Transgender runner to compete in Boston Marathon women’s division this year

A man who identifies as a woman will compete in the women’s category in the 2025 Boston Marathon.

“Yay! 15th Boston next April, and I barely made it in this time,” Riya Young Suising, 57, writes in a Facebook post that also indicates he will compete against women.

Suising’s qualifying time of 4 hours, 1 minute, 27 seconds was only a few minutes faster than the bare minimum to qualify for the race on the women’s side (4:05.00). However, Suising would not have qualified on the men’s side, where the minimum time is 30 minutes faster (3:35.00).

Suising has competed in women’s road races since at least 2010, and this is not his first marathon. Suising competed in the 2017 New York City Marathon, 2024 San Francisco Marathon and 2024 California International Marathon. He also competed in the 2018 Los Angeles Rock and Roll Half Marathon, among other races, according to Reduxx. 

Suising’s transgender identity became widely known in 2015 after he filed a complaint against a Korean-owned day spa in Virginia. He complained the spa misgendered him and refused to allow him to bathe with women. 

Yolo County Moms for Liberty and former marathon runner Beth Bourne expressed frustration at Suising competing against women in the Boston Marathon. 

“Likely he would never be able to make the men’s time standard, but by declaring himself a ‘woman,’ he can steal a coveted spot that was meant for a woman,” Bourne told Reduxx. 

“I’ve competed in several international marathons, including the Boston Marathon in 2010, so I know this: it’s a big deal to qualify for a spot,” she added. “I’m also super disappointed that the captured Boston Athletic Association has a ‘non-binary’ division, which, of course, is predominantly men winning all of the top spots across all age groups.” 

The Boston Athletic Association organizes the Boston Marathon. It lets runners compete based on their self-selected gender identity. However, transgender-identifying athletes must meet the eligibility criteria laid out by World Athletics to receive prize money and non-financial awards such as medals. 

Under President Sebastian Coe, World Athletics has barred males who have gone through male puberty from competing in elite women’s competitions, meaning Suising likely cannot receive medals or prize money at the Boston Marathon.  

With Suising competing against women, the Boston Marathon will have males competing in three gender categories: men, women and non-binary. The latter category has existed since 2023.