Running News Daily

Cooper Teare, Fotyen Tesfay Win 2024 Boston 5K Titles

Tesfay, of Ethiopia, ran a course record time as Boston Marathon weekend got underway on Saturday. 

It was a near-perfect morning as racing got underway for the long Boston Marathon weekend. The Boston 5K started things off, followed later by the B.A.A. Invitational Mile. Ethiopia’s Fotyen Tesfay and Cooper Teare of the U.S. claimed wins in the 5K, while Americans Krissy Gear and Casey Comber took home wins in the mile.

Tesfay runs a course record; Teare kicks to the win in the 5K

Tesfay rolled to victory in the women’s race at the Boston 5K. She controlled the entire race, running a time of 14:45, four seconds ahead of the previous course record set in 2022 by Senbere Teferi.

Tesfay took the race out hard from the gun, coming through the first mile in 4:43, a half second ahead of Kenya’s Emmaculate Acholi and a full eight seconds ahead of the rest of the field. She extended that advantage through the second mile and to the finish, winning by 13 seconds over second place Acholi, who ran 14:59.

“I came to break the course record, which I did, and I am so happy,” Tesfay said after the race.

Esther Gitahi of Kenya was third in 15:08, and Annie Rodenfels was the top American finisher, also running 15:08 for fourth.

The men’s race featured a sprint to the finish with Teare clocking a time of 13:38 to take the win over fellow American distance star Drew Hunter. 

The men ran in a pack for much of the race. Eduardo Herrera of Mexico made the initial move in the final half mile and opened up about 10 meters on the field, but Teare and a few others were able to close the gap as they made the final turn onto Charles Street.

“If I can be in contact coming into the last straight, I think I can put myself in a pretty good spot,” Teare said of his strategy coming into the race. 

From there, Teare used some good finishing speed and powered to the line to grab the win by a second over Hunter and Herrera, who wound up second and third, respectively.

Gear repeats as mile champ; Comber takes the win

For a second straight year, Krissy Gear won the women’s B.A.A. Invitational Mile. The U.S. champion in the steeplechase last year, Gear was able to successfully defend her title in the race. She unleashed a terrific kick in the final quarter mile to win in 4:42.45—a few ticks off her winning time from 2023.

Sweden’s Yolanda Ngarambe also had a strong kick, but ran out of room, taking second in 4:43.64.

In the men’s race, Comber took the title, running a time of 4:07.31. After a second place finish in 2023, Comber moved up to the top spot a year later.

The field ran down Great Britain’s Henry McLuckie, who led through the first two laps of the course. Comber proved to have the best kick in the end, outlasting second place Aaron Ahl of Canada, who ran 4:08.04.

(04/14/2024) Views: 411 ⚡AMP

More Than 100 Professional Athletes to Race Boston 5K

Fast fields featuring Olympians, Paralympians, rising stars, and recent B.A.A. event winners will take center stage at the Boston 5K presented by Point32Health and B.A.A. Invitational Mile on Saturday, April 13. The deepest professional field in race history will include more than 100 accomplished athletes from 19 nations, set to square off for prize money and awards in the open, wheelchair, and Para Athletics Divisions. 

“More than 40,000 athletes will take part in B.A.A. races across Boston Marathon weekend,” said Jack Fleming, President and Chief Executive Officer of the B.A.A. “Saturday’s Boston 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile fields feature some of the fastest American and international stars, many who are aiming to compete at the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.”

A new champion will be crowned and the stage is set for another close race at the Boston 5K. Ben Flanagan (Canada), Edwin Kurgat (Kenya), and Alex Masai (Kenya) – all top-five finishers a year ago – will return. They were at the front of an exciting finish a year ago that saw the top 13 men come across the line within ten seconds of the winner.

Top Americans Cooper Teare, Zach Panning, and Drew Hunter look to be at the front of the field. Teare is the reigning U.S. club cross country national champion, while Panning led a majority of February’s USA Olympic Team Trials – Marathon and Hunter is a former national champion indoors at 2 miles. B.A.A. High Performance Team members Eric Hamer and Barry Keane will be racing their hometown event.

Also on the start line will be Ben Kigen, an Olympic steeplechase bronze medalist in 2021; Simon Koech, last year’s Diamond League winner in the steeplechase; and Merhawi Mebrahtu, the 5,000m World Junior Championships silver medalist. Ethiopians Getnet Wale and Addisu Yihune are the two fastest men in the field, having gone sub-13:00 on the track for 5,000 meters.

