By David Rogers. NEW YORK CITY — Blowing Rock-based Amanda Vestri has enjoyed a storybook year in distance running — and that 2025 journey just got more memorable after she finished No. 9, overall among women in the New York City Marathon. She was the No. 4 American woman, finishing in 2:25:40, behind three Kenyans, three Americans, one athlete from The Netherlands and one from Great Britain. It was Vestri’s marathon debut on Nov. 2 — and the fastest marathon debut in history for any American woman.
A member of Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance and sponsored by Brooks sports apparel, Vestri’s historic jaunt through the five New York City boroughs puts an exclamation mark on her 2025 season. Earlier this year, she won the U.S. Women’s 6K Road Running Championships in Canton, Ohio (July 12); was No. 2 in the U.S. 4-Mile Road Running Championship in Peoria, Ill. (June 14); placed No. 6 in the Mastercard New York Mini 10K (June 7); was No. 3 in the USA Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta (March 2); No. 4 in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon (Jan. 19); No. 4 in the Medtronic Twin Cities 10-Mile in Minneapolis (Oct. 5); and No. 8 on the track for the U.S. Track & Field Championships 10,000 Meters in Eugene, Ore. (July 31).
For the ZAP Endurance team, Vestri now owns the club records at a range of distances, including the 3,000 Meters; 5,000 Meters; 10,000 Meters; Half Marathon; and the Marathon. In New York for her marathon debut, her 2:25:40 time was 12 seconds faster than teammate Tristin Colley’s 2:25:52, set in Chicago.
“Amanda ran the first half of today’s race close to a minute faster than I wanted her to go out,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea. “The concern was that she wouldn’t have enough gas in the tank to finish the last half strongly. But overall, her race today was impressive. When she got to the 21 miles marker, she was No. 9 and that is where she finished. She didn’t let any of the following runners pick her off in the closing miles.”
Rea reported that Vestri was running with the lead pack until about the 15 mile marker. “That’s when the eventual top three runners, all from Kenya, put the hammer down,” said Rea.
Those three included No. 1 Helen Obiri, who set a new course record that had stood for 23 years, in 20:19:51. She was followed by No. 2 Sharon Lokedi (2:20:07) and No. 3 Sheila Chepkirui (2:20:24).
Next to cross the line were Americans Fiona O’Keefe (No. 4, 2:22:49) and Annie Frisbie (2:24:12). Rea said Vestri was running with American recordholder for the marathon, Emily Sisson for a good bit of the closing laps, but the veteran gained some separation to finish 35 seconds in front of the High Country’s newcomer.
“Amanda had a great debut marathon,” said Rea. “She was controlled and relaxed through 30 kilometers and then maintained a courageous effort home in her first stab at this distance. New York is the toughest of the world’s seven elite marathons, which also include Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Chicago and Berlin. Starting on Staten Island, running through the five boroughs is probably two and half minutes slower for most athletes. You don’t run New York for time, but for the competition and Amanda competed very well. She executed our plan for Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Manhattan beautifully. Her future in the marathon is bright.”
With ZAP Endurance’s imminent closure by the end of the year, most of its team members have already signed contracts with other teams, including teams affiliated with shoe companies like adidas, Puma and On.
