by Shannon Kelly on Wed, July 2nd 2025

Yerington’s Kevin Kirk finished 33rd overall in the 2025 Boston Marathon. (Photo courtesy: Lyon County School District)

Every other week, Nevada Sports Net will spotlight a local athlete as part of our “Legendary Athletes” series, which is presented in partnership with Legends Bay Casino. Today’s featured athlete is Yerington native Kevin Kirk, a former Division I runner who excelled in the Boston Marathon earlier this year, placing 33rd overall and 19th among Americans.

If Yerington’s Kevin Kirk didn’t meet his wife, Billie, he may have never competed in his first marathon last March.

“When I came out of college, my wife, she had just qualified for the 2024 Olympic trials in Orlando,” Kirk said. “I’d already signed up for L.A. (Marathon), but I was still kind of on the fence if I really wanted to do it or not. Getting to watch her run the trials and be down there and experience the whole road-running scene was super inspiring, something that had a huge influence on me. Then we went, ran L.A. and first thing I told my wife when I got done was, ‘I’m never doing that again. That was awful.’ Then two days later, I had signed up for my next one. It’s definitely something that’s kind of addicting.”

Kirk helped guide Yerington to a pair of Class 2A track and field state championships while finishing runner-up at state his senior year in 2018. His lone college offer out of Yerington was from Utah Tech (formerly Dixie State) and head coach Justin Decker. Kirk competed on the track and field and cross country teams with the Trailblazers for three seasons before transferring to Weber State for his senior year in 2022-23. He and his wife now reside in Utah with their first child on the way in August.

“I really just owe it to the coaching staff at Yerington that really helped me get to a place by my senior year that I was able to go down there and run there,” Kirk said. “Thanks to that coach for giving me an opportunity because compared to a lot of my peers down there, I wasn’t the fastest. I didn’t have the fastest PRs. He definitely took a little bit of a chance on me. I owe everything to him. I owe everything pretty much to all the coaches I’ve had since I started in sixth grade. They’ve really helped me get to where I am today and helped me grow as an athlete and as a person as well.”

After running his first marathon with a time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, 13 seconds, Kirk competed in the Twin Cities Marathon with a top-10 finish and a time of 2:16:33 last fall. His time qualified him for the world-renowned Boston Marathon in April where Kirk placed 33rd overall in a field of more than 28,000 runners. He was 19th among American men, crossed the finish line in an impressive 2:17:02.

“It was crazy,” Kirk said. “It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced while running. There were 26 miles of just people cheering. I was lucky enough to get into the elite field, so I got to start with the pros and I had my last name on my bib and they were just screaming my last name for 26 miles. I’ve never experienced anything like that while running, and if I could go back every year, I definitely would. It’s super inspiring because being a runner kind of my whole life, that’s the first thing people ask you. They ask, ‘What’s your mile time?’ And when you say ‘I run marathons,’ they say, ‘Have you ran Boston?’ So, I got to check that one off, and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

Kirk said he received support from people across the West since he grew up in Nevada and spent time at two colleges in Utah.

“The support from from not only the people here in Utah but then all the people back home in Yerington and in Northern Nevada was insane,” Kirk said. “It’s been really, really cool to see all of my past, all of my different outlets from here to Southern Utah to Northern Utah just be so connected and so excited for me.”

After watching his wife qualify for the U.S. Olympic trials, Kirk is looking to do the same ahead of the L.A. Olympics in summer 2028. He will compete in the California International Marathon on Dec. 7 in Sacramento, which is a USA Track and Field sanctioned event and qualifier for the Boston Marathon and U.S. Olympic Trials. The men’s qualifying time for the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials is 2:16, which is within reach.

As Kirk gears up for December, he’ll run roughly 105-110 miles per week to prepare for the 26.2-mile marathon.

“It’ll be really nice because my parents will be there,” Kirk said. “My dad’s whole family lives in Sacramento, so they’ll be able to come out and hopefully some of the Northern Nevada crew will make the trip up there as well.”

Link to view interview video:

https://nevadasportsnet.com/features/legendary-athletes/yeringtons-kevin-kirk-eyes-us-olympic-trials-after-remarkable-finish-at-boston-marathon#

Thank you to Legends Bay Casino, Nevada Sports Net and Shannon Kelly for sharing this article/video with Kevin’s hometown! -Pizen Switch Times