Running News Daily

2024 USATF 5K: Ahmed Muhumed And Annie Rodenfels Win

Annie Rodenfels went back-to-back while Ahmed Muhumed claimed his second US title of the year at the 2024 USATF 5K Road Championships on Saturday morning in Central Park. Rodenfels, who runs for the B.A.A. High Performance Team, broke away from Emily Venters and Emma Grace Hurley in the final mile to win in 15:20.

Muhumed, who won the US 8k road title in July and was the runner-up here last year, dropped the field with a hard move at 2 miles and held off a late charge from Sam Prakel to win in 13:38 to Prakel’s 13:39.

Top 10 results

Men

1. Ahmed Muhumed, HOKA NAZ Elite 13:38

2. Sam Prakel, adidas 13:39

3. Brian Barraza, Roots Running Project 13:42

4. Kirubel Erassa, unattached 13:44

5. Hillary Bor, HOKA One One 13:45

6. Anthony Rotich, US Army 13:48

7. Drew Bosley, unattached 13:49

8. Afewerki Zeru, McKirdy Trained 13:52

9. Abbabiya Simbassa, Under Armour 13:57

10. Morgan Beadlescomb, adidas 13:59

Women

1. Annie Rodenfels, B.A.A. 15:20

2. Emily Venters, Nike 15:25

3. Emma Grace Hurley, Asics 15:31

4. Bailey Hertenstein, Nike 15:32

5. Susanna Sullivan, Brooks 15:36

6. Abby Nichols, HOKA NAZ Elite 15:41

7. Paige Wood, HOKA NAZ Elite 15:41

8. Taylor Roe, Puma 15:43

9. Natosha Rogers, Puma 15:45

10. Molly Born, Puma 15:47

(11/04/2024) Views: 145 ⚡AMP
by Jonathan Gault

Defending champions Morgan Beadlescomb and Annie Rodenfels return to the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5k

New York City Marathon weekend kicks off with a much-anticipated USATF 5 km Championships at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5k on Saturday, November 2, taking place the day before the 53rd running of the TCS New York City Marathon.

The USATF 5 km Championships at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5k are the 11th stop on the 2024 USATF Running Circuit. Live coverage of this year’s championships will be broadcast on USATF.TV, starting at 8:20 a.m. ET, with the men’s race going off at 8:30 a.m. and the women starting five minutes after at 8:35 a.m. 

Defending champions Morgan Beadlescomb and Annie Rodenfels return to the streets of Midtown Manhattan after winning last year’s USATF 5km Championships in their respective races. 

The former Michigan State Spartan Beadlescomb surged away from Ahmed Muhumed, Tai Dinger and Daniel Schaffer in the final stretch to win last year’s men’s title in 13:44, besting the field by a comfortable three seconds to claim his first USATF crown. 

Looking to become the first men’s repeat champion since Ben True in 2011-12 when the USATF 5 km Championships were held in Providence, R.I., Beadlescomb will take on another tough field that will feature Muhumed (second), Schaffer (fourth) and Brian Barazza (fifth) from last year’s race, as well as a handful of others with impressive credentials.

Beadlescomb could also become the first male athlete to win two USATF 5 km Championships titles at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5k course, along with 2019 USATF 5 km champion Anthony Rotich making his way back into the field for the first time since winning the 2019 title.

Muhumed is the only competitor in the field that has won a USATF title this year on the USATF Running Circuit, winning the USATF 8 km Championships back in July in Kingsport, Tennessee. The USATF 8 km Championships were also the last time Muhumed raced this year. 

Sam Chelanga, Sam Prakel and Josh Thompson join Beadlescomb, Rotich and Muhumed as three more USATF national champions set to race, bringing the total to six national champions in Saturday’s field. 

Chelanga, a two-time USATF champion, will go after his first USATF national title since 2016 when he won the USATF 10 Mile title. He’s raced twice this season on the USATF Running Circuit, finishing third at the USATF 10 km Championships and fourth at the USATF 20 km Championships. 

Prakel, the 2023 USATF Road Mile champion, and Thompson, the 2020 USATF Indoor 1500 champion, are both eyeing a second national title of their own. 

Parlympian and New York native Michael Brannigan is slated to race after competing for the United States at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, where he came away with his second Parlympic medal in the men’s T20 1500, earning bronze to go with his 2016 gold from the Rio Games. 

Derek Johnson, Titus Winder and Kirubel Erassa will be other names to watch out for in the men’s race. 

Rodenfels earned her first USATF national title by defeating Rachel Smith by four seconds in last year’s women’s race, running 15:22. 