Leading the women’s field is USATF 5K National Champion and B.A.A. High Performance Team member Annie Rodenfels. Joining her are 2024 Team USA Olympic marathoner Dakotah Lindwurm, former American marathon record holder Keira D’Amato, perennial top-American Boston Marathoner Nell Rojas, as well as Team B.A.A. runners Abbey Wheeler, Bethany Hasz Jerde, and Megan Hasz Sailor.

Uganda’s Sarah Chelangat, the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile champion in 2023, and Mercy Chelangat, a former NCAA Cross Country and 10,000m winner, are both entered. Reigning B.A.A. Half Marathon champion Fotyen Tesfay of Ethiopia also comes back to Boston seeking another win.

In the wheelchair division, course record holder and six-time Boston Marathon champion Marcel Hug (Switzerland) will square off against Americans Daniel Romanchuk and Aaron Pike. Brazil’s Vanessa de Souza – the 2018 Boston 5K winner – is the women’s wheelchair division favorite. Perennial Para Athletics Division contenders El Amine Chentouf (T12, vision impairment), Brian Reynolds (T62, lower-limb impairment), and Marko Cheseto (T62, lower-limb impairment) will vie for prize money and podium placings. This will be the largest professional Para Athletics Division field in event history.

Nearly 10,000 participants will take part in the Boston 5K, serving as the first race of the 2024 B.A.A. Distance Medley series.

KRISSY GEAR LOOKS TO REPEAT IN B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE

Krissy Gear earned a hard-fought B.A.A. Invitational Mile win last year and now comes in with the target on her back as defending champion. Four of the top five finishers from 2024 return, including Susan Ejore (Kenya), Jazz Shukla (Canada) and Taryn Rawlings (USA). Micaela Degenero, the 2022 NCAA Indoor Mile champion, and 4:23.94 Helen Schlachtenhaufen are entered as well.

Massachusetts high school standout Ellie Shea will take on the professionals. The Belmont High School student-athlete finished 10th at last year’s B.A.A. Invitational Mile.

Massachusetts native and 3:52.94 miler Johnny Gregorek leads the men’s field of competitors. Melkeneh Azize of Ethiopia, the world junior champion at 3000m in 2022, and Harvard’s Vivien Henz, a national champion in Luxembourg, will each make their B.A.A. road racing debuts.

In addition to the professionals, student-athletes from each of the eight cities and towns that make up the Boston Marathon route will compete in a Scholastic Mile and Middle School 1K.

(03/20/2024) Views: 631 ⚡AMP

Ollie Hoare to defend Wanamaker mile title at Millrose Games

Organizers of the Millrose Games have announced that Ollie Hoare will defend his Wanamaker Mile title at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in New York on February 11.

Hoare, the Commonwealth 1500m champion, won last year’s Wanamaker mile in an Oceanian indoor record of 3:50.83.

“I’m thrilled to be able to come back and defend my Wanamaker title,” said the Australian. “It will be great to be out there competing at one of my favorite mile races in the world.”

He will take on a field that includes 2021 US 1500m champion and Olympic finalist Cole Hocker, European bronze medalist Mario Garcia Romo of Spain, US Olympian Yared Nuguse, NCAA record-holder Eliud Kipsang of Kenya, 2017 world finalist Johnny Gregorek, three-time New Zealand champion Sam Tanner, world indoor and outdoor finalist Neil Gourley, as well as USA’s Josh Thompson, Sam Prakel and Drew Hunter.

(01/12/2023) Views: 767 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

Five high school boys have combined to break the four-minute barrier seven times in 2022 and no one has enjoyed it more than Jim Ryun

Jim Ryun was the first high school boy to break the four-minute barrier in the mile as a Kansas 17-year-old in 1964 and went on to a legendary track and field career that included three Olympic appearances in the 1,500m, a silver medal in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, and numerous American and world records. 

Ryun’s name always surfaces when a high schooler dips under 4 minutes in the mile. And in 2022, his name has been coming up a lot. 

Ryun’s career was also in the spotlight earlier this month when he was one of 30 former college track and field athletes inducted into the inaugural class of the USTFCCCA’s Athlete Hall of Fame in conjunction with the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. 

The original 4-minute high school barrier breaker celebrates the resurgence of American high school distance running and says for too long runners were held back in fear of what would happen if they ran under 4 minutes for the mile. 

“I think they realize it’s not a barrier that can’t be broken, it’s more of a matter that if you break it,” Ryun said, “will you go on from there, which you can because we’re seeing more and more of them that are doing that.  

“It’s not the barrier that it once was, should never have been there. For a long time, there were three of us. Myself, Marty Liquori and Tim Danielson. We were the only (sub) 4-minute milers from high school for years and I think it was the result of people being afraid of that, and coaches saying if you run too fast, too soon you’ll never make it very far.” 

