When Kansas City University (KCU) second-year osteopathic medical student Bryce Merriman crossed the finish line of the Kansas City Marathon, he wasn’t just completing 26.2 miles. He was proving something to himself about endurance, balance and what it means to keep going when things get hard.
Just a few weeks earlier, Merriman had told himself he was done with marathons.
“I ran one in Illinois, and it nearly broke me,” he said. “I hit the wall so hard I had to walk several times. I remember thinking, ‘Never again.’”
But, as runners often do, he reconsidered. Two weeks later, he entered the Prairie Fire Marathon in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas, and placed second. Then, almost on a whim, he signed up for the Kansas City Marathon.
“I didn’t go into it expecting to win,” he said. “I just wanted to finish strong, but the day went really well, and around mile 21, I realized I actually had a shot.”
By mile 26, Merriman had pulled ahead, claiming first place in his third marathon in less than a month.
For Merriman, running has always been more than a sport. It’s his reset button, a way to find focus during the intensity of medical school and the busyness of raising his nearly two-year-old daughter, Charlette (Charlie), who already has a connection to running.
“My wife, Nicole, was a few months pregnant when she ran a marathon,” he said, smiling. “We like to joke that our daughter’s already completed one.”
His runs often fit neatly between morning and afternoon lectures, along car-free Cliff Drive trail just half a mile from the KC campus.
“It’s the perfect break in the day. I can go for a run, shower at the gym and head straight to lab, he said. “Running is the one hour I get to completely unplug, to be outside, clear my head and just move. It makes me a better student, and honestly, a better person.”
That rhythm, he believes, mirrors the endurance it takes to pursue medicine.
“The rigor of medical school is a lot like distance running,” Merriman explained. “If you think about the entire journey: four years of school, three or more years of residency, it’s overwhelming. But if you take it one mile, or one year at a time, it feels manageable.”
Merriman’s path to medicine began on the track. A standout runner at Wichita State University, he competed in cross country and track on scholarship while earning his biology degree. But his medical aspirations took root much earlier, after a sports injury in high school left him with six stress fractures in his foot.
“I was devastated,” he recalled. “I thought I might never run again.”
That changed thanks to his doctor, Andrew Porter, DO, who later crossed paths with Merriman as the sports medicine physician for Wichita State University.
“He was the first physician who really took the time to explain things in a way I could understand,” Merriman said. “Seeing the holistic approach reinforced why I wanted to pursue medicine as a career.”
Years later, when Merriman began applying to medical schools, it was a full-circle moment when Dr. Porter wrote one of his letters of recommendation.
He’s taking a short break from marathon training to recover but plans to return to racing soon.
“I’ll keep running as long as I can,” he said. “It helps me stay grounded and I think that’s what will make me a better doctor someday, remembering how to find balance and to keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
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