Rodenfels has since won another USATF national title earlier this season, winning the 2024 USATF 6 km Championship race by 13 seconds on July 13 in Canton, Ohio. 

With a win on Saturday, Rodenfels could join Weini Kelati as the only competitors to repeat as USATF 5 km champions at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5k course and the sixth woman to complete consecutive national titles in the history of the USATF 5 km Championships. 

Challenging Rodenfels will be Emma Grace Hurley, who will be racing in her seventh USATF Running Circuit race this year, with her latest effort being a third-place finish at the USATF 10 km Championships in Northport, New York, on September 21. 

Hurley, who was ninth at last year’s USATF 5 km Championships, has finished as high as second place in two USATF Running Circuit races this year at the USATF 8 km Championships and the USATF Cross Country Championships. 

Susanna Sullivan and Natosha Rogers are a pair of veterans coming off great races in their recent outings looking to mix it up in the top half of the field. 

Sullivan completed this year’s Chicago Marathon as the top American, running a lifetime best of 2:21:56 to finish seventh overall, making her the 10th-fastest American marathoner in history. 

Rogers won the Medtronic Twin Cities 10 Mile in St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 6, in 52:29 just two weeks after finishing second at the USATF 10 km Championships. 

Logan Jolly, Cailie Logue and Elena Hayday are other competitors entered in this year’s USATF 5 km Championships with past results on this year’s USATF Running Circuit. 

2023 Cross Country champion Katie Wasserman adds some intrigue to the field, running in her first road race since 2022.

About the USATF Running Circuit

The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 awarded in total prize money. A total of $60,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 5 km Championships. 

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 5 km Championships, scoring is set as 15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series. 

The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its race have provided over $7 million to U.S. Distance runners.

(11/01/2024) Views: 158 ⚡AMP
by Keenan Gray

Muhumed, Smith win USATF 8K road titles at Crazy 8s 8K Race

The Crazy 8s 8K Race has been a staple in Northeast Tennessee for decades. Saturday night, however, marked the first time it would serve as the USA Track & Field 8K road race championship for both men and women.

The competition did not disappoint in the humidity of the Model City.

Warren, Bayless inducted into Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame

The elite start went off just after 9 p.m. ET, with the finish remaining just as tight as the starting line. Ahmed Muhumed crossed the finish line first, arms outstretched, in a time of 22:26 to claim the men’s 8K road race championship.

The former Boise State and Florida State star missed out on the 2024 Summer Games, but earned a confidence-boosting win in Tennessee.

“I haven’t won any national titles – I came second in the 5K in New York,” he said. “The time – when I saw it I said ‘no way I just did that.’ It’s something that I can only dream of in terms of it being up there. But I didn’t really – I talk about splits on my watch, but I did not care about what pace I was running. It was all about competing and staying with the front guys.”

Isai Rodriguez finished just one second behind (22:27) in second place, while Hillary Bor claimed bronze with a time of 22:34.

In the women’s competition, former U.S. Olympian and World Championships participant, Rachel Smith, earned herself an 8K road race title with a time of 25:40.

“Any time you can win a national championship title, it’s so special,” she said. “I definitely don’t take any of these for granted, especially as I’m getting older. It’s always an honor to win a national championship title.”

Emma Grace Hurley took the silver on the women’s side with a time of 25:58, as Natosha Rogers turned in a 26:11 for third place.

Muhumed and Smith claimed a $5,000 prize and the title for their efforts, but said running in the Model City is a memory they’ll take with them, as well.

“This is one of the best environments I’ve been in, in terms of racing,” Muhumed said. “Just grateful for the City of Kingsport and the Tri-Cities and everybody who is out here supporting.”

“The hospitality and the event was so, so awesome,” Smith said. “I really enjoyed being here and I hope to come back again.”

(07/22/2024) Views: 464 ⚡AMP
by Nick Dugan

Olympians and national champions to headline stacked professional athlete field at 2023 USATF 5K Championships

Weini Kelati, Courtney Frerichs, Keira D’Amato, Woody Kincaid, and Zach Panning to race for world’s largest 5K prize purse; Nearly 10,000 runners to follow in footsteps of pros by racing Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K.

Five Olympians, one Paralympian, and four athletes who competed at this year’s World Athletics Championships will race in the 2023 USA Track & Field (USATF) 5K Championships at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K on Saturday, November 4. The event will take place in Midtown Manhattan the day prior to the TCS New York City Marathon and will be broadcast live on USATF.TV. Abbott will return as the title partner of the event which features a $79,500 prize purse – the largest of any 5K race in the world.

