Fast Women: A fast weekend all around
Wins in NC for Hiltz and Hurta-Klecker, records for Kelati, St. Pierre, Chamberlain, and Lichter.
Issue 395, sponsored by WHSP Institute
Pros head to North Carolina for a new meet
If you haven’t heard of the Sound Invite before, that’s because it’s new. And in year one, the stars showed up. It’s not easy to find instant success with new events amidst a crowded competition calendar. But Sound Running and the JDL Fast Track pulled it off this past weekend in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Sound Running has built a good reputation in recent years by creating reliable competitive opportunities for professional runners, among other things. And Winston-Salem’s JDL Fast Track regularly managed to attract impressive fields despite the fact that few top college and professional runners compete on flat 200m tracks anymore. But the JDL Fast Track had a major makeover during the off season, and the facility now has a state-of-the-art banked indoor 200m track.
Aside from the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, the Millrose Games, and the USATF Indoor Championships, most indoor meets in the U.S. are designed for and around high school or college athletes. That’s why you see so many pros racing at college meets. But with the addition of the Sound Invite to the calendar, the pros now have another option. And the first edition was a great success.
The 3,000m attracted a nice mix of middle-distance and distance runners, and it came down to a battle between Nikki Hiltz and Sinclaire Johnson. Hiltz took the lead with about 900m to go and controlled the race from the front before pulling away on the final lap. Hiltz won in 8:34.98 to Johnson’s 8:35.48. Johnson did a nice job of keeping things close, bouncing back nicely after an off race at Millrose.
Kenya’s Susan Ejore-Sanders, who was previously with Under Armour and Dark Sky Distance, showed up for the race in an On kit, and the results indicate that she’s now a member of the On Athletics Club. She had a great debut for the team, finishing in a massive PR (she doesn’t run the event often) of 8:37.84. And I picked the right time to profile Kayley DeLay. In her season opener, she finished an impressive fourth in a PR of 8:39.72.
Shelby Houlihan rounded out the top five (8:39.97), and Katelyn Tuohy finished sixth in 8:45.30, her fastest time in three years.
Running her first 800m of the season, Sage Hurta-Klecker looked great in winning with an indoor PR of 1:58.78, which moves her to sixth on the U.S. all-time indoor list. Olivia Baker impressed, racing aggressively and taking second in an indoor PR of 1:59.18, which puts her 10th on the same list. Valery Tobias took third in 1:59.30, a small indoor PR, and Jamaica’s Natoya Goule-Toppin, fourth in 1:59.47, also dipped under 2:00.
Emily Mackay won the mile in 4:22.43, a small PR. NC State freshman Sadie Engelhardt ran 4:23.84, a 3+ second PR, on a day that the indoor collegiate mile list was rewritten. She’s now the fifth-fastest NCAA athlete of all time (on record-legal tracks), but four others have run faster this season. And Annie Rodenfels, who is getting ready to race a half marathon, dropped down in distance to win the 5,000m in 15:13.72.
The day after the meet, Hiltz said via an Instagram story that about two minutes before the gun went off, they had a “face to face interaction with hate from someone in the crowd.” Their partner, Emma Gee, put it a little less gently, writing in a story, “I cannot explain the rage that fills my body when a mediocre, rat-ass looking college boy mocks my partner and intentionally misgenders them while they walk onto the track…”
In another story, Hiltz continued, “I was feeling a bit shaken from the interaction as I approached the start line, but I glanced into the crowd and saw a poster with my face on it. The people holding it had the biggest smiles on their faces. Whether they knew it or not, in that moment, their sign and their joy re-centered me and reminded me that I was supported in that facility… After the race, I simply had to give my bouquet of flowers that I had just won to them—just a small way to say thank you for spreading love not hate.”
I wish this story ended with the harasser learning something, but my sense is that most people present, including meet organizers, were unaware of the incident until Hiltz posted about it.
