Running News Daily

Drew Hunter and Weini Kelati Will lead fields for Thursday’s Manchester Road Race

The elite fields for Thursday’s Manchester Road Race in Manchester, Conn., have been finalized, race organizers reported this morning.  The classic Thanksgiving Day race, founded in 1927, will return to its usual 4.748-mile, hilly loop with the start and finish on Main Street after being held virtually last year.  Among the hundreds of “Turkey Trots” to be held in the United States on Thursday, Manchester is the only event with a truly top-class elite field.  Organizers expect 8,700 runners to answer the starter’s gun at 10:00 a.m. EST.

“Our elite runner coordinator, Jim Harvey, has done a brilliant job of assembling excellent fields of elite runners for our return to Main Street and the celebration of our 85th Manchester Road Race this year,” said Dr. Tris Carta, president of the Manchester Road Race Committee, through a statement.  “It is going to be a very exciting road race.”

The women’s contest will feature an interesting match-up between USA 5-K champion Weini Kelati and 2:22 marathoner Keira D’Amato.  Both American women will be running Manchester for the first time.

Also likely to contend for the win are Kenyans Edna Kiplagat, the two-time world marathon champion, and Monicah Ngige, most recently fourth at the Boston Marathon.  Also entered are Britain’s Amy-Eloise Markovc, the 2021 European indoor 3000m champion, and Americans Taylor Werner, the 2019 NCAA Championships 5000m runner-up, and Katie Izzo, fourth at the 2019 NCAA Championships in the 10,000m.  In all, ten women have track or road 5-K personal bests under 16 minutes.  Kiplagat was the Manchester winner in 2019.

Drew Hunter, the newly-crowned USA 5-K road running champion, leads the men’s field and will be making his Manchester debut.  Hunter’s biggest challengers will likely be 2:07 marathon Leonard Korir, veteran Sam Chelanga, and two-time Falmouth Road Race champion Ben Flanagan, a Canadian.  A total of 14 men have sub-14:00 5000m personal bests.

Thursday’s race has a generous $47,800 prize money purse, and the top-3 men and women will receive $7,000, $4,000 and $3,000, respectively.

Behind the elites, 75 year-old Amby Burfoot will run Manchester for the 59th consecutive year (he ran virtually in 2020 using the race’s traditional course).  Burfoot, the 1968 Boston Marathon champion, won the Manchester Road Race nine times from 1968 through 1977.  Should he finish the race on Thursday he will earn sole ownership of the record for most total Manchester finishes at 59.

Thursday’s races will be broadcast on the Connecticut Fox affiliate, Fox 61.  Their coverage will be streamed live and free globally at fox61.com at 10:00 a.m. EST.

The complete elite fields are below with 5000m personal bests.

WOMEN

–Weini KELATI (USA), 14:58.24

Amy-Eloise MARKOVC (GBR), 15:03.22

Aisling CUFFE (USA), 15:11.13

Taylor WERNER (USA), 15:11.19i

Katie IZZO (USA), 15:13.09i

Monicah NGIGE (KEN), 15:16 (road)

Edna KIPLAGAT (40+/KEN), 15:20 (road)

Sarah INGLIS (GBR), 15:24.17

Fiona O’KEEFFE (USA), 15:31.45

Tristin VAN ORD (USA), 15:53.44

Emeline DELANIS (FRA), 16:02.54

Keira D’AMATO (USA), 16:09.86

Annmarie TUXBURY (USA), 16:17.45

Emily SETLACK (40+/CAN), 16:26.31

Whitney MACON (USA), 35:36 (road 10-K)

MEN

–Sam CHELANGA (USA), 13:04.35i

Leonard KORIR (USA), 13:15.45

Drew HUNTER (USA), 13:17.55

Ben FLANAGAN (CAN), 13:20.67

Donn CABRAL (USA), 13:22.19

Jordan MANN (USA), 13:27.68i

Blaise FERRO (USA), 13:31.54

John DRESSEL (USA), 13:36.29

Alex OSTBERG (USA), 13:42.44

Mo HREZI (LBA), 13:42.80

Matt McCLINTOCK (USA), 13:47.68

Alfredo SANTANA (PUR), 13:48.10

Joey BERRIATUA (USA), 13:49.16

Julius DIEHR (USA), 13:56.79

Tai DINGER (USA), 14:09.41

Brendan PRINDIVILLE (USA), 14:10.96.

