Maia Ramsden mile record underlines Olympic runner’s climb into rarefied air, on track and in life

Kiwi middle distance runner Maia Ramsden at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo / Photosport

Life at 1600m above sea level is reaping rewards for record-breaking runner Maia Ramsden.

This week, the Paris Olympian further underlined her potential by claiming a second major New Zealand record – all before she blows out the candles for her 23rd birthday.

Ramsden not only set a new national mark of 4:21.56 for the women’s mile at the indoor meet in Boston, she obliterated the old time by 2.58 seconds.

She also lowered her personal best by more than three seconds.

It comes around nine months since the two-time NCAA 1500m champion graduated from Harvard University, turned professional and moved from Boston up into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

“The altitude does make you tired,” Ramsden told Newstalk ZB as she took an Uber from the airport to her new base in Boulder.

“The first couple of months up here, I was definitely exhausted all the time, but I’m slowly adjusting. The weather is definitely better than the Northeast.

“I’m also six hours closer to home, so I’m waiting for the direct Denver to Auckland flights.”

The next time Ramsden heads for the airport, though, it’ll almost certainly be for a destination of a different kind.

The Wellingtonian’s performance at the aptly-named Last Chance Indoor Qualifier at Boston University also provisionally qualified her for the World Indoor Championships in China later this month.

After a 10th-place finish in the 1500m at the 2024 edition of the event in Glasgow, Ramsden will travel to Nanjing with a renewed mindset.

“That was a big moment for me last year, for so many different reasons.

“I definitely went into that competition feeling a bit like an underdog, feeling like this was my first time at this sort of level. It was also my first time in a black singlet and there were a lot of emotions attached to that.

“So this year, with a little more experience, I just want to go and really race my best. That’s the fun part of championship racing. It’s not about seeing how fast you can go. It’s just like, can you try and win? And I want to go race with confidence and knowing that, yeah, I can compete with whoever’s in that field.”

Slowly but surely, that confidence has been growing as Ramsden has competed at more and more major meets.

From national finals at NCAA level, to the Paris Olympics and last year’s World Indoors, to the cut-throat environment of professional racing.

From feeling happy to be there, to knowing that she belongs, to now developing that ironclad belief she can be the one to cross the finish line first.

“That’s the biggest thing I struggle with.

“I don’t have a hard time going to training and doing what my coaches ask of me, especially with this team around me. It feels really possible and like you’re working towards your goals.

“But overcoming the, not even imposter syndrome, just levelling up really. I loved racing in the US collegiate system, but the professional world is a big step up, so it’s just getting on every start line and telling myself I belong and I’m ready to go.

“And I do think when it comes to championships, you’re running for something much bigger than yourself and that does make a big difference. So I’m looking forward to that feeling [in Nanjing].”

Recreating that at the Outdoor World Championships in Tokyo in September is also very much on the to-do list.

Asked if her record-breaking feats in Boston this week are just an indication of what could be possible in 2025, Ramsden’s response is short but emphatic.

“Yeah, there’s more coming.”