Over the six-plus years that I’ve operated Fast Women’s social media accounts, I’ve watched many online spaces become increasingly dangerous and toxic for trans people, especially those who participate in sports. It infuriates me, especially because so little of the discussion centers around facts or having compassion. Having the strength to do what Hiltz does—blocking it out, continuing to put themself out there online and IRL, and being the best miler in the country—is simply incredible. (Results | 3,000m replay | 800m replay | Mile replay | 5,000m replay)
Loice Chemnung wins, and Weini Kelati bounces back in Barcelona
In her Nike debut, Weini Kelati took five seconds off of her own American half marathon record, running 1:06:04 to finish second at Sunday’s Barcelona Half Marathon. Kenya’s Loice Chemnung won the race in an event record of 1:04:01 (1:03:57 chip time), which places her sixth on the world all-time list. Ethiopia’s Diniya Kedir Abaraya, 20, took third in 1:06:28, and Taylor Roe finished fourth in 1:06:52.
I spent all of Saturday at BU’s Valentine Invitational, and when I got home from the meet around 9:45 p.m., I joked about staying up until 2:30 a.m. to watch the Barcelona Half, and then unwisely proceeded to do so, while editing photos and catching up on the other events I missed. The Barcelona coverage wasn’t worth losing sleep over—it mostly focused on the men’s race—but it was better than nothing.
When I went to sleep early Sunday morning, most of the top women’s times looked a little faster (Kelati’s time was reported as 1:06:01), but when I looked again several hours later, they had been adjusted, with most athletes having at least a 3- to 4-second difference their chip time and their gun time.
My first reaction was to be frustrated that they lined the women up so far back in the field. But then I went back and looked at the start. Most of the women seem to have started in the second row; they did not take 3 or 4 seconds to cross the starting line. Even the top men, who were in the front row, had 2- to 3-second chip/gun differentials. So it appears it was a timing issue. It’s not a huge deal, but I’m glad that didn’t make the difference between Kelati setting a record or not doing so.
It is not shocking that Kelati can run five seconds faster than she has in the past, but the past 13 months have been up and down for her. In January 2025, she set the previous American record at the Houston Half Marathon. But she ran into some stomach problems along the way, and they came up again in March 2025, when she faded to sixth at the USATF Half Marathon Championships after leading early.
She looked great in winning the USATF Cross Country Championships in December, but then she had somewhat of a rough outing at the World Cross Country Championships, where she dropped to 40th on the final lap of the 10K race. Kelati doesn’t race farther than 10K often, but it was good to see her run better than ever after dealing with some bumps in the road. And it bodes well for her marathon debut, which she has said is coming later this year.
I appreciated that we got to see Kelati and Roe go head to head. Roe couldn’t quite match the 1:06:20 that she ran in Houston last month, but she broke 67 minutes for the second time after what had to be a trying month following the death of her father shortly after Houston.
According to reporting from LetsRun’s Jonathan Gault, despite her change of sponsors, Kelati plans to remain in Flagstaff. Stephen Haas, who has been Kelati’s coach and agent throughout her pro career, told Gault that he still plans to be involved with Kelati’s coaching, but what form that will take is still TBD. She will not be joining the Swoosh TC group, coached by Mike Smith, which is based in Flagstaff. And I was glad to see Haas, who is still Kelati’s agent, confirm that Under Armour would have liked to continue working with Kelati, so this wasn’t a case of the brand dropping her. (Results)
Thanks to WHSP Institute for supporting Fast Women this month
At WHSP Institute, our work goes beyond generating new research on women athletes. We also translate existing science into practical guidance for athletes and their support teams. WHSP Academy is where that knowledge transfer happens, with digestible, scientifically accurate summaries of key health and performance topics. Here are six facts you will learn from WHSP Academy:
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Overstriding can be a risk factor for bone stress injuries.
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While nutrients such as magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper and vitamins A, C, E and K all play roles in tissue repair, the evidence for meaningful performance or recovery benefits from supplements in well-fed athletes is limited.
Omega-3 fatty acids support fetal brain development.
Difficulty concentrating during training or competition can be a symptom of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs).
WHSP Academy will continue to grow, with new content added regularly. If there’s a topic you’d like to see us cover, we’d love to hear from you.