In the women’s race, two-time NCAA champion Weini Kelati will return in search of her third consecutive title in the event. Each of the last two years she has smashed the event record, taking the tape in 15:18 in 2021 and 15:15 in 2022. She will be challenged for the top spot on the podium this year by three-time national champion Keira D’Amato, 2023 U.S. cross-country champion Ednah Kurgat, and U.S. Olympians Abbey Cooper, Courtney Frerichs, Colleen Quigley, and Rachel Smith.

“Doing the Abbott Dash 5K is becoming a little bit of a early season tradition for me,” Kelati said. “Although my fall season looked a little bit different this year because of the opportunity I had to represent Team USA at the World Road Running Championships in Latvia, I’m really happy I get to come back to New York to try for my third straight 5K national title.”

Woody Kincaid, the U.S. 10,000-meter champion and American record-holder in the indoor 5,000 meters, will lead the men’s field. Lining up against him will be Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz, the top American finisher at the World Athletics Championships marathon this year Zach Panning, 2023 B.A.A. 5K champion Morgan Beadlescomb, and last year’s fourth through sixth-place finishers in New York, Ahmed Muhumed, Alec Basten, and Brian Barraza.

“I still see my career being mostly on the track for the next few years, but I like the idea of throwing in some more road races when it makes sense,” Kincaid said. “As I look towards the Paris Games, the Abbott Dash will be a nice jump-start to my 2024 training, and it will be cool to be in the middle of the big city marathon hoopla without having to go the full 26.2.”

Following in the footsteps of the professional athletes, nearly 10,000 runners will participate in the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K, including top local athletes and many runners in the marathon on November 5.

Abbott, the title sponsor of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, is the sponsor of the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K for the seventh time. Abbott, a global healthcare leader, helps people live more fully with life-changing technology and celebrate what’s possible with good health.

The Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K annually provides TCS New York City Marathon supporters, friends, and families the opportunity to join in on the thrill of marathon race week. The course begins on Manhattan’s east side by the United Nations, then takes runners along 42nd Street past historic Grand Central Terminal and up the world-famous Avenue of the Americas past Radio City Music Hall. It then passes through the rolling hills of Central Park before finishing at the iconic TCS New York City Marathon finish line.

The Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K and USATF 5K Championships will be broadcast live via USATF.TV. The broadcast is scheduled to begin at 8:20 a.m. ET with the first race starting at 8:30 a.m. ET.

About New York Road Runners (NYRR)

NYRR’s mission is to help and inspire people through running. Since 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization. NYRR’s commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, virtual races, community events, free youth running initiatives and school programs, the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the New Balance Run Hub, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR’s premier event is the TCS New York City Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features a wide population of runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners. To learn more, visit www.nyrr.org.

 

(10/27/2023) Views: 580 ⚡AMP
by Running USA

Eilish McColgan (30:00.87) and Alicia Monson (30:03.82) Break National Records At The TEN

The British and American records in the women’s 10,000 meters both went down late Saturday night in California as Eilish McColgan outdueled Alicia Monson over the final lap of The TEN in San Juan Capistrano. McColgan, the Commonwealth Games champion at 10,000 who is building up for her marathon debut in London on April 23, was only added to the field this week but felt confident in her fitness after five weeks of altitude training in Colorado. It proved an inspired decision as she ran 30:00.87 to narrowly break Paula Radcliffe’s British record of 30:01.09 set in August 2002.

A few seconds behind McColgan, Alicia Monson nabbed her second American record of 2023, running 30:03.82 to smash the previous record of 30:13.17 set by Molly Huddle in the 2016 Olympic final in Rio. Three weeks ago, Monson ran 8:25.05 at the Millrose Games to break the American indoor (and overall) record for 3,000 meters.

Both women were also safely under the 30:40 standard for the 2023 World Championships and 2024 Olympics on a good night for running fast (50-degree temps, still conditions).

Monson and her camp had billed the race as an American record attempt and they enlisted her On Athletics Club teammate Josette Andrews (a 14:51 5k runner) to handle pacing duties, along with Eleanor Fulton. When Andrews dropped out at 5k (15:09 for McColgan and Monson), they were actually a few seconds behind AR pace, but Monson took over and righted the ship, dropping the pace from 73-second laps to 72’s, then 71’s. By the bell, which Monson reached in the lead thanks to a 70.45 penultimate lap, the question was not whether the AR would go down, but whether either woman would break 30:00 – and of course, who would win the race?

McColgan, who had clung faithfully to Monson throughout the race, finally went wide on the backstraight of the bell lap and passed Monson, and the American had no response as McColgan powered to victory with a 64.87 last 400m. Monson could not match that speed, closing out her effort in 67.99, and though she did not win, her American record was very well-deserved after so much grinding from the front.