Growing up, Ryun often wondered if he would ever be successful in an athletic endeavor. He tried basketball and football and was cut from his church baseball team. At a high school assembly, Bob Timmons, the school’s track and field and cross country coach, encouraged students to run on his cross country team in the fall. 

Ryun had never run more than one lap around a track before joining the cross country team, but in one season at Wichita East High School, he went from the last runner on the third-string team to a sixth-place finish at the Kansas state meet. 

“Running was so new to me, I didn’t know who the heroes were,” Ryun recalled. “In fact, my first thought was I wanted to be a baseball, football, basketball player. Running, what’s that? So, it took a while. The first book Coach Timmons gave to me was about Emil Zatopek, the great Olympian, so I read that, and it began helping me understand about the sport.” 

Ryun said Timmons was convinced he could be the first high school runner to break 4 minutes in the mile. That came true on June 5, 1964, when Ryun ran 3 minutes, 59.0 seconds to finish eighth at the Compton Invitational in Los Angeles. 

“The goal originally was my coach’s because I was the kid that got cut from the church baseball team, didn’t have great talent and when I started running, I was looking for direction,” Ryun said. "And he began basically teaching me about goals, how to reach goals, and gave me workouts to get there. The night that I ran 4 minutes, 3:59.0, I didn’t sleep that night (before) because I realized that it was his goal. 

“But my thought was, what happens if I take ownership, ownership being there’s certain things you as an athlete know you could do like maybe a little extra weightlifting, better eating. It was a transformational moment, because I mean when you finish eighth in a race and become the first kid to run under 4 minutes, that has to change your life – and it did.” 

Ryun’s running career took off from there. He made the 1964 U.S. Olympic team in the 1,500m that went to Tokyo and was the last U.S. high school men’s track and field athlete to make the U.S. Olympic team until teenager Erriyon Knighton qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 200m and finished fourth there. 

As a high school senior, Ryun broke 4 minutes four more times. His time of 3:58.3 at the 1965 Kansas state meet was the first time 4 minutes was broken in a high school-only meet. On June 4, 1965, Ryun returned to the Compton Relays, the site of his first sub-4-minute mile and ran 3:56.8. A little over three weeks later, he ran 3:55.3 at the U.S. AAU Championships in San Diego and beat New Zealand’s Peter Snell, the 1964 Olympic champion in the 800m and 1,500m. 

Ryun, who would stay close to home and attend Kansas University after graduating from high school in 1965, roomed with a former Jayhawks great, Billy Mills, during U.S. training camps leading up to the 1964 Olympics. In Tokyo, Mills stunned the world by becoming the only U.S. athlete to ever win the Olympic 10,000m. 

In 1966, Tim Danielson became the second American high schooler to break 4 minutes when he ran 3:59.4. A year later, Marty Liquori ran 3:59.8 to become the third high schooler under 4 minutes. 

Ryun and Liquori had illustrious careers after high school, particularly Ryun. At age 19 in 1966, Ryun set two world records, first in the 800m (1:44.9), and then the mile (3:51.3). He was the NCAA indoor mile champion for Kansas in 1967, 1968 and 1969, and the 1967 outdoor NCAA mile champion. In 1967, he set a 1,500m world record of 3:33.1 that stood for seven years.

That same year, he lowered his mile world record to 3:51.1., a mark that stood for almost eight years. Ryun was the last American man to hold the mile world record. He still holds American junior records for the mile (3:51.3) and 2-mile (8:25.1), and his 800m American junior record of 1:44.9 stood for exactly 50 years. 

In 2003, ESPN.com ranked Ryun as the greatest U.S. high school athlete of the 20th century, ahead of Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Wilt Chamberlain, Marion Jones, and others.

After Ryun, Danielson, and Liquori, the 4-minute mile wasn’t broken by a prep athlete again for more than 32 years until Alan Webb ran 3:59.86 at the New Balance Games in New York on Jan. 20, 2001. Sensing something special in Webb, the promoters of the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., invited him to run in the Bowerman Mile, the signature event of the meet that has since become a Diamond League event, on May 27, 2001. 

Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj, still the world record-holder in the 1,500m and mile, won the event in 3:49.92, followed by Kevin Sullivan of Canada and Bernard Lagat, then of Kenya, who later ran for the U.S. They helped pull Webb to a fifth-place finish in 3:53.43, breaking Ryun’s 36-year-old high school record. 

“I thought he would. I just didn’t know how much he would break it by," Ryun said. “It was one of those moments in time where he had run well, but he needed somebody to help him get over that finish line, just as I did running under 4 minutes for the first time. You need someone to help set the pace. You can relax a little bit, and he was able to take advantage of that.  

