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Legese and Chepngetich lead Chicago Marathon fields

Ruth Chepngetich heads to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on the hunt for a hat trick, while Birhanu Legese is the fastest in the men’s field for the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on Sunday (13).

The women’s race features a clash between Chepngetich, her Kenyan compatriot Joyciline Jepkosgei and Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede – three sub-2:17 runners who form part of a field that includes another six women to have dipped under 2:20.

Chepngetich, the 2019 world marathon champion, won in Chicago in 2021 and 2022, and followed that with a runner-up finish to Sifan Hassan last year. She clocked 2:14:18 on that occasion, while her PB of 2:14:18 set in Chicago in 2022 makes her the fourth fastest women’s marathon runner in history.

She ran 2:24:36 for her most recent marathon, in London in April, and placed ninth, but then clocked 1:05:58 to win the 21k Buenos Aires half marathon in August.

Jepkosgei, who won the London Marathon in 2021 and New York City Marathon in 2019, finished fourth in Chicago last year in 2:17:23. 

She improved by one place when returning to marathon action in London in April, setting a PB of 2:16:24.

It’s Kebede who leads this season’s top list, thanks to the PB of 2:15:55 she set to win the Tokyo Marathon in March. That puts her at No.8 all time and she will be hoping to make the most of the fast course in Chicago.

“After seeing what my teammate Kelvin Kiptum did last year, I want to come to Chicago to do something great,” said Kebede, who finished 15th in last year’s race.

Kiptum, who was part of Kebede’s training group, died in a road traffic accident in February, just four months after he set his world marathon record of 2:00:35 in Chicago. This year, the event will honour Kiptum’s legacy with a moment of silence at the start line.

Joining Chepngetich, Jepkosgei and Kebede on that start line will be three more women with PBs under 2:18 – Ethiopia’s Degitu Azimeraw, Ashete Bekere and Hiwot Gebrekidan – plus Kenya’s Irine Cheptai, who ran 2:18:22 in Hamburg in April.

The field also features the second and third fastest ever US women’s marathon runners, Keira D’Amato and Betsy Saina, who have also dipped under 2:20. They are joined in this competitive field by their compatriots Sara Hall and Emma Bates.

Ethiopia’s Legese leads the men’s field with the PB of 2:02:48 he ran in Berlin in 2019. That performance puts him sixth on the men’s world marathon all-time list but since then his highest marathon finish has been a third place, achieved in Rotterdam with a 2:05:16 run in April.

The two-time Tokyo Marathon champion will want to return to winning ways when he heads back to Chicago, where he placed 10th when making his World Marathon Majors debut in 2018, but he faces tough opposition.

Six other men in the field have PBs faster than 2:06, including Kenya’s Amos Kipruto, Vincent Ngetich and John Korir, and Ethiopia’s Dawit Wolde, Amedework Walelegn and Mohamed Esa.

Kipruto, the 2019 world bronze medallist, and Ngetich have matching PBs of 2:03:13. Kipruto won the London Marathon in 2022 and trains with Benson Kipruto, who won that year’s Chicago Marathon, while Ngetich was second in the Berlin Marathon last year, five places ahead of Kipruto. He was also third at this year’s Tokyo Marathon.

Korir ran his PB of 2:05:01 when finishing third in Chicago in 2022, while Wolde ran 2:03:48 in Valencia last year, Esa has a best of 2:05:05 from Amsterdam in 2022 and Walelegn clocked 2:04:50 in Rotterdam in April, finishing runner-up – one place ahead of Legese.

Looking to join them at the front of the field will be Kenya’s Daniel Ebenyo, the world 10,000m and half marathon silver medallist who makes his marathon debut. The 29-year-old ran a 59:30 half marathon in Berlin in April, 26 seconds off his PB set in Manama in 2022.

Ethiopia’s Jemal Yimer Mekonnen, who finished fourth in the half marathon at last year’s World Road Running Championships behind runner-up Ebenyo, is back in marathon action after his win in Seoul in March.

Among the athletes racing on home soil are USA’s Zach Panning, CJ Albertson and Brian Shrader.

Elite fields

WomenRuth Chepngetich (KEN) 2:14:18Sutume Kebede (ETH) 2:15:55Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) 2:16:24Degitu Azimeraw (ETH) 2:17:58Ashete Bekere (ETH) 2:17:58Hiwot Gebrekidan (ETH) 2:17:59Irine Cheptai (KEN) 2:18:22Keira D'Amato (USA) 2:19:12Betsy Saina (USA) 2:19:17Sara Hall (USA) 2:20:32Emma Bates (USA) 2:22:10Buze Diriba (ETH) 2:23:11Sara Vaughn (USA) 2:23:24Susanna Sullivan (USA) 2:24:27Gabi Rooker (USA) 2:24:35Lindsay Flanagan (USA) 2:24:43Stacey Ndiwa (KEN) 2:25:29  Lauren Hagans (USA) 2:25:56Annie Frisbie (USA) 2:26:18Jackie Gaughan (USA) 2:27:08Dominique Scott (RSA) 2:27:31Diane Nukuri (USA) 2:27:50Makena Morley (USA) 2:30:25Anne Marie Blaney (USA) 2:30:43Amy Davis-Green (USA) 2:33:09Aubrey Frentheway (USA) debut

MenBirhanu Legese (ETH) 2:02:48Amos Kipruto (KEN) 2:03:13Vincent Ngetich (KEN) 2:03:13Dawit Wolde (ETH) 2:03:48Amedework Walelegn (ETH) 2:04:50John Korir (KEN) 2:05:01Mohamed Esa (ETH) 2:05:05Jemal Yimer (ETH) 2:06:08Kyohei Hosoya (JPN) 2:06:35Toshiki Sadakata (JPN) 2:07:05Tatsuya Maruyama (JPN) 2:07:50Yuichi Yasui (JPN) 2:08:48Jorge Castelblanco (PAN) 2:09:24Zach Panning (USA) 2:09:28Brian Shrader (USA) 2:09:46CJ Albertson (USA) 2:09:53Tomoki Yoshioka (JPN) 2:10:03Reed Fischer (USA) 2:10:34Nathan Martin (USA) 2:10:45Colin Mickow (USA) 2:11:22Kevin Salvano (USA) 2:11:26Jacob Thomson (USA) 2:11:40Turner Wiley (USA) 2:11:59Shadrack Kipchirchir (USA) 2:13:02JP Flavin (USA) 2:13:27Charlie Sweeney (USA) 2:13:41Ben Kendell (USA) 2:15:49Phil Parrot-Migas (CAN) 2:15:53Aaron Gruen (USA) 2:15:56Daniel Ebenyo (KEN) debutPeter Lynch (IRL) debutAlex Maier (USA) debutAlex Masai (USA) debut

Timothy Kattam and Yuki Nakamura secured the victory in the Gold Coast Marathon

A diminutive 23-year-old Japanese surprise packet today smashed the ASICS Gold Coast Marathon women’s race record, stunningly in just her second marathon.

Yuki Nakamura came into Sunday’s race at the lower end of the top 10 but turned the form guide upside down with a 2:24:22 run that eclipsed American Lindsay Flanagan’s race record of 2:24:43 set in 2022 by 21 seconds.

It was the third fastest women’s marathon time on Australian soil, the other two fastest achieved by the gold and silver medalists at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Ethiopia’s Kumeshi Sichala (2:25:25) and pre-race favourite Kenyan Visiline Jepkesho (2:26:17) took the minor placings.

Nakamura’s out-of-a-hat record was achieved on a perfect-for-running Gold Coast morning alongside a record 10,000-plus fellow marathoners who competed on the day.

The men’s event was taken by Kenya’s Timothy Kattam in 2:08:52, six seconds ahead of Ethiopian Belay Tilahun (2:08:58) and Japan’s Kiyoshi Koga (2:09:22).

Nakamura said she had a slightly more conservative target time on the start line.

“I was aiming for a 2:26 result, that was my objective, however, to come here and win the race, I am so happy with the result,” she said.

Nakamura said she went with the early pace.

“In the beginning, it was faster than I anticipated but I was feeling great and enjoying the ambiance of the Gold Coast, so I just went for it and then I realised there was nobody else around and I was winning.

“At the 30km mark I wanted to drop off the group, but then it was downhill, so I tried to hang in there and catch up on the speed and when I got to the 35/36km mark it was good and I made my move.

“I have no idea how this feeling is, however later on I will feel the power of standing on the top step of the podium,” she said.

Second place Sichala said she was happy to achieve a personal best at her first ASICS Gold Coast Marathon.

“My race went to plan, it was good, and I am very happy,” she said

“I loved the people cheering along the course and I will come back to the Gold Coast again,” she said.

Jepkesho was happy enough with her debut appearance on the Gold Coast

“It wasn’t my personal best, but I felt good,” she said.

Men’s champion Kattam said he surprised himself with his first run in Australia.

“This is my first time coming to Australia, I am so grateful for today’s race, it was fantastic; I like the course, everything was well, I am very happy for the day. “It was about the win, [and] we were very tight over the ASICS athletes, it was a very tough race.

“[Our team tactics] come out during training and that is what motivates us,” he said.

“The pace was 3:01, 3:02, but then it went to 3:07 and that is when I decided to make a move, to control the speed, “This is a very good season for me; today I wanted to try for a podium, but I didn’t expect to win today’s race and I am very happy, and I am looking to be back in Australia next year,” he said.

Tilahun was happy with his run. “It was a personal best for me, so how can you not be happy with that?”

Third place Koga wanted to do it his way. “The last few races I haven’t done well in the marathon, so I just wanted to run the way it should be and stay steady and this was the result,” he said.

“The winner last year was Japanese, so I was aiming for first place but at least I am on the podium and for that I am grateful.

“Many people were cheering, and it was a really fun and enjoyable run,” he said.

The best Australian in the men’s race was Liam Boudin (2:13:56) who was eighth overall in his debut marathon while Victorian Sarah Klein (2:31:58) was the first Australian woman across the line and fifth overall in the women’s race.

Ednah Kiplagat confirms next race as she chases more history

Forty-four-year-old Edna Kiplagat has opened up on where she will compete next, giving the impression that she is not hanging her spikes anytime soon.

More than 25,000 runners have confirmed participation at the New York City Half Marathon scheduled for Sunday, March 17 from Brooklyn to Manhattan, finishing in Central Park.

One of the headliners in the women’s field is 44-year-old Kenyan runner Edna Kiplagat who will be using the race as part of her preparations for the Boston Marathon.

Kiplagat is one of the most successful long-distance runners and from her records, she is a two-time Boston Marathon champion and former London and New York City Marathon champion.

Kiplagat will be up against compatriots Gladys Chepkurui, the reigning Tokyo Half Marathon champion, and Cynthia Limo, a World Athletics Championships half-marathon medalist. The duo has the two fastest times in the women's open division.

Two-time US Olympian and 2018 Boston Marathon champion Desiree Linden will return as the top American finisher from last year's race, having recently finished 11th at the US Olympic Marathon Trials.

Olympic and World Championships medalist Emily Simpson will make her United Airlines NYC Half debut but she is no stranger to NYRR races as an eight-time winner of the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile.

Lindsay Flanagan and Annie Frisbie, both of whom finished in the top 10 at the 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials, will also be ones to watch.

Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele, a four-time Olympic medalist, 16-time world champion, and the third-fastest marathoner in history, will challenge the Kenyan charge in the men’s race. He will be competing in the streets of New York for the second time after finishing sixth at the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon.

The Kenyan charge will be led by, Abel Kipchumba, the reigning champion of the B.A.A. Boston Half Marathon who owns one of the top 10 half-marathon times in history.

Morocco's Zouhair Talbi will return to the event after taking third in his United Airlines NYC Half debut last year, which he called "the race of his life."

Since then, he finished fifth at the Boston Marathon and broke the Houston Marathon course record in January.

Tanzanian Olympian and marathon record-holder Gabriel Geay, who was the runner-up at last year's Boston Marathon, will race the United Airlines NYC Half for the first time.

An American contender to watch will be Hillary Bor, a two-time U.S. Olympian and five-time national champion who will be making his half-marathon debut.

These were the Fastest Shoes of the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials

Asics, Puma, and Nike had a big day.

The city of Orlando witnessed some amazing performances under a blistering sun, with tickets to Paris at stake. When the dust settled after three loops, six brands placed among the top 10 men’s and women’s finishers. There was a time Nike ruled the roads, but Asics topped them in this year’s Olympic Trials Marathon, with two men and four women making my list below.

Here’s a look at what the top 10 finishers in both races wore in their quests for a spot on the Olympic team.

MEN’S TOP 10

1st — Conner Mantz, 2:09:05

Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% (v1)

Despite two updates to the Alphafly, Mantz (right in the image above) continues to wear the very first version. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

2nd — Clayton Young, 2:09:06

Asics Metaspeed Sky 3 prototype

Young (left, above) looks to be wearing the newest, unreleased Metaspeed Sky. Asics has three “development” shoes (prototype) approved by World Athletics for use in competition, currently. This colorway looks a lot like the existing Metaspeed Sky+ and Edge+, but when we zoom in closer we don’t see any labels, and the sidewall of the midsole looks different than the shoe you can buy now.

3rd — Leonard Korir, 2:09:57

Nike Air Zoom Alphafly 3

Korir laced up the latest Alphafly and might just have run himself onto the squad headed for Paris. We reviewed the Alphafly 3 recently.

4th — Elkanah Kibet, 2:10:02

Asics Metaspeed Edge 3 prototype

Kibet is wearing a prototype, like Young. His, however, appears to be the Metaspeed Edge. You can see the ridge on the sidewall of the forefoot swoops down low toward the sole of the shoe. The Edge’s plate curves lower, allowing for more foam between your foot and the plate than in the Sky.

5th — CJ Albertson, 2:10:07

Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 prototype

It looks like CJ is wearing Brooks’s top racing shoe, which was just announced. But, the company also has a “Hyperion Elite 4 RD.010” prototype shoe that was approved by World Athletics for use in competition just two weeks ago. It’s likely he wore that version (we don’t have details yet) but the outsole of CJ’s race shoe has gray rubber, whereas the newly announced version has a web of black and orange rubber.

6th — Zach Panning, 2:10:50

Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 prototype

Panning seems to be wearing the same prototype of the Hyperion Elite 4 that CJ wore.

7th — Nathan Martin, 2:11:00

Nike Air Zoom Alphafly 3

8th — Josh Izewski, 2:11:09

Nike Air Zoom Alphafly 3

9th — Reed Fischer, 2:11:34

Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

Fischer rolled to a top-10 finish with an all-white version of the Adios Pro 3. Adidas does not have any prototypes on the list of approved shoes as of race day.

10th — Colin Bennie, 2:12:17

Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 prototype

Bennie seems to be wearing the same prototype as Albertson and Panning.

