Running News Daily
Top Ten Stories of the Week
7/10/2021
These are the top ten stories based on views over the last week.
World record-holders Letesenbet Gidey and Gudaf Tsegay are among the 34 athletes named on Ethiopia’s team for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Gidey and Tsegay – like all other members of the team – will focus on just one event each. Gidey will contest the 10,000m, the event at which she set a world record of 29:01.03 last month, while Tsegay will line up for the 5000m, having clocked a world-leading 14:13.32 in Hengelo on 8 June.
The team also includes world indoor 1500m champion Samuel Tefera and world silver medallists Selemon Barega and Yomif Kejelcha.
Ethiopian team for Tokyo
WOMEN 800m:
Habitam Alemu, Workwuha Getachew, Worknesh Mesele1500m: Freweyni Hailu, Lemlem Hailu, Diribe Welteji5000m: Ejigayehu Taye, Senbere Teferi, Gudaf Tsegay10,000m: Tsigie Gebreselama, Tsehay Gemechu, Letesenbet GideyMarathon: Roza Dereje, Birhane Dibaba, Tigist Girma3000m steeplechase: Mekides Abebe, Lomi Muleta, Zerfe Wondimagegn
MEN 800m:
Melese Nibret1500m: Samuel Abate, Tadesse Lemi, Samuel Tefera5000m: Milkesa Mengesha, Nibret Melak, Getnet Wale10,000m: Berihu Aregawi, Selemon Barega, Yomif KejelchaMarathon: Leslisa Desisa, Shura Kitata, Sisay Lema3000m steeplechase: Hailemariam Amare, Abrham Sime, Tadesse Takele
(07/02/21) Views: 99World Athletics
Sha'Carri Richardson tests positive for marijuana and will miss the Olympics 100m
American champion Sha'Carri Richardson cannot run in the Olympic 100-meter race after testing positive for a chemical found in marijuana.
Richardson, who won the 100 at Olympic trials in 10.86 seconds on June 19, told of her ban Friday on the "Today Show." She tested positive at the Olympic trials and so her result is erased. Fourth-place finisher Jenna Prandini is expected to get Richardson's spot in the 100.
Richardson accepted a 30-day suspension that ends July 27, which would be in time to run in the women's relays. USA Track and Field has not disclosed plans for the relay.
The 21-year-old sprinter was expected to face Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in one of the most highly anticipated races of the Olympic track meet.
On Thursday, as reports swirled about her possible marijuana use, Richardson put out a tweet that said, simply: "I am human." On Friday, she went on TV and said she smoked marijuana as a way of coping with her mother's recent death.
"I was definitely triggered and blinded by emotions, blinded by badness, and hurting, and hiding hurt," she said on "Today." "I know I can't hide myself, so in some type of way, I was trying to hide my pain."
Richardson had what could have been a three-month sanction reduced to one month because she participated in a counseling program.
After the London Olympics, international regulators relaxed the threshold for what constitutes a positive test for marijuana from 15 nanograms per milliliter to 150 ng/m. They explained the new threshold was an attempt to ensure that in-competition use is detected and not use during the days and weeks before competition.
'Devastating for everyone involved'
Though there have been wide-ranging debates about whether marijuana should be considered a performance-enhancing drug, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency makes clear on its website that "all synthetic and naturally occurring cannabinoids are prohibited in-competition, except for cannabidiol (CBD)," a byproduct that is being explored for possible medical benefits.
While not weighing in on her prospects for the relays, USATF put out a statement that said her "situation is incredibly unfortunate and devastating for everyone involved."
Richardson said if she's allowed to run in the relay "I'm grateful, but if not, I'm just going to focus on myself."
Her case is the latest in a number of doping-related embarrassments for U.S. track team. Among those banned for the Olympics are the reigning world champion at 100 meters, Christian Coleman, who is serving a suspension for missing tests, and the American record holder at 1,500 and 5,000 meters, Shelby Houlihan, who tested positive for a performance enhancer she blamed on tainted meat in a burrito.
Now, Richardson is out, as well, denying the Olympics of a much-hyped race and an electric personality. Richardson raced with flowing orange hair at the trials and long fingernails.
"To put on a face and go out in front of the world and hide my pain, who am I to tell you how to cope when you're dealing with pain and struggles you've never had to experience before?" Richardson said.
