Allie Ostrander

Allison "Allie" Ostrander (born December 24, 1996) is an American long-distance runner. She was the NCAA Division I steeplechase champion in 2017, 2018 and 2019, competing for the Boise State University Broncos. In July 2019, Ostrander announced her plans to forgo her final season of NCAA eligibility and begin running professionally.

Early life and education

Ostrander was born in Kenai, Alaska in 1996, the daughter of Teri and Paul Ostrander. Ostrander graduated from Kenai Central High School in 2015 and matriculated to Boise State University.Boise State’s only three-time national champion will skip senior year to turn pro
''Idaho Statesman'', Rachel Roberts, July 2, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.

Ostrander has been involved in health and fitness from a young age, participating in sports since the age of five. She competed in varsity cross country and track in college while pursuing a degree in exercise science.

She worked as a children's camp director, sports instructor, and counselor. She also directed local races in her hometown.

Running career

While as a youth she considered herself a soccer player, but she took up the local challenge of the annual Mount Marathon Race. By 2008, she had the age 7-11 course record. She continued to win every year, setting the course records in the 12-14 division, 15-17 division and would have set the record in her first year in the adult women 18-29 division in 2015, except that was the year professional runner Emelie Forsberg visited to set the record. In high school, Ostrander competed on the basketball team along with running, where she was coached by her mother. Ostrander ran cross country, hurdles, and distance events. She won her first state 4A (large school) championship as a sophomore. In 2013, as a junior, Ostrander finished second to Alexa Efraimson, clocking 10:03.66 in the Arcadia Invitational 3200m in California. In 2014, her senior year, she won the Nike Cross Nationals.

Ostrander competed for the Boise State Broncos at the NCAA Division I level.

Collegiate

2015

In September 2015, Ostrander won the U20 World Mountain Running Championships in Betws-y-Coed, Wales, UK. Later that month, she finished second in the 6 km Roy Griak Invitational cross country race. On October 16, she won the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational 6 km in 19:19.5. Two weeks later, she won her Mountain West Conference championship, followed in another two weeks by an NCAA Division I West Region victory. On November 21, she finished as the runner up in the 2015 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in 19:33.6.

2016

In January, Ostrander set a personal best in the 5000 m, running 15:21.85 at the University of Washington Invitational. At the Husky Classic in February, she set a new personal best of 8:54.27 for 3000 meters. Later that month, she anchored her Broncos distance medley team to a first-place finish at the Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships. In July she finished in 8th place in the 5000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

2017

Ostrander won the Stanford invitational 3000 m steeplechase in 9:55.61. In May, at the Mountain West Championships, she won the 10000 m in a personal best time of 35:51.2. In June, she won the 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships steeplechase title, in 9:41.31. In November, Ostrander finished second in the 6 kilometers in the NCAA West Region Championships, with a career best time of 19:16.5. She later finished fourth at the NCAA Championships on November 18.

2018

Running as a redshirt sophomore at the Mountain West Indoor Championships in February, she set a personal best for the mile run in 4:46.06, finished second in the 3,000 meters, and anchored Boise State's winning distance medley relay. On May 10, Ostrander finished less than a second behind Karissa Schweizer in the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships at 3000 meters, running 8:54.35. On March 29, she won the Stanford Invitational 3000m steeplechase, with a new personal best of 9:38.57. At the Bryan Clay Invitational, she ran a new 1500 m personal best of 4:15.06, behind Olympian Shelby Houlihan but beating future Olympian Weini Kelati. At the Mountain West Outdoor Championships, she won the 5000 meters and finished second in the 1500 m. On May 25, Ostrander qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships by winning the 3000 m steeplechase in at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships in Sacramento, California. A day later, she qualified for the 5000 meters, finishing second in her heat in a time of 15:27.46. In a repeat performance at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ostrander won the 3000 m steeplechase. In the 5000 meter race about an hour later, she finished eighth.

On November 9, Ostrander won the NCAA Division I West Region Cross Country Championships, in a personal best of 19:09.0. The Broncos finished second overall, four points behind Oregon.NCAA Division I West Region XC
''NCAA'', November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018. On November 17, along with Anna Rohrer, she led the tightly packed leaders through the first 4 kilometers of the NCAA Championships. She faded slightly toward the end, finishing sixth to Colorado's Dani Jones in 19:56.9. On December 1, she ran a personal best in the 5,000 meters of 15:16.38 at Boston University.

2019

On January 26, Ostrander broke the Boise State school record for the mile at the University of Washington Indoor Meet, running 4:35.79. Her distance medley team also set a school record, where Ostrander was the 1600 meter leg. At the Stanford Invitational on March 29, Ostrander competed in the 10,000m, finishing third in 32.06.7. On May 2, she returned to the steeple at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, California, to win 0.05 seconds ahead of New Mexico State's Adva Cohen. On June 8, as a redshirt junior, Ostrander repeated her NCAA 3000m steeplechase win, winning in a new personal best of 9:37.73, marking the first-ever woman to win the event three times in a row. On June 30, at the Prefontaine Classic, Ostrander ran a new 3000m steeplechase personal best of 9:31.44.

Ostrander finished her collegiate running career as Boise State's most-decorated student-athlete. She was inducted into the Boise State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.

