at the Reduit African Junior Championships.

Aga trains in Addis Ababa with Coach Haji Adilo and says, “In Ethiopia it is everyone’s dream to be a great runner as our country is so rich in the history of athletics. I began training to be like the great ones.” When not training Aga enjoys visiting with friends and drinking Ethiopian coffee and tea with family. Merkebe Birke, Aga’s husband, is also an elite runner and he trains with Aga.

“Boston is the biggest race in the world, and I want to be a Boston Marathon champion to #BeBoston and be a part of history.”