WOMEN’S TOP 10

1st — Fiona O’Keeffe, 2:22:10

Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3

Not a bad first effort for O’Keeffe and Puma. Fiona won her first marathon in record fashion. And Puma claimed victory with the Deviate Elite 3 on the first day it was approved for use in competition. The World Athletics approved shoe list shows the 3 green lighted for use as a “development” as of Feb. 3, 2024.

2nd — Emily Sisson, 2:22:42

New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Pacer

New Balance has a new super shoe, the FuelCell SuperComp Elite v4, out. But Sisson laced up the thinner, lighter Pacer. It’s a shoe most of us recreational runners might only grab for a 5K or 10K (maybe). Seems like it’s working just fine for the American record holder.

3rd — Dakotah Lindwurm, 2:25:31

Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3

Lindwurm also wore the new Puma racer. Hey, Puma, need me to re-send my address? 

4th — Jessica McClain, 2:25:46

Nike Vaporfly 3

This marks an insane shift in racing footwear. On the men’s side, four of the top 10 runners laced up Nike. Only McClain, the team’s first alternate, cracked the top 10 women’s runners wearing the swoosh. Folks, we’re living in the golden age of running shoes. Pick the pair that fits and feels best—and rip it.

5th — Sara Hall, 2:26:06

Asics Metaspeed Edge 3 prototype

Like Kibet, it appears Hall wore the Metaspeed Edge prototype.

6th — Caroline Rotich, 2:26:10

Asics Metaspeed Edge+

Unlike Hall, Kibet, and Young, Rotich’s shoe seems to be the current Metaspeed Edge+ that you can buy right now.

7th — Makenna Myler, 2:26:14

Asics Metaspeed Sky 3 prototype

Myler is likely wearing the Sky 3 prototype—again, check out that ridge in the forefoot; it’s closer to the foot. One heck of a day for Asics, if I do say so.

8th — Lindsay Flanagan, 2:26:25

Asics Metaspeed Edge 3 prototype

N + 1.

9th — Emily Durgin, 2:27:56

Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

Durgin held onto a top-10 finish wearing Adidas’s most popular marathon racer.

10th — Annie Frisbie, 2:27:56

Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3

Asics packed four runners in the top 10, but Frisbie finished strong to give Puma a triumphant trio, all wearing the new Deviate Elite 3.

Lindsay Flanagan And Her Younger Sister Kaylee Are Both Racing The Marathon Trials

In the past 20 months, veteran marathoner Lindsay Flanagan has cut her personal best by 2 minutes, twice. She won the 2022 Gold Coast Marathon in Australia in a course record of 2:24:43. In August, her 2:27:47 run placed her ninth overall, and first American, at the World Championships marathon in Budapest.

But one of her proudest moments came in the wee hours of December 3. Huddled over her phone in Adelaide, Australia—where she’d traveled for a few months to prepare for the upcoming Olympic Marathon Trials—Flanagan repeatedly refreshed the results of the California International Marathon.

Not long after 4 a.m. Lindsay’s time, her younger sister, Kaylee, crossed the finish line in 2:35:24—a nearly five-minute PR and her first Trials qualifying time. “I did not sleep at all that night,” Lindsay said. As both Kaylee’s sibling and her coach, “I was so invested.”

After promising high school running careers in Illinois, both Flanagans (no relation to Shalane) ran at the University of Washington, overlapping for a year. Now, they live across the street from each other in Boulder, Colorado, where they typically share miles at least once if not twice daily. Kaylee cheered Lindsay on in Budapest; afterward, they vacationed in Croatia.

They’ve spent the past few months, uncharacteristically, half a world apart, though Kaylee frequently pops by Lindsay’s house to water plants and make sure the pipes don’t freeze. But they’re reuniting in Florida, lining up together at the Trials.

The Flanagans aren’t the only siblings competing in Orlando on February 3; the field also includes brother and sister Kaylee and Austin Bogina and twins Isabel and Monica Hebner. But they’re unique in also being athlete and coach—Lindsay has guided Kaylee’s training for about two years.

And in her third Trials, Lindsay stands out as a top, if under-the-radar, pick to make the U.S. Team.

The Asics-sponsored runner, 33, does most of her workouts alone. Her coach is remote, and she has no training group or partner capturing evidence for Instagram. Yet out of the limelight, Lindsay has spent nearly a decade preparing for a moment just like this one. “Every workout, every season, every race cycle has been meticulously chosen,” Kaylee, 28, said of her sister. “Trust me, she will be one to watch out for in Orlando.”

A steady ascent

As close as they are, the two sisters forged different paths from college to the Trials. Lindsay made her marathon debut the January after graduating. At the 2015 Houston Marathon, she ran 2:33:12, good for ninth place and a slot in the 2016 Trials. On a hot day in Los Angeles the following February, she paused to vomit around the 21-mile mark, then finished 14th in 2:39:42.

Through 20-some marathons since—so many she’s lost count—she’s gradually, if quietly, established herself. Her next breakthrough came at the 2016 Frankfurt Marathon, where she finished fourth in 2:29:28. She notched top-10 finishes in Boston and Chicago in 2019, and headed into the 2020 Trials ranked 12th. That’s exactly where she finished, running 2:32:05.

Post-pandemic, she was coaching herself but seeking mentorship. Her agent connected her with Benita Willis, a four-time Olympian for Australia and gold medalist at the 2004 World Cross Country Championships. After an hour-long conversation, Lindsay realized she wanted Willis to fully take the reins of her training.

The pair became fast friends, and under Willis’s guidance, Lindsay is now even faster. She first lowered her personal best to 2:26:54 in April 2022 at the Paris Marathon. Next, Willis suggested Lindsay make her first Australian trip to run Gold Coast in July.

The race would give the pair the chance to meet in person for the first time, and with her victory, Lindsay had an opportunity that her coach, a 2:22:36 marathoner, had missed. “I ran big races, but I never won a marathon or broke a course record,” Willis said. “I wanted Lindsay to have that sort of experience well before the Olympic Trials.”

For Betsy Saina, the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon Presents a Chance to Represent Her Son

For much of last year, Betsy Saina had a plan. She would race the Chicago Marathon in October, eager to run alongside Emma Bates (who placed fifth at last year’s Boston Marathon in a new personal best of 2:22:10) in pursuit of breaking Emily Sisson’s American record of 2:18:29, set the previous year at that same race.

Saina, 35, a naturalized U.S. citizen who represented Kenya in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro—she placed fifth in the 10,000 meters 30:07.78—had reason to be confident. Last spring, she set a new personal best of 2:21:40 with her fifth-place finish at the Tokyo Marathon, which wound up being the fastest marathon by an American woman in 2023 and made her the eighth-fastest U.S. female marathoner of all-time, solidifying her position as a top U.S. Olympic marathon team contender.

The Chicago Marathon had assured Saina’s agent, Tom Broadbent, that she was in for the race. But when the elite field was announced in August, Saina learned she had not been accepted, which not only threw a wrench in her fall training plans, but made for a lot of stress as she was planning her U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials buildup.

“I was shocked and spent three days looking at myself and trying to find any mistakes I made to not make the field, especially after running 2:21 in Tokyo,” Saina says. “I had never been rejected from a race before, and never got a response or an explanation as to why I didn’t make it. Being denied to run in Chicago honestly was one of the most disappointing things I’ve experienced in my career.”

Saina looked into entering the Berlin Marathon the following month, but had no such luck getting in with it being so late in the game. She was ultimately accepted into the Sydney Marathon (which shares its sponsor, ASICS, with Saina) on September 16. Unlike Chicago—with its fast, flat course that ended up having ideal racing conditions with temperatures in the 40s—Sydney has a hilly course and race-day weather was on the hotter side, with a starting temperature of 68 degrees.

Despite the conditions, Saina proved herself once again, winning the race in 2:26:47. This sealed her confidence as she began to look ahead to the Olympic Trials in Orlando on February 3. If she’s one of the top three finishers in the women’s race in Florida, she’ll earn a spot on the U.S. team that will compete in the marathon at the Paris Olympics on August 11.

“Challenges make people strong, and running a good marathon on a harder course made me come back feeling motivated,” she says. “[Even though it wasn’t the faster time I originally wanted], it didn’t stop me from being a better version of myself.”

Transcendent Transplant

Despite her impressive performances in 2023, Saina has remained largely under the radar in terms of media coverage and fan predictions leading up to the Trials in Orlando, similarly to what fellow Kenyan-born marathoners Aliphine Tuliamuk and Sally Kipyego (both of whom made the last Olympic marathon team) experienced in 2020. The lack of attention relative to her competitors hasn’t fazed Saina, however.

“I know how to deal with pressure, having been in the sport since 2013, so as long as my training is going well, I don’t pay too much attention to what people say,” Saina says. “I’m just more excited to see many of the U.S. women [who are also] my friends, like Emily Sisson, Sara Hall, and Keira D’Amato, and to be racing so many amazing U.S. athletes for the first time.”

Saina’s result in Tokyo was only about a minute faster than her debut at the distance at the 2018 Paris Marathon, which she won in 2:22:56 (after dropping out of the 2017 Tokyo and New York City Marathons). It was also a confidence boost for Saina because it was also her first marathon since giving birth to her son, Kalya, now two, in December 2021, after previously running 2:22:43 and 2:31:51 at the 2019 Toronto Waterfront and Honolulu Marathons, respectively.

Saina—who originally came to the U.S. to attend Iowa State University where she trained alongside Tuliamuk and was a three-time individual NCAA champion and 11-time NCAA All-American—has remained in her hometown of Iten, Kenya, for the majority of the time since having her son, as her husband, Meshack Korir, is a doctor completing his postgraduate education there.

Although Saina became a U.S. citizen in late 2020 and has a home base in Colorado Springs, she made the decision to return to Kenya to have additional family support and childcare as she worked to come back from pregnancy and childbirth to prepare for the Olympic Trials, which she’ll return for just a few days before the race. Saina also keeps busy managing a couple of guesthouses, which she regularly rents out to visiting athletes and tourists. She also works with Cross World Africa, a nonprofit that sponsors underprivileged children in pursuing secondary and higher education.

“Before I came from Kenya, my family was struggling and we had to fundraise for my flight ticket to come to the U.S. Being here has changed my family in a different way—I have two sisters who are now nurses in the U.S., and my parents can now more easily fly to visit us, and while it is not where I began running, the U.S. where I began competing at such a high level,” she says. “My son also gives me so much motivation and is my inspiration. When I see him, I see beauty in myself and see myself getting better when I’m running. So I am excited both to compete and represent my son, and to hopefully wear the U.S. uniform because it has so much meaning for me.”

Back in Iten, Saina has been training in a group with personal pacemakers alongside 2019 New York City Marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei, which she describes as game-changing for her progress in the marathon. Both Saina and Jepkosgei, who is also the former world-record holder in the half marathon and Saina’s best friend from high school, are coached by Jepkosgei’s husband, Nicholas Koech.

“Sometimes you will train with people who don’t want to help someone else get better, but [Jepkosgei], who has run 1:04 [in the half marathon] and 2:17 [in the marathon] is unique in that she has sacrificed a lot, which I don’t think a lot of women will ever do for each other, and I don’t think I would either,” Saina says. “But she has been pushing me a lot since the first day I joined her, and I think that’s the reason I came back and I’ve had better races. I have someone to chase and it’s like competition in training, but in a good way.”

American Original

Saina returned to the U.S. twice last year, to race the USATF 25K Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan, (where she took the win in 1:24:32 for her first U.S. title, narrowly beating D’Amato) and to be inducted into Iowa State’s Athletics Hall of Fame in September. Saina had planned to do some shorter U.S. races, including the Bolder Boulder 10K in May and the NYRR Mini 10K in June, following her national championship title in the 25K. However, she ultimately decided she couldn’t bear to be away from her son any longer.

“As a mom, when you’re away, you are so worried because you’re like, ‘How is he doing right now? How can I handle the pressure, being away from him?’” Saina says. “This year, it’s really different for me because the only race I want to travel to without Kalya is the Olympic Trials. He is growing now and getting better, so I want to travel with him afterward to compete in the USATF circuit. That’s the biggest goal for 2024, to travel with my son.”

Later this year, Saina hopes to also run the April 7 Cherry Blossom 10-Miler in Washington, D.C., the Mini 10K on June 8 in New York City, and a fast spring half marathon to pursue the current American record (which was broken yet again by Weini Kelati on January 14 in Houston), before running another marathon in the fall. In the meantime, she noted that she is especially eager to compete in one of the deepest fields ever assembled for the Trials.

Although Bates withdrew from the Trials, Saina figures to be one of the favorites in Orlando along with Sisson, Hall, Tuliamuk, D’Amato, and Seidel. However, Lindsay Flanagan (ninth in last summer’s world championships), Sara Vaughn, Susanna Sullivan, Gabriella Rooker, Dakotah Lindwurm, and Nell Rojas are all sub-2:25 marathoners, and thus top contenders, too.

“The U.S. is no longer small and non-competitive. Look at Molly Seidel. She got bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, and I remember when Amy [Cragg] was a bronze medalist at the 2017 World Championships. If you put that in perspective, it has changed even more right now compared to that time,” she says. “The competition [to make the U.S. team] is no longer as easy as the way some people [thought], and I’m super excited to be competing with a lot of solid women. There is no difference between the U.S. and other countries right now—it’s not just to go compete at the Olympics; they’re going to compete for the medals, just like other countries.”

A Marathon Where Victory Isn’t Reserved for the Winners

CJ Albertson and Grace Kahura-Malang won the California International Marathon while dozens more fulfilled lifelong dreams to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials in their last chance

If there’s one race where the adage ‘To the victor go the spoils” does not ring entirely true, it’s the California International Marathon (CIM). The commanding wins of CJ Albertson and Grace Kahura-Malang were certainly deserving of celebration. But they shared in the sweet taste of victory with dozens more high-level runners on last Sunday morning.

For several minutes after Albertson stormed from behind to take the men’s race in 2:11:09 and Kahura broke the tape in the women’s race with a personal best of 2:29:00, the finish line exhilaration continued to build as numerous runners sprinted their way to the finish line on M Street, adjacent to the California Capitol Mall in downtown Sacramento. 

That’s because the winning prizes extended far beyond the $10,000 to something money can’t buy. American runners who could get to the finish line in time earned a qualifying berth for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon on February 3 in Orlando, Florida. That event will determine the six U.S. runners who will compete in next summer’s Paris Olympics, but it’s also a quadrennial benchmark of domestic distance running excellence, and the chance to run in it—especially for those who have no chance at making the Olympic team—is a badge of honor that lasts a lifetime.

