Tim Ritchie wants nothing more than to just put on his hoodie and head out for his morning run in silence. It’s what he’s done for years

– until his attention-grabbing win at the Rock n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon on Oct. 31 thrust him into the running spotlight. The Worcester native finished the race in 1:01:22, a full two minutes ahead of the second-place finisher.

“It just kind of happened,” said Ritchie, 28, of his new personal best time. “I didn’t go in with a time in mind; I just wanted to win. There were a lot of good runners in that race, so I knew if I won, I’d have a good time.”

Ritchie’s time wasn’t just good – it was the second best half marathon time in the U.S. in 2015 and put him in the same company as Meb Keflezighi and Ryan Hall, two of the country’s great marathoners who’ll line up with Ritchie at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials this month in Los Angeles for a chance to represent Team USA in the marathon event in Rio. Though “happy to have the opportunity to chase those guys,” Ritchie is humble, yet realistic. “It’s just a half,” he said. “I’ve got to be able to do that twice.”

Since that race, Ritchie, who now lives in Brighton, has become the talk of the town. While many people think he came out of nowhere, the truth is that Ritchie’s success has been a long, unfolding process. “When I look at where I was as a freshman in high school, I never would have thought I’d come this far,” he said. “I’ve surprised myself every step of the way. It’s been fun seeing how far I can take it.”

Ritchie started running at Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester to keep up with his two older brothers, who were on the cross-country team. “I needed something to be better at than them,” said Ritchie, who hoped it would help him step out of their shadows. “I trained and worked pretty hard to beat those two. I guess they were my first motivation.”

It was at Doherty where Ritchie built his foundation, where he came to both love and appreciate running. “My cross-country coach taught me about ethics, and it has always stuck with me,” he said. “He taught us that we had to have pride and work hard. That applies to me now as a pro runner as it did as a dorky kid back in high school. My track coach taught me to be grateful. He made me realize that I have a great gift for this sport and I had to work hard and make the most of it. Worcester was the breeding ground for who I am now.”

Ritchie racked up honors, including fourth in the state for cross-country in high school, which earned him a spot on the Boston College cross-country and track teams. Ritchie steadily improved, compiling one of the most storied careers in BC history. Ritchie, who captained the cross-country teams his junior and senior years, won the New England championship in 2008, one year removed from finishing as the runner-up. In his final season, Ritchie placed second at the ACC Championship and was named the ACC Performer of the Week on two occasions. All while earning three degrees – a BS in biology and a BA in theology in 2009 and an MA in theology in 2010.

“When I was graduating, my coach said I should keep running,” said Ritchie, referring to BC’s cross-country and track head coach Matt Kerr, who is now Ritchie’s professional coach, a status he reached after signing a contract with Saucony in 2014.

“He was very curious about how good he could be, as was I,” said Kerr, who’s been with Ritchie since his junior year at BC. “We came to a mutual agreement to see where it could go. He is very goal-oriented. I gave him a two-year deadline to reach some mythical goals, and he’s hit those targets every time along the way. … Every year he seems to improve in one way, shape or form. He finds a way to get ahead. It’s a steady improvement that he builds upon from one year to the next.”

The ultimate goal has always been to make it to, and win, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Feb. 13. After struggling through the final miles of the 2013 Boston Marathon – his first 26.2-mile race – Ritchie learned from what he did wrong in Boston and applied it to the Twin Cities Marathon in October 2013. His 2:14:50 finish qualified him for the 2016 Trials. “I have been thinking about the Trials every day since qualifying,” he said. When he runs the marathon in L.A., it’ll be just his third ever.

“The lead-up to the trials is about staying healthy,” said Kerr. “He can be injury prone. Last year was a tough year for him, with back-to-back injuries. He’s still fragile in terms of mileage and needs to manage his recovery. It’s a delicate balance, but he knows his own body more than anyone else now.”

Ritchie believes his injuries – stress fractures in his femur and sacrum – were the result of low bone density, something he suffered by not eating enough calories to sustain his tough workouts. He has since increased his calorie intake to 3,500 and follows a diet rich in protein to help rebuild his muscles and bones after workouts. After fixing the problem, Ritchie rushed back and immediately injured himself again.

“When I got hurt the first time, I was so mad that I cross-trained three hours a day,” he said. “With the second injury, I was more patient. I worked on things that I had been lazy about that made me imbalanced and weak. I focused on my diet, strengthened my core and built up my muscles that were weak. It turned out to be a good thing in the end because I’m an all-around better athlete. I had to push reset.”

Ritchie runs six days a week (Sunday is a day of rest for both his mind and body), usually in the mornings before heading to his job as an assistant coach at BC, where he helps recruit and mentor young runners. At night, he engages in supplemental stretching and strengthening exercises to stay healthy.

“The way he trains is so different than his competitors,” said Kerr. Ritchie averages 70 miles per week compared to the 120 most marathoners log. “But I think that gives him an edge. He’s a different kind of athlete, that’s for sure.”

Kerr added that while a lot of miles can really beat Ritchie up, he has the ability to produce on very high-mileage days. “I’ve never seen a more natural athlete; he’s a very gifted distance runner,” said Kerr, comparing Ritchie’s graceful running to that of a gazelle. “He can stack up his long run next to anyone in the country. It’s his bread and butter.”

Ritchie is hoping that his “good, consistent hard work and patient training” will give him an edge in L.A. “I have been successful because of steady, consistent work, day in and day out,” he said.

Ritchie admits he is “putting all of my eggs in this one basket,” and if all doesn’t go as planned in L.A., he and Kerr will re-evaluate. But one thing is certain: Running will always be a part of his life. “One day, my biology will catch up to me and I’ll slow down,” Ritchie said. “But I’m going to keep my foot on the gas pedal for as long as I can. I hope I will always be able to run, but I know running like this and competing is short-lived, so I’m going to make the most of it while I can.”

It all goes back to the lessons Ritchie learned in high school: pride and gratitude. Trying to find the balance between the two is something Ritchie works on daily during his runs. “When you’re running competitively, it’s easy to get caught up in the expectations and goals,” he said. “I have to remind myself that that’s all semi-superficial. The only thing that matters is getting up and out there every day.”

As for what comes next for Ritchie, that’s still up in the air. “I love being around the sport and being a mentor for the student athletes, but I do have other passions,” he said. “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I don’t want to grow up, that’s why I’m still doing this!” he laughed. “In my mind, I’m still a kid running the trails behind Doherty. Maybe one day I’ll be forced to grow up, but right now, I’m enjoying just living in the moment.” 

By Kimberly Dunbar