(11/24/2021) Views: 1,279 ⚡AMP
by David Monti

Everything you need to know for the 85th Manchester Road Race

The 85th Manchester Road Race (MRR) is almost here and runners from all over the country are lacing up their running shoes.

The race was forced to be held virtually in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But with vaccinations, and efforts made by the state and race officials, the race will happen in person for the 2021 race.

Here's what you need to know:

How to Watch

The race will be held on Thanksgiving Day. 

FOX61 and CW20 will broadcast the race entirely. Fans who cannot make it out to Manchester on the day can watch it live on TV or stream it on FOX61.com, FOX61 News App, ROKU and Amazon Fire TV apps and on the FOX61 Youtube page from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. 

The race will be rebroadcast in its entirety on CW20 starting at 4 p.m. 

The race will start at 10 a.m. sharp. It will begin and end on Main Street at Oak Street. From there, runners will head onto Charter Oak Street where they will hit the first mile.

At the second mile, runners will head onto Highland Street before turning onto Porter Street where they will hit the third and fourth mile. 

The length of the course is 4.748 miles. 

COVID-19 Safety Measures

With COVID-19 still impacting the community, race officials have implemented safety measures.

Officials strongly urged everyone participating to be fully vaccinated before race day, which includes athletes, volunteers, and fans. 

Additionally, officials mandated that all of the elite runners, many of whom are coming from out of state, provide proof of vaccination. 

Masks must be worn at all of the MRR indoor events and on shuttle buses transporting runners and spectators to the race. 

The MRR canceled its indoor Spaghetti Supper and Charlie Robbins Luncheon this year due to the mask requirement. 

While masks are not required outdoors, race officials are asking runners, volunteers, and spectators to still wear masks and follow social distance protocols as much as possible at the race and all the associated events.

Elite Runners

Sam Chelanga, winner of the 2013 MRR, and Edna Kiplagat, who won the women's title at the 2019 race, will return this year.

Other world-class male athletes who have entered this year’s 4.748-mile Turkey Trot include Ben Flanagan, who won the Falmouth Road Race in August and finished eighth at the 2019 MRR; Drew Hunter, the 2019 USA indoor two-mile champion who won the national 5K road championship in New York City on Nov. 6; and Olympian Donn Cabral, who was second at the 2015 MRR and has had seven top-10 finishes in Manchester.

Cabral, a graduate of Glastonbury High School who was the NCAA champion in the steeplechase when he competed for Princeton, was the fastest runner (23:00) in last November’s Virtual Manchester Road Race.

Weini Kelati, who won the women’s national 5K road championship in New York City on Nov 6th with a time of 15:18, and Monicah Ngige, the fourth-place finisher at this year’s Boston Marathon who had a fourth-place finish here in 2018 (25:02), are also expected to make strong showings in the women’s race.

(11/22/2021) Views: 1,342 ⚡AMP
by Jennifer Glatz

Donn Cabral eyeing Tokyo 2021 while recognizing wider ramifications of postponement is really tough

After a couple of self-described “subpar” running years, Donn Cabral had finally rediscovered his groove in December and was getting excited over what the future held — in his mind, a strong chance at qualifying for a third Olympics appearance to close out his career.

His dream isn’t dead now that the Tokyo Games have been postponed until July 23, 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic; he’ll just have to adjust his plans. But Cabral, who grew up in Glastonbury, considers himself one of the more fortunate Tokyo hopefuls. He’s already represented the U.S. in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in both London and Rio. Not everyone can say that.

“It takes a lot of fire every day, and it takes a lot of energy to generate that fire, to get up and do that hard work,” Cabral said in a phone interview. “And to think about, 'Can I do this for one more year just to have my shot at that dream?’ and to know that that dream is still only just a chance, that’s a very difficult thing. So pushing this back a year is really tough.

“My heart really goes out for people who haven’t made a team yet, and particularly for those who are in the best shape of their lives. It’s very difficult to get back to that same level. They had a chance to make it this time, and it’s like, ‘I wanted to strike when the iron was hot,' and now it’s going to be difficult.”

After initially delaying a decision on the 2020 Games, which were originally scheduled to begin July 24, the IOC and Japan finally reached an agreement last week to postpone them to 2021. USA Track & Field’s Olympic trials, originally set to take place in late June, will be rescheduled. Depending on the virus’ spread, the organization will try to salvage competition for the remainder of 2020 so athletes can earn some income and stay fit both physically and emotionally.