Sunday’s CIM was the last opportunity to grab that proverbial brass ring, and as the time ticked down to the cutoffs—2:18 for men and 2:37 for women—41 runners realized dreams that had been several years in the making. That’s a considerably smaller number than the 109 runners who qualified four years ago, but the Olympic Trials are four weeks earlier this time around and many runners opted for earlier races.

To reach the lofty Olympic Trials qualifying (OTQ) standards, many runners had to face their inner demons as they accepted the physical, mental, and emotional challenge of running 26.2 miles faster than they ever have.

“It was very hard-fought,” said Mary Denholm, a Colorado runner who lowered her personal best by more than four and half minutes to finish in 2:36:28 and earned the OTQ time. “During the race, I tried to think as little as possible, but you know those little negative thoughts creep in. I kept saying to myself, Well, you’d be happy with a 2:37 or a 2:38, which is true, but I had to not allow myself to accept that and slow down. Marathoning is so hard. It’s a process. You really have to love the journey.” 

Celebrating its 40th year, CIM has developed a reputation as one of the best domestic races for elite and age-group runners seeking personal best efforts, whether that’s chasing an OTQ or Boston Marathon-qualifying time. The race’s point-to-point, net-downhill 26.2-mile course from Folsom to Sacramento amid Northern California’s typically favorably cool, dry early December weather is ideal for running fast for any of the 10,000 participants. But what makes fast times more likely is the communal effort of the large packs of runners at nearly every pace group.

With the Trials-qualifying deadline of December 5 looming, about 200 American runners lined up at CIM to specifically chase the 2024 OTQ marks. While a few have been training with the aid of sponsorships or trying to become professional runners, the majority were amateur runners who work full-time jobs.

For some—like first-time marathoners and twenty-somethings Charlie Sweeney, Christian Allen, Ava Nuttall, and Abbie McNulty—it was the initial opportunity to meet the mark. But it wasn’t the first rodeo for many others who were back after coming up short in previous years, including thirty-somethings Denholm, Noah Droddy, Allie Kiefer, and Chad Beyer. For some who are slowing with age, or on the verge of hanging up their racing shoes for bigger career pursuits, CIM might have been the final shot of their competitive running careers.

In the moments before the race in Folsom, the nervous energy of every elite runner was palpable as they did their final pre-race strides and stretches, each one carrying with them their own long backstory that brought them to the brink of their dreams. After a brief moment of calm on the starting line, the gun went off and the enticing challenge began.

“This was my shot,” said Droddy, a 33-year-old Salomon-sponsored pro from Boulder, Colorado, who had a breakthrough 2:09:09 runner-up performance at The Marathon Project in 2020 but, because of a variety of injuries, hadn’t finished a marathon since. “I qualified on the last day in 2016, and so this was another full-circle moment to try to do it on the last day again.”

For the next two-plus hours, every runner locked into the silent rhythm of their race pace—each with their own goal in mind—holding onto the cadence of the random runners nearby. This is all the while knowing that consistent effort would gradually transition from being smooth and tolerable to eventually becoming extremely difficult by the later miles of the race. 

Allen, a marathon rookie from Salt Lake City eager to make his mark, boldly opted to run off the front from the start with New Zealand’s Matt Baxter and Kenyan Milton Rotich, while Albertson, a Fresno-based runner who has been one of the most consistent elite-level marathoners in the U.S. for the past several years, looked calm and content as he ran just off the lead near the front pack. 

While many OTQ-seeking American women grouped together in the quest for a 2:33 to 2:37 finish, Kahura-Malang, a 30-year-old Kenyan runner who lives near Boulder, started quickly and tagged along with a much-faster group of men with hopes of breaking 2:30 for the first time.

“I really didn’t know how far I was from the other women, but I didn’t want to focus on that,” she said. “I just wanted to keep running fast.”

Achieving success in a marathon can be a fickle task—one that relies on equal parts sufficient training, optimal fueling, and mental tenacity. But the magic of an elite-level marathon, especially CIM during a pre-Olympic Trials year, can be tied to finding confidence running amid the collective rhythm of a pack of like-minded runners, at least until things get difficult at the crux of the race somewhere near mile 20. 

Maintaining race pace and grinding through the final miles is something every runner experiences, each one to varying success. That’s where inspirational mantras, acknowledging motivational words written on an arm, or a variety of other mental tricks come into play.

“We had a great group for a while, and then about 20 miles, it started to thin out,” said Jacob Shiohira, 27, from Bentonville, Arkansas. He sliced seven minutes off his personal best with his 13th-place, 2:16:34 finish to make the OTQ cut. “The last three miles turned into a grind, but everyone’s in the same boat, and that’s what makes it special.” 

The 26-year-old Allen, fresh off finishing an All-American track and cross country collegiate career at Brigham Young University, spent the summer racing shorter distances on roads and trails. He stuck with his gutsy strategy to lead the race until his legs began to tighten up at the 23-mile mark. Albertson had let Allen and Rotich get ahead of him on a few of the later hills in the race but patiently stayed within himself and seized the lead late in the race to open up a two-minute advantage before the finish.

Rotich finished two minutes after Albertson in 2:13:04 for second, followed by Charlie Sweeney, a 24-year-old runner from Boulder, who completed a stunning debut marathon with a third-place, 2:13:41 finish to earn the Olympic Trials-qualifying standard. After that, Baxter, a Kiwi runner who runs for NAZ Elite, put down a new personal best of 2:14:08, followed by Eritrea’s Amanuel Mesel (2:14:11). From there, Robert Miranda (2:14:43), Jerod Broadbooks (2:14:58) and Allen (2:15:01) led a parade of 27 American men who celebrated securing their OTQ times.

Droddy made it too, finishing 17th in 2:16:56, to earn one of the celebratory golden OTQ flags CIM handed out to each of the qualifiers.

“I didn’t care about the time at all, just as long as it was under 2:18,” said Droddy, who also qualified in 2016 and 2020. “I was just happy to get it done. It means a lot because now I know I can join my teammates at the Olympic Trials.”

More than four minutes after Kahura-Malang ran away with the women’s title, Kiefer (2:33:26) led the charge of a long string of American women who cruised in under the OTQ cutoff. Once a top American runner, the 36-year-old from Austin, Texas, hadn’t finished a marathon since she placed seventh in New York in 2018. Like a lot of runners, she’s been through a lot of challenges in recent years, including injuries, races she’s dropped out of (including the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta), relocating to new cities, changing coaches, and general motivation.

“I’m back to the basics of having fun with it,” Kiefer said. “There’s no pressure right now. I just wanted to have a good experience, and it was a great experience. It feels validating to get back to the Trials. It’s just nice to go out there and do the part you love.” 

Nuttall, 22, was perhaps one of the positive surprises of the day. A senior at Miami University in Ohio, where she was the top cross country runner for the Redhawks this fall, she finished her debut marathon in third place in 2:35:09. After that it was Kaylee Flanagan, 28 who earned her first OTQ with a strong 2:35:24 effort to join her older sister and Asics pro Lindsay Flanagan in Orlando. After that it was professional trail runners Rachel Drake (2:35:28) and Peyton Thomas (2:35:42), who finished fifth, and sixth, respectively. (Drake is also the mother to 14-month-old son, Lewis.)

Nine more women earned the OTQ time—14 total—including Denholm, who finished 13th in 2:36:28.

But amid the joy of dreams coming true, there was also the heartbreak of near-misses. Tammy Hsieh sprinted to the finish just in the nick of time, crossing in exactly 2:37:00 to make the women’s cut, but moments later Gina Rouse (2:37:10) and Jennifer Sandoval (2:37:11) narrowly missed it and went home disappointed.

On the men’s side, Duriel Hardy dashed across the line in 2:17:56 to become the final men’s OTQ’er, but then Alexander Helmuth came across the line two seconds too late in 2:18:02. 

After a record 511 women qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta—nearly double the number of male qualifiers—the women’s standard was lowered by eight minutes, down from 2:45 to 2:37. The new mark equates to a hefty 18 seconds per mile faster, down from 6:18 minute mile pace to 6 minutes flat. Denholm, who qualified in 2020 with a 2:42:02 effort at the 2019 CIM, was one of hundreds of women who spent the past several years trying to make that big leap. 

After running a personal best of 2:40:59 at the 2022 Boston Marathon, Denholm hoped to continue her progression and earn her qualifying time months ago. But the marathon is a fickle event because training never goes perfectly and something—injuries, work, life—always gets in the way. And sometimes everything goes right and it’s just not your day on race day.

After dealing with a torn labrum and then going through a divorce, career changes, and a move from California to Colorado, the 36-year-old running coach targeted last summer’s Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota—another domestic race on par with CIM when it comes to providing a competitive platform for elite and sub-elite runners to excel. 

But despite a good training block, Denholm struggled in that race and finished in 2:43:19. After that, she refocused her training with the help of coach and three-time OTQer Neely Gracey and set her sights on the September 24 Berlin Marathon, only to come down with COVID after she arrived in Germany. Not wanting to give up, she retooled her training one more time and registered for CIM as a last-ditch effort.

She was on 2:36 pace the entire way, running near-identical 13.1-mile splits of 1:18:17 and 1:18:11, but needed the encouragement of friend, Sofie Schunk, to get her through the final miles. Schunk, 31, of Albuquerque, finished six seconds ahead of her in 2:36:22.

“I went to a really dark place out there and had to fight through that,” she said. “It was awesome to have other women out there to go for it with and encourage along the way. I split some of my faster miles near the end, and I’ve never been able to do that, so that was a huge victory for me. I hope this can be encouraging to other women because I really think everyone is limitless. I’ve just worked really hard to get where I am and I just want others to feel encouraged.”

Defending Champions, American Record Holders & Global Stars Highlight 2023 B.A.A. Half Marathon Professional Field

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced today a star-studded professional field for the 2023 B.A.A. Half Marathon presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. Defending champions Viola Chepngeno, Geoffrey Koech, and Jenna Fesemyer all return, while American half marathon record holder Keira D’Amato will take on the challenging course for the first time on Sunday, November 12. The B.A.A. Half Marathon starts and finishes at Franklin Park and runs along the Emerald Necklace Park System.

“As one of the most competitive half marathons in the country, we’re eager to bring many of the best open, wheelchair, and Para athletes in the world to Boston for November’s B.A.A. Half Marathon presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund,” said Jack Fleming, President and CEO of the B.A.A. “Nearly 9,000 athletes will take to the roads, led by some of the fastest and most decorated competitors in event history.”

In 2022, Chepngeno (Kenya), Koech (Kenya), and Fesemyer (USA) won the women’s open, men’s open, and women’s wheelchair divisions, respectively, while Marko Cheseto and Jacky Hunt-Broersma (both USA) persevered through rain to finish atop the podium in the Para Athletics Division. To repeat the feat, all will square off against a field that includes national record holders and global medalists.

Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia, the 2022 B.A.A. 5K champion and three-time world championships medalist, looks to continue her winning ways in Boston. She’ll battle Tokyo Marathon champion Rosemary Wanjiru, 2019 B.A.A. 10K winner Fancy Chamutai, world cross country silver medalist Tsigie Gebreselama, last year’s runner-up Bosena Mulatie, and two-time B.A.A. Half Marathon second place finisher Cynthia Limo.

Four Americans who competed at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August will toe the line, including D’Amato, Lindsay Flanagan, Susanna Sullivan, and Natosha Rodgers. D’Amato set the national half marathon record of 1:06:39 at this year’s Gold Coast Half Marathon in Australia, and along with Flanagan and Sullivan made up Team USA at the World Championships Marathon. Rodgers raced the 5,000m and 10,000m on the track in Budapest, finishing 14th in the latter event. Rachel Schneider Smith, a 2021 Olympian at 5,000m for Team USA, will be making her B.A.A. Half Marathon debut.

Ten men with sub-61 minute personal bests will line up for the B.A.A. Half Marathon. Abel Kipchumba owns the fastest lifetime best in the field (58:07), while Shadrack Kimining of Kenya, second fastest in the field, placed fifth in 2022. Mohamed El Aaraby (Morocco), Yemane Haileselassie (Eritrea), Pat Tiernan (Australia), and Amanuel Mesel (Eritrea) bring international expertise. The fastest American men’s entrants are Nadir Yusuf (1:03:23), Kevin Koski (1:03:35) and Ryan Cutter (1:03:54) and sub-2:10 marathoner Ian Butler.

Dedham, Mass.-native Brian Reynolds, who set a world record at last year’s B.A.A. Half Marathon in the T62 (lower-limb impairment) category, returns, as does Marko Cheseto (T62) who ran 1:24:54 in 2022. Jacky Hunt-Broersma, last year’s women’s T62 champion, and Liz Willis, a three-time Boston Marathon T62 winner, will compete as well.

In the wheelchair division, Fesemyer set a course record 59:50 in 2022 to become the first women’s wheelchair athlete ever to break one hour in race history. Fellow 2022 women’s wheelchair podium finishers Yen Hoang (second place) and Michelle Wheeler (third) return as well.

James Senbeta and Hermin Garic, veterans of many B.A.A. events, headline the men’s wheelchair field. Garic was victorious at this year’s B.A.A. 10K.

The B.A.A. Half Marathon course runs along the picturesque Emerald Necklace Park System, past landmarks such as the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, and Franklin Park Zoo, before finishing at White Stadium in Franklin Park. The B.A.A. Half Marathon is a family-friendly event for athletes and spectators of all ages. Free youth events will be offered on race morning within Franklin Park, including races and medals for all. 

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund has partnered with the B.A.A. Half Marathon since 2003 as the race’s presenting sponsor and exclusive charity team. Through this relationship, Dana-Farber runners have collectively raised more than $8 million to support groundbreaking cancer research, and enabled Dana-Farber scientists and clinicians to positively impact the lives of cancer patients around the world. In advance of the 2023 event, 640 Team Dana-Farber athletes have raised $375,000 to date.

The Road to the Paris Olympics and here is What You Need to Know.

American runners are about to begin training for the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon

It’s early October, which means it’s the peak marathon season for many runners. But with an Olympic year on the horizon, it also means America’s top marathoners are about to hit the road to Paris.

More specifically, the men’s and women’s 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon races—scheduled for February 3 in Orlando, Florida—are just four months away. And that means the top U.S. runners hoping to represent their country at  next summer’s Olympics are about to begin preparing for the all-or-nothing qualifying race that decides which six runners will represent Team USA next summer on the streets of Paris.

Although several top American runners are racing the Chicago Marathon on October 8, even they have their eyes on a much bigger prize next February.

“There’s nothing in my mind that compares with being an Olympian and being in the Olympic Games,” says 26-year-old Utah-based Nike pro Conner Mantz, who returns to Chicago after finishing seventh last year in 2:08:16 in his debut at the distance. “So putting that first has been the plan for a long time. We’re just putting that first and we’re working backwards through the season with other races.” 

