Sarah Callister Sellers
Student Athlete Sarah Callister,
2009-2013
Sarah Callister was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. While her father was in medical school they moved around a little bit before settling in Ogden when she was eight. Her family was very active, and she fell in love with running while running with her parents before school. Her parents always encouraged learning, saying it was important to gain more knowledge and increase their knowledge base.
After graduating from Ogden High School, Sarah chose to attend Weber State University because of Coach Paul Pilkington. She saw the success he had with other runners, such as Lindsey Anderson and Natalie Hawes, and she respected his coaching style. She ran on the cross country team, and during summer camp Coach Pilkington said “Find someone who’s really good at what they do and copy what they do.” She chose Lindsey Anderson, an Olympic Athlete, who was working with the track and cross country teams. Lindsey helped Sarah with her training, and Sarah worked hard to match Lindsey’s workouts and runs. During her freshman year she set the goal to become All-American. In her junior year a navicular stress fracture on her foot ended her college running career. She graduated from Weber in 2013 with a bachelor’s of science in nursing.
Sarah completed her master’s of science in anesthesia at Barry University in Florida in 2017. During her graduate program she slowly began running again, slowly building up her strength and endurance. After she graduated, she and her husband, Blake Sellers, moved to Arizona. He is completing his orthopedic surgery residency, and she is a nurse anesthetist.
Sarah’s brother asked her to run in the Boston Marathon, which requires a qualifying marathon to compete. She contacted Coach Pilkington to help her train. She would train before and after work, battling fatigue and long schedules. Sarah ran and won the Hunstville Marathon to qualify for the 2018 Boston Marathon. She ran with the elite women, and finished in second place in the women’s division. She is the first Utah native to place so high in the race. This allowed her to compete in the 2020 Olympic Trials for the marathon, where she placed eleventh.
In 2021, Sarah gave birth to her first child, Emery. She continues to work as a nurse anesthetist, and plans to get back in performance shape. She plans on competing in the 2024 Olympic marathon trials.
Sarah Callister running at the NCAA Track and Field Regionals, 2011
Sarah Sellers competing in the 2018 Boston Marathon
Sarah Sellers receiving the 2018 WSU Salutes Outstanding Young Alumna award
2018 WSU Salutes recipients
Exhibit in the Stewart Library