Fast Women: Ednah Kurgat earns her second U.S. title
No rest for the pros as they scatter all over to race after USAs.
Issue 247, sponsored by New Balance
Ednah Kurgat wins the USATF 6K title
If Ednah Kurgat was tired from running the 10,000m/5,000m double at the USATF Outdoor Championships, it didn’t show in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday morning. Only six days after completing her double at USAs, taking sixth in the 10,000m and then 13th in the 5,000m, Kurgat ran away from a solid field to win the USATF 6K Championships, hosted by the Women’s 6K Festival. Kurgat’s winning time was 18:31.
Emma Grace Hurley and Annie Rodenfels did a lot of the early leading, but Kurgat started to open a gap in the fifth kilometer. Though the field stayed close, Kurgat was never seriously challenged after that. Nell Rojas hung back slightly for much of the race, but she had a strong kick and passed Rodenfels to take second in 18:33. Rodenfels, last year’s runner-up, finished third in 18:34, and Hurley was fourth in 18:36.
Kurgat is part of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program and this was her second national title, after she won the USATF Cross Country Championships in January.
Molly Seidel made an appearance at the event but didn’t run the race. She said in an interview (Facebook link) and on Instagram that she’s taking a little down time to work on getting her iron levels up before gearing up for a fall marathon. (Full replay, no subscription required, at the moment | Local coverage of the race | Results)
The pros go abroad
Now that the USATF Outdoor Championships are over, American pro track & field athletes have headed abroad en masse. It’s that time of year where the meets are tough to keep track of, and they can happen on pretty much any day of the week. (I rely on the World Athletics calendar, though there’s a lot to sort through, and Watch Athletics. The USTFCCCA site is also useful sometimes, especially during the collegiate season.)
On Friday, Utah graduate Simone Plourde, who represents Canada, announced that she has signed with Nike and is joining the Union Athletics Club. That evening, she won the 1500m at the Harry Jerome Track Classic, in Langley, BC, running a PR of 4:06.47. Behind her, NAZ Elite’s Abby Nichols (second, 4:08.13) and Katie Wasserman (third, 4:08.40) set PRs. It was a Canadian sweep as Lucia Stafford won the 800m (2:00.47), Ceili McCabe won the steeplechase (9:28.76), and Briana Scott won the 5,000m (15:19.51). (Results)
It was cold, windy, and wet at the Morton Games in Dublin, Ireland, but Emily Mackay and Olivia Baker bounced back well from races they weren’t thrilled about at USAs. Mackay held off fellow New Balance athlete Sarah McDonald of Great Britain to win the 1500m, 4:07.02 to 4:08.20. And Baker caught her teammate, Allie Wilson, at the top of the homestretch and pulled away to win the 800m, 2:00.53 to 2:00.93. Both were fortunate to make it to Ireland. Baker said on the broadcast after the race that they were supposed to fly out Tuesday, but they missed their flight because they thought it was on Wednesday. They flew Thursday instead, and arrived one day before the race. (Results)
Also on Friday, Helen Schlachtenhaufen won the 1500m at the Meeting Internazionale Sport e Solidarietà in Lignano, Italy, running 4:05.05. She was rabbited by Carley Thomas of Australia, who won the 800m earlier in the meet, in a PR of 1:59.95. It was a fantastic result for the University of Washington runner, who didn’t make it out of the semifinals at last month’s NCAA Championships. (Results)
At Saturday’s Night of Athletics in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma won the 800m in 1:59.40 and Kenya’s Purity Chepkirui won the 1500m in 4:04.69. I couldn’t find a livestream of the race so I don’t know how it played out, but U.S. steeplechase champion Krissy Gear finished 12th in 4:15.11. And honestly, I’m in awe of the energy all of these athletes have to finish a high-stakes championship meet, then maybe make a quick stop at home before flying abroad to compete. (Results)
There weren’t many American women in the distance events at Sunday’s Silesia Diamond League meet in Poland, but the event produced some strong performances. Ethiopia’s Hirut Meshesha won what must have been a fantastic 1500m in 3:54.87, with fellow Ethiopians Birke Haylom (3:54.93) and Diribe Welteji (3:55.08) close behind. Unfortunately the race didn’t make it into the TV window. Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu won the 3,000m in 8:26.61, and Elly Henes finished ninth in 8:42.81. And Kenya’s Mary Moraa won the 800m in a quick 1:56.85. Sage Hurta-Klecker finished fourth in 1:58.09, which makes her the fastest American woman in the event so far this year. (Results)
And on Sunday night, two days after setting a 1500m PR, Abby Nichols improved her time again, winning the Victoria Track Classic in 4:07.47. Katie Wasserman finished second in 4:08.98. And it was good to see Hanna Green running her first race of 2023. She made a late pass on the inside to win the 800m in 2:06.46. Green, who was previously with the now-defunct Oregon Track Club Elite team, wore this season’s standard Nike uniform, and was listed in the results as being part of the Bowerman Track Club. (Results)
Not everyone is going abroad, though. Some athletes are racing domestically, and others who are headed to Worlds are prioritizing training. Sound Running is holding a Sunset Tour meet at Occidental College on Saturday, and the fields are looking strong. (The meet will stream on RunnerSpace.)