Elle St. Pierre reclaims the American 1500m record, Riley Chamberlain sets a collegiate record
Attending the big meets at BU is an experience. People travel from all over the country—and sometimes the world—for their chance to run on what some consider to be the fastest indoor track for distance running. As others build great facilities, it’s hard to say which track is the fastest. The important part is that a lot of people believe in what they call “BU magic,” whether that magic is more a result of the level of competition and the athletes who race on it or the track itself.
Attending the meets, however, is far from glamorous. As the meets have become more popular, they’ve also become more crowded. Saturday’s Valentine Invitational was more than 12 hours, and that was just the women. Pity those who coach both women and men, or work both days. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an Olympian or in the 20th heat of the mile, everyone’s warming up and waiting for their races in the same cramped spaces.
For self preservation, I decided not to shoot every heat of Saturday’s distance races, even though everyone in the meet is fast. I spent my breaks sitting on a stool in the hallway, near an outlet if I could get one, copying photos onto my computer to free up more space. There’s no media workspace, so while I’m photographing races, I just have to cross my fingers that my computer doesn’t get stolen. My camera, which is more valuable, goes with me everywhere, including the bathroom, which is always awkward.
In exchange, I get to watch and document countless people running in circles in pursuit of their goals. Almost every race features high highs and low lows. The building fills up during the “elite window” and then gradually empties out by the last heat of the 5K. My favorite races are the ones where the spectators are clearly invested, and it’s just as likely to happen in the first heat of a race as it is in the 20th heat. When we get to heat 20, I rarely know who the people are, but hearing how excited people are for what they’re about to accomplish is infectious.
Saturday’s meet was the last massive one BU will host this season, and it was a good one. First, the headlines you have probably already seen: After missing the Millrose Games due to illness, Elle St. Pierre was gunning for a fast time in the mile. Paced by her New Balance Boston teammate, Kate Mitchell, St. Pierre hit 809m (because a mile is 1609 meters) in 2:07.27, right around world record pace. Her pace crept up slightly over the second half of the race, but her American record of 4:16.41 was still within reach, until she ran 33.39 seconds for her final lap of the race (still super fast, but her slowest lap of the race).
St. Pierre crossed the line in 4:17.83. Among Americans, only she and Heather MacLean have run faster indoors. When MacLean ran 4:17.01 at BU last year, her 1500m split, 3:59.60, broke St. Pierre’s American record. In this race, St. Pierre reclaimed the record, splitting 3:59.33.
I was surprised to see Oregon’s Wilma Nielsen go with St. Pierre. She kept it close for three-quarters of the race, but then she ran 68.94 seconds for her last 400m. BYU’s Riley Chamberlain and Jane Hedengren hung back and split a more modest 2:10 for 809m. Chamberlain reeled in a fading Nielsen on the final lap and set a collegiate record of 4:20.61. Nielsen held on for third (4:21.04), and Hedengren took fourth in 4:22.22. All three were under the previous mark of 4:23.46, set by Oregon’s Silan Ayyildiz last year.
Taryn Parks hung back early and made up ground on the last lap, finishing fifth in a PR of 4:23.10. I was super impressed by Florida freshman Claire Stegall, who won a separate heat of the mile in a massive PR of 4:25.91. She was a high school star in Tennessee, but this was a breakout moment.
Ayyiliz ran the 3,000m, partially because she needed an NCAA qualifying mark after finding out that the 8:42.29 she ran at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix wouldn’t count because there weren’t enough collegiate athletes in the race. So she essentially replicated the performance, winning in 8:42.66. BYU’s Jenna Hutchins took second in a PR of 8:44.04.
Beyond the invitational heat of the 3K, there were 11 more heats, and I was impressed that Massachusetts high schooler Abby Hennessy produced the fastest time, kicking to a 9:02.77 win, which makes her the third-fastest U.S. high school girl of all time indoors. Few people in the building seemed to realize that she was a high schooler, probably partially because she was wearing a New Balance uniform. But I imagine it’s nice to just blend in and not face any additional pressure sometimes.
I thought Alabama’s Doris Lemngole might take down the collegiate 5,000m record that Jane Hedengren set in December, but she didn’t have a lot of help keeping the pace going over the last 3K. She won in a still quick 14:51.21 and secured a qualifier for next month’s NCAA Indoor Championships. Running her first indoor race in six years, Karissa Schweizer took second in 14:54.15. And new pro Margot Appleton took third in a 15-second PR of 15:03.19.