Registration will open for the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in early November for runners who have surpassed the qualifying times in the marathon (2:18:00 for men, 2:37:00 for women) or half marathon (1:03:00 for men, 1:12:00 for women). The qualifying window extends through December 3—the race date of the last-chance California International Marathon, which for decades has been one of the most popular Olympic Trials qualifying races.

In 2020, a record 708 runners—465 women and 243 men—qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. But USA Track & Field lowered the women’s qualifying standard by eight minutes from the more attainable 2:45:00 plateau, which means there will most likely be a much smaller women’s field this year.

But even so, amid the handful of runners who have a legitimate shot at making the Olympic team, there will also be dozens of dreamers, wannabes, and just-happy-to-be-there elite amateurs who have worked hard, put in the miles, and earned the chance to be on the start line of the deepest and most competitive U.S. distance-running races that only happen once every four years.

The men’s and women’s races will run simultaneously with the men beginning at 12:10 P.M. EST. and the women starting 10 minutes later. Runners have complained that a high noon start means they will be forced to race in hot, humid conditions. Over the past decade, the average temperature on February 3 in Orlando has been 69.6 degrees Fahrenheit at noon, rising to 73.3 at 4 PM. But actual temperatures have varied drastically, from 81 degrees Fahrenheit at 2 P.M. last year to 56 at the same time the year before. USATF officials have responded by saying that the start times are to accommodate live coverage on NBC and to match the expected conditions in Paris.

Here’s an update and overview of what’s next, who the top contenders are, the course, and what to expect in the next four months.

The 26.2-mile U.S. Olympic Trials course runs through downtown Orlando and consists of one 2.2-mile loop and three eight-mile loops. The marathon course will run through several neighborhoods, main streets, and business districts in Orlando, including Central Business District, City District, South Eola, Lake Eola Heights Historic District, Lake Cherokee Historic District, Lake Davis Greenwood, Lake Como, North Quarter, Lawsona/Fern Creek, SoDo District, and the Thornton Park neighborhood. It will then head east to and around The Milk District neighborhood and Main Street. (Notably, the course will come close to Disney World, which is about 15 miles to the southwest.)

Unlike the Olympic Marathon course in Paris, which will challenge runners with significant hills in the middle, the Orlando course is mostly flat. Each loop has a few minor variations in pitch, but only 38 feet separate the high and low points on the course. Ultimately, though, it’s a spectator-friendly route with chances for family, friends, and fans of runners to see the action several times. 

The top women—based on personal best times and recent race results—are Emily Sisson, Emma Bates, Keira D’Amato, Betsy Saina, and Lindsay Flanagan. But the U.S. Olympic Trials races almost always produce surprises with a few great runners having off days and a few good runners having exceptional days, so there is reason to expect the unexpected.

Sisson lowered the American record to 2:18:29 last year when she finished second in the Chicago Marathon. She’s running Chicago again on October 8 along with Bates, who has said she’s hoping to break the American record. In January, Sisson, 31, chopped her own American record in the half marathon in Houston with a 1:06:52 effort, and most recently won the U.S. 20K Championships (1:06:09) on September 4 in New Haven, Connecticut. Bates, also 31, hasn’t raced at all since her sterling fifth-place effort at the Boston Marathon in April, when she slashed her personal best to 2:22:10. 

While Chicago will be another good place to test themselves, both have unfinished business after Bates was seventh at the 2020 Trials and Sisson dropped out near the 21-mile mark.

The same goes for Flanagan, 32, who has been one of America’s best and most consistent marathoners for the past five years. She placed 12th at the trials in 2020. She had a breakthrough win (2:24:43) at the Gold Coast Marathon in 2022 followed by a strong, eighth-place finish (2:26:08) at the Tokyo Marathon earlier this year. In August, she ran perhaps the best race of her career, when she finished ninth (2:27:47) at the world championships in Budapest amid hot, humid conditions.

The 38-year-old D’Amato, meanwhile, just capped off another strong season with a 17th-place showing (2:31:35) at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, a year after finishing eighth in the world championships and setting an American record 2:19:12 at the 2022 Houston Marathon. She was 15th at the Trials in 2020 in 2:34:24, just two years into her competitive return to the sport after having two kids and starting a career in real estate in her early 20s.

“It’s such a huge goal of mine to become an Olympian,” says D’Amato, who lowered Sisson’s U.S. record in the half marathon with a 1:06:39 effort at the Gold Coast Half Marathon on July 1 in Australia. “It’s really hard for me to put words into this because my whole life, wearing a Team USA jersey has been like a huge dream. And when I left the sport (temporarily), I felt like I said goodbye to that dream and I kind of mourned the loss of being able to represent my country. I feel like it’s the greatest honor in our sport to be able to wear our flag and race as hard as possible.”

Saina, a 35-year-old Kenya-born runner who ran collegiately for Iowa State University, became a U.S. citizen in late 2021. She placed fifth in the 10,000-meters at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro while competing for Kenya. She’s spent the past several years splitting time between Kenya and Nashville, Tennessee, where she gave birth to a son, Kalya, in December 2021.

She’s returned with a strong fourth-place 1:11:40 result at the Tokyo Half Marathon last October and a fifth-place 2:21:40 showing at the Tokyo Marathon in February. In May, Saina won the U.S. 25K Championships in Michigan. Two weeks ago she broke the tape at the Blackmores Sydney Marathon in Australia in 2:26:47.

Other top contenders include but are not limited to Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Molly Seidel (who’s personal best is 2:24:42), 2022 U.S. Olympic Trials champion Aliphine Tuliamuk (2:24:37, 11th in Boston this year), Susanna Sullivan (2:24:27 personal best, 10th in London this year), two-time Olympian and 2018 Boston Marathon winner Des Linden (2:22:38), and Sara Hall (2:20:32, fifth at last year’s world championships), plus Kellyn Taylor (2:24:29), Nell Rojas (2:24:51), Sarah Sellers (2:25:43), Lauren Paquette (2:25:56), Dakotah Lindwurm (2:25:01), Annie Frisbie (2:26:18), Sara Vaughn (2:26:23), Tristin Van Ord (2:27:07), and Jacqueline Gaughan (2:27:08).

The list of potential men’s top contenders isn’t as clear-cut, partially because there are so many sub-2:11 runners and several fast runners who are relatively new to the marathon. But all that suggests a wide-open men’s race where more than a dozen runners are legitimately in the mix for the three Olympic team spots. That said, the top runners on paper, based on both time and consistent results over the past few years, are Scott Fauble, Jared Ward, Galen Rupp, Conner Mantz, Leonard Korir, Matt McDonald, and C.J. Albertson.

The 31-year-old Fauble, who was 12th in the Olympic Trials in 2020 and owns a 2:08:52 personal best, has finished seventh in the Boston Marathon three times since 2019 and also finished seventh in the New York City Marathon in 2018. Ward is a 2016 U.S. Olympian and has three top-10 finishes at the New York City Marathon and a 2:09:25 personal best from Boston in 2019. He’s 35, but he just ran a 2:11:44 (27th place) at the Berlin Marathon in late September.

Rupp, who won the past two U.S. Olympic Trials Marathons and earned the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2016 Olympics, is nearing the end of his competitive career. He boasts a 2:06:07 personal best and has run under 2:10 more than any American in history, including when he finished 19th at the world championships (2:09:36) last year. He’s a bit of a wild card because he’s 37 and hasn’t raced since his lackluster 17th-place showing at the NYC Half Marathon (1:04:57) in March, but the world will get a glimpse of his fitness in Chicago this weekend.

Mantz followed up his solid debut in Chicago last fall with a good Boston Marathon in April (11th, 2:10:25) and solid racing on the track and roads all year, including his recent runner-up showings at the Beach to Beacon 10K in August and the U.S. 20K Championships in September.

McDonald, 30, who was 10th in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials, has quietly become one of the best marathoners in the U.S. while serving as a postdoctoral associate in chemical engineering at M.I.T. His last three races have clocked in at 2:10:35 (Boston 2022), 2:09:49 (Chicago 2022), and 2:10:17 (Boston 2023). The only other runner who rivals that kind of consistency is Albertson, 29, who has run 2:10:23 (Boston 2022), 2:10:52 (Grandma’s Marathon 2022) and 2:10:33 (Boston 2022) in his past three marathons and was seventh in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2020 (2:11:49).

The men’s race will likely have a mix of veteran runners and newcomers who have run in the 2:09 to 2:10 range since 2022. Among those are 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials runner-up Jake Riley (2:10:02 personal best), who is returning from double Achilles surgery; 2016 U.S. 10,000-meter Olympian Leonard Korir (2:07:56), who ran a 2:09:31 in Paris in April; Zach Panning (2:09:28, plus 13th at the world championships in August); U.S. 25K record-holder Parker Stinson (2:10.53); Futsum Zienasellassie who won the California International Marathon last December in his debut (2:11:01) and then doubled-back with a new personal best (2:09:40) at the Rotterdam Marathon in the spring; Abbabiya Simbassa, who ran a solid debut marathon (2:10:34) in Prague this spring; and Eritrean-born Daniel Mesfun (2:10:06) and Ethiopian-born Teshome Mekonen (2:10:16), who both received U.S. citizenship within the past year; and solid veterans Nico Montanez (2:09:55), Elkanah Kibet (2:10:43) and Nathan Martin (2:10:45).

Additional sub-2:12 runners who will  be in the mix are Andrew Colley (2:11:26), Clayton Young (2:11:51), Brendan Gregg (2:11:21), Josh Izewski (2:11:26), Jacob Thompson (2:11:40), and Kevin Salvano (2:11:49).

As noted previously, some top contenders will season their marathon legs one final time at the flat and fast Chicago Marathon on October 8. An even more select few will opt for the New York City Marathon on November 5. After that, nearly every American with eyes set on an Olympic berth will double-down over the holiday season for that one final, critical marathon training cycle. Expect to see a wide range in heat training, from sauna protocols, to warm weather training trips, to simply an adjusted race day strategy.

Of course, with the Olympic Marathon falling under the purview of World Athletics, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Marathon team is not quite as simple as finishing on the podium in Orlando. Any American looking to have a breakout performance and finish within the top three at the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon will need to have run under 2:11:30 for men and 2:29:30 for women within the qualification window, which spans from November 1, 2022 to April 30, 2024. Given the possibility of oppressively hot and humid temps on February 3 in Orlando, they’re best bet is to secure that time now.

These qualification standards are in accordance with a new rule from World Athletics, which allows national Olympic committees to circumvent the typical Olympic qualification process of running under 2:08:10 for men and 2:26:50 for women, or being ranked among the top 65 in the world on a filtered list of the top three athletes from each country. The catch, though, is that three other runners from said country must have met one of these two standards. If this sounds complicated, that’s because it is.

For the hundreds of elite amateurs on the cusp of hitting that coveted U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying time, it’s do or die mode. While a few made the cut at the Berlin Marathon on September 24, one of those opportunities was lost when the Twin Cities Marathon was canceled on October 1 because of excessive heat. Temperatures are shaping up for an auspicious day in Chicago this weekend, and many more will give it a final shot at the Columbus Marathon on October 15; Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on October 28; the Philadelphia Marathon on November 18; and the last-call California International Marathon, a point-to-point race ending in Sacramento, California on December 3. 

Ultimately, only six American runners will likely continue on along the road to Paris and earn the chance to run in the men’s and women’s Olympic marathons next August 10-11. For a handful of younger runners, the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials will be a motivation to reinvigorate the Olympic dream or keep a faint hope alive, at least until the 2028 U.S. Olympic Trials that will determine the team for the Los Angeles Olympics. But for many runners, the journey to the U.S. Olympic Trials in Orlando will lead to the end of their competitive road running careers as new jobs, young families, a switch to trail running, and other priorities will take hold. 

“I think the Olympic Trials is an important part of American distance running,” says Kurt Roeser, 36, a two-time U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier who works full-time as a physical therapist in Boulder, Colorado. “I’m glad that they kept it the same event for this cycle and hopefully for future cycles because it gives people like me a reason to keep training. I’m older now and I’m not going to actually have a chance to make an Olympic team, but for somebody that’s fresh out out of college and maybe they just barely squeak in under the qualifying time, maybe that’s the catalyst they need to start training more seriously through the next cycle. And maybe four years from now, they are a serious factor for making the team.” 

Florence Jebet Kiplagat is set to run in Gold Coast after four year break

Double Berlin Marathon champion Florence Jebet Kiplagat returns to action in July after four years out of competition due to an injury and prolonged illness.

The former World Half Marathon record holder will compete at the Gold Coast Marathon on July 2 and she can't wait. 

“It has been long since I completed and my return into action after four years in the cold is a sign that God loves me. I want my return to be better than before,” said Kiplagat.

Kiplagat was initially entered to compete at the Stockholm Marathon on June 2 but changed her plans after failing to secure vital travel documents on time.

She will be hoping to lower the course record currently held by Lindsay Flanagan at 2:24.43. Kiplagat’s best time stands at 2:19.44 set in 2011 at the Berlin Marathon on her second victory.

“I entered the Stockholm Marathon late and failed to secure a visa. That made me change my mind to compete at the Gold Coast Marathon in Australia,” she said.

The Iten-based runner had three incidents that kept her from running. First, the nagging injury, followed by the coronavirus then sickness. She says after the injury in 2019, she was to return to action but the world was hit by the  Coronavirus pandemic. "When the pandemic was over and planning to return, I fell sick," she explained. 

The mother of two has sweet memories of her World Half Marathon record feat, which she lowered twice; posting a new high of 1:05:12 in 2014 and 1:05:09 in 2015 during the Barcelona Half Marathon.

Under the tutelage of Italian marathon coach Renato Canova, Kiplagat says she is on top of her game and optimistic her performance in Gold Coast will be good despite the long period on the sidelines.

“Right now, I am coaching myself because my coach is currently unwell.  However, he has been sending me a training programme, which I follow religiously in a bid to make a successful return," she says.

She is well remembered to have ended Kenya’s 16-year-old gold drought at the 2009 World Cross-Country Championships in Amman, Jordan before winning the World Half Marathon title in Nanning, China in 2011. Kiplagat is a former footballer, who played at the national school games.

2023 Elite field announced for Tokyo Marathon

It’ll be hard to top the 2022 Tokyo Marathon. After all, Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei each set the course records for the men’s (2:02:40) and women’s (2:16:02) races, respectively. The course records will stand, but neither Kipchoge or Kosgei are back to defend their titles.

So which fresh faces will stand atop the Tokyo Marathon podium? The fields are littered with World Marathon Major success stories—some ready to snag another title, others looking for their very first. Expect competitive, exhilarating races on both sides.

The Tokyo Marathon website has a comprehensive list of the men’s and women’s elite fields, but here’s who we’re looking out for.

