He Runs 135 Miles a Week, Has a Full-Time Job, and Just Earned a Spot in Boston’s Pro Field

Charlie Sweeney starts his day with black coffee, a quick breakfast, and a quiet moment before stepping out for his first run. Logging twelve to sixteen miles on Boulder's quiet dirt roads before most people have started their commute. While other professional runners recover, stretch, or rest, he moves straight into his full-time job. Talking to athletes, responding to the community, testing new hardware, and more.

At 5 PM, when most people are hitting the couch, Charlie laces up again, heading out for his second run. And a few times a week, he even finds the time to squeeze in strength sessions. Run. Work. Run. Sleep. Repeat.

135+ miles a week. 40+ hours at work. And now, a spot in the pro field at the Boston Marathon.

The Balance

Charlie never planned on being both a professional marathoner and holding a full time job as a member of the COROS global marketing team. When he graduated from college, running wasn’t even a priority. Instead, he focused on building his career in sports marketing at COROS, a company he admired in a field he was passionate about.

This summary downplays his running accolades, of course. His first post-college race put him thirty seconds off the U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying time in the half marathon. His marathon debut at CIM was 2:13, five minutes under the Trials standard and good enough for third overall.

Most of his coworkers didn’t even know, and he preferred to keep it that way.

“I didn’t want excuses,” he says. “I didn’t want anyone thinking I was less committed to my job.”

A month later, he earned a promotion. That same week, he lined up for the U.S. Olympic Trials in Orlando. It was the moment he knew he could do both.

No Shortcuts

High mileage. High workload. No wasted time.

“When I run, I’m locked in. When I work, I’m locked in,” Sweeney says. Compartmentalization is everything, as is sacrifice. So there's no mindless scrolling, no post-run brunch, no late nights.

The structure keeps him sharp and his work at COROS gives him balance. Charlie's training keeps him disciplined. One fuels the other.

“People assume that if you have a job, you’re not as committed to running,” he says. “But I’ve seen too many runners come and go, struggling to make it work. Even if I had a sponsorship, I wouldn’t quit my day job. COROS keeps me in check and provides balance outside of the sport. It keeps running from becoming my entire identity.”

The Boston Moment

For Charlie Sweeney, making the pro field at Boston isn’t just about the race. It’s about proving what is possible.

With family roots in Boston, Charlie's spent years saying he would run the marathon someday–even if meant doing it at eighty years old. Now, he’ll stand on the pro start line, shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world.

But his path to Hopkinton looks nothing like theirs. His training happened before sunrise, after work and at lunch. His recovery wasn’t priority number one, because he has other responsibilities.

But when the gun goes off, he’ll know one thing for sure–no one else on the start line had to submit PTO for Marathon Monday.

“I know the work I’ve put in,” he says. “I know the guy next to me hasn’t had to wake up before sunrise, train, work all day, then train again. I’ve had to earn every part of this.”

This isn’t just about running fast. It’s about building something bigger than a race result. A career. A passion. A life where he never had to choose one path.