Purrier was raised in Montgomery Center, Vermont, a small town near the Canadian border.[1][2] She lived on a dairy farm, where she woke up at 5 a.m. each day before school to milk cows and perform other chores, such as throwing hay bales and caring for pigs.[1][3] At Richford High School, Purrier took up running alongside basketball. She competed at a high level in track and cross country, with first-place finishes at the New England Cross Country Championships and Northeast Regional championships for the Nike Cross Nationals. She was named Vermont Gatorade Cross Country Athlete of the Year three times, receiving the honor in 2010, 2011, and 2012.[4] Purrier was later inducted into the hall of frame of the Vermont Principals' Association in 2022, an organizing body for high school sports.
College competition
Purrier competed for the University of New Hampshire from 2013 to 2018, where she was NCAA champion and an 11-time All-American.[5] As a freshman, she ran 4:36 in the mile.[6] By her sophomore year, she improved her time to 4:29.71, setting a school record and achieving one of the top ten fastest times by a collegiate athlete. Her fast time in the mile marked her as a favorite to win the event at the 2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships.[6] At those championships, she finished third after leading for much of the race but was overtaken in the final stretch.[7] Later that year, Purrier improved one place to take second in the mile at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Following several podium finishes at previous NCAA championships, Purrier won a title in the mile at the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, finishing in 4:31.76. She led for most of the race and finished just ahead of Dani Jones and Niki Hiltz, with less than a second difference between them.[8]
On February 13, 2021, Purrier broke the American indoor two mile record with a time of 9:10.28.[15] At the 2020 USA Olympic Trials, she won the gold medal in the 1500 m with a time of 3:58.03, setting a personal best and breaking the meet record.[16] Purrier competed at the 2020 Olympic Games in August 2021. She finished 10th in the 1500 m.[12]
Purrier works on a dairy farm in Vermont.[18] She married her longtime boyfriend Jamie St. Pierre in 2020 and gave birth to their son in March 2023.[12]