“So, there was no real surprise to me. The biggest surprise was that there weren’t more high school boys running under 4 minutes.” 

It would be another 10 years before a high schooler would break 4 minutes in the mile. In 2015, Matthew Maton and Grant Fisher, now the U.S. record-holder in the men’s 10,000m, both ran 3:59.38 about one month apart. In 2016, two runners broke 4 minutes, including Drew Hunter, who did it twice in a 15-day span in February indoors, both times in New York. 

The 4-minute barrier was broken by high schoolers once in 2017 and again in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Hobbs Kessler ran the fastest high school mile since Webb when he ran 3:57.66 indoors. Kessler later that year broke Ryun’s 1,500m American junior record of 3:36.1 that stood for almost 55 years. 

The lack of American high school runners breaking 4 minutes in the mile for decades might be a big reason why U.S. men haven’t enjoyed much Olympic or international success until recently. When Matthew Centrowitz won the men’s 1,500m at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, he was the first American man to do so since 1908. At the same Olympics, Clayton Murphy won the bronze medal in the 800m, the first American man to medal in the event since 1992. 

And when the World Athletics Championships are hosted on U.S. soil for the first time next month in Eugene, Ore., the defending 800m men’s champion is American Donavan Brazier. 

“If you look back in history, you’d see there was a dominance maybe by a country for a time like Great Britain had all those great runners. America at one time was dominant in that area as well,” Ryun said. “So, I think it’s a matter of floating from place to place, and I think it comes down to motivation. How motivated are you?  

“Over time you start realizing that motivation has to come down to you be willing to get up, run in all kinds of weather, race all over the world and let those talents be developed that God’s given you. So, it takes time. I think America can come back with dominance, but it also comes down to how motivated you are. I see the Kenyans as very motivated, and America can be just as motivated as you see with these new young runners that are developing quickly.” 

That has proven to be the case this season. Seventeen high school runners have broken the 4-minute barrier, and 2022 has been the banner season for it so far with five runners breaking the mark seven times. 

“I think a lot of coaches are seeing, too, that kids are just developing a lot faster doesn’t mean you’re going to burn out,” Ryun said. “It means you’ve got great opportunities. Will you decide to keep it going and, in my case, will you take ownership? The coach can only take you so far, but then you have to establish ownership.” 

The owner of the fastest prep mile this year is Colin Sahlman, who ran 3:58.81 indoors in February, and, like Webb, was invited to the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic. In a field that included 2020 Tokyo Olympic 1,500m gold medalist Jackob Ingebrigtsen, defending World Athletics Championships 1,500m gold medalist Timothy Cheruiyot, and defending 1,500m NCAA outdoor champion Cole Hocker, Sahlman finished 13th in 3:56.24. Of the 14 men who finished the race, seven set personal bests and seven set season bests, including Ingebrigtsen, whose time of 3:49.76 is the fastest in the world this year. 

Sahlman’s time moved him to third on the all-time prep list behind Webb and Ryun. Sahlman, who is headed to Northern Arizona University for college, was part of a high school powerhouse at Newbury Park High in Southern California. In 2021, Newbury Park became the first high school team to have four runners break 4:10 for the mile in the same season. 

“That mindset has really evolved and developed over these last three to four years,” Sahlman said in a March article in the Los Angeles Times. “It’s just like it’s transformed into something that we never thought was possible. Now we think anything’s possible.” 

Gary Martin has also broken 4 minutes twice this year, running 3:57.98 on May 14 and 3:57.89 on June 2 in the Festival of Miles in St. Louis. At the Festival of Miles, Connor Burns ran 3:58.83 to become the first high school junior since Ryun to break 4 minutes. It was also the first time two prep runners broke 4 minutes in the same race.

Those two performances gave the Festival of Miles four prep runners who have broken 4 minutes. That’s where Fisher did in 2015, a feat repeated by Reed Brown a year later. 

And one day after Martin and Burns broke 4 minutes, Rheinhardt Harrison ran 3:59.33 in Florida on June 3. On June 15, Simeon Birnbaum added to the list of sub-4 minute runners when he became the second high school junior this season to break the mark with a time of 3:59.51.

Will this high school running resurgence lead to greater U.S. success against international competition and major global championships? Only time will tell.  