(07/02/21) Views: 69Eddie Pells, Pat Graham
Ex-New York marathon champ Geoffrey Kamworor to compete in Hengelo ahead of Tokyo Olympics
Former New York marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor will compete and train in Hengelo, Netherlands as part of his preparations for the Tokyo Olympics Games.
Kenya's head athletics coach Julius Kirwa said on Monday in Nairobi that the former World Cross Country champion will head to the Dutch city from Wednesday to compete in selected races over the 3,000m distance.
The coach said it was critical for Kamworor to gauge himself in short distance races to test his speed prowess ahead of the Olympics, which starts on July 23.
"Kamworor is heading to Hengelo for training and to compete. He will step down from his traditional 10,000m distance to 3,000m so as to gauge his speed. We want him to test himself and see where he is on the scale," Kirwa told Xinhua in Nairobi.
Kenya will line up former World Cross Country champion Kamworor, Rodgers Kwemoi and Weldon Kipkurui Langat in the 10,000m race at the Olympics hopeful to regain the elusive gold medal.
Kenya last won gold in the 10,000m race back in 1968 through Naftali Temu in Mexico City.
But Kirwa is optimistic, the new team, which is a blend of youth and experienced athletes will weather the storm from Ethiopia, Uganda and America challenge.
"We have a blend of young and ambitious prodigies, who will complement Kamworor to learn and exploit his experience in the Tokyo Olympics," Kirwa added.
The coach noted that in a normal cycle, athletes mature and wither, form comes and goes, momentum shifts and stars periodically align.
However, he feels that Kenya has the right blend of stars to alter the matrix and break the jinx to clinch the gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
Reigning champion Mo Farah of England will not defend his title in Tokyo as he failed to make the team.
However, Kirwa has pointed out world 10km record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda as a main hurdle in Kenya quest to win gold.
"Cheptegei is a strong candidate, but we will work on a strategy to fix him. I believe in my team and Kamworor is eager to do well because this might be his last track competition before he turns his focus fully on the marathon," he said.
Kamworor, who skipped the World Championships in Doha in 2019 to focus on reclaiming his title at the New York marathon, said the allure of having an Olympic gold medal dangle down his neck is too strong to ignore.
"I have had several challenges in the past one year. Our mentor Eliud Kipchoge challenged me to make the team so that we can go to Tokyo together," Kamworor told reporters in Nairobi.
At the Rio Games, Kenya won 13 medals - six gold, six silver and one bronze - all in athletics.
(07/06/21) Views: 62Xinhua News
Tokyo 2020 ask fans to stay away from marathons
Tokyo 2020 has asked fans to stay away from the course when the Olympic marathons and race walking are held in Sapporo.
Organizers claimed that the move was necessary in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections.
Sapporo is the capital of Japan's northernmost island Hokkaido, which remains under state of emergency measures because of coronavirus.
Games officials today met with both Hokkaido prefecture and Sapporo city authorities, as well as the police, to go through the arrangements for the marathons and race walking.
"At the meeting, it was agreed that in view of the current COVID-19 situation, it will be necessary to reduce the risk of infection by restricting the movement of members of the public," a statement said.
"It has therefore been decided to ask the public to refrain from spectating along the course.
"We will continue to work closely with the Hokkaido prefectural authorities, the Sapporo City Government and all other relevant organizations to ensure a safe and secure Tokyo 2020 Games for all participants and for the citizens of Sapporo and Hokkaido."
Kyodo News had previously reported that Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki had asked for a restrictions on fans at the events.
It is hoped that the prefecture's state of emergency measures will be lifted on July 11.
Sapporo, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 1972, lies 800 kilometers north of Tokyo but was named as the venue for the Olympic marathons and race walking in October 2019.
The decision, taken before COVID-19 caused the delay of Tokyo 2020 by a year, was made due to fears about high temperatures in the capital.
It was a move which resulted in the International Olympic Committee clashing with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who opposed the decision, and some athletes.
Odori Park will be the start and end point for both marathons.
The route features a large loop which is about the length of a half-marathon, followed by a second smaller loop which will be completed twice.
The fact that fans have been asked not to attend the marathons, which take place in the open air and are traditionally free for the public, is another blow for spectators as the Olympic Opening Ceremony approaches on July 23.
Tokyo 2020 yesterday delayed the results of a ticket lottery until Saturday (July 10) as organizers continue to assess the number of spectators that will be permitted in each venue.
International fans have already been banned.
