Editor's Note: On Saturday August 27, George Mason track & field volunteer assistant coach Bethany Sachtleben won Team USATF's first medal of the 2019 Pan American games. Sachtleben won the silver medal in the women's marathon, with a personal best time of 2:31:20 and the seventh fastest time by an American this year. Sachtleben, a former cross country and distance standout at Mason, won four individual Atlantic 10 titles during her collegiate career in Fairfax, including a 2015 cross country triumph in which she ran a collegiate 5K PR of 16:54.60. A two-time NCAA preliminary qualifier in track, Sachtleben won two 5000m Atlantic 10 Championships during her career and also captured the indoor 3000m crown in 2015.

Author: Damian Cristodero

Bethany Sachtleben crossed the finish line during the Pan Am Games women's marathon on July 27, and took in all the emotions and spectacle that she could.

The George Mason University alumna won the silver medal in the 26-mile, 385-yard event in Lima, Peru, in her first major international competition. And her time of 2 hours, 31 minutes, 20 seconds beat the former Pan Am Games record of 2:35:40.

Sachtleben, BS Finance '15, was still 25 seconds behind gold medal winner Gladys Tejeda of Peru. But the former walk-on, whose name dots the Patriot record books, said it is a moment that will stay with her forever.

"You feel so many emotions," said Sachtleben, 27, a volunteer assistant coach on Mason's women's cross-country team. "I just felt really proud of myself for running a pretty smart race and proving I can compete here, that I can be a strong runner."

It is a strength Sachtleben credits to her time at Mason and her symbiotic relationship with Patriots cross-country and track and field coach Andrew Gerard.

To read the rest of the article, click here.