The 30-year-old Cabral, who says he’ll likely stop running professionally going into 2022, is relieved that the Tokyo Olympics will only be delayed a year. He thought the IOC would push the Games to 2022 in anticipation of, as he fears, the coronavirus outbreak not being fully under control a year from now.

“If it were in 2022, I wouldn’t have gone for it,” said Cabral, who finished eighth in the steeplechase in both 2012 and 2016. “I would have finished my career content with London and Rio. But I certainly would like to get that third Olympics in there.”

For Cabral, an extra year of training isn’t necessarily an issue, though he does have some logistical things to work out. For one, he’ll need to decide whether to take another semester off of school to train, as he did this spring in preparation for Tokyo. The Princeton grad is working on earning both a Master of Business Administration and Juris Doctor degree at UConn.

If some form of competition resumes in the summer or fall, Cabral will also need to decide whether to train for the steeplechase, his bread and butter, or try to move up to a 10K, half-marathon or marathon. Though that’s dependent on which events will ultimately be offered. But in the immediate future, Cabral can mostly operate as normal. Unlike sprinters, who are most affected by the closure of training facilities and gyms nationwide, he can run in the woods or on the streets — just not with other people.

Even though postponement was the best decision for everyone’s safety, the ramifications of the move will be felt deeply among Olympic hopefuls, Cabral said, and not just physically.

(04/02/2020) Views: 1,181 ⚡AMP
by Alexa Philippou

Two-time Olympic steeplechaser Donn Cabral is in good shape and feeling confident about the Manchester Road Race

His goal, for a while now, has been to win the race he grew up running, the fabled Manchester Road Race, on Thanksgiving Day.

Cabral, 29, of Hartford finished third over the 4.748-mile course in 2012 in 21:33. He was fourth in 2014 (21:51) and second in 2015 in 21:36.

“If I were to win Manchester,” Cabral said at Thursday’s annual press lunch at the Manchester Country Club, “that would trump winning the Penn Relays, the national title – it would be on the same level as making the Olympic team.

“I’m feeling as confident now for my fitness this year as any year I’ve ever run this.”

The 83rd annual race will take place Nov. 28 at 10 a.m. on Main Street in Manchester. Over 12,000 runners and walkers are expected.

Cabral, who grew up in Glastonbury, said he had a “horrible track season.” Last year, he finished 20th at Manchester in 22:36. But his recent workouts are mirroring his successful past runs.

“I just did a workout which was a 5-mile run, where four miles are at a comfortably hard pace and the last mile’s hard,” he said. “I did that same workout eight days before Thanksgiving in 2012. I ended up running 21:33. I just did the same workout this past weekend, and given conditions and pacing, it was at least equivalent to what I did in 2012. I’m confident going forward. I’m ready to go.”

Cabral has been going to law school and business school but he’s taking the spring semester off to focus on making it to the Tokyo Olympics.

“I’ve had a couple years where I’ve been struggling to kind of get my legs under me and find out what’s been going on,” he said. “I had little bright spots here and there but they’re becoming fewer and further between. To an outside observer, maybe it is age. But there are plenty of 30-year-old runners who are at the top of their career, so I ignore that.

“I’ve spoken with some doctors and I think it’s being able to keep some stressors in my life down and being able to keep the amount of calories up I need to meet those needs.”

Defending champion Edward Cheserek is returning. Cheserek ran a course record 21:16 in bitter cold conditions last year.

“Well, Edward Cheserek is one of the best runners in American history,” Cabral said. “If he wants to go out and run what that time is equivalent to on a good day, I don’t think anyone’s going to be stopping him - 21:16 on the coldest day in Manchester Road Race history is otherworldly. That said, he’s human and he gets beat and he’s not always on his game. When he’s on his game, it would take something I haven’t seen in myself yet to beat him. I think I’m ready to run phenomenally and if he’s at all off, or compromised, I’m ready to take him down.

(11/22/2019) Views: 1,809 ⚡AMP
by Lori Riley

Katie Mackey, the only three-time winner in the race’s history, and Tripp Hurt, the reigning USA 1 Mile Road Champion, lead the fields for the 24th Aetna Falmouth Elite Mile

Katie Mackey, the only three-time winner in the race’s history, and Tripp Hurt, the reigning USA 1 Mile Road Champion, lead the fields for the 24th Aetna Falmouth Elite Mile on August 17, organizers announced today. The mile is part of the Falmouth Track Festival, held the evening before the New Balance Falmouth Road Race.