No one else earned the World/Olympic standard, but a trio of Americans earned big personal bests in 3rd-4th-5th. Running just her second 10k, 2021 NCAA 5k champ Elly Henes won the battle for 3rd in 30:48.26 to edge 2022 Worlds team member Natosha Rogers (30:48.69) as both women moved ahead of Emily Sisson (30:49.57) and Deena Kastor (30:50.32) into 6th and 7th on the all-time US list. Rogers’ Puma Elite teammate Fiona O’Keeffe also got a pb in 5th, running 30:55.05 to become the 11th American woman to go sub-31.

Results (Analysis at bottom)

1 Eilish McColgan Asics 30:00.86 #$WRLD

2 Alicia Monson On Athletics Club 30:03.82 #$WRLD

3 Elly Henes Adidas 30:48.26

4 Natosha Rogers Puma Elite 30:48.69

5 Fiona O’Keeffe Puma Elite 30:55.05

6 Laura Galvan Hoka 31:04.08

7 Dominique Scott Adidas 31:14.00

8 Carrie Verdon TEAM Boulder 31:52.94

9 Susanna Sullivan unattached 31:55.80

10 Amy Davis-Green Hansons-Brooks ODP 32:10.59

11 Katie Izzo Adidas 32:22.47

12 Jeralyn Poe Tracksmith 32:39.10

Men’s race

The men’s race came down to a battle of the last two US 10,000-meter champions: Woody Kincaid and Joe Klecker. Just as he did five weeks ago over 5,000 meters in Boston, Kincaid earned the victory, though he made his move slightly earlier this time around, taking the lead with 900m to run and holding off Klecker on the last lap, closing in 55.96 to Klecker’s 56.92 as Kincaid ran 27:06.37 to Klecker’s 27:07.57. Both men ran personal bests (they now sit #5 and #7 on the all-time US list) and both hit the 2023 World Championship standard of 27:10, but neither was able to earn the Olympic standard of 27:00.

Klecker and Kincaid both went in with the aim of hitting the Olympic standard and joining Grant Fisher, Galen Rupp, and Chris Solinsky as the only American members of the sub-27:00 club. Klecker’s OAC teammate Ollie Hoare was the main pacemaker (though there were several: Ehab El-Sandali, Amon Kemboi, and Athanas Kioko all helped out) and he took them through 5k in 13:35, at which point British Olympian Sam Atkin, running with the lead pack, surprisingly dropped out.

When Hoare stepped off after covering 6400m in 17:23.90 (27:11 pace), sub-27:00 was within striking distance. But Klecker, despite working hard, could not increase the pace, and Kincaid showed no interest in sharing the lead despite Klecker motioning for him to do so.

By a mile to go, Klecker and Kincaid had dropped everyone else, and Kincaid, sensing the World standard slipping away, hit the front with 900 to go. Klecker stuck right with him, however, and it wasn’t until the final turn that Kincaid was able to gain real separation as both men closed well to get under the World standard – though not the Olympic standard.

Kioko, who stayed in the race, was the best of the rest, running 27:23.84 for 3rd, holding off Conner Mantz, who ran 27:25.30 in the midst of his Boston Marathon buildup (just .07 off his personal best from this meet last year).

Results (analysis below results)  *Lap by lap splits

1 Woody Kincaid Nike 27:06.37 WRLD

2 Joe Klecker On Athletics Club 27:07.57 WRLD

3 Athanas Kioko pacer 27:23.84

4 Connor Mantz Nike 27:25.30

5 Jonas Raess On Athletics Club 27:26.40

6 Ren Tazawa Komazawa Univ 27:28.04

7 Nils Voigt Puma 27:30.01

8 Sam Chelagna US Army WCAP 27:38.02

9 Luis Grijalva Hoka 27:42.56

10 Alex Masai Hoka NAZ Elite 27:42.80

11 Wesley Kiptoo Hoka NAZ Elite 27:45.81

12 Ben Flanagan On Running 27:49.67

13 Kanta Shimizu Subaru 27:51.23

14 Benjamin Eidenschink unattached 27:51.74

15 Tatsuhiko Ito Honda 27:54.64

16 Aaron Bienenfeld unattached 27:55.96

17 Ahmed Muhumed unattached 27:56.99

18 Frank Lara Altra/Roots Running Project 28:00.75

19 Emmanuel Bor unattached 28:01.09

20 Alberto Gonzalez Mindez Guatemala 28:30.63

21 Zach Panning Hansons-Brooks ODP 28:35.52

(03/06/2023) Views: 980 ⚡AMP