Professional

2019–2022

After the 2019 Prefontaine Classic, Ostrander decided to forego her last seasons of collegiate eligibility to go professional. She signed contracts with agent Ray FlynnAlaska runner Allie Ostrander decides to go pro
''Anchorage Daily News'', Rachel Roberts, July 3, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019. and with Brooks Running to become a member of the Brooks Beasts Track Club, under Danny Mackey.

On July 28, Ostrander finished fourth in the steeplechase at the 2019 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships, in a time of 9:38.52. Because Emma Coburn, who ran 9:25.63, was the defending World Champion from 2017, and consequently was an automatic qualifier to the 2019 World Championships, Ostrander qualified to compete at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

On September 8, Ostrander competed in New York City's Fifth Avenue Mile, running 4:33.5 to finish 16th. In February 2020, she won the 3000 meters at the Millrose Games, in a personal best of 8:48.94, despite an achilles injury. At the 2019 World Championships, in the 3000m steeplechase, Ostrander ran a new personal best of 9:30.85 in her heat, barely missing the final.

On April 2, 2020, Ostrander received platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy to help accelerate the healing of her torn achilles tendon. She trained at altitude in New Mexico during this time.Allie Ostrander Making The Most Of Break In Action
''Track and Field News'', Rich Sands, June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020. The same year, Ostrander began a volunteer coaching position with the NCAA DII distance running program at Seattle Pacific University.

In 2021, Ostrander ended her contract with Brooks in order to step away from professional running.

2023-present

In February 2023, Ostrander signed a contract with NNormal. On August 25, 2023, Ostrander was suspended for 4 months by the USADA after testing positive for canrenone, a banned substance that's often used as a masking agent, on March 30, 2023. Ostrander claimed she was exposed to the substance through a prescription acne medicine, which she had not obtained a Therapeutic Use Exemption to use. During this year, Ostrander began to be coached by David Roche.

In January 2024, she got 4th at the 2024 USA Cross Country Championships allowing her to compete at the 2024 World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

Ostrander won the 3000 meter steeplechase at the Portland Track Festival in June 2024, running a new personal best of 9:24.70. A few weeks later, she competed at the US Olympic Trials, finishing 7th in the 3000 meter steeplechase final, setting a new personal best of 9:21.82.

Ostrander placed seventh overall in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase finals at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. She then moved to Boulder, Colorado to focus on training at altitude and continue her running career. In January 2025, Ostrander announced that she had signed a contract with Oiselle, and would continue to compete in track, road, and trail competitions.

In February 2025, Ostrander competed in a half marathon, finishing in 1:11:10. This time stands as the fastest half marathon by an Alaskan.

Competitions

Honors

* 2016, 2018, 2019 Honda Sports Award Finalist - Cross Country
* NCAA 5000m First-Team All-American
* Boise State Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024
* Alaska Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024

Critique of athletics coverage

In 2018, NCAA commentator Jill Montgomery referred to Ostrander as the "baby-faced assassin", and said she looked like she still played with "Barbie Dolls". Dwight Stones said, "She may look like she was just playing with her 'Barbies,' but she's the reigning National Champ."

In 2019, Ostrander wrote, "This year, the commentators found it necessary to state (incorrectly I might add) my height and weight multiple times. Not only were these comments objectifying and unnecessary, they drew attention away from the real focus of the event. People attend this event and listen to the commentary because they want to see what we're capable of, not what we look like we're capable of. So why do the commentators insist on providing information that has nothing to do with the sport? In a sport where eating disorders and body dysmorphia are so common, the media has an opportunity to help women (and men) feel capable and powerful and worthy, but by focusing on appearance and body proportions, this opportunity is missed."

ESPN subsequently responded with a statement regarding the comments in question, saying: "We greatly appreciate Allie bringing this important conversation to light. Commentary about height & weight was not broadcast on ESPN."Boise State's Allie Ostrander Calls Out ESPN Broadcasters
''Sports Illustrated'', Jenna West, June 14, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.

Personal life

Ostrander has an older sister, Taylor, who was a runner at NCAA Division III Willamette University.

Ostrander frequently competes in the Mount Marathon Race in Seward, Alaska, which she began running in grade school. She won the half-distance, junior version of the race six consecutive times from 2009 to 2014. In 2015, in her first senior race, Ostrander finished under the standing 25-year-old female record, but was beaten by world skyrunning champion Emelie Forsberg. In 2017, Ostrander won with her best time to date, 49:19.

In 2021, Ostrander was hospitalized for treatment of an unspecified eating disorder. She had previously run in the 2021 Olympic Trials, setting a personal best of 9:26.96 for the 3000m steeplechase while finishing in 8th place in the finals. She uses social media to raise awareness about eating disorders and provide support to runners experiencing similar challenges.

Her fiancé is Spencer Brown, a former Brooks Beasts middle-distance runner and host of YouTube channel ''The Athlete Special''.

References

External links

*

Allie Ostrander
at World Athletics
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrander, Allie
1996 births
Living people
American female middle-distance runners
American female long-distance runners
American female steeplechase runners
American female cross country runners
Boise State Broncos women's cross country runners
Boise State Broncos women's track and field athletes
People from Soldotna, Alaska
Sportspeople from Alaska
21st-century American sportswomen
Track and field athletes from Alaska
NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
American YouTubers
Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games