This past spring marathoner Kylee Raftis became the fastest Canadian woman running the Boston Marathon with a blazing time of 2:34:41.
Her path to hitting her personal best and making Canada proud should not come as a surprise. Kylee is only the latest speedy marathoner in her Bennington family. She came to the sport of running in both an inspirational and harrowing way.
In 2013, Kylee watched as her dad Joe and thousands of other runners completed the famed, venerable Boston Marathon. Witnessing the athleticism and enthusiasm of runners of all ages, Raftis knew on that day that she, too, wanted to run.
One hour after her father finished and she, her mother Shelly and brothers Brandon and Jordan had left the course, two bombs – set off for political reasons – exploded on either side of the spot where the Raftis family had been standing.
Luckily, Kylee was undeterred by this horrific incident. Steadfast in her decision to be a runner, she registered and trained with both the Central Toronto Athletic Club (CTAC) and her high school.
Running both track and cross country, Raftis had a stellar high school career, which included setting the provincial and Canadian all-time record in the 1,500-metre steeplechase.
Her tremendous success resulted in a scholarship at Boston College where she ran multiple distances and specialized in the 3,000-metre steeplechase. She also had a ringside seat to view the famed Boston Marathon each year. After graduating with a master’s degree, she ran her first marathon and qualified for the 2023 Boston run on her first try.
She has since run two marathons in Boston qualifying through races in Chicago and New York and culminating in her recent Canadian record.
Noting that she “can’t imagine (her) life without running,” Kylee is “excited to see where the next few marathons take (me).”
She’ll be running the Berlin Marathon this fall and imagines another 20 years of competitive running with her next goal to break the 2:30 mark.
She says she owes much of her success to the support she’s received over the years from her coaches and family. One of her most supportive training partners at the moment is brother Brandon. While his goal is also to run a sub-2:30 marathon, Kylee says that (on the down low), her secret goal is to beat him in a marathon very soon.