(07/06/21) Views: 62Dan Palmer
Vermont City Marathon will expand field of runners
More runners will be able to sign up for this fall’s Vermont City Marathon starting next week.
Marathon officials announced Thursday they will expand the total field but didn’t specify by how many, only saying it’s a “limited” number. Run Vermont says that’s because they’re waiting to see how many of the runners who signed up for last year’s marathon want to run this year -- they get first priority.
The marathon usually happens Memorial Day weekend but was put off until October 24th this year due to the pandemic.
(07/02/21) Views: 59WCAX News Team
Mary Cain launches professional women's running team
Mary Cain has announced the launch of her new professional women’s running team, Atalanta New York. Cain previously ran for Alberto Salazar and the Nike Oregon Project (NOP), and in 2019, four years after leaving the team, she opened up about the emotional and physical abuse she endured in her short time training with that group. That abuse pushed Cain to the point of considering suicide, and it was fuelled by Salazar’s win-at-all-costs mentality. Cain is now looking to fight this mindset (which was not unique to the NOP), and Atalanta NY will work to empower and support its athletes and young female runners everywhere.
Cain is the president and CEO of Atalanta NY, an endeavour she says is the next step in her fight against the toxicity plaguing the world of athletics. “Ever since I shared my story to The NY Times, I have wanted to do more,” she wrote on Instagram. The first step in this fight, she said, was speaking out against Salazar, the NOP and the must-win culture (which has led to the abuse of so many female athletes) in track. “Maybe it’s the runner in me, but I wanted to take more than a first step.”‘
Atalanta NY is a New York City-based nonprofit that will employ its athletes, not as competitors, but as mentors to young women in the running community. This takes the emphasis off of performance (which is the usual focus for professional running teams) and instead places it on community involvement, something that Cain said she believes will “shake up the current model of professional sports.”
This is similar (although not identical) to the structure of Tracksmith’s partnership with Cain. In 2020, Cain signed with Tracksmith to work as a full-time employee while also running for the brand. This allowed Cain to run worry-free, as her contract was not dependent on her results, but rather on her work as the brand’s New York City community manager. Cain is still representing Tracksmith, and the company is a founding sponsor of Atalanta NY.
“Atalanta New York’s mission is two-fold,” reads a post on the Tracksmith Instagram page. “As a team, its goal is to help elite runners chase their athletic dreams through a sustainable and healthy organizational model. As a nonprofit, the goal is to educate and inspire young female athletes in underserved New York communities to find joy and wellness through sport.”
So far, Atalanta NY has only named two professional athletes to the team: Cain and Jamie Morrissey. Cain hasn’t raced much in the past few years (she raced four times in 2020, interrupting a four-year break from competition), but she still owns several big records, including the world U20 indoor 1,000m record (2:35.80) and American U20 two-mile best (9:38.68). Morrissey is a former University of Michigan standout who owns a PB of 4:11.48 in the 1,500m.
No other runners have been publicly added to the team yet, but Cain has said there will be more athlete announcements soon. To learn more about Atalanta NY and the team’s mission,
(07/03/21) Views: 58Running Magazine
2021 Vienna City Marathon on course for September 12
The Vienna City Marathon is on course to take place in September 2021, after the cancellation of its 2020 event as well as one planned for spring this year.
“We are incredibly grateful to the runners,” says VCM organizer Wolfgang Konrad. “Many have carried over their start from 2020 and many have newly registered so that almost 23,000 participants are already on the start list.
“Thanks to the continued support of all our sponsors and partners and the very good cooperation with the responsible ministries and authorities, all participating municipal departments of the City of Vienna as well as police departments and offices in Vienna, we are in the best possible position economically and organizationally.”
With the lifting of the maximum number of participants for events from 1 July a central legal basis for the implementation of major events has been restored. “All interested parties can be assured that we as a professional organizer are ready to organize the VCM in a safe and at the same time atmospheric way. We are well on schedule in all areas that we can influence through our work,” said Konrad.
(07/05/21) Views: 55
Canada names 57-strong team for Tokyo
World medallists Andre De Grasse and Damian Warner are among the 57 athletes selected for Canada’s team for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
De Grasse claimed three of Canada’s six medals at the Rio Games in 2016, securing 200m silver and 100m bronze, while also forming part of the bronze medal-winning men’s 4x100m team. Warner, meanwhile, added Olympic decathlon bronze to his two world medals and went on to claim another in Doha in 2019.
