Issue 267, sponsored by Oiselle
Weini Kelati solidifies her status as the queen of the Manchester Road Race
For the third year in a row, Weini Kelati took off at the start of Connecticut’s Manchester Road Race, and no one could catch her. She won the 4.748-mile race in 23:21 (4:55 per mile). Annie Rodenfels, who beat Kelati to win the USATF 5K Championships less than three weeks earlier, finished second in 23:59, 38 seconds back.
Kelati is so good on this course, which features a big hill in the second mile, that she now owns the three fastest times. She set the course record of 22:55 in 2021, and her time this year was her second-fastest. It helps that the race has one mass start, so there are always plenty of men for her to chase. “I took it from the beginning and used the opportunity to follow the guys and it worked,” she said on the broadcast after the race.
Kelati had some travel troubles getting to Manchester, but they didn’t seem to slow her down. Amy Rudolph, who won from 1995–97, is the only other woman to earn three Manchester titles in a row. Kelati earned a total of $8,000—$7,000 for the win and another $1,000 for being the first woman to the top of the race’s biggest hill.
Emily Durgin (third, 24:06), Sara Hall (fourth, masters champion, 24:23) and Argentina’s Florencia Borelli (fifth, 24:24) were the other top finishers. Sally Kipyego, a two-time champion in Manchester, served as the race’s honorary chairperson this year. She was on the broadcast after the race, and I wish the interview included discussion of what she’s up to these days.
Janit Romayko, 78, and Beth Shluger, 68, were honored for completing the race 50 years in a row, but this was really number 51 for both of them, because they both ran unofficially in 1973, before women were allowed to register for the race. Amby Burfoot, who also had a streak at this race, wrote about both of them here.
And here’s a fun story from the men’s race, from Lori Riley, of the Hartford Courant. Morgan Beadlescomb and Conner Mantz warmed up for the race together. Beadlescomb told Mantz that he was planning to propose to his girlfriend, Lexi Heger, after the race.
“I had a half-second thought: I could let up, because it’s his day,” Mantz told Riley. “But then I was like, ‘No, I flew all the way here, my wife’s in the [lead vehicle], I gotta win.’ And he still pulled away.” Beadlescomb won in 21:12, with Mantz three seconds back. And Heger said yes. (Results | Race replay)
Other News and Links
Allyson Felix, who had to keep her first pregnancy a secret while she was in contract negotiations with Nike, announced that she’s expecting her second child in April. In a separate post, she wrote, “From the ups and downs of infertility to the terrifying realities of childbirth as a Black woman, this road has been a rollercoaster. Grateful for God’s grace and the blessing of IVF that made expanding our family possible.”
This is a moving 47-minute film on Agnes Tirop’s life and death, from Bloomberg Originals. I highly recommend checking it out.
Penn State professor Michelle Sikes, who is a former professional runner, has a book called Kenya’s Running Women coming out this week.
A federal judge dismissed the sex discrimination claims filed against former Huntington University cross country and track & field coach Nick Johnson and school officials. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs failed to prove there was a Title IX violation. Their lawyer, Jon Little, said the Title IX violation is only one of nearly two dozen allegations in the case, and he plans to appeal the ruling and file a new complaint in state court.
Former Northeastern coach Steve Waithe pled guilty to tricking female student-athletes into sending him nude or semi-nude photos. Waithe coached track & field at Northeastern from October 2018 until February 2019, when he was fired as a result of a university investigation. He still managed to get another coaching job, at Chicago’s Concordia University, after that.
Former Baylor runner Anna Kostarellis, who has PRs of 15:39.16 (5,000m) and 32:10.96 (10,000m) announced that she has signed with Asics.
Allie Ostrander said in her latest YouTube video that she’s now being coached by David Roche, who seems to coach a significant percentage of the high-level trail and ultra runners based in the U.S.
Thanks to Oiselle for supporting Fast Women this month
I love a sale and Oiselle has a good one going right now, as long as you spend $100 or more.
Additional Race Results
Ethiopia’s Siranesh Yirga, 23, pulled away around the 35K mark and won the Shanghai Marathon in 2:21:28.