The Aetna Falmouth Elite Mile will begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 17, on the James T. Kalperis Track at Falmouth High School. Total prize purse for the men’s and women’s fields is $15,000, not including possible time bonuses, with the winners each taking home $3,500.

Beginning with the SBLI Family Fun Run and followed by the Aetna Falmouth Elite Mile and the Tommy Cochary High School Mile, the track festival will be streamed live on the New Balance Falmouth Road Race Facebook page beginning at 4 p.m.

Mackey, 31, is the 2017 USA 1-Mile Road Champion, 2018 USATF Club Cross Country Champion, American record-holder in the 4x1500m relay, and was eighth at 3000 meters in the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships. Hurt, 26, was third at this year’s USATF Indoor Championships in the 2 Mile and is a two-time USATF Outdoor Championships steeplechase finalist.

Also among the headliners in the women’s race is Heather Kampf, a member of the same medal-winning relay team as Mackey and a four-time USA 1 Mile Road Champion. After three events, Kampf and Hurt lead the standings in the 2019 Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour, on which the Aetna Falmouth Elite Mile is the fourth stop.

Challenging Mackey and Kampf will be Cory McGee, who was fourth in the 2015 Pan American Games at 1500 meters and won the Sir Walter Miler on August 2 in 4:27.87; Stephanie Garcia, a two-time member of Team USA at the IAAF World Championships in the 3000-meter steeplechase (2011, 2015); Allie Buchalski, 2018 NCAA 5000-meter runner-up; Jessica Harris, third at 1500 meters in the 2019 NCAA Championships; Lianne Farber, a three-time All-American at the University of North Carolina who runs for Team New Balance Boston; Eleanor Fulton, a two-time member of Team USA for the mixed relay at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships (2017, 2019); Vanessa Fraser, fourth in the 2018 NCAA 5000 meters; Dana Giordano, third at 1500 meters in 2016 NCAA Championships, who competes on the B.A.A. High Performance Team and has a family home in Woods Hole; and Heather MacLean, a Massachusetts state champion out of Peabody High School and an All-American while at UMass-Amherst who just finished seventh at USATF Outdoor Nationals in a personal best 4:05.27.

For the men, Tripp will face Josh Thompson, third at 1500 meters at the 2019 USATF Outdoor Championships; Garrett Heath, two-time USA 1 Mile Road Champion (2013, 2015); Pat Casey, the 2018 NACAC silver medalist at 1500 meters; Patrick Joseph, a member of Virginia Tech’s 2018 NCAA Indoor Champion Distance Medley team and fourth in the mile; Daniel Herrera, Mexico’s national record-holder in the mile; Riley Masters, 2018 USA 1 Mile Road Champion; David Ribich, two-time NCAA Division II 1500-meter champion (2017, 2018); Mason Ferlic, 2016 NCAA Champion in the 3000-meter steeplechase; Craig Nowak, a two-time All-American while at Oklahoma State; and Garrett O’Toole, the 2018 Ivy League indoor mile champion who now competes for Arizona State.  

O’Toole, whose 4:01.89 mile while running for The Middlesex School was the fastest high school mile in the U.S. in 2014, won the Tommy Cochary High School Mile here in 2013, and still holds the meet record. At the Aetna Falmouth Elite Mile, O’Toole will be attempting to break the 4-minute barrier for the first time.

The Aetna Falmouth Elite Mile, which began in 1995, has played host to more than two dozen Olympians, including Morgan Uceny, Amy Rudolph, Carmen Douma-Hussar, Carrie Tollefson, Suzy Hamilton, Donn Cabral, Marc Davis, Robert Gary, Jason Pyrah, 2012 Olympic silver medalist Leo Manzano and two-time Olympic medalist Nick Willis of New Zealand. The event records are held by Hamilton (4:25.27, 2002) and Jordan McNamara (3:54.89, 2011).

(08/13/2019) Views: 2,027 ⚡AMP

Past all the soggy landmarks of New London and Waterford there was a duo, two runners, two friends keeping pace with one another at Kelley Race debut

Donn Cabral, in the white racing singlet, was on the left and Ari Klau, in the blue, on the right. Sometimes they flipped. Their steady, strong cadence brought them down Great Neck Road in Waterford, by Waterford High School, past Ocean State Job Lot, ALDI, CVS and a sign advertising Powerball tickets outside a convenience store.

