Former Mason standout Bethany Sachtleben holds the silver medal she received for her second-place finish in the women's marathon at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru. Photo provided.
Bethany Sachtleben crossed the finish line during the Pan Am Games women’s marathon on July 27, and took in all the emotions and spectacle that she could.
The George Mason University alumna won the silver medal in the 26-mile, 385-yard event in Lima, Peru, in her first major international competition. And her time of 2 hours, 31 minutes, 20 seconds beat the former Pan Am Games record of 2:35:40.
Sachtleben, BS Finance ’15, was still 25 seconds behind gold medal winner Gladys Tejeda of Peru. But the former walk-on, whose name dots the Patriot record books, said it is a moment that will stay with her forever.
“You feel so many emotions,” said Sachtleben, 27, a volunteer assistant coach on Mason’s women’s cross-country team. “I just felt really proud of myself for running a pretty smart race and proving I can compete here, that I can be a strong runner.”
It is a strength Sachtleben credits to her time at Mason and her symbiotic relationship with Patriots cross-country and track and field coach Andrew Gerard.
Sachtleben said she gains from the alternate patience and tough love Gerard provides. Gerard called Sachtleben “an engine on legs. When she wraps her head around it, she can push herself to that edge for a long time.”
“This program is amazing,” Sachtleben said of Mason’s cross-country and track and field teams. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all training schedule. There’s so much one-on-one development.”
That is a why Sachtleben, who lives in Fairfax and works as financial operations analyst at a tech company in Tysons Corner, Virginia, sticks with Gerard as her coach and continues to work with the Mason team.
The strategy Gerard and Sachtleben devised for the Pan Am Games had Sachtleben pacing herself during the uphill start of the race, breaking away from the chase pack on the second of four 6-kilometer laps that ended the race, and pushing as hard as possible on the final two laps.
Had the race been one lap longer, Gerard said, Sachtleben might have challenged the slowing Tejeda.
“Leading up to the race it was so daunting to think how I was going to beat these women who have all this experience,” Sachtleben said. “Being in that situation, keeping my cool, to think it through and play the game with them is really an experience.”
Next for Sachtleben are the Olympic trials on February 29 in Atlanta, and training with Gerard that will begin ramping up by the end of August.
“I have complete trust in him that he’s going to do what’s best for me,” Sachtleben said of her coach. “He’s going to explain it to me, and it’s definitely going to be right.”
Bethany Sachtleben (left) shakes hands with a fellow marathon competitor after the Pan Am Games race in Lima, Peru. Photo provided.