“It’s always an honour to represent my country on the world stage,” said De Grasse. “I’m really proud and excited to be going to my second Olympics Games. I look forward to making Canada proud.”
Warner, who heads to Tokyo as the top-ranked athlete in the men’s decathlon, said: “I’m really excited to go to Tokyo. It’s crazy for me to think that I went to the Olympics in 2012, 2016 and now I’m getting ready for my third Olympic Games.
“I couldn’t be more honoured to represent Team Canada and to go over to Tokyo with this talented group. I will have Pierce (LePage) with me in the decathlon, which will be awesome to have a teammate in the same competition. I’m just really looking forward to going over there and competing.”
Among those joining them in Tokyo will be 2016 Olympic 800m fourth-placer Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, Mohammed Ahmed, Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, Evan Dunfee and Sage Watson.
Malindi Elmore returns to Olympic Games action 17 years after she represented Canada in the 1500m in Athens, with the 41-year-old having broken the Canadian marathon record with 2:24:50 last year to achieve her place in the 26.2-mile event.
WOMEN
100m: Khamica Bingham, Crystal Emmanuel
200m: Crystal Emmanuel
400m: Kyra Constantine, Natassha McDonald
800m: Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, Lindsey Butterworth, Madeleine Kelly
1500m: Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, Natalia Hawthorn, Lucia Stafford
5000m: Andrea Seccafien, Julie-Anne Staehli, Kate Van Buskirk
10,000m: Andrea Seccafien
Marathon: Malindi Elmore, Dayna Pidhoresky, Natasha Wodak
3000m steeplechase: Alycia Butterworth, Genevieve Lalonde, Regan Yee
400m hurdles: Noelle Montcalm, Sage Watson
Pole vault: Anicka Newell, Alysha Newman
Long jump: Christabel Nettey
Shot put: Brittany Crew, Sarah Mitton
Javelin: Elizabeth Gleadle
Hammer: Camryn Rogers, Jillian Weir
Heptathlon: Georgia Ellenwood
4x400m: Alicia Brown, Kyra Constantine, Lauren Gale, Natassha McDonald, Noelle Montcalm, Madeline Price, Sage Watson
MEN
100m: Bismark Boateng, Andre De Grasse, Gavin Smellie
200m: Aaron Brown, Andre De Grasse, Brendon Rodney
800m: Marco Arop, Brandon McBride
5000m: Mohammed Ahmed, Lucas Bruchet, Justyn Knight
10,000m: Mohammed Ahmed
Marathon: Trevor Hofbauer, Cameron Levins, Ben Preisner
50km race walk: Mathieu Bilodeau, Evan Dunfee
3000m steeplechase: John Gay, Matthew Hughes
High jump: Django Lovett, Michael Mason
Shot put: Timothy Nedow
Decathlon: Pierce LePage, Damian Warner
4x100m: Bolade Ajomale, Jerome Blake, Bismark Boateng, Aaron Brown, Andre De Grasse, Brendon Rodney, Gavin Smellie
(07/04/21) Views: 54World Athletics
4 Ways to Reach Your Potential by Being a More Confident Runner
Believing in yourself can lead to breakthrough performances. Here’s how to make that happen.
Picture yourself on the starting line of an important race. As you stand there, simultaneously not wanting the race to begin and wishing they would just get things going already, you review your goals for the race. Do those goals seem attainable if you execute your race plan? Or do you wonder what delusional person thought you could do such a thing?
If your answer is more often the latter, you’ll come closer to reaching your potential by improving your self-confidence. As with any psychological skill, you can purposefully nurture and develop self-confidence. It’s not a psychological characteristic you should consider fragile or in a constant state of uncontrollable flux. Instead, by drawing on controllable sources, you can set about building a sturdy level of self-belief.
What is self-confidence?
Even at the highest levels of sport, confidence is considered the most important psychological characteristic required for success. 

What exactly does “confidence” mean in this context? It’s not cockiness, or self-delusion. Blasting off the start line at a pace that’s well outside your physical capacity is always going to end badly, no matter how sure you are you’re up to the task. Rather, self-confidence is a grounded belief that we have the abilities required to achieve a certain outcome. In running, this might be our belief that we can hold a certain pace throughout a race, or place ahead of the runners around us in the second half of a race. In other areas of life, self-confidence might mean believing we can successfully pass an exam, get a job that we apply for, or manage a large work project. 