Ceili McCabe dominated the Canadian Cross Country Championships, winning in 33:28. Glynis Sim took second in 34:09. McCabe is still running for West Virginia University, but she redshirted the cross country season to prepare for the Olympic year. The coming winter will be a particularly busy one, because it’s a World Cross Country Championships year (March 30) and a World Indoor Championships year (March 1–3). (Results)
Great Britain’s Megan Keith won the Liverpool Cross Challenge, running the 8.1K course in 26:02.
Three of the four Foot Locker Regionals took place over the weekend, and the West Regional will take place on Saturday. In the South, Texas sophomore Elizabeth Leachman won the 5K race in 16:33.3. In the Midwest, Michigan senior Rachel Forsyth won in 16:57.8. And in the Northeast, New York junior Zariel Macchia and Massachusetts senior Ellie Shea swapped places from a year ago, with Macchia winning in 17:13 and Shea taking second in 17:21. The top 10 runners from each regional will face off at the national championship on December 9 in San Diego. But first, Leachman and Forsyth are among those who will compete at Nike Cross Nationals next weekend in Portland, Oregon.
New York senior Emily Bush won the Nike Cross New York Regional, covering Bowdoin Park’s tough 5K course in 18:09.5. And New Jersey freshman Paige Sheppard won the New England Regional, held at the same location, in 18:12.2. (Results)
More Thanksgiving-related results
Though this was a quieter week for elite-level racing, Thanksgiving is the busiest racing day of the year in the U.S., and here is a non-comprehensive list of some of the highlights:
Always the biggest ham on Thanksgiving, Molly Seidel won the Sedona (AZ) Turkey Trot 5K, while wearing a turkey costume, in 17:38. You can see some highlights here. (Results)
Lauren Goss won the Turkey Day Run 5K in Charleston, South Carolina, in 15:40. It was her first race in nearly a year, and her relationship with running has changed significantly during that time. In March, she shared that she was in eating disorder recovery. (Results)
Roberta Groner, 45, won the Ashenfelter 8K Classic, in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, in 26:42, which is a pending national record for the 45–49 age-group. Deena Kastor held the previous record of 27:12. (Results)
Ethiopia’s Mahlet Mulugeta won the Fort Collins (CO) Thanksgiving Day Run 4 Miler in 20:36. Laura Thweatt finished second in 20:53. (Results)
Kayla Knapp won the Silicon Valley (CA) Turkey Trot 5K in 15:54. (Results)
Allie Buchalski won Seattle’s Thanksgiving Day Apple Cup 5K in 15:56 and her teammate, Kayley Delay, finished second in 16:10. (Results)
Jenn Randall won Turkey Stuffer 5K in Springfield, Oregon, in 16:03. (Results)
Jessica McClain won the Phoenix (AZ) Turkey Trot 10K in 33:22. As I write this, the results list someone else as the winner, but looking at the splits, it’s clearly a mistake. (Results)
Taryn Rawlings won the Dana Point (CA) Turkey Trot 10K in 33:37. (Results)
Samantha Nadel won the Alexandria (VA) Turkey Trot 5 miler 26:32. (Results)
Micaela DeGenero won the Boulder (CO) Thanksgiving Day 5K in 16:46. (Results)
Sakiko Minagawa won Dave’s Turkey Chase 5K, in Toledo, Ohio, in 16:30. (Results)
Ashley Heidenrich won the Naperville (IL) Noon Lions Turkey Trot 5K in 16:32. (Results)
Makayla Perez won the Detroit Turkey Trot 10K in 34:08, and Gina McNamara won the 5K in 17:07. (Results)
Kim Conley won Sacramento’s Run to Feed the Hungry 10K in 34:29. And Nicole Lane won the 5K in 16:43. (Results)
Julia Griffey won the Gilbert (AZ) Turkey Trot 5K in 16:48. (Results)
Twins Gabrielle and Danielle Orie went 1–2 at the YMCA Buffalo Niagara (NY) Turkey Trot 8K in 27:23 and 28:04. (Results)
Sydney Fitzpatrick won the Feaster Five 5 miler, in Andover, Massachusetts, in 27:54. (Results)
Anna Rohrer won the Wheeler Mission Drumstick Dash 4.3 miler, in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 23:34. (Results)
Stephanie Pezzullo won the Charlotte (NC) Turkey Trot 8K in 28:10. (Results)
Aileen Barry won the Garden City (NY) Turkey Trot 5 miler in 28:17. (Results)
Andjelija Ranick won the YMCA Pittsburgh Turkey Trot 5 miler in 28:25. (Results)
Meredith Rizzo won the San Francisco Turkey Trot 5 miler in 28:32. (Results)
Michele Lee won the Berbee Derby 10K, in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, in 35:49. (Results)
For the third year in a row, Brenna Detra won the Chocolate Turkey 3 mile race, in Peoria, Illinois, in 16:59. Afterward, she recapped her race and provided an update on her running here. (Results)
Podcast Highlights
Alexa Efraimson, who announced her retirement from professional running last year, at age 25, discussed her running career and her future plans on the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast. She said that halfway through her final race, she thought, “I don’t even want to be here,” which led her to reevaluate her goals. She said that trying to have an elite athlete’s body when she turned pro at age 17, rather than naturally going through the changes one experiences at that age, led her down a harmful path. She’s now studying to be an RD so she can help athletes have healthy relationships with their bodies.
