Wei Ma – Our Marathon Man

By Christine Bishop

Wei with son, Jerry, at Stockade-athon 2023

The iconic Boston Marathon is Wei’s favorite race which he has run for three years straight. This is a big honor since entry in the race is determined by ability, and the qualification times for the event keep getting tighter each year so that the number of runners can be kept around 30,000.  His time this year was 3:10:00 with his fastest time in 2022 with 3:00:22 but the heat of this year contributed to him not achieving a PR. That will give him a goal for the next Boston marathon! His marathon PR is 2:55:40 that he ran at the Berlin Marathon in 2023. Maybe he was spurred on by Eliud Kipchoge who finished in 2:02:42, which incidentally is not Eliud’s fastest time!

Surprisingly Wei’s favorite distance to run is the half marathon but in  2023 he ran 6 marathons and in 2024 he is on track to complete 6 marathons.  He dreams of running a marathon in all 50 states but realizes that this is not a simple accomplishment and it will take years, but he enjoys challenges.

Training is key to his performance. His training plan is to run consistent mileage of usually 50 to 60 miles a week, combined with two speed work sessions. He runs with Mark Mindel’s Fleet Feet Distance team and Clifton Park 710 running group. He finds the camaraderie of both teams to be stimulating and fun.  During the winter he uses a treadmill but prefers running outside, weather permitting.

Running Trivia

His training shoes are Saucony Triumph for easy days and Nike Alphafly for speed work. He wears Vaporfly for races.

His pre-race meal is either a bagel or bread with coffee. Post-race meals can be wildcards depending on what he yearns for in the last few miles of the race.

He hasn’t run in a costume but still may do so in the fall races.

Parting Advice

He shares with us the key factor in guiding his running, that all can learn from:

“Be grateful no matter how fast or slow you can run, because you still can.”

Boston Marathon 2024