Before we get to specific ways to improve self-confidence, let’s consider something about confidence that isn’t always obvious. We’re not going to tell you what it feels like to be high or low in confidence—you probably know both sides of that coin already. Instead, what we’d like you to reflect on is this: Feeling more confident isn’t as random as a coin toss. It’s not a quality that relies on luck—something we can’t control, that just happens, or that inexplicably comes and goes. Building confidence can be a controllable process; you can learn to flip the coin in your favor by nurturing your self-belief with the best sources of confidence available. This is what makes self-confidence more controllable than you might previously have considered.
Here’s another potentially surprising thing about self-confidence: The beliefs that underpin our self-confidence have less to do with what we’re actually capable of, and more to do with what we think we can do with the skills we possess. Sometimes we can be crippled by self-doubt, even for tasks that we’re more than capable of completing. You might doubt your ability to answer questions in a job interview, for example, despite having the knowledge and information required to do so. Your doubts might even mean you avoid applying for the role to begin with. Similarly, you might avoid signing up for races because you think you’re not fit enough, even though your training has been solid the past few months.
But the opposite is also true. If our belief in our abilities is higher, then we are more likely to try harder or persist for longer on a task than an equally skilled person with lower self-belief. In this way, our beliefs create a self-fulfilling prophecy. We try harder because we first believe we can accomplish a task. And we ultimately achieve it because of our increased effort and persistence, not just our abilities. Thus, our beliefs are fundamentally important to how we act, and higher self-confidence—without changes in ability or skill level—has been shown to improve performance in both athletic pursuits and the challenges of day-to-day life.
Again, this doesn’t mean we can fake it. We’re not talking about make-believe and fairy dust here! Instead, to build self-confidence—the unshakable kind—we need a solid foundation to start building on.
Specific steps toward self-confidence
Many of the general things you probably already do as a runner will build your self-confidence. These include setting challenging goals and striving to accomplish them, focusing on controllable actions, and talking to yourself in a constructive way. While these are helpful, here are four more-specific techniques for tapping into the strongest sources of self-confidence.
1. Meticulously record your preparation and milestone achievements.
Previous accomplishments, good preparation, and mastery of the skills of running are key to building robust self-confidence. But the process can crumble when you fail to make the connection between the work that you’ve done and the challenge that lies ahead. For many athletes, keeping a diary is one way of logging progress. Doing so can increase feelings of being well prepared and self-confident when an important event nears. Nothing helps to ease worries and dampen doubts more than evidence of the work you’ve done to prepare for an event.
Simply keeping a diary isn’t enough. It’s also important to prominently record the progress and achievements that you make during the weeks, months, and years of preparation. This might be highlighting training sessions that went well, flagging a successful experience like using a new mental tool to stay focused, or celebrating a performance milestone, such as setting a personal record. 

No matter how you choose to record snippets of information about your progress and achievements, the important bit is to draw on them regularly to feed your self-confidence. You might note them in a diary, but you might also attach them to your refrigerator door, or store them in a confidence jar beside your bed. Whatever the format, reading about them—and recalling each event— can help you overcome doubt-filled moments. The key point is that you ensure that your self-confidence is secured to controllable preparation and milestone achievements. These nuggets will provide the strongest sources of evidence as you methodically build and develop that confidence.
2. See it to believe it. 
Mental imagery can serve many different purposes, each of which can improve self-confidence. Athletes use their imagination to rehearse specific skills and routines. You might, for example, visualize yourself in the second half of a race running fast and relaxed. Performing these actions successfully—even in your mind’s eye—can have a positive impact on your self-belief.
Equally, when trying to achieve a goal, you might imagine working toward that goal, step by step, and making good progress. You might also imagine the emotions that accompany a stressful situation, and imagine managing these emotions to remain calm. 

Finally, you might imagine overcoming challenging situations and coping with difficult moments while staying focused and avoiding distractions. This might seem counterintuitive. After all, we often prefer to avoid thinking about things going wrong in the hope that everything works out fine. But imagining negative scenarios—the “what-if” moments—and mentally planning how to respond to each in the best possible way can be a powerful tool in our confidence-building kit. Elite runners regularly do these mental exercises, such as thinking through what they’ll do if they miss their drink at an aid station, or briefly lose contact with the pack they’re running with.
