From Economics Books to the History Books: The Making of an American Record

From the Oberlin cross country and track & field teams to the Heisman Club Hall of Fame to an American record holder, Dr. Harsha Thirumurthy has made his mark as one of the most talented distance runners in Oberlin College history. 

On Saturday, November 8, Thirumurthy laced up for the USATF 50 Mile Road Championships at Tunnel Hill in Vienna, Illinois, marking his third ultramarathon after making his ultramarathon debut last year. Running a brisk pace of 6:46 per mile and crossing the line seventh overall with a time of 5:38:27, Thirumurthy established a new 50-mile American record in the M45-49 age division. Set by Pittsburgh native Kevin Setnes on March 25, 2000, at the GNC/USA Championships, the record stood for over 25 years.

A four-year member of Oberlin’s cross country and track & field programs, Thirumurthy graduated in 1998 with five NCAC track titles and four All-NCAC cross country finishes under the direction of Tom Mulligan. Selected as the 1997 NCAC Outdoor Track & Field Distance MVP, Thirumurthy was named to the NCAC All-Decade Team in 2004. Nine years later, the Pennsylvania native was inducted into the 2013 Heisman Club Hall of Fame. 

At 21 years old, Thirumurthy ran his first marathon just a few months after graduating from Oberlin. Working in New York at the time, Thirumurthy's friend got him a free last-minute entry to the 1998 NYC Marathon. In a field of over 30,000 racers, the Thirumurthy placed 340th overall, finishing in 2:48:38. 

Since then, Thirumurthy has totalled 30 marathons, including a personal-best 2:33 in the 2009 Boston Marathon, placing 72nd overall. Thirteen years later, at the 2022 Boston Marathon, Thirumurthy finished in 2:35, placing third in the M45-49 division. Thirumurthy said that was one of his most memorable marathon performances as he received his award at the same ceremony as the professional runners from the elite field. 

With a busy work schedule and two kids, a week of training can be tough to manage. Recording about 70 miles a week, Thirumurthy will incorporate a midweek speed workout ranging from mile repeats to interval training. Over the weekend, Thirumurthy will complete a long run, his longest being a 36-mile long run with 10 miles in the middle of the run at record pace. The rest of the week consists of easy runs, many of which include his eight-mile commute home from work. 

It wasn't until November 2024 that Thirumurthy got his feet wet in the ultramarathon distance. Running at Tunnel Hill, Thirumurthy completed the 50-mile race in 5:46:37, just seven minutes off the American record for the M45-49 age division. A few months later, Thirumurthy ran 35 miles around Lake Waramaug in Connecticut at the 50-mile American M45-49 record pace for a training run. In June, Thirumurthy competed in his second ultramarathon, running the 56-mile Comrades Marathon in South Africa, the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon, in 6:53.

With more ultrarunning experience under his belt, Thirumurthy had his eyes set on the American record as he stepped on the line wearing bib 5328. Running between a 6:35 and 6:45 mile pace for the first 30 miles, Thirumurthy crossed the marathon mark in 2:55:04, two minutes under record pace. Despite slowing down a bit on the hills between the 30 and 40-mile marks, Thirumurthy crossed the line 75 seconds faster than the previous American record.  

Thirumurthy has one more year in the 45-49 age group and hopes to run a faster time at next year's USATF Championships at Tunnel Hill. After that, Thirumurthy aims to break the 50-mile record in the 50-54 age category or maybe even attempt the 100-mile distance. 

An economics and physics major at Oberlin, Thirumurthy went on to complete two master's degrees and his PhD in economics at Yale University. While conducting his dissertation research on the economics of the HIV epidemic, Thirumurthy lived in Eldoret, Kenya, home to some of the world's top endurance runners. During those two years, Thirumurthy had the opportunity to run with many of the elite runners.

Today, Thirumurthy is a professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy and Division Chief of Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. Thirumurthy remains connected to the Oberlin community, as his niece, Abigail, is a first-year student at Oberlin. Thirumurthy lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, Emily, and their two children, Reuben and Mira.