(06/20/2022) Views: 1,429 ⚡AMP
by Ashley Conklin (World Athletics)

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: 1,572 ⚡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: 1,698 ⚡AMP
by Jennifer Glatz

2021 NYC Marathon: Weini Kelati, Drew Hunter win Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K

Two-time NCCA champion Weini Kelati smashed the event record at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line on Saturday in Central Park.Kelati took the tape in 15:18, while indoor champion Drew Hunter won the men's race in 13:53.Kelati, who became a U.S. citizen in June, finished the race on a solo sprint to win her first U.S. title and finished six seconds faster than Molly Huddle's previous event-best mark.She also finished 29 seconds ahead of runner-up Grace Barnett, a U.S. Olympic Trials finalist.It also marked the first U.S. road title for Hunter, who jumped into the lead with about 100 meters to go in Central Park.About 7,000 runners registered for the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K, a sort of warmup to the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday.The 3.1-mile race traverses part of the marathon course, starting near the United Nations Headquarters in Midtown East and ending at the marathon finish line in Central Park.

It was the largest field for an endurance race in New York since the 2019 marathon.It's also a USA Track and Field championship race and the field included five Olympians and 20 championship winners.

The race featured a $60,000 prize purse - the largest of any 5K race in the world.The Kelati and Hunter will each win $1,500 after crossing the finish line first.

 

(11/06/2021) Views: 1,216 ⚡AMP

Nico Young will begin his final high school track and field season and will be going after the 3000m indoor record

The Newbury Park (CA) High School senior and Northern Arizona University signee will go after the American U20 indoor 3,000 meter record of 7:56.31, which was last set by Chris Derrick -- while he was with Stanford in 2009 -- at the Millrose Games on February 8 in New York City. 

If accomplished, Young, 17, would also surpass Drew Hunter's national high school 3K record of 7:59.33 for the distance. Hunter accomplished that feat in 2016, becoming the only high school athlete to ever go under 8 minutes indoors -- only two athletes have done it across both seasons; German Fernandez owns the outdoor 3K record in 7:59.83. 

But here's the twist. 

Young, running unattached, will be entered in the professional field. As per National Federation of High School State Associations (NFHS) rules, Young will be able to race against pros and collegians -- and not lose his remaining CIF eligibility -- based upon the fact that Millrose does not offer a high school race at the distance. 

A year ago, all but one runner in the 12-person field broke 8-minutes, with Stanford's Grant Fisher leaning past Wisconsin's Morgan McDonald at the line to win in 7:42.62. 

Young has raced once since cross country, putting down a 1,500m performance (outdoors) of 3:52.39 at the Arcadia Winter Championships qualifier on Jan. 25. 

And he's still relatively fresh since coming off a record performance at Nike Cross Nationals, where he broke the 5K meet record at Glendoveer and ran a winning time of 14:52.30. 

While Young has just one indoor performances overall -- he was eighth in the boys mile at the New Balance Grand Prix in 2019 -- those around him remain confident he will excel in the field. Young's head coach, Sean Brosnan, said Young will not seek out a fast mile in 2020, with focus instead placed on 3,000 and 5,000 meter races. 

Meaning: While Young could run fast 1,600 meter and mile races in 2020, his objective will not be on going under 4 minutes for the distance as a high school senior. 

In recent years, there have been five sub-8:10 efforts since 2010, including performances from Hunter, Edward Cheserek (2x) and Lukas Verzbicas (2x) -- national cross country champions in high school.

Young ran 8:13.31 for 3K in February of last year at the Rossi Relays. He remains in fitness and has been eyeing several records attempts to begin 2020. 

(01/29/2020) Views: 1,832 ⚡AMP
by Cory Mull

A year ago, Reed Fischer paid his own way to the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon this year he is excited for his return

Without a sponsor, the former Drake Bulldog didn’t have a racing uniform to wear.  So, he stopped by the race expo at the cavernous George R. Brown Convention Center to do some shopping.

“I bought just a plain, black Nike singlet,” Fischer told Race Results Weekly in an interview here today.  “I was, and still am, unsponsored.  So for me, I just wanted to have a very understated, mixed-brand look.”  He continued: “I just wanted people to know where I stood from a sponsorship standpoint.”

Holding the pace that his coach Tom Schwartz said he was capable of, Fischer ran the four 5-kilometer segments within the race in 14:51, 14:38, 14:41 and 14:49, respectively.  He pushed through the final 1097 meters in a brisk 3:07, and crossed the finish line in 1:02:06, s 51-second personal best.  Along the way, he set road PB’s for 10-K (29:29), 15-K (44:10) and 20-K (58:59).  He was also the first American, beating better-known athletes like Parker Stinson and Noah Droddy, and his time made him the sixth-fastest American at the half-marathon distance for 2019.

Was he surprised at his performance?

“Yes,” Fischer admitted.  “Maybe a bit more than I expected, to be completely honest.  Coach Schwartz and I knew I was in around 62-minute shape, so from a time standpoint I ran 62:06, basically right where we hoped that I could run.  But, I did not expect to crack the top-10 or be the top American.”