Great Britain’s Jenny Nesbitt spoke frankly about the ups and downs of her career on The RunAlive Podcast. She is currently recovering from overtraining syndrome. After some strong races in 2021 and 2022, she did a training stint in Flagstaff. Without the distractions of home, she was training harder than ever. But not wanting to miss out on anything, she was staying up later than she normally would, “hydrating with not water but alcohol,” and not fueling well in general. She got away with it for a while, until she couldn’t anymore. She’s gradually working her way back now, focusing on steady progress, and trying to not compare her current fitness to her past fitness.
Hellen Obiri discussed her New York City Marathon win, her chances of making Kenya’s Olympic team, and moving to the U.S. to train on the Coffee Club podcast, hosted by some of her On Athletics Club teammates. She comes on at the 19:20 mark.
Sue McDonald talked about setting nine world records in the 60–64 age group, and the lifestyle and training that helped her get there, on Women’s Running Stories.
Ari Hendrix has told her story of going from 3:57 to 2:35 in the marathon on a number of podcasts, but if you haven’t heard it before, or if you want the latest update as she prepares for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, she was good on For the Long Run.
Elise Cranny and host Dominique Smith interviewed one another on the Lactic Acid podcast.
Upcoming
The Valencia Marathon will take place on Sunday (streams at 2:15 a.m. on FloTrack in the U.S., subscription required). There are five women in the field who have run faster than 2:19: Ethiopians Tsehay Gemechu (2:16:56), Almaz Ayana (2:17:20), Worknesh Degefa (2:17:41), and Genzebe Dibaba (2:18:05), along with Romania’s Joan Chelimo Melly (2:18:04).
The California International Marathon is also on Sunday, in Sacramento, and it will be the last chance for athletes to qualify for February’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. The entrants with the 10 fastest PRs are listed here. There are currently 159 women and 200 men qualified for the Trials. Because the race is not the USATF marathon championship this year, I’m not sure if it’ll be possible to watch it online.
Many top collegians will be taking their cross country fitness and seeing how it translates to the track at Saturday’s Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener at Boston University’s indoor track. For the collegians, this is an opportunity to knock out an NCAA qualifier, or something bigger, before taking some post-XC downtime. NCAA cross country champion Parker Valby of Florida is entered in the 5,000m. The meet will stream live on FloTrack (subscription required). (Entries | Meet info)
Nike Cross Nationals will take place on Saturday in Portland, Oregon. There will be a free livestream of the meet beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET, and the girls will race at 2:35 p.m.
The Cross Champs will take place early Thursday morning in Austin, Texas. The event will be streamed live on RunnerSpace (subscription required) and you can see the entries by clicking on the women’s race, under “schedule,” here.
Thanks, again, to Oiselle for supporting Fast Women this month. There’s still time to take advantage of the sale they have going right now. And, speaking from experience, their gear makes great holiday gifts for friends, family, or yourself.
Thank you, also, to everyone who keeps this newsletter going via your support on Patreon and Venmo. Fast Women wouldn’t be possible without you. I hope you all have a good week!
Alison