St. Johnsbury native Hannah Rowe returns to the Mount Washington Road Race on June 27 after a breakthrough marathon performance. The 34-year-old qualified for the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in March, clocking a time of 2 hours, 37 minutes at the McKirdy Micro Marathon in Rockland, New York.
Rowe, a former standout at St. Johnsbury Academy and a four-time Gatorade player of the year in cross country and track, missed last year's Mount Washington race due to a calf injury suffered at Mount Sunapee in June 2025. The injury derailed much of her 2025 season and led her to question whether she would continue competing.
“I didn’t even know if I was going to compete anymore,” Rowe said. “I’m getting older, and I want to have kids. I thought maybe I was past my prime.”
Encouragement from her husband and coach, Philip Royer, helped shift her mindset. She committed to one more training cycle and produced the best marathon of her career.
Rowe finished fourth in her Mount Washington debut in 2024, days after the death of her longtime mentor, former St. Johnsbury Academy coach Chip Langmaid. She returns this year with tempered expectations, having not competed since March and currently in a lighter training phase.
“This is kind of an in-between period,” Rowe said. “I’m training, but also trying not to train too hard. I’m giving my body a bit of a rest.”
Rowe is also a professor at Northeastern University in Boston, balancing an academic career with elite-level training. She plans to start a family and target a return for the 2028 Trials. “I have a shot at coming back even stronger than I am now, which is exciting,” she said.
The 7.6-mile race up the Mount Washington Auto Road is one of the sport’s most grueling climbs. Rowe and Royer, who finished eighth last year, are also targeting the Presidential Traverse, a linkup of peaks in New Hampshire that includes Mount Washington, in the days before the event.
Originally reported by Caledonian Record.
Photo: Frank Cone via Pexels. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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