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Last Saturday, senior Graham Blanks ran a blistering fast 5,000m in 12:59.89 at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center in Boston, MA. This record setting time makes him the first runner in Ivy League conference history to break the 13-minute mark in the 5,000m, and also meets the qualifying standard for the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
Blanks’ record-breaking performance took place just a mere two weeks after his back-to-back NCAA Cross Country Championship victory, and his impressive ninth place finish in the 5,000m at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Boston University track is known to be one of the fastest in the world due to its sharply banked turns. These turns enable runners to "lean into" the corners, minimizing speed loss and ultimately resulting in faster times. On an indoor track, a 5,000m race spans 25 laps, making the benefits of the banked track especially valuable for long-distance events like the 5k.
The track's construction also contributes to its speed: a wood frame covered with rubber-coated plywood provides greater energy return compared to tracks built with metal frames or flat designs. However, it is not only the engineering that drives these record-breaking times – the track center's 4,800-person capacity creates an electric, cheering atmosphere that fuels runners' performances.
“The energy at BU was amazing,” Blanks explained. “It was great to get to compete in front of a home crowd and see a lot of my friends from Harvard and from Boston, as well as my competitors and friends from all around the NCAA.”
Two days after his record-shattering performance, Blanks announced that he will forgo the remainder of his NCAA eligibility and turn professional by signing a sponsorship with New Balance. Blanks previously signed an NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deal with New Balance last December.
Now that Blanks will no longer represent the Crimson, his goals for the rest of the year are different from what they have been in the past.
“Instead of focusing on Ivy League Championships and NCAA Championships for indoor and outdoor track, I'm going to slow down a little bit and start to focus on making more US teams for World and Olympic Championships,” Blanks explained. “In the NCAA, you are competing off of just 8 or 10 week blocks, but in order to be competitive on the world stage, it requires consistent, strong training strung together over many months.”
Now, Blanks’ main goal is to make the US team this summer for the 2025 World Championships this September in Tokyo, Japan.
Despite signing a professional contract with New Balance, Blanks will complete his final semester at Harvard this spring. While it might seem overwhelming to train at a professional level while finishing his last semester and writing a senior honors thesis, Blanks believes it will be no different, and possibly even easier than expected.
“In terms of balancing pro training with college, it might be a little easier because now I control my racing schedule, and I don't have to travel to so many meets which the NCAA forces you to do,” Blanks said. “I can pick and choose where and when I want to race. Whereas when I was a collegiate athlete, I really had to have school working around my athletic schedule.”
Following Blanks’ incredible ninth place finish in the 5,000m Olympic final this summer, many anticipated that he would turn professional then. However, Blanks wanted to have one more cross country season with the Crimson.
“The reason I came to Harvard was to be a part of a cross country team,” Blanks explained. “I didn't want to have to cut that short artificially. My favorite part about running for Harvard was just being a part of the team – training with the team, and having all these cool team traditions and just getting to train together and eat in the dining halls together after practice - the simple stuff like that.”
Despite his early departure from the team, Blanks’ accolades are second to none. After winning two Cross Country National Championships, two USTFCCCA National Men’s Athlete of the Year awards, and seven Ivy-League titles, Blanks has cemented his legacy in Harvard and NCAA Cross Country and Track & Field history.
– Staff Writer Natalie T. Weiner can be reached at natalie.weiner@thecrimson.com