Fischer, who trains with the Tinman Elite group in Boulder, Colo., comes to this year’s race with a different mindset.  He was supposed to make his marathon debut in Chicago last October, but had to withdraw when he suffered a “mild stress reaction” in his left foot, according to his Instagram page.  It was a devastating setback for the young runner who had put together a very solid block of training.

“Working through my first injury as an athlete has been undoubtedly difficult, but I’ve found a new appreciation for running as a result,” Fischer posted on Instagram at the time.  “I’m incredibly grateful for my support team, they’ve helped keep me optimistic and get me back to running as quickly as possible.”

Revising his plans, Fischer will now make his marathon debut at the USA Olympic Trials Marathon on Saturday, February 29.  His race here on Sunday comes off of heavy marathon training and will provide a valuable test for his fitness.  He is trying for a nuanced approach.

“There two ways you can approach it,” Fischer explained.  “One, is you go and have a nice conservative day and feel good about where things are at, and maybe don’t run 100% of what you could.  Or, the other one’s, maybe, you say I’m just going to try and see if I can make something happen on some tired legs, go 100% effort and see if it pans out, or if you crash and burn.  I’m trying to toe the line between the two.  I’m trying to run really aggressively and rip the band-aid off.”  He continued: “I’m definitely fitter than last year.”

Fischer has been in Boulder two and a half years training with Tinman Elite, and he loves the camaraderie of the group.  The other athletes –Drew Hunter, Jeff Thies, Aaron Templeton, Joseph Berriatua, Connor Winter, Kyle Medina, Jordan Gusman, Sam Parsons, and Patrick Joseph– are middle-distance/5000m athletes, so Fischer is their long distance man (marathoner Brogan Austin is also part of Tinman, but he trains in Iowa). 

(01/18/2020) Views: 1,766 ⚡AMP
by David Monti

15 Mind-Blowing Race Moments From 2019-From Kipchoge to Kosgei and all of the upsets, records, and victories in between, 2019 was a major year for running.

1-Kosgei Shocks Everyone in Chicago-On October 13, Brigid Kosgei made history when she won the Chicago Marathon in 2:14:04. The Kenyan ran almost perfectly even splits to achieve her goal in the Windy City, passing the halfway mark in 1:06:59 before clocking 1:07:05 for the second half.

2-Eliud Kipchoge Dips Under 2-Hour Marathon Barrier-In his second attempt at breaking the two-hour barrier in the marathon, Eliud Kipchogeof Kenya accomplished the feat with a stunning run of 1:59:40 on the streets of Vienna in October.

3-Joan Samuelson Crushes Her Goal 40 Years After Boston Victory-In 1979, Joan Benoit Samuelson set a national and course record when she won the Boston Marathon as a 21-year-old college student. Forty years after her historic victory, Samuelson, 61, set out to run within 40 minutes of her winning time at the 2019 Boston Marathon. On April 15, the 1984 Olympic champion wore a similar Bowdoin College singlet to honor her 1979 win and shattered her goal, crossing the finish line in 3:04. “To be here, 40 years later and being able to run, let alone being able to run a marathon, I feel blessed,” she said.

4-Jim Walmsley Obliterates His Own Western States Record-Ultrarunning star Jim Walmsley maintained his Western States winning streak when he obliterated his own course record in June. Navigating 100 miles from Squaw Valley to Auburn, California, Walmsley broke the tape in 14 hours and 9 minutes, which broke his own course record by more than 20 minutes

5-Donavan Brazier Breaks 34-Year-Old American Record-Donavan Brazier had the race of his life when he broke one of the oldest American records on his way to winning gold in the 800 meters at the IAAF World Championshipsin Doha, Qatar. With 250-meters to go, Brazier ran away from the field to secure the first 800-meter world championship gold medal for the United States in a time of 1:42.34. 

6-Dalilah Muhammad Sets World Record Twice-Dalilah Muhammad made history twice this season when she broke the 400-meter hurdles world record and lowered it once again on her way to winning the world championships.

7-Sifan Hassan Wins Unprecedented Double at Worlds-At the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Sifan Hassan won two gold medals that no man or woman has achieved in the history of the world championships or Olympic Games. The Dutch runner, 26, kicked off the competition by winning the 10,000-meter final in a national record time of 30:17:33. 

8-Maggie Guterl Becomes First Woman to Win Backyard Ultra-For 60 hours straight, Maggie Guterl ran the same 4.2-mile trail loop to become the last runner standing in the Big’s Backyard Ultra race. The Durango, Colorado, native ran 250 miles on her way to becoming the first woman to win the brutal race that rewards the person who can run for the longest amount of time.

