5280 Distance Project is a elite and sub-elite running team dedicated to pushing the limits located in Denver, CO. Their team brings together athletes who want to set big goals and push themselves across a wide range of distances from the mile to the marathon and even ultra-distance events. They compete on the roads, track and the trails, and are committed to fostering a supportive, high performing community that thrives on passion, grit, hard work, and a shared love for the sport.

Today we chat with team founders, Ryder and Kezzie Searle.

About Ryder: While attending Colorado Christian University on a tennis scholarship, Ryder didn’t discover his love for competitive running until his junior year of college. The tennis program had just been cut and the head Cross Country and Track coach, Jon Poag, suggested Ryder join the team. After earning All-American honors during his time at CCU in the cross country and track, Ryder wanted to continue training and running competitively post collegiately. He set his sights on the marathon and after 3 attempts Ryder posted a time of 2:17! He qualified and competed in the 2024 USA Olympic Marathon Trials. Ryder loves getting to compete at a high level and after his experience at the trials in 2024, he already has his eyes set on lowering his time and going for it again at the 2028 trials.

About Kezzie: Kezzie also found competitive running in an unconventional way. When she met Ryder, she was an avid rock climber and loved any type of outdoor recreation. One day, Jon Poag saw Kezzie running with a former CCU runner and asked Ryder about her. Fast forward, and Kezzie was running at CCU. She competed for the cougars from 2020 to the fall of 2021 and stayed with the team as a volunteer for another semester. Post collegiately Kezzie’s first taste of road racing was 2022 CIM. She initially was not planning on racing the full marathon but since Ryder and a group of their friends were racing, she made the decision the Sunday before the race that she’d run the full. With 14 miles being the longest she had run that fall leading up to the race, she surprised herself by clocking a finishing time of 2:54. While she has always loved pushing herself and seeing what she is capable of, that marathon experience made her want to continue to pursue competitive running, experiment with training, and try racing different distances.

We hope you are enjoying hearing about all the different teams, their visions, hopes and dreams.