Australian 10,000m record holder Lauren Ryan wasn’t powered by love on Valentine’s Day–she was fuelled by revenge. On Feb. 14, the runner’s boyfriend ended their relationship over text, giving Ryan all the motivation she needed during Saturday’s Boston Valentine Invitational 3,000m. She chased down the leader in final stretch of her race and won with a personal best of 8:41.40.
“I’ve got a bit of fuel running inside of me at the moment,” Ryan said in a post-race interview. “I just wanted to win so bad–I’ve had a tough run the past couple of months with some family stuff–and my boyfriend broke up with me yesterday. The biggest lesson I’ve learned: the only person that won’t let you down is yourself.”
Instagram comments erupted with support for Ryan’s tenacity, along with a wave of criticism for the ex-boyfriend. “This win and PR is forever,” one comment read. “Forget the boyfriend. Great job!”
“Guy tried to sabotage her race and she turned around and blew it out of the water,” the comments continued.
“What kind of a guy breaks up with a woman via text on Valentine’s Day?” another user wrote. “Way better off without him.”
The former Florida State University athlete beat her former personal best by half a second, only overtaking the University of Alabama’s Doris Lemngole in the final 20m of the race. The performance marks Ryan’s second indoor personal best in two weeks; on Jan. 31’s Terrier Classic, also at Boston University, she ran 15:08.58 over 5,000m.
Ryan runs professionally for Under Armour and trains alongside Canadian stars Gracelyn Larkin and Regan Yee. Last summer, she doubled at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the 5,000m and 10,000m event; she advanced to the 10,000m final and placed 13th. Ryan set her 10,000m national record last year at The TEN in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., in March.