3. See others to believe it. 
Learning from others who have traveled a path similar to the one you hope to follow can raise your belief about what you’re capable of. You might, for example, pick the brain of someone in your running club who progressed from your current PRs to your goal times. What was her training like? Did she steadily chip away at lowering her times, or have a breakthrough after seeming to plateau? You might learn that you’re more ready to reach your goals than you thought you were. Remember, self-confidence beliefs are more about what we think we can do with our skills rather than an objective measure of the skills we possess. 

By learning from others, you might grasp how they cope with setbacks, or how they overcame the same disadvantages that you might experience. Even learning from their failures can increase your belief that you can overcome similar obstacles in your life.
4. Get a good support crew, including yourself. 
Finally, getting a good support crew around you can be helpful to develop self-confidence. Support might come in the form of positive feedback and encouragement from training partners, a coach, even non-running friends and family members who might believe in you more than you do. If enough knowledgeable people tell you you’re capable of reaching your goals, odds are they, and not your inner doubter, are correct.
(07/04/21) Views: 53Runner’s World
Sara Hall and Sam Chelanga Take USA 10K Titles At the 52nd AJC Peachtree Road Race
Just after the sun rose in Atlanta on an unusually cool July morning, Sara Hall (Asics) and Sam Chelanga (U.S. Army) claimed the USA Track & Field 10-K road running titles at the 51st AJC Peachtree Road race in 31:41 and 28:43, respectively. Both athletes prevailed in late-race battles and each claimed $7,500 in prize money. The race was the third stop of the 2021 USATF Running Circuit.
The women started ahead of the men, and Hall was part of a 15-strong lead pack which quickly formed in the first kilometer. With her were other pre-race favorites, like Steph Bruce and Aliphine Tuliamuk (both of Hoka Northern Arizona Elite) and Gwen Jorgensen of the Nike Bowerman Track Club. But, there were also two less established runners in the lead group, Annie Frisbie and Emily Durgin (adidas).
Durgin, 27, who finished ninth in the 10,000m at the USA Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field in Eugene, Ore., eight days ago, led the race through 5 kilometers in an honest 15:46. Hall remained with her as did Frisbie and Tuliamuk, but Bruce and Diane Nukuri (Asics) began to drift back. Durgin kept pressing, and 90 seconds later only Durgin, Hall and Frisbie remained in contention.
Hall, 38, who prior to today had won 10 national road running titles from the mile to the marathon, wasn’t surprised that it was Durgin who was pushing the pace. Both women live and train in Flagstaff, Ariz., and know each other well.
“She’s been running so strong this year,” Hall told Race Results Weekly by telephone. “At the Trials she had a great one. So, I didn’t really know who would be charging out there.”
At about the 7-kilometer mark Hall and Durgin increased the pace, and Frisbie (who is only 24) had to drop back. The two women spent most of the next three kilometers running side by side waiting for the right moment surge for the finish line. As she did at the Mastercard New York Mini 10-K on June 12, Hall finally showed her cards in the final 400 meters. She pulled away strongly from Durgin to win by eight seconds.
“That’s the first time I’ve kind of gone toe-to-toe with her in a race,” Hall said of Durgin. “She’s got a great future ahead of her. I’m excited to see what she does.” She added: “I’m really proud of her.”
Durgin set a personal best of 31:49, as did Frisbie in third (32:06). Nukuri rallied in the last two kilometers to finish fourth in 32:27, and Bruce (who won this race in 2018) got fifth in 32:35. Tuliamuk, the 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon winner, finished sixth in 32:43.
For Hall, today’s win lifted her spirits after she finished sixth at the Olympic Trials in the 10,000m, likely her final attempt at making an Olympic team on the track. She also felt like she got some payback for a bad race at the 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon, also held in Atlanta, where she was unable to finish.
“You know, I was wanting to kind of get through the hills,” Hall said of the middle portion of today’s race. “Obviously, these Atlanta hills crushed me in the Trials. So, I definitely wanted to have a strong run over those hills.” She continued: “Going into this race I just wanted to have fun out there… This was an opportunity for me to just to out there and enjoy racing.”
For Chelanga, today’s win was his first USA title since he won the 25-K crown in May, 2018, just before he said he was hanging up his racing flats.
“I had announced that I had retired after July 4th of 2018,” Chelanga said in his post-race television interview. “Then when I got back in the Army, people noticed in the physical test that I was really fast, and I ran the 10-miler for the Army team (October, 2019). So I did it. Long story, but now I’m back here.”
(07/05/21) Views: 53LetsRun