BYU’s Meghan Hunter won the 800m in 1:59.74. And McKenna Keegan, who ran in gear that suggests she is no longer sponsored by Nike, finished second in 2:00.05. (Results | Mile replay | 5,000m replay | 800m replay)
Jennifer Lichter wins the Black Canyon 100K and Molly Seidel holds her own
Saturday’s Black Canyon 100K would have been fun to follow in real time, but I was busy at BU. And I don’t know enough about trail running to tell you things other people haven’t already figured out. But it was fun to open Instagram and learn that Lichter took more than 19 minutes off the Black Canyon 100K record and won in 7:57:05. Anne Flower finished only 70 seconds back, in 7:58:15. And third-place finisher Tara Dower also finished under the previous course record, running 8:11:46.
And I especially enjoyed seeing this reel of Molly Seidel finishing fourth and grabbing the last golden ticket entry to the Western States 100. After so many setbacks, it’s nice to see her accomplish something that clearly means so much to her. And I appreciated that she ran the race with the words “ICE OUT” on her hydration vest. She finished in 8:25:13 and held off a challenge from Abby Hall. The top three runners earn golden tickets, but Dower had already secured her spot in the 2026 race.
Jane Maus won the 50K in 3:47:04 and in her trail 50K debut, Des Linden finished 13th in 4:30:21. (Results | Streaming coverage | iRunFar’s Black Canyon 100k recap, and their Tarawera 102K recap is here.)
Other News
Femke Bol’s coach, Laurent Meuwly, confirmed that she won’t race the 800m again this indoor season and said that was always the plan.
The Athletic published a nice article (gift link) about professional runner Anna Gibson, who will make her Olympic ski mountaineering debut with the sprint heats on Thursday and the mixed relay on Saturday.
I was excited to hear that the 2026 USATF Outdoor Championships will be held at New York City’s Icahn Stadium July 23-26. The 2021-25 editions of the meet took place in Eugene, Oregon, and I understand the appeal of having the meet at the best facility in the country, but it’s nice to give a new set of fans easier access once in a while. The national championship hasn’t been held in New York, or anywhere else in the Northeast, since 1991. The meet will return to Eugene in 2027.
Jennifer Savin wrote about the toxic side of running clubs for Cosmopolitan UK. The article focuses on the scene in England, but all of the same issues exist in the U.S.
Shannon Rowbury, Alysia Montaño, Lashinda Demus, Czechia’s Zuzana Hejnová, and Jamaica’s Kaliese Spencer, all medalists who were affected by doping at the 2012 Olympic Games, are working together to push for anti-doping reforms. This article from The Times has more details, as does their GoFundMe.
Grand Slam Track has filed a proposed bankruptcy plan that would have the athletes who participated in the league receiving about 85 percent of what they are owed, while most vendors would get only 1.5 percent of what they are owed. The plan is still up for negotiation and would need to be approved by a judge. More details, from Margaret Fleming, here.
Great Britain’s Calli Hauger-Thackery announced she’s pregnant with her first child, who is due in August. And she confirmed that she was four weeks pregnant when she won the Honolulu Marathon and eight weeks pregnant when she won the Houston Marathon in 2:24:17.
Anna Camp Bennett, who is due to have her first child this spring, shared that she is no longer with Adidas. If she wants to continue to be coached by Swoosh TC coach Diljeet Taylor, she will need to sign with Nike.
Speaking of Nike, Emily Infeld announced that she is back with the brand last week.
Some in Tallahassee are already thinking about hosting the World Athletics Cross Country Championships again, but the event won’t take place again until 2029
This Runner’s World article covers Jenny Simpson’s past year and her next chapter as “chief running officer” for Fleet Feet.
Shelby Houlihan said in an episode of DyeStat Discussions that she does not plan to race at the USATF Indoor Championships. She has her eyes on a fast 10,000m, so she’s targeting the TEN on March 28. She also said that she’s working with ALTIS sprint coach Stu McMillan, while still being coached by her sister as well.
Longtime Santa Rosa (CA) High School cross country and track & field coach Doug Courtemarche has been charged (paywall) with possessing child sexual abuse material.