9-Geoffrey Kamworor Breaks Half Marathon World Record-Holding a 4:25-mile pace, Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya shattered the world record at the Copenhagen Half Marathon in September, running 58:01. The performance, which was 17 seconds faster than the previous record, took place in the same city where the 26-year-old won his first of three half marathon world championship titles in 2014.

10-Joyciline Jepkosgei Debuts in NYC Marathon, Beats Mary Keitany-In her first marathon, Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya secured a title in a major upset. The half marathon world record-holder raced like a veteran in the New York City Marathonto beat four-time champion Mary Keitany in a winning time of 2:22:38, only seven seconds shy of the course record.

11-Kenenisa Bekele Wins Berlin Marathon 2 Seconds Shy of World Record-One year after Eliud Kipchoge set a world record that many believed would be untouchable for at least a few years, Kenenisa Bekele nearly surpassed it at the Berlin Marathon. The 37-year-old Ethiopian won the race in 2:01:41, just two seconds shy of Kipchoge’s record. 

12-Freshman Sha’Carri Richardson Shatters 100-meter Collegiate Record-In her first ever NCAA Outdoor Championship, Sha’Carri Richardson made history. In the 100-meter final, the LSU freshman sprinted to victory in a collegiate record of 10.75.

13-Drew Hunter, Athing Mu, and Colleen Quigley Win First Pro Titles-The USATF Indoor Championships brought out exciting breakthroughs for three young athletes. In the men’s 2-mile, 21-year-old Drew Hunter won the crown out of the “slower” heat by running a world-best time of 8:25.29. The women’s 600 meters was won by 16-year-old Athing Mu who defeated world silver medalist Raevyn Rogers in an American record time of 1:23.57.

14-BYU Snaps NAU’s Winning Streak at the NCAA Cross Country Championships-The Brigham Young team had a banner day at the NCAA Cross Country Championshipsin November. Battling muddy conditions, the BYU Cougars secured the team victory over three-time defending champions Northern Arizona in the men’s race. With a team total of 109 points, BYU beat NAU by 54 points to win the program’s first NCAA cross-country championship in history.

15-Joshua Cheptegei Sets 10K World Record After Winning Two World Titles-Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda capped off a banner year when he set a world record in the 10K on December 1, running 26:38 to win the 10K Valencia Trinidad Alfonso in Valencia, Spain. Earlier this year, he won the world cross-country championships and the world championship 10,000 meters in Doha, Qatar.

 

(12/15/2019) Views: 1,756 ⚡AMP
by Runner’s World

Drew Hunter is out for the IAAF World Championships due to a foot injury

Making Team USATF for the upcoming IAAF World Championships in Athletics was Drew Hunter's biggest career accomplishment. The 21 year-old adidas athlete, who trains in Boulder, Colo., with the Tinman Elite group, scrapped his way to a fifth place finish in the 5000m at the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships in July, despite enduring searing foot pain in the weeks leading to those championships which made running almost impossible. As the third man across the finish line with the World Championships standard, Hunter was going to his first big global championships.

"I just did everything I could," Hunter told Race Results Weekly in a telephone interview last night from Boulder. "It's the hardest team to make and I made it. I earned that spot."

But over the last month, Hunter's foot woes have only gotten worse. Despite countless treatments, cross training, ice, anti-inflammatories and rest, the 2019 USA indoor two-mile champion had to accept that his track season was over. He made the decision with coach Tom Schwartz after a workout he attempted last Friday with Tinman teammate Sam Parsons who is preparing for the New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile.

"I warmed up with Sam for his last workout for Fifth Avenue," Hunter recounted. "I'm going to do a hard workout with Sam and see where my foot is at. I did one stride and my foot was on fire. I knew I was done."

Hunter informed USATF of his decision to withdraw from the team. Although the national federation hasn't named a replacement yet, the next athlete in line is Ben True who finished seventh at the USATF Championships and had the World Championships standard at the time of the meet (American athletes were not permitted to chase the standard after the national championships).

Although severely disappointed, Hunter is trying to use this setback as a learning experience. Analyzing his workouts and training schedule with his coach, he has traced the injury --first an inflamed and torn plantar, then a fractured cuboid bone in his right foot-- to what seemed like the most successful period of running of his young career. On June 13, Hunter ran a personal best 7:39.85 for 3000m at the Bislett Games in Oslo. His foot was just a little sore, but his fitness was excellent and he wanted more.

"I felt my planter and it wasn't bad," Hunter explained. "I had the same symptoms before the Oslo Diamond League. Then I ran Olso, then hopped on a flight straight to Boston and did the Boost Games Mile (where he finished second in 3:58)." He continued: "My plantar was sore, but it was very minor. Right after Oslo and Boost Games I ran really well. I looked in my training log and I know where I screwed everything up."

