Brunswick alum Felicia Pasadyn one step closer to Olympic dream

Felicia Pasadyn's goal of earning a spot in the US Olympic Trials was realized Saturday at the New York City Marathon. Only the 2019 Brunswick graduate didn't know right away and tells what she can now describe as a "funny story" about how she found out she was headed to the Olympic Trials. "At the Queensborough Bridge, which was Mile 15, my watch stopped working," she said. "Then coming down the home stretch, I see it says 2:05:00, and I knew that was not a realistic time, so I just sprinted the last 800 meters like it was my last day on earth, because there was a mystery of whether or not I was going to make trials." Pasadyn finished in 2:35.17, a personal best by exactly nine minutes and good enough to be the 14th-fastest woman overall and the eighth-fastest American. The time was nearly two minutes clear of the 2:37.00 needed to qualify for the Olympic Trials, but Pasadyn didn't know what she had done until a marathon worker gave her an estimate. "When I crossed the finish line, one of the staff members mentioned something about going low 2:35," Pasadyn said. "In that moment, I knew that was well enough below the 2:37 that even a few seconds different from the predicted time would definitely make trials." It took a moment for the accomplish to sink in for Pasadyn, who also qualified for the 2020 Olympic Trials in swimming in the 200-yard backstroke, 200 intermediate medley, 400 IM, 100 back and 200 freestyle. "It was pure shock followed by so much happiness," Pasadyn said. "This is something that I thought of three years ago. I thought to myself after making the US Olympic Trials in swimming, how cool would it be to make it in running, too? But I didn't know that I would ever do that in my lifetime, let alone on the hardest marathon major course that exists." Pasadyn has lived in New York City for the last three years while attending the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where she will graduate in May with her MD. After that, she will begin a five-year radiology residency as a resident physician in June on the way to becoming an attending radiologist. She will be the fourth of the Pasadyn sisters to earn an MD, joining Cassandra, Selena and Vanessa. "I am currently the only sister without an MD," Felicia said with a laugh. The professional timeline was part of the reason Pasadyn chose to run the New York City Marathon. "I wanted to complete the New York City Marathon at some point in my time of living here," Pasadyn said. "I don't know where residency will take me, so I figured that 2025 would be maybe my last chance to do the New York City Marathon." The Harvard and Ohio State graduate set out a training plan for herself, knowing that this might her toughest race in terms of elevation gain and lack of elevation loss over the 26.2-mile course. "Over the last six months, I made a training plan with a lot of hills and a lot of very intense, long workouts," Pasadyn said. "Looking back at the types of workouts I was doing and everything I put in, I think it really all worked out, and I'm very excited about it." Pasadyn's goal was to beat her time from the Boston Marathon, where she ran a 2:44.17 in April. While the Olympic Trials were always on her mind, they weren't front and center just yet. "I thought to myself it would be really wonderful to PR in New York, but I thought in no world could I make Olympic Trials," Pasadyn said. "I thought maybe late 2026 or early 2027 I could consider looking at that as a goal to make the 2028 US Olympic Trials, but I did not think Sunday was my day. To actually see the 2:35 come to fruition was extremely shocking and very, very exciting. I would just say it was unexpected day." The next steps as far at the Olympic Trials are concerned are unclear, but they will be in February 2028 somewhere on the west coast, according to Pasadyn. As far as her running career, the next step for Pasadyn is another goal she has set. It isn't something small. "In 2026, I decided I'd really love to officially go pro," Pasadyn said. "What that means is find a running company, a brand who's willing to sign with me and offer a base salary and a little bit of some travel help to be able to compete at other very big races with other professional runners. Even though that sounds like a scary goal to put it out and say it out loud, I think that if your goals don't scare you, then they're not big enough." Setting big goals is nothing new for Pasadyn, whose list of athletic accomplishments read like a hall of fame plaque. At Brunswick, she won the Division I state title in the 100 in 2018 and 2019, becoming the first two-time champion from Medina County. A seven-time All-Ohioan, the 2019 Gazette Female Athlete of the Year holds county records in the 100 free, 200 free, 100 fly, 100 breast, 100 back, 500 free, 200 IM, 200 free relay, 200 medley relay and 400 free relay. At Harvard, Pasasdyn was a seven-time Ivy League champion, winning titles in 2020 in the 200 back, 200 and 400 IM, 200 and 400 medley relay and 400 and 800 free relay. Pasadyn holds the school record in the 200 and 400 IM, as well as the top two times in the 200 back. She also is part of the record-holding 200 and 400 medley relays and the 400 and 800 free relays. Then at Ohio State, where Pasadyn competed as a graduate student, she added to her hardware collection with a Big Ten title in the 400 IM and medaled in the 200 fly and the 200 back, finishing second and breaking the school record in both. Despite all of the success in the pool, what she accomplished on the streets of New York City moved to the top of her list because of the training she put in while also juggling a school schedule at a pioneering medical school. "I think this might top it all," she said. "That is not a product of the recency effect but a product of it truly all coming from being self-motivated and my own personal training schedule, waking up every day and committing to being the best version of myself, the best runner I could be. I put my mind to this and accomplished it. It truly means the whole world. This really was just something I set out for all by myself, and it feels really incredible." Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com.