Aaron Gruen is an Austrian long-distance runner. He has held the Austrian record for the marathon distance since March 30, 2025 with a time of 2:09:53. Gruen also competed in the 2024 United States Olympic Trials Marathon.
Aaron Gruen is an Austrian long-distance runner. He has held the Austrian record for the marathon distance since March 30, 2025 with a time of 2:09:53. Gruen also competed in the 2024 United States Olympic Trials Marathon.
Gruen was born and raised in Munich, Germany, before relocating to England for secondary school, where he attended St. Edward’s High School in Oxford. [1] Gruen then enrolled at Brown University, where he majored in Music and Chemistry. [2] He did not run competitively in high school or college. [2]
Gruen began his running career in 2021. He finished third in the Providence Marathon with a time of 2:34. A month later, he finished fourth at the San Francisco Marathon. In his final year at Brown University, he developed a training relationship with Bob Rothenberg, the university's former coach. In April 2022, he ran the Boston Marathon in 2:21. He is currently part of the Rhode Island Track Club in Providence, Rhode Island, where he is coached by Canadian Kurt Benninger. [3]
Gruen started recording national-class results in 2023. He placed ninth at the McKirdy Micro Marathon in a time of 2:15:56, which qualified him for the 2024 United States Olympic Trials (marathon). [4] An accomplished musician, Gruen practiced the cello three to eight hours per day in addition to running over 100 miles per week in preparation for marathon racing. [5]
At the 2024 Olympic Trials in Orlando, Gruen was unable to finish in hot, sunny weather. [6] He bounced back with a 1:04:35 half marathon in Hamburg, Germany over the summer. He also won the 2024 NYCRUNS Brooklyn Half Marathon. [7] In the fall, he placed 24th at the Chicago Marathon in a time of 2:14:21. [8]
Gruen’s best performance came in March 2025 when he clocked a time of 2:09:53 at the McKirdy Micro Marathon in New York. This mark broke the previous Austrian national record. [9]
Gruen, who lives in the USA, was granted Austrian citizenship in 2022. His grandfather had fled Vienna as a Jewish refugee at the beginning of the Second World War. Gruen therefore received Austrian citizenship as a descendant of someone persecuted by the Nazis. His father is Keith Gruen (American) and his mother is Regine Mund (German). In 2025, Gruen will begin studying medicine at Harvard University, which he has so far postponed in favor of his sporting career. [3]
He is currently in a relationship with runner Katie Goldenberg. [3]