Williams College Coaches Quickly Saw 'Something In That Stride' That Pointed To Big Things For New York City Product 

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Zeth Peterka photos

When Aidan Ryan runs, he feels like a little kid again. It’s hard for the Williams College (Williamstown, Mass.) fifth-year senior to describe what running means to him, but the youthful and euphoric feeling has always been there. 

“It’s hard to pin down, but I feel like I still just have that sort of playground feeling when I’m running, and when we (Williams) do workouts, it still just feels so much like play, and it’s just fun,” Ryan said.

That love for the sport has stuck with Ryan as he has developed a deeper appreciation while becoming one of the most talented collegiate distance runners in the country. On Jan. 15 at the University of Washington Indoor Preview, he broke the NCAA Division 3 indoor 3,000-meter record in a personal-best 7 minutes, 55.29 seconds. 

“It’s been great to watch him develop,” said Williams assistant coach Dusty Lopez, who works with the distance runners.

“He’s someone who just has a lot of joy in the sport.”

Growing up in New York City, Ryan said the exposure to running was all around him in the city. He remembers going on jogs through Central Park with his dad on the weekends. That evolved into joining his older sister on the middle school cross country team, and then at Trinity, an independent school in Manhattan, where he joined the track team. He he blossomed into one of the top prep runners in the state.

He dominated the city's Ivy League Prep scene, and as a senior, Ryan placed seventh in the Millrose Games New Balance Boys Mile (4:16.58), and finished in eighth in the New Balance Outdoor Nationals 2-mile (9:23.59).

“Right away he just showed he was a pretty talented athlete,” Lopez said of Ryan’s first year at Williams. “I remember standing around the track with Pete Farwell (Williams' head cross country coach for 42 years), we were just saying, ‘Boy, there’s just a flow and a glide, and at the same time, some power in that stride.’ And Pete and I were kind of going, ‘Man, that looks like the stride of a kid who could one day run or break four minutes in the mile. It sounded crazy at that time, but there was something in that stride.”

Due to injuries, Ryan didn’t start to display his full potential until the end of his first spring at Williams when he clocked a 3:54 1,500 meters during an impromptu time trial. Lopez said through that first year of ups and downs, Ryan’s positive approach and upbeat demeanor didn’t sway. 

“My memory is that he kept working hard, always a positive presence at practice, even when he was injured and frustrated, you could just tell being at practice was one of the best parts of his day,” Lopez said. 

Ryan, who is a physics major at Williams, rode that momentum from the spring into a breakout sophomore season where he won the New England 3,000 title (8:20.91) and finished third in the NCAA Division 3 Championships (8:16.73). During outdoors, he won his first national title in the 1,500 meters (3:53.61) and placed sixth in the 5,000 (14:53.19).

“He just took command of that race,” Lopez said of Ryan’s 1,500 title. “Seeing him develop some confidence and belief, ‘Hey, I’m good enough to win races and be really good at this sport.’”

With a shortened junior indoor season, a canceled outdoors, and no guarantee of a “normal” season ahead due to the pandemic, Ryan made the decision to take a year off of school, head to Boulder, Colo., with some close friends and training partners, and focus on running. During the spring of 2021, competing unattached, Ryan ran a personal-best 13:51.83 in the 5,000 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif. 

“He was kind of on his own and he really blossomed,” said Lopez, who stayed in close contact with Ryan during his time away from school. “That (5K) was another moment of continuing to just develop and elevate himself.” 

Ryan said that the opportunity to center his life on running was a big deal and a feeling he didn’t let go once he left Boulder and headed back to school for his senior year. And so far it’s been a memorable final year for Ryan as he placed fourth at the NCAA Division 3 Cross Country Championships last fall and has started the indoor season off with a division record. 

“Mentally, I’m just in a much better place than I’ve ever been before,” Ryan said.

Two years ago as a junior, Ryan was invited to the Camel City Invitational to compete in the men’s elite 3,000 field. Both Ryan and Lopez remember being nervous about being a no-name in a field that included Olympic medalist Paul Chelimo. Two years later, and that feeling has been replaced with self-assurance and belonging. 

“We’ve gotten to the point where he’s gotten a lot of self-confidence and belief in his abilities and training,” Lopez said. “For Washington (Preview), we didn’t really talk that much about the race strategy, it was all just, ‘Hey, you know you belong here, you wouldn't be in this situation if you didn’t.’ You can really see that he’s come into fruition and that he doesn't need to be convinced of that anymore.”

Lopez, who wasn’t able to travel out to Seattle with Ryan, knew that a fast time was possible. 

“Crossing that line, it was a lot of relief, just from having it off my shoulders,” Ryan said of finally going under eight minutes. “I knew what the record was before going in, but the feeling was just gratitude for the chance to run against some really good guys, who set a really good pace. But then afterwards, it was, ‘Man, I wish Dusty could have been there.’ It was such a joint effort and the feeling of wanting my team, my training group there.” 

Ryan said he’s looking to continue the momentum the rest of indoor with goals of possibly breaking four minutes in the mile and running a fast DMR. Lopez said they’ll compete a few times at Boston University, including the David Hemery Valentine Invite Feb. 11-12, an event historically known for producing fast times.

No matter how the remainder of his senior season goes, Ryan will be enjoying the process.

“With running, the emotions can be amazing and intense and those feelings are worth chasing,” Ryan said. "I don’t get that in any other avenue in my life. That feeling hooked me on it and the team aspect. The fact that when you run, you're with people, and there’s a deep sense of connection. I feel like nothing comes close to the bonds you can make running together.”