Non-Major Marathon Champs Shoot for First Major Men’s Title

The men’s athletes are no strangers to winning. Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia leads the field in accolades with his 2021 London Marathon victory. He also has the fastest personal best in the field—2:03:36.

Behind him are a handful of men who have recently won big marathons—just not majors. CyBrian Kotut of Kenya won the 2022 Hamburg Marathon in 2:04:47. Deso Gelmisa of Ethiopia finished first at the 2022 Paris Marathon in 2:05:07. Titus Kipruto of Kenya won the 2022 Milano Marathon in 2:05:05. Each of them will be gunning for a major marathon win—as will 2022 New York City Marathon runner-up Mohamed El Aaraby.

There’s no shortage of home-grown talent either. Owning the Japanese record of 2:04:56, Japan’s Kengo Suzuki leads a group of seven other countrymates—all of whom want to make the podium.

All Eyes on the Six Women With Sub-2:19 Personal Bests

A talented group of women could challenge the top-10 all-time list. Six of the competitors have run faster than 2:19, but only one of them has cracked 2:18—Ashete Bekere of Ethiopia. She’ll have her hands full, as 2022 Berlin Marathon runner-up and third-placer—Rosemary Wanjiru of Kenya and Tigist Abayechew of Ethiopia, respectively—will want to nab a title.

The Japanese contingent, led by Mao Ichiyama and her 2:20:29 personal best, hope to put someone on the podium. However, they’ll likely have to run faster than 2:20 to do it, and just Ichiyama and Mizuki Matsuda have overcome the 2:21 barrier.

Lindsay Flanagan is the sole American elite in both races. She’s coming off a successful 2022 season that included a personal best of 2:24:35 and an 11th place finish at the New York City Marathon.

Who Wore Which Shoes at the New York City Marathon?

The running shoe hype train was high in New York City with a few fast yet-to-be-released shoes in the men’s and women’s elite fields.

For a few miles early in the New York City Marathon, Desi Linden surged into the lead of the women’s elite field. The two-time Olympian and 2018 Boston Marathon champion didn’t think she’d run away and win the race that way, but she was just trying to keep the pace honest.

However, hiding in plain sight on her feet as she was off the front of the pack was a yet-to-be-released pair of orange, white and black Brooks prototype racing shoes. A day later, no one is willing to give up any details of the shoe, except that, like all of the other top-tier racing shoes in both the men’s and women’s elite fields, it features a carbon plate embedded in a hyper-responsive foam midsole. And although it’s all in accordance with World Athletics regulations, it won’t be released in Spring 2024 … so we’ll all have to wait a bit to see what that shoe is all about.

Linden’s shoes weren’t the only speedy outliers among the top 25 men’s and women’s finishers. While Nike, Adidas and ASICS shoes were the most prevalent brands among elite runners, there were several shoes that aren’t yet available to the public.

For example, the first runner to cross the finish line of this year’s New York City Marathon, women’s winner Sharon Lokedi, was wearing a pair of Under Armour Velociti Elite shoes. That’s notable for several reasons—because it was Lokedi’s first marathon, because the shoe won’t become available until early 2023 and because it’s the first podium finish at a major international marathon for a runner wearing Under Armour shoes.

There were also three pairs of yet-to-be-released Hoka Rocket X 2 shoes on the feet of three Hoka NAZ Elite runners — two of whom set new personal best times, Aliphine Tuliamuk (7th, 2:26:18) Matthew Baxter (12th, 2:17:15). Those fluorescent yellow shoes with orange, white and blue accents and blue laces were on the feet of Hoka pros at the Boston Marathon in April and Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in October, but they won’t be released to the public until late February or early March.

Meanwhile, the winner of the men’s race, Evans Chebet, was wearing a pair of Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3, a shoe worn by four other runners in the top 25 of the men’s race and six among the women’s top 25, making it the second most prevalent model among the elites. Oddly, that was the same shoe worn by Brazil’s Daniel do Nascimento, who went out at record-setting sub-2:03 pace on his own, only to crumple to the ground at mile 21 after succumbing to fatigue and cramping.

The most common shoe among the top finishers was the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2, which was on the feet of 11 of the 50 runners among the women’s and men’s top 25 finishers. There were eight runners wearing either the first or second version of the ASICS MetaSpeed Sky.

Six runners wore Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Flyknit shoes, three wore Nike Air Zoom Alphalfy NEXT% 2. There were two pairs of On Cloudboom Echo 3 in the field, including those worn by Hellen Obiri who finished sixth while running a 2:25:49 in her marathon debut, while three runners wore Puma Fast R Nitro Elite.

And what about actor Ashton Kutcher? He wore a pair of purple Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% Flyknit shoes and finished in a very respectable 3:54:01.

Matt James, the former lead of the Bachelor, finished in 3:46:45 with Shalane Flanagan as his guide wearing a pair of New Balance FuelCell Comp Trainer shoes. Flanagan wore Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% Flyknit shoes, as did Meghan Duggan, an Olympic gold medalist hockey player who ran a solid 3:52:03. Lauren Ridloff, actress from “The Walking Dead,” ran in a pair of Brooks Glycerin 20 and finished in 4:05:48, while Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton finished in 4:20:34 wearing a pair of Brooks Ghost 14 and Tommy Rivers Puzey (aka “Tommy Rivs,” a former elite runner who survived a deadly bout of cancer in 2020, wore a pair of Craft CTM Ultra Carbon Race Rebel and finished in 6:13:54.

Here’s a rundown of what was on the feet of the top 25 women’s and men’s finishers in the Big Apple.

1. Sharon Lokedi (Kenya) 2:23:23 — Under Armour Velociti Elite

2. Lonah Salpeter (Israel) 2:23:30 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

3. Gotytom Gebreslase (Ethiopia) 2:23:39 – Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

4. Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) 2:24:16 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

5. Viola Cheptoo (Kenya) 2:25:34 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

6. Hellen Obiri (Kenya) 2:25:49 — On Cloudboom Echo 3

7. Aliphine Tuliamuk (USA) 2:26:18 — Hoka Rocket X 2

8. Emma Bates (USA) 2:26:53 — ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+

9. Jessica Stenson (Australia) 2:27:27 – ASICS MetaSpeed Sky

10. Nell Rojas (USA) 2:28:32 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Flyknit

11. Lindsay Flanagan (USA) 2:29:28 – ASICS MetaSpeed Sky

12. Gerda Steyn (South Africa) 2:30:22 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

13. Stephanie Bruce (USA) 2:30:34 — Hoka Rocket X 2

14. Caroline Rotich (Kenya) 2:30:59  — ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+

15. Keira D’Amato (USA) 2:31:31 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Flyknit

16. Des Linden (USA) 2:32:37 — Brooks Prototype

17. Mao Uesugi (Japan) 2:32:56 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

18. Eloise Wellings (Australia) 2:34:50 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

19. Sarah Pagano (USA) 2:35:03 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

20. Grace Kahura (Kenya) 2:35:32 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

21. Annie Frisbie (USA) 2:35:35 — Puma Fast R Nitro Elite

22. Molly Grabill (USA) 2:39:45 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% Flyknit

23. Kayla Lampe (USA) 2:40:42 — ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+

24. Maegan Krifchin (USA) 2:40:52 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

25. Roberta Groner (USA) 2:43:06 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2

1. Evans Chebet (Kenya) 2:08:41 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

2. Shura Kitata (Ethiopia) 2:08:54 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

3. Abdi Nageeye (Netherlands) 2:10:31 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

4. Mohamed El Aaraby (Morocco) 2:11:00 — ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+

5. Suguru Osako (Japan) 2:11:31 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

6. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Japan) 2:12:12  — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

7. Albert Korir (Kenya) 2:13:27 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

8. Daniele Meucci (Italy) 2:13:29 — ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+

9. Scott Fauble (USA) 2:13:35 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2

10. Reed Fischer (USA) 2:15:23 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

11. Jared Ward (USA) 2:17:09 — Saucony Endorphin Pro 3

12. Matthew Baxter (New Zealand) 2:17:15 — Hoka Rocket X 2

13. Leonard Korir (USA) 2:17:29 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

14. Matthew Llano (USA) 2:20:04 — Under Armour Velociti Elite

15. Olivier Irabaruta (Burundi)  2:20:14 — On Cloudboom Echo 3

16. Hendrik Pfeiffer (Germany) 2:22:31 — Puma Fast R Nitro Elite

17. Jonas Hampton (USA) 2:22:58 — Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

18. Alberto Mena (USA) 2:23:10 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

19. Jacob Shiohira (USA) 2:23:33 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Flyknit

20. Edward Mulder (USA) 2:23:42 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Flyknit

21. Jordan Daniel (USA) 2:24:27 — Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2

22. Nathan Martin (USA) 2:25:27 — ASICS MetaSpeed Sky+

23. Jeff Thies (USA) 2:25:45 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2

24. Shadrack Kipchirchir (USA) 2:28:15 — Puma Fast R Nitro Elite

25. Abi Joseph (USA) 2:29:16 — Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Flyknit

World Championships Medalists Gotytom Gebreslase, Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, and Hellen Obiri to Join Women’s Field at 2022 TCS New York

Sara Hall, Emma Bates, Aliphine Tuliamuk, Des Linden, Nell Rojas, and Stephanie Bruce to anchor star-studded contingent of American women.

World Championships medalists Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia, Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel, and Hellen Obiri of Kenya will join previously announced New York City and Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir in the women’s professional athlete division at this year’s TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday November 6. All three will make their TCS New York City Marathon debuts, with Obiri making her 26.2-mile debut across any course, and will line up against a star-studded contingent of American women that includes Sara Hall, Emma Bates, Aliphine Tuliamuk, Des Linden, Nell Rojas, and Stephanie Bruce. The 2022 TCS New York City Marathon women’s professional athlete field is presented by Mastercard®.

Women’s Open Division

Fresh off her victory at the world championships marathon, where she finished the course in a championship-record time of 2:18:11, Gebreslase will make New York City her next stop. She will look to add a five-borough title to her resume, having previously won the 2021 Berlin Marathon and finished third at the 2022 Tokyo Marathon.

“Winning the World Championships was like a dream, and I am honored to run my next marathon in New York City,” Gebreslase said. “It’s home to the biggest marathon in the world, and many of the top athletes have run there. I understand it’s a challenging course, and I’m looking forward to seeing further success there.”

Two-time Olympian Salpeter, a Kenyan-born Israeli who won the bronze medal at the world championships marathon and was the 2020 Tokyo Marathon winner, will challenge Gebreslase once again. Obiri, a two-time Olympic medalist and seven-time individual world championships medalist, will make her highly anticipated marathon debut shortly after winning a world championships silver over 10,000 meters.

“I’m very excited to make my marathon debut at the TCS New York City Marathon,” Obiri said. “I have watched the race many times on TV and have seen my Kenyan colleagues compete there. I know New York is a tough course, but I hope my experience on track, road, and cross-country will help me navigate the ups and downs. I also plan to get advice and tips from coach Dathan Ritzenhein, who competed in the race several times in the past.”

In addition to Jepchirchir, the group will be racing against Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi, who will look to become the first athlete to win the United Airlines NYC Half, Mastercard New York Mini 10K, and TCS New York City Marathon in one year. Three other Kenyans will also be strong contenders for podium places, including the 2010 New York City, 2014 London and 2017 Boston Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat, last year’s runner-up Viola Cheptoo, and newcomer Sharon Lokedi.

The American effort will be led by 10-time national champion Hall, who was the top world championships marathon finisher from the U.S. last month in Oregon, where she placed fifth. She is also the former half marathon national record holder, the runner-up from the 2020 London Marathon, and a two-time winner of the Mastercard New York Mini 10K. She will be joined at the Staten Island start line by Bates, who clocked a personal best to finish seventh at the world championships and was the runner-up at last year’s Chicago Marathon.

“From winning the Millrose mile to back-to-back Mini 10K wins, most of my favorite career moments have happened in NYC,” Hall said. “I’m all-in to add to that by having my best marathon yet at the TCS New York City Marathon. I can’t wait to be back racing my heart out in the five boroughs of my favorite city.”

Tokyo 2020 Olympian Aliphine Tuliamuk, and two-time Olympian and 2018 Boston Marathon champion Des Linden, will also return to New York, as will national champion Stephanie Bruce, who will race the five boroughs for the final time before retiring. The deep U.S. women’s group will additionally include Nell Rojas, the top American finisher from the last two Boston Marathons, Lindsay Flanagan, the top American finisher from the 2022 United Airlines NYC Half, Annie Frisbie, last year’s seventh-place finisher, and her training partner Dakotah Lindwurm, who won Grandma’s Marathon in June. Emily Durgin, the sixth-fastest U.S. half marathoner of all-time, will make her marathon debut.

Flanagan Breaks Gold Coast Marathon CR, Fukuda Takes Men's Race

As Australia's Village Roadshow Theme Parks Gold Coast Marathon returned for the first time since 2019, Lindsay Flanagan became its first American winner female or male, taking 6 seconds off the course record and over 2 minutes off her PB to take 1st in 2:24:43. Accompanied by dedicated male pacers and a large group of men in a race that never saw a lead women's group congeal, Flanagan went through halfway in 1:11:59 and then sped up even further, clocking her two fastest 5 km splits of the race, 16:52 and 16:47, from 20 to 25 km and 25 to 30 km. The effects of that came down on her after 30 km as she slowed beyond 3:30/km, but with a rally over the last km she held on to just crack Ruth Chebitok's 2018 CR of 2:24:49.

Post-race Flanagan and her coach, Australian NR and Oceania AR holder Benita Johnson, were elated, having just met each other in person a few days before the race after a year of online coaching.

Like Flanagan, 2nd-placer and local favorite Lisa Weightman, the CR holder in Gold Coast's 10 km and half marathon divisions, ran the entire way with only male accompaniment, splitting halfway in 1:12:36 and coming home in 2:25:55, the best-ever by an Australian woman at Gold Coast and the 2nd-best time of her career. 3rd-placer Shiho Kaneshigestarted more conservatively with a 1:14:00 first half, passing American Stephanie Bruce just before 20 km and staying on track to break her 2:28:51 PB until late in the race when she faded to 2:29:12, also a career 2nd-best and her first time sub-2:30 outside Japan.

While the top women all ran separately, a lead group of 4 men shook out by 5 km, with Australian Liam Adams pacing Japan's Jo Fukuda and Akihiro Kaneko, Belgian Amaury Paquet and fellow Aussie Samuel Gebremichael on track to just break 2:10. When Adams dropped off before 20 km Fukuda took over, he and Kaneko quickly dropping the other two and pulling away. Fukuda, whose 2:09:52 best was set on the Gold Coast in 2018, disposed of Kaneko just past 25 km and ran the rest of the way alone, making good on his race logo-themed hair dye job with his first-ever marathon win in 2:10:55. In contrast to the fast women's race, it was the slowest men's winning time since 2010. Kaneko was 2nd in 2:14:25, Paquet taking 3rd in 2:15:45. 