They ran through sheets of rain.  And suddenly, with a little over a mile to go in the 56th Ocean Beach John & Jessie Kelley Half-Marathon, it was Cabral, the two-time Olympian from Glastonbury, who took off alone.

Running his first Kelley Race, Cabral, 28, finished first in 1 hour, 9 minutes, 39 seconds, to edge Klau of West Hartford, 21, who crossed the finish line in 1:09:54.

Klau, entering his senior year at the University of Virginia, formerly attended Cabral's running camp when he was a 16-year-old student at Hall High School.

Cabral, a Princeton graduate, was a member of the last two U.S. Olympic teams, in London and Rio de Janeiro, as a competitor in the steeplechase, finishing eighth both times.

“I don't like going into races and not engaging in competitive mode at all,” said Cabral, who described the race as more of a training run for the two. “We had 12 miles side-by-side with camaraderie. To lose to a former camper of mine would have been a shot to the ego; it gave me the impetus to kick his butt.”

“He's always been one of my idols, the local hero,” Klau said, speaking of Cabral.

Cabral, who has the Olympic rings tattooed on his right shoulder, is now enrolled in law school and business school at UConn. He said he still has his eye on an Olympic bid for the 2020 Games in Tokyo, but it's going to take a great deal of effort over the next couple years.

“If this was an Olympic year, I wouldn't have made the team,” he said. “… My goal is still to run fast in the steeplechase.”

Nicholas Lemon of Brighton, Mass., was third in 1:15:27, followed by Russell Stevens of Colchester in 1:16:12 and Kyle Englander of Suffield in 1:16:28.

The women's division was an all-Eastern Connecticut Conference showing, led by former Fitch High School and Central Connecticut State University runner Brandy LeClair in 1:25:42, good for 14th place overall and a personal best in the half-marathon.

She was followed by a pair of current Central runners in former Ledyard star Megan Brawner (33rd overall, 1:31:14) and Killingly's Angie Rafter (34th, 1:31:15).

LeClair, 23, is a 2017 graduate of Central. She is working at the Inn at Stonington and training for this year's New York Marathon, which will be her first.

“I'm a little nervous about it (the marathon),” LeClair said. “I feel like I just started my training and I have so much more to go. … I'm just as fast now as I was in high school. I fell out of love with running in college. A year ago, I regained my passion back for it. Sometimes, it's just what you're going through. Being a college athlete is really, really tough, the mental part of it.”

LeClair said the finish line, with the parking lot at Ocean Beach beginning to resemble a lake due to the torrents of rain, reminded her of the time in high school she ran in the steeplechase, having to navigate the water pits.

“That was not fun,” she said with a laugh.

It was Brawner's first half-marathon. She is a redshirt sophomore on the Central cross country team and last year was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year. Brawner said Rafter turned into “Dr. Phil” around mile 10, convincing her friend and teammate to finish. She also appreciated the locals who took the time to cheer on the runners despite the teeming rain.

“Seriously such a great experience,” Brawner said. “They just stood in the rain and yelled for you to go faster. They force you to smile.”

The race, named to honor the late John Kelley of Mystic — the 1957 Boston Marathon champion — and his beloved wife Jessie, was formerly contested over 11.6 miles, but was changed last year to the half-marathon distance of 13.1 miles.

(08/07/2019) Views: 1,828 ⚡AMP

Steeplechase Olympian Donn Cabral, made his marathon debut clocking 2:19:16 at Honolulu, finished in fourth place

Kenya's Titus Ekiru still managed to threaten the course record at 46th Honolulu Marathon, clocking 2:09:01.

Second place went to Reuben Kerio, another Kenyan, who was in third place at halfway but was able to catch up. He clocked 2:12:59.

Yator, who had been with Ekiru at 25-K, ended up third in 2:15:31 and fourth position went to two-time USA steeplechase Olympian Donn Cabral of Hartford, Connecticut, who made his marathon debut in 2:19:16.

He flies back east tonight because he has an exam tomorrow morning. "It was just fun, this was fun," said Cabral, who is in law school at the University of Connecticut.

"The wind was rough for many miles. When the wind was not rough, I felt the humidity pretty strong. The course was a lot tougher than I expected."

