From Realtor to Record-Breaker: Richmond’s Keira D’Amato Shatters the US Half-Marathon Record

Keira D’Amato of Richmond recently broke the US half-marathon record by 13 seconds.

Do you remember running the mile in high school and trying to beat your former time? Well, Richmond resident Keira D’Amato just crushed a running record—and she did so on a national level.

The runner, who works as a realtor, recently broke the US half-marathon record with a time of one hour, six minutes, and 39 seconds. For a woman just starting her running journey, the 13.1-mile trek takes an average of 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete. 

Earlier this month, the 38-year-old averaged five minutes and five seconds per mile on an Australian course, beating runner Emily Sisson’s half-marathon record time by 13 seconds. Ironically, Sisson’s Oct. 9, 2022 record-setting run beat D’A’mato’s former record, which the Richmond runner set in January 2022. 

Sisson took to Twitter to congratulate D’Amato on her accomplishment at the ASICS Half Marathon. The 31-year-old Wisconsinite wrote in part: “It’s awesome to be a part of this era of US women’s distance running where records are continuously improving.”

Celebrating her win, D’Amato wrote a heartfelt post on her Instagram page. There, she noted several setbacks that led up to the big triumph, including an injury near the beginning of the year and a slew of flight issues on her way to Australia. Through it all, the Virginian persevered. 

“Then, with about 100 or meters to go, I saw the clock and all that hoping was actually coming true,” D’Amato wrote. “We all know it doesn’t always workout like that. In fact, most of the time, it feels like it doesn’t. But on Saturday, July 1 in Australia at the @gcmarathon (Gold Coast Marathon) half marathon, it did for me.”