Tokyo Paralympics gold medalist Madison de Rozario fought off Paralympic teammate Christie Dawes to win the women's wheelchair division, her time of 1:46:58 good enough for 3rd overall. The only men to beat her were Jake Lappin, 1st by a wide margin in 1:37:32 and Luke Bailey, just hanging on to 2nd overall in 1:46:01.

Twelve Olympians will lead star-studded lineup at 50th anniversary of Mastercard New York Mini 10K

Twelve Olympians and five Paralympians will line up in Central Park for the 50th anniversary of the Mastercard® New York Mini 10K, the world’s original women-only road race, on Saturday, June 11, New York Road Runners (NYRR) announced today.

U.S. Olympians Emily Sisson, Molly Seidel, Aliphine Tuliamuk, and Rachel (Schneider) Smith will lead a strong American contingent that will go up against previously announced Olympic, TCS New York City Marathon, and Boston Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir, United Airlines NYC Half champion and 5K world-record holder Senbere Teferi, and two-time Mini 10K champion Sara Hall.

Sisson will come into the race after claiming her sixth national title last month in an American record 1:07:11 at the USATF Half Marathon Championships. She made her Olympic debut in Tokyo last summer after winning the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, where she broke the 17-year-old Trials record set by Deena Kastor in 2004. She has been very successful in her last three trips to New York, finishing as the runner-up at the United Airlines NYC Half twice and winning the USATF 5K Championships.

“After breaking the American record in the half-marathon, I’m excited to step down in distance and compete in the Mastercard® New York Mini 10K for the first time,” Sisson said. “It will be a privilege to take part in such a powerful event that has paved the way for so many women over the last 50 years.”

Seidel owns a bronze medal from the Tokyo Olympic marathon last year and in her last trip to New York set an American course record and recorded a fourth-place finish at the TCS New York City Marathon. Tuliamuk won the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and then gave birth to her daughter before running in the Olympic marathon in Tokyo. She will be making her first trip to New York since 2019 and is coming off winning the 25km national title, bringing her national title count to 11. Smith represented the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics in the 5,000 meters after finishing third in the distance at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.

The deep U.S. women’s contingent also includes American marathon record-holder Keira D’Amato, the top American finisher at the last two Boston Marathons Nell Rojas, 2019 New York Mini 10K runner-up Stephanie Bruce, U.S. national champion Erika Kemp, and the top American finisher at the 2022 United Airlines NYC Half Lindsay Flanagan.

Returning to the event 10 years after her victory will be Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat, a two-time world champion in the marathon who won the 2010 New York City, 2014 London, and 2017 Boston marathons, and was the runner-up in Boston in 2019 and 2021.

“Winning the New York City Marathon 12 years ago changed my life, and now, 10 years after also winning the Mini 10K, I still enjoy my racing and am happy to still be competing at a high level,” Kiplagat said. “NYRR always invites the highest quality fields, so I always like lining up in New York with the best in the world. There are so many inspiring women who have participated in this race over the years who set a positive example for everyone – both runners and non-runners – and I’m lucky to be part of such a prestigious group.”

Last year’s TCS New York City Marathon runner-up and Mastercard® New York Mini 10K runner-up Viola Cheptoo of Kenya and former NCAA 10,000-meter champion Sharon Lokedi of Kenya will contend for the title as well.

The professional wheelchair division will be headlined by two-time Paralympic medalist and three-time Mastercard® Mini 10K defending champion Susannah Scaroni. Since the addition of the professional wheelchair division in 2018, Scaroni is the only athlete to have won the race.

“The Mastercard New York Mini 10K is a special one to me for so many reasons, and I’m excited at the chance to race on what will be a milestone day for women’s running in Central Park,” Scaroni said. “Not only is the Mini 10K the world’s original women-only road race, but it is also one of the only women-only wheelchair races at the present time, which will hopefully pave the way for future generations of women’s wheelchair racers in the next 50 years.”

Lining up against Scaroni will be U.S. Paralympians Jenna Fesemyer, Yen Hoang, Hannah Dederick, and Eva Houston.

The Mini 10K, which began in 1972 as the Crazylegs Mini Marathon, was the first women-only road race and has gone on to garner more than 200,000 total finishers to date. Former NYRR President Fred Lebow named the race after the miniskirt, which back then was in vogue. A total of 72 women finished the first race, and three weeks later, Title IX was signed into law, guaranteeing girls and women the right to participate in school sports and creating new opportunities for generations of female athletes.

The Mastercard® New York Mini 10K will offer $45,000 in total prize money, including $10,000 to the winner of the open division and $2,500 to the winner of the wheelchair division. The professional athlete races will be streamed live on USATF.TV beginning at 7:40 a.m. ET. Mastercard® will serve as title sponsor of the event for the second time, and as part of its on-going partnership with NYRR will also serve as the presenting sponsor of professional women’s athlete field.

Fast times at the USATF Half Marathon Championships

The final stop on the 2021 USATF Running Circuit presented by Toyota did not disappoint, as Keira D’Amato and Conner Mantz came away victorious at the USATF Half Marathon Championships presented by Toyota in Hardeeville, South Carolina.

As the women’s race got underway, D’Amato, Allie Kieffer, and Natosha Rogers jumped to the front, putting a six-second gap on a chase trio of Erika Kemp, Makena Morley, and Lauren Paquette, coming through the 5 km split in 16:04.

The lead trio would run together until mile five, when D’Amato pushed the pace and was able to gap Rogers and Kieffer. D’Amato grew her lead quickly, coming through 10 km in 32:05, 12 seconds ahead of Kieffer, who had a nine-second lead on Rogers.

D’Amato would continue to grow her lead, running nearly a minute ahead of Rogers and Morley, who were running second and third. Kieffer sat in fourth a couple seconds back of the duo, as was Paquette.

Over the next 5 km, D’Amato grew her lead to 1:34 over Rogers and Dakotah Lindwurm, who ran a tremendous 10th and 11th mile to move up into the chase, while Paquette started to pull ahead of Morley for fourth.

With the finish line in sight, D’Amato pushed the pace once last time, crossing the finish line with her arms raised and a smile on her face, finishing the half marathon distance in 1:07:55.

Rogers held off the late-race push from Lindwurm to place second overall in 1:09:36, having yet another fine USATF Half Marathon Championship performance. Lindwurm ran an excellent back half of the race to take third in 1:09:40, just ahead of Paquette, who ran to a fourth-place time of 1:09:46, her debut at the half marathon distance.

Morley held on over the final miles to place fifth in 1:09:57, edging out Erika Kemp, who placed sixth in 1:10:38. Kieffer faded a bit in the later stages of the race, but still place seventh overall in 1:10:44, while Maggie Montoya ran 1:11:21, Susanna Sullivan ran 1:11:58, and Jessie Cardin crossed in 1:12:08, as the trio took eighth through tenth.

While D’Amato ran a dominating performance to win Sunday, there was another race within a race, with Kemp and Morley battling for the 2021 USATF Running Circuit title. As the final race of the 2021 USATF Running Circuit season, Kemp entered Sunday’s action with a nine-point lead over Morley. 

Early on Sunday, it seemed as though Morley might pull away and claim the overall title, but Kemp’s strong finish helped her outlast Morley. Kemp’s sixth-place effort claimed her the overall USATF Running Circuit title with 62.5 points, just ahead of Morley’s 55 points. Emily Durgin finished with 49 points to place third overall, while Lindsay Flanagan and Annie Frisbie earned fourth- and fifth-place finishes with 34 points and 30 points.

A large group led the men’s race early Sunday morning, with all of the pre-race top contenders in tow. Reigning NCAA Division 1 cross country champion Mantz led the way early, as Sam Chelanga, Lawi Lalang, and Augustus Maiyo also ran up front, as the pack found hit a groove, running 4:40 mile pace for the early miles.

As the men came through 10 km, Mantz continued to lead, with Chelanga, Maiyo and Morgan Pearson off his shoulder. Over the next 5 km, Pearson and Mantz would take turns pacing, while Maiyo and Chelanga right behind with Lalang. 

As the lead group passed through mile 10, Lalang started to drop off, while Clayton Young and Nico Montanez moved up. The pace continued to ratchet down, as the group formed a single file line, with Mantz and Pearson pushing ahead.

With a mile to go, it was now a three-man race, with Mantz, Chelanga and Montanez running together. Chelanga tried to push the pace and break up the group, but Mantz hung tough and wouldn’t concede any ground to Chelanga.

In a furious kick to the finish, Mantz showed his championship-level form, pulling away from Chelanga to claim his first USATF title, crossing the finish in 1:00:55 in his debut over the half marathon distance. 

Chelanga took home second place in 1:00:59, a strong finish to his 2021 USATF Running Circuit season, as Montanez placed an impressive third in 1:01:13, his second top three finish on the USATF Running Circuit season and less than two months after placing seventh at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. 

Clayton Young, who won the USATF 15 km Championship title, the first race of the USATF Running Circuit season, finished fourth overall on Sunday in 1:01:18. Futsum Zienasellassie had another strong performance to take fifth in 1:01:21, as Maiyo finished well to take sixth in 1:01:33.

Olympian Leonard Korir took home seventh in 1:01:43, just ahead of Pearson, who claimed eighth in 1:01:47. Frank Lara and Lawi Lalang rounded out the top ten crossing the finish in 1:02:19 and 1:02:49, respectively.

While he didn’t race Sunday, Abbabiya Simbassa claimed the 2021 USATF Running Circuit overall title with 77 points, well ahead of the rest of the field, after claiming two USATF victories and two runner-up efforts during the 2021 USATF Running Circuit season.

Chelanga’s runner-up finish in Hardeeville gives him 48 points and a second place finish in the overall USATF Running Circuit standings, followed closely by Young, who claimed third with 47.5 points. Montanez finishes fourth on the season with 37 points, while Fred Huxham places fifth on the season with 30 points.

Kenya’s Reuben Kipyego and Ruth Chepngetich will target Chicago Marathon crowns

Reuben Kipyego and Ruth Chepngetich head the fields for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday (10), with Sara Hall and Galen Rupp leading US hopes at the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race.

After action in Berlin and London in recent weeks, Chicago is the next race in a busy period of major marathons and the Boston event follows just one day later. The weather in Chicago looks set to be warm, with temperatures of around 21°C expected for the start of the elite races at 7:30am local time.

The last edition of the Chicago Marathon in 2019 saw a world record fall as Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei clocked 2:14:04 to take 81 seconds from Paula Radcliffe’s 2003 mark. This time her compatriots Chepngetich, who won the 2019 world title, and Vivian Kiplagat are among the athletes in the spotlight.

Chepngetich sits fourth on the women’s marathon all-time list thanks to the 2:17:08 PB she set when winning in Dubai in 2019 and she ran a world half marathon record in Istanbul in April with 1:04:02. The 27-year-old was unable to finish the Olympic marathon in Tokyo but is looking forward to her US debut race in Chicago.

“I have never raced in the States and making my debut in such a great race like the Bank of America Chicago Marathon is more than a dream to me,” she said. “I will give all myself trying to run as fast as possible.”

Hall will be among those looking to challenge her. The US athlete beat Chepngetich at last year’s London Marathon, as the pair finished second and third respectively behind Kosgei, and Hall went on to run a PB of 2:20:32 in Arizona a couple of months later. Now she has her eye on Deena Kastor’s 2:19:36 US record, should the conditions allow.

“When I thought about where I wanted to chase the American record, I thought it would be more exciting to do it at home, in the US, and Chicago is such an epic race,” she said.

The other sub-2:25 women in the field are Kiplagat, the USA’s Keira D'Amato and Ethiopia’s Meseret Belete. Kiplagat, who ran her marathon PB of 2:21:11 in 2019, clocked 2:39:18 in Eldoret in June but showed her current form with a personal best performance in the half marathon of 1:06:07 in Copenhagen last month. Like Hall, D'Amato also ran a PB in Arizona in December, clocking 2:22:56, while 22-year-old Belete – who was sixth at the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships and ran a world U20 best of 1:07:51 later that year – has a marathon PB of 2:24:54 set when finishing fourth in Houston last year.

Among those joining them on the start line will be the USA’s Emma Bates, Diane Nukuri and Lindsay Flanagan.

Kipyego ready to turn up the heat

With his PB of 2:03:55 set at the Milan Marathon in May, Kipyego goes into the Chicago race as the second fastest man in 2021. The 25-year-old made his marathon debut in Buenos Aires in 2019, clocking 2:05:18, and later that year he improved to 2:04:40 to win in Abu Dhabi, despite having started the race as a pacemaker. He also seems unfazed by the warmer than expected temperatures, simply replying: ‘No problem’ at the pre-race press conference when asked about the weather.

Ethiopia’s Seifu Tura, meanwhile, explained how he is not as comfortable in the heat but he will go into the race looking to build on the 2:04:29 PB he set when finishing fourth in that same Milan Marathon in May. He also has experience of the Chicago event, having finished sixth in 2019 in 2:08:35.

Rupp leads US hopes as the 2016 Olympic bronze medallist returns to action after his eighth place in the Tokyo Olympic marathon nine weeks ago and third-place finish in the Great North Run half marathon in 1:01:52 last month. Eighth fastest among the entries, his PB of 2:06:07 was set in Prague in 2018 but he will be looking to regain the crown he claimed in 2017.

Kenya’s Dickson Chumba is also a former Chicago winner, having triumphed in 2015, and he set his PB of 2:04:32 in the same city the year before that. The fourth sub-2:05 runner in the field is Kengo Suzuki, who broke the Japanese record with his 2:04:56 to win the Lake Biwa Marathon in February.

Kenya’s Eric Kiptanui is also one to watch. Having helped to pace world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge in the past, the 58:42 half marathon runner made his own marathon debut last year and improved to 2:05:47 to win in Siena in April. 

“I was so happy to run 2:06 for my first marathon,” he told NN Running Team. “What it proved to me was, yes, I was in good shape but that I had the mentality to perform over the marathon distance.” Looking ahead to Chicago, he added: “I aim to run 2:03/2:04 but my first priority is to win the race."

Ethiopia’s Chalu Deso and Shifera Tamru have respective bests of 2:04:53 and 2:05:18, while Ian Butler, who is coached by former world record-holder Steve Jones and balances his running with his job as a teacher, is the second-fastest US runner in the field with a PB of 2:09:45 set in Arizona last year.

Will Sara Hall take down the American record at Chicago marathon?

The 43rd running of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon is returning to the streets of the Windy City on Sunday, and all eyes will be on Sara Hall, who will be attempting to break Deena Kastor’s 15-year-old American record of 2:19:36, which she set when she won the London Marathon in 2006.