Hunter, who was a miler in high school, had been successful as a 5000m man on a relatively low-mileage training plan. A big training week for him was 80 miles, but wanting to increase his fitness base he ran successive 90-mile weeks after Oslo. That, Hunter said, was the tipping point.

"I ran my two highest mileage weeks ever back to back," Hunter said. He added: "It just kind of slowly got worse and worse."

In his one tune-up race for the USA national meet, Hunter ran the 1500m at the Sunset Tour meeting in Azuza, Calif., on July 9. He clocked a solid 3:37.29, showing that he had enough fitness to run the 5000m at the national meet, but his foot felt awful.

"Then I ran Azuza, and after the race I could barely walk," Hunter said. "My plantar was, like, on fire. After Azuza my training went really inconsistent and really shaky into nationals. I couldn't do long runs, I couldn't do workouts."

Hunter knew the injury was bad, but decided not to get an MRI because part of him didn't want to know how bad it really was. He was committed to the national meet and didn't want to pull out. That's what professional athletes do, he said.

"I didn't get an MRI before and that was intentional because I knew something was wrong. I knew I had a plantar problem, but I didn't want to know how severe because I was all-in on running nationals." He continued: "So I just worked with my soft tissue therapist and just managed it."

Ironically, by taking so many steps to protect his plantar Hunter actually caused the cuboid fracture. The planter problem is mostly resolved, he said, but the the cuboid fracture needs more time to heal.

(09/04/2019) Views: 2,377 ⚡AMP
by David Monti

Ben Flanagan and Justyn Knight will be facing a very deep field at the B.A.A 5K race on Saturday

Ben Flanagan and Justyn Knight will both race the B.A.A 5K on Saturday. They will face a very deep field including World Championship top six finisher Ben True and 2019 USATF Indoor 2-mile champion Drew Hunter.

Both Flanagan and Knight run for the Reebok Boston Track Club out of Charlottesville, Virginia.

We asked Flanagan and Knight how they thought they would do if on Saturday they were told they had to run a marathon instead of a 5K. Flanagan joked that, “I mean, I could finish it.” He continued, “I think I would try and run around 5:30 miles for as long as possible.

I would hope to finish around the 2:30’s. It’s so hard to say.” Flanagan hasn’t done a long run longer than 14 miles recently and says that the marathon is a distance he really respects. “It would be impossible to go out there and do a good job without months of preparation.”

Knight took a slightly more aggressive approach saying he would aim for high teens or low twenties. “Oh my gosh, I mean I hope that I’d run between 2:18 or 2:20 but I don’t even know what a minute means in the context of a marathon.”

Knight only ran one race in the 2019 indoor season and says he wasn’t in his ideal race shape through the winter. “My indoor season was what everyone saw, I was out of shape. I knew I wasn’t as fit as I would’ve like to be, but I still wanted to race and see where I was at relative to my fellow competitors. I wasn’t ready to run fast then, but I feel I’m in a completely different spot now.” Knight says he always races to win and that’s the mindset he has heading into the weekend.

Both runners are starting their 2019 outdoor seasons with the World Championships in mind. Neither Flanagan or Knight are certain of which distance they would ideally qualify at, but they know they’d like to be there.

(04/10/2019) Views: 2,372 ⚡AMP

America's Ben True and Ethiopia's Buze Diriba are back to Defend Their Titles at BAA 5K Saturday

The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) announced Monday the elite field for the BAA 5K and Invitational Mile, to be held on Saturday, April 14 two days before the Boston Marathon. New Hampshire’s Ben True will return to Boston looking to earn his fifth BAA. 5K title, while Ethiopia’s Buze Diriba will defend her 2017 crown. Canada’s Nicole Sifuentes and American Drew Hunter will lead world-class fields at the tenth annual BAA Invitational Mile. A $39,900 prize purse will be distributed to the top finishers of the BAA 5K, while a $14,500 prize purse will be available in the BAA Invitational Mile. True is a veteran and New England favorite on the roads of Boston, having broken the American record twice at the BAA 5K in both 2015 and 2017. A year ago, True timed 13:20 en route to his fifth win in seven years. Coming off a win at the NYC Half in March, True will drop down in distance and face a tough field that includes fellow Americans Eric Jenkins, Tommy Curtin, and Scott Fauble. Jenkins, a native of New Hampshire, is a two-time NCAA champion and was runner-up at last year’s USA Championships 5000m on the track. (04/10/2018) Views: 2,054 ⚡AMP