NYRR Media Center

In her last marathon, Kellyn Taylor finished in sixth place at the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon, the second American behind Molly Seidel.

Taylor’s personal best of 2:24:29 came in winning the 2018 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn. Her time broke the course record and was the seventh-fastest marathon time by a U.S. woman in history.

Taylor ran 2:28:40 in her marathon debut in Houston in 2015, the sixth-fastest debut ever by an American woman. Later that season, she won the 5,000-meter bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games and set a half-marathon personal-best of 1:11:01 in Philadelphia. In 2016, she finished sixth at the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, and represented Team USA a month later at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff, Wales. She finished 25th overall and third among Americans in 1:12:42. She went on to finish fourth in the 10,000 meters and 12th in the 5000 meters at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Taylor was the second American finisher at the 2017 London Marathon, placing 13th overall in 2:28:51. The following year, despite failing to finish the Boston Marathon due to the terrible weather conditions, she set her marathon personal best at Grandma’s Marathon, her indoor mile personal best at the BU Terrier Invite, and her half-marathon personal best at the Las Vegas Half Marathon.

Raised in Wisconsin, Taylor graduated from Wichita State University in 2009. In 2015, she and her husband, Kyle, who served a tour of duty in Afghanistan, welcomed their first daughter, Kylyn. During the build-up to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, the couple fostered several children. After she ran the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon, the pair began fostering a boy who was in the process of looking for a family, and eventually adopted him in May 2022. They also adopted his sister this past April, in addition to welcoming a biological newborn girl of their own last December.