Brittany Charboneau isn’t afraid to tell you that her life can be crazy and random at times. Besides studying comedy and teaching improv at a theater in Colorado, Charboneau is a professional runner with Olympic aspirations.
“I knew I wasn’t doing what I was meant to be doing,” Charboneau said. “I was ready to take a risk and leap. It was really the nudge from my husband that gave me the confidence and helped me make that final decision. I was ready to take a risk, and looking back I’m so grateful I did that.”
Charboneau returned to an old passion: She had run track and cross-country in high school and at Colorado State University, where she was a walk-on during her junior and senior years. Not winning any races in high school and college gave Charboneau something to reach for when she got into marathon running.
Charboneau’s days mostly consist of running between 10 and 12 miles in different parts of Colorado and working with a team of trainers to make sure she is prepared physically and mentally.
Charboneau set the course record at the 2017 Colfax Marathon in Denver before claiming the top spot in the 2018 Los Angeles Marathon, which allowed her to qualify for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials in February.
“After winning the Colfax Marathon in 2017, I knew I wasn’t far off from hitting the qualifying standards for the Olympic trials,” Charboneau said. “Since [Los Angeles], I’ve gone through different phases of worrying about trials, but I started to let that go to focus on doing everything I can do today.”
Charboneau has her eyes set on breaking another course record when she competes in Sunday’s Marine Corps Marathon. Charboneau has spent the majority of her training preparing to beat the marathon’s record time of 2:37 that was set in 1990 by Olga Markova.
“Chasing the record is fun because it adds another objective to your running and training,” Charboneau said. “My training has been less intense, and I’ve been faster than I’ve ever been. It’s been a motivator, but I’m proud of myself that I haven’t let it weigh on me all season.”
Charboneau has been trying to take a lot of pressure off herself and go back to having fun when running, which is why she decided to run in the Marine Corps Marathon.
“I had to reassess a lot of things and take a step back to look at what is important to me in running,” Charboneau said. “I was putting a lot of pressure on myself because those were the world majors and we’re going into the pre-Olympic year. I wanted to pick a fun race, and I’ve heard so many good things from every runner I know that ran the Marine Corps Marathon and it’s one of the best races they’ve run. Taking a lot of the pressure off, and D.C. is one of my favorite places to run in. It has a cool vibe, and I’m kind of a history buff.”
With the Marine Corps Marathon and Olympic trials looming, Charboneau had to put acting, her second passion, on the back burner to focus on running. However, she still finds ways to manage both career paths.
Acting came into Charboneau’s life around the same time she decided to launch her professional running career. Charboneau studied comedy and theater in Chicago before returning to Denver to continue her studies at the Bovine Metropolis Theater, where she teaches and perform comedic shows.
“Now that I’m leading up to trials, running takes precedent over everything,” Charboneau said. “Sometimes I have to turn down acting gigs and comedy gigs because training comes first. It’s pretty manageable since I don’t have a day job, so I put my runs where I need to in my schedule. I teach improv or perform comedy in the evenings.”