Hall will have an impressive elite field to help her get there, including world half-marathon record-holder Ruth Chepngetich. Newfoundland’s Kate Bazeley will be the only Canadian elite on the start line.

The women’s field

Chepngetich, who is the reigning world champion in the marathon, is the favourite to win on the women’s side, boasting a personal best of 2:17:08, which she ran in Dubai in 2019. Since her marathon debut in 2017, she has finished in the top three in every race she has completed and is the only woman in the field who has run under 2:20 for the marathon. She was one of the favourites to contend for gold at the Tokyo Olympic marathon in August, but struggled under the intense heat and dropped out at 30K, the first DNF of her marathon career. She is the fourth-fastest woman in history, and this will be her first marathon on American soil.

“I have never raced in the States and making my debut in such a great race like the Bank of America Chicago Marathon is more than a dream to me,” she said in an interview with NBC Chicago. “I will give all myself trying to run as fast as possible. The presence of such a wonderful elite field will boost me.”

Hall had to drop out of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, but won the Marathon Project in Arizona in 2:20:32 last December, putting her in second place in the American record books behind Kastor. If she breaks Kastor’s record on Sunday she will be only the second American woman to ever run under 2:20.

Hall will be joined on the start line by several other Americans, including Keira D’Amato, Emma Bates, Lindsay Flanagan and Diane Nukuri, among several others. Canada’s Bazeley has also recently been added to the elite field and will be entering the race with a personal best of 2:36:35, which she ran in 2019.

Live coverage of the event will begin at 8 a.m. ET (7 am local time), with the men’s and women’s wheelchair race setting off at 8:20 and 8:21. The first wave of runners is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. ET (7:30 local time).

Unfortunately, there are no free platforms covering the Chicago Marathon in Canada. Canadians can sign up for a FloTrack membership to watch the action or you can follow the live results here, which will be updated every five kilometers.

The weather is expected to be dry and partly sunny on Sunday, with temperatures starting around 18 C and rising to a high of 26 C later in the day.

Sara Hall wins New York Mini 10k in Central Park

Sara Hall completed the New York Mini 10K with the fastest time by an American in the history of the women-only event. 

Sara Hall won her second consecutive title at the Mastercard New York Mini 10K on Saturday, finishing the Central Park race in 31 minutes, 33 seconds. It was the fastest time by an American in the 49-year history of the women-only event.

Hall broke away from her nearest challengers late, holding off the Kenyan duo of Violah Cheptoo by six seconds and Monicah Ngige by 26.

“It feels so good to be back out here racing in New York City and have a real road race,” Hall said. “I’ve been looking forward to this so much. This is the momentum I needed for Olympic trials in two weeks.”

Lindsay Flanagan (32:09), U.S. Olympic marathoner Molly Seidel (32:13), and former New York City Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat (32:20) completed the top six.

Susannah Scaroni won her third straight event title in the wheelchair division, finishing in 22:44. Scaroni sprinted out early and cruised to victory ahead of flying to the U.S. Paralympic trials.

Five-time New York City Marathon champion Tatyana McFadden (25:22) was second for the third consecutive time and Yen Hoang (26:11), a college teammate of Scaroni and McFadden at Illinois, rounded out the podium.

There were about 3,000 runners in the field, the first regularly scheduled New York Road Runners race since the pandemic began.

Molly Seidel, Molly Huddle, Des Linden, Edna Kiplagat and Sara Hall, to Headline Mastercard New York Mini 10K on June 12

The 2021 Mastercard New York Mini 10K, the world’s original women-only road race, will feature the return of professional athletes to NYRR races for the first time since 2019. The all-star lineup on Saturday, June 12 will include U.S. Olympians Molly Seidel, Molly Huddle and Des Linden and past Mini 10K champions Sara Hall, Edna Kiplagat (and Huddle) in the open division, and two-time defending champion Susannah Scaroni and five-time TCS New York City Marathon champion Tatyana McFadden in the wheelchair division.

Seidel was the runner-up at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, running 2:27:31 in her first-ever marathon to secure a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. She finished in sixth place at the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon and is also a four-time NCAA champion. This will mark her third race appearance in New York; she won the 2017 NYRR Midnight Run and finished as runner-up at the 2017 USATF 5 km Championships.

“Although it’s my first time running the Mini, I’m well-aware of the race’s significance as the first-ever road race just for women,” Seidel said. “I’m excited that this is another step forward in returning to mass-participation and elite running, especially in a place as important to road racing as New York City. Personally, this race is a great opportunity to come down from the mountains of Flagstaff, Arizona, and test my legs as I prepare for the Olympic Games marathon in August.”

Linden won the Boston Marathon in 2018 and is a two-time U.S. Olympian in the distance, and she just missed out on a third Olympic Games appearance after placing fourth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials last year. To kick off 2021, she ran a 2:59:54 in the 50K, a new world best for the distance.

Huddle is a two-time Olympian, having run the 5,000 meters at the London 2012 Games and setting the 10,000-meter American record at the Rio 2016 Games. In New York, she won the 2014 Mini 10K and is a three-time champion of the United Airlines NYC Half. She made her marathon debut at the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon, taking third place as the top American.

Hall, whose participation was announced last month, won the event in 2019 in 32:27 in a race that doubled as the USATF 10 km Championships. She has eight national titles to her name and was runner-up (2:22:01) at the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon last October and then in December clocked the second-fastest marathon ever by an American woman (2:20:32) at The Marathon Project in Chandler, Ariz.

Kiplagat has a storied history in New York, having won her New York City Marathon debut in 2010 and followed that with a second-place finish in the 2011 NYC Half and a victory in the 2012 Mini 10K. Outside of New York, she has won the World Championships Marathon in 2011 and 2013, the London Marathon in 2012, and the Boston Marathon in 2017.

“I am excited to return to the Mini 10K for the fifth time,” Kiplagat said. “It is a special feeling to stand on that starting line and feel the support of not only the women running with you, but all of the women who came before you. It is a very special race and I’m happy to be going back to New York City.”

In Central Park, they will be challenged by a number of athletes competing in the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials later in June, including Laura Thweatt, Emma Bates, Lindsay Flanagan, Maggie Montoya and Emily Durgin. 

The event will also feature a professional wheelchair division for the third time, making it the only all-women professional wheelchair race in the world. U.S. Paralympian Scaroni is the two-time defending champion in the wheelchair division, having raced world-best 10K times in both of her victories, including a 22:22 in 2019. She followed that performance by setting an American best in the marathon of 1:30:42 to win the 2019 Grandma’s Marathon, and then took third place at the TCS New York City Marathon that fall. Scaroni will once again line up against five-time New York City Marathon champion and 17-time Paralympic medalist McFadden, who is in search of her first Mini 10K title.

“The Mini 10K always means so much to me because the feeling of being on that line surrounded by so many women reminds me of how big of a celebration road racing is for the human spirit,” Scaroni said. “This year raises even more emotions – the opportunity to again unite with one another highlights the beauty of road racing and its ability to continuously bring us together through adversity.”

 To mitigate the risk of spread of COVID-19, the professional athletes taking part will be in a controlled environment. The field will be required to provide proof of a full vaccination series or negative COVID-19 test before traveling to New York and will undergo daily COVID-19 testing and tracing while in New York for the race. There will be a separation of the pro field and general field at the start, no guests will be allowed to accompany the athletes, and they will be required to wear masks at the start and finish areas. Additionally, there will be an elimination of touchpoints, including no large gatherings or in-person meetings until race morning.

Emily Sisson and Clayton Young winners at Gate River Run

Emily Sisson started fast and never looked back.

On a blustery, windy Saturday morning in Jacksonville, Sisson turned in a dominant effort to win the 44th Gate River Run in dominant fashion.

Sisson, a professional runner who competes for New Balance, was superb in her first 15K. She built a lead not long into the Gate and stretched it throughout. Clayton Young, the men’s winner, didn’t have nearly the buffer as Sisson. He overcame a bunched pack in the final mile and won by two seconds in 43 minutes, 52 seconds.

Sisson finished in 48:09, nearly a minute in front of Lindsay Flanagan. It was the fifth-fastest women’s time in the race history.

Sisson was coming off of a personal-best 14:55.82 in the 5K at the Sound Running Invite earlier this month in Los Angeles, but a 15K was not a distance in her wheelhouse.

“I wanted to run pretty aggressively from the start. With the win, that was kind of an unexpected element so I had to run a bit off field,” Sisson. “It was such an amazing field. They did a great job putting this on. I had a great time.”

Sisson’s win earned her $10,000, and she picked up an extra $5,000 for being the first person across the finish line with the five-minute equalizer bonus.

“The only part I found really tricky was the last bridge at the end,” I was going up into the wind on it and I felt like I was nearly walking,” Sisson said. “Then we had the downhill to the finish so that was nice.”

John Raneri led at the 5K split, but that 18-second margin dissipated by the time the Hart Bridge. Young, in a pack of runners at the Green Monster, slowly began chipping away inside that final mile and a half. A newcomer to the race, Young said that he didn’t know when to start his final kick until he saw the finish line not far in the distance.

Young pulled away in the final mile and turned in a 43:52. He was two seconds in front of Abbabiya Simbassa (43:54). The top 11 men’s finishers were stacked together and separated by just 23 seconds. The race’s 2019 winner, Shadrack Kipchirchir was third in 43:55. Last year’s winner, Frank Lara finished seventh in 44:02.

“They don’t call it the Green Monster for nothing. I was surprised there was such a pack at the top of that gigantic overpass,” Young said. “I hadn’t done this last mile before so I didn’t know when to make my move but I saw the finish line and I was like, now or never, and so I made my move and just didn’t look back.”

Two runners from Boulder Colorado dominated the 32nd Naples Daily Néws Half Marathon

A returning champ and a first-time participant, both from the same town, took home the titles at the 32nd Naples Daily News Half Marathon on Sunday morning.

And both did it with ease despite not being in tip-top shape.

Parker Stinson and Lindsay Flanagan, both of Boulder, Colorado, won the men’s and women’s titles, respectively, in the 13.1-mile race through downtown Naples. Stinson, 28, crossed the finish line more than a minute before the second-place runner. Flanagan, 29, was nearly eight minutes faster than the women’s runner-up.

Stinson won his second NDN Half Marathon title in his return to Naples, winning Sunday in 1 hour, 3 minutes and 33.03 seconds. His time was 1.36 seconds faster than when he won in 2018.

Parker Stinson of Boulder, CO, won the Naples Daily News Half Marathon. Runners had a great morning to run in the Naples Daily News Half Marathon. Masks and social distancing rules were used to make the race a success.

Parker Stinson of Boulder, CO, won the Naples Daily News Half Marathon. Runners had a great morning to run in the Naples Daily News Half Marathon. Masks and social distancing rules were used to make the race a success.

“I just wanted to win,” Stinson said. “When I was out there all alone I thought, ‘I just really want to break 1:04.00.’ … There’s nothing like breaking the tape and finishing first. That’s why I came here, I wanted to win again.”

Sunday’s race had a limited field and new protocols due to the coronavirus pandemic. Organizers capped participation at 1,000 runners (it's usually between 1,500 and 2,000). The elite runners started together at 6:55 a.m. The rest of the field was started in five waves, one every five minutes from 7 to 7:20 a.m., to limit the amount of people in one space.

Victory was especially sweet for Stinson because he was competing in his first race in 15 months. The American record holder in the 25-kilometers, Stinson had knee surgery in July after dealing with pain in the joint for months.

Despite soreness in the knee Sunday morning – which happens every morning, he said – Stinson was able to start fast. He raced ahead of the pack of 30 elite runners at the start of the race and led the entire way.

“The knee felt good,” Stinson said. “I was really happy with how fast I was able to start. It was perfect weather today, couldn’t have been any better. Today was perfect, everything I could have asked for.”

Flanagan, the women’s champion, said she getting back into shape for long distances after spending the cold Colorado winter working on strength. She also didn’t decided to run the Naples half marathon until a few weeks ago.

Lindsay Flanagan of Boulder, CO, was the first woman to cross the finish line. Runners had a great morning to run in the Naples Daily News Half Marathon. Masks and social distancing rules were used to make the race a success.

Lindsay Flanagan of Boulder, CO, was the first woman to cross the finish line. Runners had a great morning to run in the Naples Daily News Half Marathon. Masks and social distancing rules were used to make the race a success.

In her first time in Naples, the former NCAA All-American runner for Washington ran the third-fastest women’s race in the event’s 32 years. Flanagan’s time was 26.3 seconds off the NDN Half Marathon record (1:09:57.6) set in 2011 by Belainesh Gebre.

“For where I am, coming off the winter, this was a great fitness test to see where I’m at,” Flanagan said. “It feels great to kick off the 2021 season with a win.”

Steven Martinez of August, Georgia, finished second overall in 1:04:35.91, followed by Nick French of Nashville, Tennessee, in 1:05:21.56.

Naples High School graduate Kurt Roeser finished sixth with a time of 1:06:19.17.

Roeser, 33, has been training and working as a physical therapist in Boulder since he finished running at the University of Florida. The 2005 Naples grad finished Sunday’s race three minutes faster than last year when he took seventh at the same event.

Runners had a great morning to run in the Naples Daily News Half Marathon. Masks and social distancing rules were used to make the race a success. Runners could take off their mask after the cross the start line.

Runners had a great morning to run in the Naples Daily News Half Marathon. Masks and social distancing rules were used to make the race a success. Runners could take off their mask after the cross the start line.

“This is the best I’ve ever run here by about a minute,” Roeser said. “I was lucky to run a race about six weeks ago and have a big (personal record) there (1:04.40). … I’m in the best shape, the best fitness I’ve ever been in in my life.”

Naples resident Aubrey Aldy was the top local finisher, taking 12th over all in 1:13:20.35. Aldy won the men’s masters division (40 and older).

Alexandra Gardino was the top finisher among local women. She was ninth in the women’s race with a time of 1:31:15.08.

London Marathon Creates a Biosecure Bubble for the Upcoming Elite-Only Race

All runners will stay in the same hotel, and will be allowed to train on the surrounding 40 acres.

The London Marathon, scheduled for elites only on October 4, is creating a bubble environment to protect the runners and necessary staff.

This will be the first World Marathon Major to take place since the Tokyo Marathon was run as an elite-only race on March 1.

On Thursday, September 3, race organizers for the World Marathon Major announced plans to implement a biosecure bubble for the elite-only race on Sunday, October 4. The biosecure bubble will be created using a strict testing protocol and an athlete-only hotel surrounded by 40 acres for runners to train ahead of the marathon.