(12/10/2018) Views: 1,478 ⚡AMP

Olympic steeplechaser Donn Cabral is going to make a Surprise Marathon Debut In Honolulu tomorrow

Through the mud and over the hills, Donn Cabral pressed forward along the trail at Reservoir #6 in West Hartford, Conn. The Olympic steeplechaser was in the middle of a workout that consisted of 22 miles with 18-19 of them at 5:20 pace, a monumental training session for a marathon runner. While most track athletes wouldn't even think of attempting such a challenging run, Cabral felt like he was home. "It just felt great. I wasn't able to get into a rhythm because of the course, but I just knew that I was so strong and my body was working the way it was supposed to. This is the way running is supposed to feel," Cabral told Race Results Weekly over the phone on Thursday. He went on to complete the early November workout with 19 miles run at 5:15 pace which, if maintained for 26.2 miles, would equate to a 2:17 marathon. The workout is one of many that have given Cabral confidence heading into his surprising marathon debut at the Honolulu Marathon here on Sunday. At this point in the 28-year-old's career, he has accomplished a great deal in the steeplechase: two eighth-place finishes at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, two NCAA titles, and a 10th-place finish at the 2015 IAAF World Championships. While Cabral still feels that he has unfinished business in his primary event, the decision to run a marathon now came as a result of listening to his body and the training that he responds to. "A big reason that I wanted to run a marathon was that I think it's the best way for me to run my best steeplechase," Cabral said. "I look back at my training in 2015, the year that I ran my 8:13 personal best, and I think it was a week before the USA prelims, I did a hard 10-mile run at 5:15 pace in really humid weather and I ran 90 miles two weeks before. Nothing about that is crazy, it just shows that I do run well with that type of work."  (12/08/2018) Views: 1,416 ⚡AMP

Paul Chelimo will return to defend his title at Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day

Paul Chelimo, the Olympic silver medalist who won the Manchester Road Race last year, and Buze Diriba of Ethiopia, who set the women’s course record last year, will return for the annual Thanksgiving Day 4.748-mile race on Nov. 22. Chelimo, 27, won the race last year in 21:32, edging out runner-up Kirubel Erassa, who finished in 21:34. Erassa, who moved from Ethiopia to Georgia when he was 11, is a naturalized American citizen and was an All-America runner at Oklahoma State. He is also returning to run at Manchester. Chelimo, who competes for the U.S. Army’s World Class Athletes Program, won the silver medal in the 5,000 meters at the Rio Olympics. Last summer, in a meet in Brussels, he ran the fourth-fastest time ever by an American in the 5,000 meters, 12:57.55. Last year, Diriba, who lives and trains in Albuquerque, won the women’s title in 21:57, outkicking Olympian Molly Huddle, who also finished under the course record (23:59, set by the late Emelie Mondor in 2003). Nick Willis, a two-time Olympic medalist in the 1,500 meters from New Zealand who won Manchester in 2005, is also returning, as is Olympic steeplechaser Donn Cabral, who lives in Hartford. (11/14/2018) Views: 1,585 ⚡AMP

Strong filed at Labor Day Road Race with notable athletes competing like Sara Hall and Leonard Korir

The 2018 Faxon Law New Haven Road Race, host of the USATF 20K National Championship, boasts a number of the country’s top runners. The event takes place on Labor Day, Sept. 3, on the New Haven Green.

Some of America’s top distance runners will compete for a prize purse of over $40,000. New Haven has hosted the USATF 20K National Championship since 1992. Past Faxon Law New Haven 20K champions Janet Cherobon-Bawcom, Meghan Peyton and Aliphine Tuliamuk head the women’s race field.

Georgia’s Cherobon-Bawcom won the 2011 race and finished 12th in the 10,000 meters at the 2012 Olympics. New Mexico’s Tuliamuk, the 2016 20K champion, will also be competing for the top spot. She now holds nine national road race titles. Peyton (Tualatin, OR.) was the 20K winner in 2013.

She has competed at the 2012 and 2016 USA Olympic Team trials and has been a member of four USA National Teams. Another notable athlete competing on Labor Day is California’s Sara Hall. Hall is a 2017 USATF Marathon champ and placed third at last year’s New Haven 20K.

New York’s Allie Kieffer is also expected to finish near the top. She was sixth in last year’s Faxon Law New Haven 20K and was fifth in last year’s New York City Marathon.

Currently, Colorado’s Leonard Korir is the men’s favorite. He won the 2016 race and lost in a lean to Galen Rupp in last year’s race. Korir competed in Rio Olympics in the 10,000. Korir will be challenged by Colorado’s Sammy Kosgei, Connecticut’s Donn Cabral, North Carolina’s Christo Landry and Massachusett’s Tim Ritchie.

(08/25/2018) Views: 2,392 ⚡AMP