According to reporting from the Lexington Herald Leader, three women who ran for the University of Kentucky accused former coach Hakon DeVries of sexual harassment and/or stalking.
Additional Results
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon won her first 10K road race, negative splitting a 29:46 at the Monaco Run. Diane van Es won the 5K in a Dutch record of 14:33. (Recap)
Agnes Ngetich, also of Kenya, dominated the Sirikwa Classic Cross Country race. (Recap)
Keely Hodgkinson, ran only one round of the 800m at the British Indoor Championships, because that’s all she needed to do to be selected for World Indoors. She made it count, running a British record of 1:56.33, which moves her to third on the world all-time indoor list. Now she has her eye on the world record, and she’s racing again in Lievin on Thursday. Hannah Nuttall won the 3,000m in 8:41.75, and Issy Boffey won the 800m final in 1:59.64. (Results)
At the World Indoor Tour stop in Belgrade, Switzerland’s Audrey Werro dominated the 800m, running a Swiss record of 1:57.27. (Results | Race replay)
The Husky Classic at the University of Washington also produced many fast performances. Most notable was the 800m, where the top four all broke 2:00. Penn State’s Haley Kitching won in 1:59.22, Washington State’s Rosemary Longisa was second (1:59.71), Stanford’s Juliette Whittaker was third (1:59.76), and Washington’s Chloe Foerster was fourth (1:59.91) . Oklahoma State’s Billah Jepkirui won the mile in a blazing 4:22.92, which is also faster than the previous collegiate record, and Boise State’s Kaiya Robertson took second in 4:24.51. Iowa State’s Betty Kipkore won a tight race in the 3,000m, running 8:44.09. Eastern Kentucky’s Edna Chelulei won the 5,000m in 15:05.16, and three others broke 15:10. (Results)
Jess McClain won the Mesa 10K in 31:13, Lauren Gregory won the half marathon in 1:10:39, and Tiaree Towler won the marathon in 2:38:54. (Results)
Kellyn Taylor won the Austin Marathon in 2:33:29 and earned $4,000 in prize money. (Results)
Podcast Highlights
The name Cristina Regalado was new to me, but I loved hearing about the work she’s doing to make trail running more inclusive on The Trail Network Podcast. She’s gearing up to race the Western States 100 in June.
Linden Hall discussed her U.S. racing tour on the Inside Running Podcast (starting around the 51:30 mark).
It was Love on the Run Week on the Ali on the Run Show, with guests Mica Rivera and Adam Wood and Deena and Andrew Kastor.
The Earthmovers podcast, hosted by Alison Mariella Désir, Verna NezBegay Volker, and Stefanie Flippin is back for a second season, and I particularly appreciated that they addressed how ICE’s increased activity is affecting them and others in their communities.
Tristin Colley discussed being a pregnant, unsponsored professional runner on I’ll Have Another.
The latest episode of the The Appetite podcast covered common misunderstandings about GLP-1s and body weight, and the intersection with eating disorders, and I thought it might have some relevance in the running community. I haven’t paid attention to much of the discussion around GLP-1s, so I can’t say how it compares with the other conversations that are taking place.
Additional Episodes: Des Linden on Second Nature | Olympic Marathon Trials qualifiers Katie Watson and Mimi Smith on Road to the Trials | Anne Flower on The Freetrail Podcast | Sabrina Stanley on Trail Society
Thanks again to WHSP Institute for supporting Fast Women this month. The last time I was coaching high school, I wished I had some reliable places to direct people so that they could quickly get good information about things like REDs and iron deficiency, and I appreciate that WHSP Academy has that.
I wanted to add some closing thoughts, but I can barely keep my eyes open. I expect this coming week to be slightly quieter on the running news front, before things pick back up again in two weeks. But we’ll see. I hope you all have the best week possible.
Alison
Love, love, love Nikki Hiltz - fighting hate with gratitude & spreading love - all class ❤️
I find Emily Infeld’s return to Nike to be very interesting. I don’t recall other athletes who have left a brand, going back. I’m thinking it was mainly a financial reason why she left, but would be interested to learn what made her go back.