“It is our duty and responsibility to ensure this event is held in a safe and secure environment,” Hugh Brasher, the London Marathon event director, said in an announcement. “We have looked at other examples and taken learnings from other sports which have returned to action as we developed our detailed plans for this biosecure bubble around the event.”

To enter the biosecure bubble, athletes will be required to test for COVID-19 in their home country four days prior to travel. They will be tested once again when they arrive at the athlete hotel in London, and testing will continue until the Friday before the event. The hotel will be used exclusively by athletes, support staff, and race officials, all of whom will be required to remain socially distant from each other and wear face masks at all times with the exception of training, eating, and being inside their single rooms.

“By finding a hotel for exclusive use and putting in place the strict testing, hygiene and security measures to protect the bubble, we are confident we have created the safest environment possible for everyone,” Brasher said.

The race will be held over 19 laps on a 2.15K-closed course around St. James’s Park plus an extra 1,345 meters to the usual finish line. To keep the competition secure, no spectators will be allowed on the course.

The London Marathon, originally scheduled to run in April, is the first World Marathon Major to take place since the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic on March 11 (the Tokyo Marathon staged an elite-only race on March 1). Outside of running, the NBA became the first professional sports organization to start back up, creating a bubble in Orlando, Florida, in an effort to protect players during a three-month season.

For many athletes, the London Marathon will be their first major competition of 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, which forced many events to be postponed or canceled.

The men’s race features a highly-anticipated match-up between world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge and 2019 Berlin Marathon winner Kenenisa Bekele. In Berlin, Bekele came within two seconds of breaking the 2:01:39 world record set by Kipchoge at the 2018 Berlin Marathon.

Brigid Kosgei leads the women’s field after breaking the world record at the 2019 Chicago Marathon. She will be competing in her first race since the RAK Half Marathon in February when she finished second to Ababel Yeshaneh who broke the half marathon world record.

Americans Sara Hall, Molly Seidel, Lindsay Flanagan, and Jared Ward will be competing in London as well.

On August 7, Hall ran an impressive half marathon personal best of 1:08:18 with two male pacers and two of her daughters following at a distance in a race staged by Eugene Marathon organizers.

In February, Seidel made her first Olympic team in her 26.2 debut when she finished second at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta. Flanagan finished 12th at the Olympic Trials.

For Ward, a 2016 Olympic marathoner, London will be his first major marathon since finishing 27th at the Trials.

While the 40th running of the London Marathon will feature elites only, 45,000 people signed up to participate in the virtual 26.2.

USA Olympic Trials Marathon has achieved the IAAF Gold Label Status

USA Track & Field (USATF) announced today that the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon, scheduled for February 29, in Atlanta, has been granted IAAF Gold Label status. That's a critical development because it means that the top-5 male and female finishers will automatically achieve 2020 Olympic Games qualifying marks, regardless of their finish times. As part of the Tokyo Olympic Games qualifying program unveiled by the International Association of Athletics Federations earlier this year, top-5 finishers at Gold Label marathons are given automatic Olympic Games qualifiers. As such, the six-athlete USA Olympic team in the marathon can be named with certainty on the day of the Trials with the top-3 male and female finishers nominated for the team.

In a press release, USATF said that "the announcement of the Tokyo 2020 Qualification System in March presented challenges to USATF and its partners as planning for marathon trials had begun well before the changes to the qualification system were announced." Those partners include the not-for-profit Atlanta Track Club, which will host the Trials, as well as NBC the network which will broadcast them. The Trials would be devalued for both of these parties if the team could not be named that day.

Right now only a handful of USA athletes have achieved the Olympic Games qualifying standards (2:11:30 for men and 2:29:30 for women since January 1, 2019). On the men's side, there are only two, Scott Fauble and Jared Ward who ran 2:09:09 and 2:09:25, respectively, at last April's Boston Marathon (they also finished in the top-10, which also confers qualifying status at any Abbott World Marathon Majors event). On the women's side there are nine: Emily Sisson (2:23:08), Jordan Hasay (2:25:20), Kellyn Taylor (2:26:27), Molly Huddle (2:26:33), Aliphine Tuliamuk (2:26:50), Des Linden (2:27:00), Nell Rojas (2:28:06), Roberta Groner (2:29:09), and Lindsay Flanagan (2:30:07/9th place at Boston). Those athletes lose the relative advantage of having a qualifying mark in advance of the race.

But, for most of the 181 men and 340 women who have qualified, according to a tally done by MarathonGuide.com, this announcement will be good news. Athletes can now approach the trials in the traditional way, with their focus only finish place and not on time. That's particularly important considering the difficulty of the Atlanta course which has a number of challenging hills.

"Hilly is an understatement," said Brogan Austin who won the men's division of an 8-mile test event held on part of the course last March. "I definitely have a new respect for this marathon. I only ran eight miles. I can't imagine doing four times that distance."

Amy Cragg, the winner of the 2016 Trials in Los Angeles, agreed. "It's going to be really, really tough," she told Race Results Weekly after winning the women's division of the test event last March. "We're going to send a good women's team, a really good women's team (to Tokyo). If you can get through this course, you're going to be ready."

Could an american woman win the Chicago Marathon this year? Very strong field is lined up

There haven't been three American women in the top five at the Chicago Marathon since 1994, and the 2019 field has a good shot at changing that, Jordan Hasay, Amy Cragg, Stephanie Bruce, Lindsay Flanagan and Emma Bates have a chance at rewriting Chicago Marathon history this fall.

On October 13, one of the strongest-ever American contingents will line up in Chicago for a race that hopes to see Deena Kastor’s American record fall.

Hasay announced in May that she would be returning to Chicago to target the American record and yesterday the remainder of the American elites were announced for the world major. This field includes the five women mentioned above who all own sub 2:30 personal bests.

Cragg, who was the 2016 U.S. Marathon Olympic Trial champion, is an interesting addition to the field. She’s run the fifth-fastest time in American history and ended a 34-year medal drought by taking home a World Championship bronze in 2017.

She’s barely raced since running her personal best at the 2018 Tokyo Marathon, but we’re excited to see what she can do come the fall.

There haven’t been three American women in the top five at the Chicago Marathon since 1994, and this particular field has a good shot at changing that.

Strong field of American runners will join previously announced superstars Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay at the Chicago Marathon on October 13

“This year’s elite field highlights an exciting resurgence we are seeing in American distance running right now,” said Bank of America Chicago Marathon Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski. “We have a deep pool of American runners who are coming to Chicago to run fast, and we cannot wait to welcome them in the fall. We could see new American records and a lot of personal bests in October.”

With a PR of 2:20:57, Jordan Hasay leads this year’s women’s field as the second-fastest American woman in history and the fastest to ever run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Hasay hopes to put Deena Kastor’s long-standing American record, 2:19:36, in jeopardy.

But Hasay’s primary competitor won’t be the clock alone – Amy Cragg, Emma Bates, Stephanie Bruce, Lindsay Flanagan and Taylor Ward represent a strong contingent of U.S. women all vying for podium finishes. The last time three American women finished in the top five in Chicago was 1994, and the last time U.S. women claimed the top two spots was 1992. Chicago’s history could be rewritten this fall.

Cragg, a member of Nike’s Bowerman Track Club since 2015 and the winner of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon trials, enters this year’s field as the fifth-fastest American woman in history with a personal best of 2:21:42. Cragg stunned the world at the 2017 IAAF World Championships Marathon when she ended a 34-year medal drought by taking home the bronze. While she hasn’t raced much in 2019, she won the one-time Road to Gold eight-mile road race in Atlanta in March.

Galen Rupp, a two-time Olympic medalist in the marathon (bronze) and 10,000m (silver) and the current holder of four American records, stands out in the men’s field as the 2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion and as one of the fastest runners in U.S. history with a PR of 2:06:07. While it will be difficult to match the foot speed of someone like Rupp, several American men have the potential to run significant personal bests and place inside of the top ten.

Brogan Austin, Chris Derrick, Scott Smith, Diego Estrada, Dathan Ritzenhein, Noah Droddy and Brendan Gregg are among some of the top Americans in this year’s field. Austin closed out 2018 with a career-boosting win, a national title and a huge personal best, 2:12:38, at the California International Marathon. Prior to that breakthrough performance, he broke the course record at the Indiana Monumental Half Marathon, clocking 1:02:39. He built on his 2018 momentum by winning the Road to Gold eight-mile road race in March.

The Chicago Marathon will be Austin’s third go at the marathon. Derrick, a native of Naperville, Illinois and the 2013-2015 U.S. Cross Country champion, made his highly anticipated marathon debut in Chicago in 2017, running 2:12:50 to finish ninth. He followed up his debut performance with a ninth-place finish in 2:13:08 at the 2018 New York City Marathon.

Derrick, one of the elite pacers for Nike’s Breaking2 project in 2017, is one of the most versatile runners in the field with PRs of 13:08 in the 5,000m, 27:31 in the 10,000m, and 1:01:12 in the half marathon. 

Smith, a 4:01-miler, experienced a huge breakthrough in the marathon in 2017 when he posted a 2:12:21 in Frankfurt, and then he hung on to finish sixth overall at the 2018 Boston Marathon (the now infamous year where runners endured whipping winds and freezing rain). He trains with Northern Arizona Elite, and he has represented the U.S. internally in both the half marathon and marathon at the IAAF World Championships. Smith’s strongest performance came in May when he finished second at the USATF 25K national championships. 

Estrada has been a favorite among Chicagoans, ever since his 2016 breakout performance in Chicago and his second-place finish at the 2017 Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle. After slipping on a bottle at the 10K mark during his Chicago debut and badly twisting his ankle, Estrada rallied to finish eighth overall (first American) in his still-standing personal best, 2:13:56. He finished 16th in 2017 and he did not race a marathon in 2018. Estrada hasn’t raced much on the roads in 2019, but his half marathon speed (1:00:51) and 2:13 PR indicate that he has the talent to be a top marathon runner heading into 2020.

Ritzenhein (“Ritz”), a three-time Olympian and the fifth-fastest American in history, enters Chicago with one of the most impressive resumes. He has broken 13 minutes in the 5,000m, run 27:22 in the 10,000m, collected four national titles, and earned a bronze medal at the 2009 IAAF World Championships Half Marathon. He set his marathon PR seven years ago in Chicago, 2:07:47. At 36 and now racing with the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, Ritzenhein is a veteran, but his 1:01:24 half marathon earlier this year still makes him a top contender. 

Droddy and Gregg both bring massive potential to this year’s field. Droddy, always a crowd favorite, ran his personal best, 2:16:26, in Chicago in 2017, but his half marathon best, 1:01:48, suggests that there is room to demolish his PR this fall. Gregg made his debut in Chicago in 2014 in 2:18:30, and he experienced his best performance in 2018 at the California International Marathon, running 2:13:27. 

This year’s field also includes 25K American record-holder, Parker Stinson, and exciting debuts from Reed Fischer and Justin Gallegos. In 2018, Gallegos became the first professional athlete with cerebral palsy to sign a contract with Nike.

John Hancock 2019 Boston Marathon US Elite Open Team

Featured video: 2019 Boston Marathon John Hancock U.S. Elite Open Team for Monday April 15.

Abdi Abdirahman, a four-time Olympian, placed sixth at the 2017 Boston Marathon. He is a multiple national champion in the 10,000m, 10K, 10-mile and half marathon. 

Shadrack Biwott finished third this year in Boston. Last year, he was second American and fourth overall. Biwott placed fifth at the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon in a personal best time of 2:12:01.

Aaron Braun, 13th at the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, is a versatile road runner. Braun is a national champion in the 12K and was top American at the 2015 Houston Marathon.

Sarah Crouch has finished top-ten three times at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, including this year where she was top American and ninth overall. She is a past champion of the Tallahassee Marathon and finished 11th at the 2016 Boston Marathon.

Jeffrey Eggleston has raced on three IAAF World Championships Marathon teams, placing as high as 13th in 2018. He has won the Pittsburgh, Woodlands, Lima and San Diego Marathons and has been runner-up in Brisbane, Pittsburgh and at Twin Cities.

Scott Fauble was the second American and seventh overall at the 2018 TCS New York City Marathon. Fauble placed fourth in the 10,000m at the 2016 Olympic Trials and represented the United States at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.  

Lindsay Flanagan, the 2015 Pan American silver medalist in the marathon, finished 11th at the 2017 Boston Marathon and set her personal best of 2:29:25 at the Frankfurt Marathon this year.  

Sara Hall is the tenth fastest U.S. women’s marathoner of all time having set her 2:26:20 mark at the 2018 Ottawa Marathon. Hall has earned national titles in the marathon, 20K, 10-mile, mile and cross country. She is married to Ryan Hall, who is a John Hancock Elite Athlete Ambassador and holds the American course record of 2:04:58 at the Boston Marathon. 

Jordan Hasay set an American debut record of 2:23:00 with her third-place finish in Boston in 2017. She then ran the second fastest marathon of all time by a U.S. woman at the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, where she placed third in 2:20:57. Hasay is an 18-time All American and a national champion at 15K and 20K.  

Elkanah Kibet, a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, has had two top-ten finishes at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. At the 2017 IAAF World Championships Marathon, Kibet finished top American and 16th overall. He was 8th in Boston in 2018.

Desiree Linden, a two-time Olympian, returns to Boston as defending champion. A top-five finisher in eight Abbott World Marathon Majors, additional accomplishments include placing seventh at the 2016 Olympic Games Marathon, tenth at the 2009 IAAF World Championships Marathon, second at the 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and second in the 10,000m at the 2015 Pan American Games. In addition to her 2018 win in Boston, she placed second in 2011.

Timothy Ritchie, the 2017 U.S. National Marathon champion, ran for the U.S. at the 2016 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships where he placed 23th. Ritchie is the head men’s cross country coach at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Dathan Ritzenhein is the fourth fastest U.S. marathoner of all time with a 2:07:47 personal best. Career highlights for the three-time Olympian include finishing ninth at the 2008 Olympic Marathon, winning the bronze medal at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and finishing 13th at the 2012 Olympic Games 10,000m. 

Sarah Sellers ran through freezing rain and torrential wind this year to finish second behind Des Linden. In her 2017 marathon debut, Sellers won the Huntsville Marathon. In New York this year she finished 18th.

Brian Shrader is a versatile runner on the track and roads. He made his half marathon debut in Boston this year at the B.A.A. Half Marathon, running 1:05:26. He also made his marathon debut in 2018, running 2:13:31 at the USA Championships in Sacramento.  

Becky Wade, a champion of the California International Marathon, finished 11th at the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon and tenth at the 2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. 

Jared Ward placed third at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and followed with a sixth-place finish at the Olympic Marathon in Rio de Janeiro, less than a minute and a half out of medal contention. In 2017 Ward was tenth at the Boston Marathon and this year, he finished top American and sixth overall at the TCS New York City Marathon.