Thanks to New Balance for supporting Fast Women
First, if you’re an early morning newsletter reader, there’s still time to enter to win a free pair of shoes over on Instagram. I’ll be selecting a winner first thing today, but my “first thing” on Mondays might be a little later than yours, because I’m usually up late on Sunday working on this newsletter.
To enter the contest, I’ve asked people to tell me which New Balance shoe they would most like to try. I’m seeing a lot of people say the FuelCell SuperComp Elite v3—a great racing shoe. (Side note: As of Sunday, they’re 32 percent off!) A lot of people are understandably really excited about the FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v2 as well.
I’m so grateful for New Balance’s support of Fast Women, and I enjoy being able to pass along some of the benefits to readers by giving away shoes. And I love what the company is doing for the sport. I’m particularly excited for the TRACK at New Balance to host the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships next March. It’s such a great event, and thanks to New Balance’s new facility, the meet is coming to Boston for the first time!
Courtney Dauwalter nails the Western States/Hardrock 100 double
Only 20 days after winning the Western States 100 in record time, Courtney Dauwalter won the Hardrock 100 in 26:14:08 and placed fourth overall. She took more than an hour off the counterclockwise course record (the race alternates directions each year) and bettered her overall course record, from last year, by 30 minutes. She also became the fastest person, period, to do the Western States/Hardrock double in one year.
She did all this despite making a wrong turn around mile 87 and having to redo part of the course. Part of being a successful ultrarunner has to be taking that kind of news, that late in the race, in stride. And Dauwalter seems like a master at not sweating those types of situations. According to iRunFar, her response was, “I love Grant Swamp times two.”
Hardrock isn’t an event I normally follow—the event is adamant that it’s a run, not a race—but Dauwalter’s participation made for an interesting storyline. Hardrock’s field is capped at 146 runners, and people who have run it before are apparently 10 times more likely to be accepted via the event’s lottery system than those who haven’t. It’s a policy that doesn’t scream inclusivity. In recent years, the event has taken measures to increase the number of women in the field, but there were still only 29 women this year. I haven’t seen any stats on runners of color, but I can’t imagine the numbers are great. (Results | Race recap)
Other News and Links
Through their series “Road to TrackTown,” TrackTown USA followed several athletes leading up to the USATF Championships. They released the final episode last week, and if you aren’t already an Allie Wilson fan, it’s hard not to be one after watching her talk about just missing out on the 800m final at the end of the episode. “This does feel like a big setback for me, because it was a big goal of mine,” she said tearfully. “But that doesn’t mean the rest of my season can’t be what I want it to be.” Kudos to Wilson for being willing to share her disappointment; it’s a lot tougher to talk about running when the stakes are high and things don’t go well.
The Berlin Marathon announced that Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, who set a course record of 2:15:37 last year, and 2:17:29 marathoner Sheila Chepkirui will run the September 24 race. The rest of the field has yet to be announced.
NAZ Elite announced that they’ve parted ways with head coach Alan Culpepper, who was with the team for only 14 months. Jenna Wrieden has been announced interim head coach, a search for his replacement is already under way, and this Runner’s World article has more details. Sarah Lorge Butler reported that a source close to the team said Culpepper never made the move to Flagstaff as planned, and instead commuted from Boulder.
U.S. 800m champion Nia Akins is multitalented, and last week, she announced that she has released a new song, Of This I’m Sure. You can listen to it on YouTube, but also consider buying it and supporting her.
Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times reported that the 400m will be Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s only individual event at next month’s World Championships. He also wrote that Athing Mu might not race between now and Worlds.
Boulder runner Bailee Mulholland died while free soloing in Rocky Mountain National Park on July 9. It sounds like the 26-year-old had many talents, and ultrarunning was among them.
I was interested to read that former University of Oregon runner Zoe Buckman, a three-time Australian champion in the 1500m (2011, 2013, and 2014) is returning to high-level running. Now 34, Buckman is hoping to make the 2024 Olympic team in the 5,000m. In the linked article, Buckman says she wishes she hadn’t been so singularly focused during her first round of pro running, and whether she accomplishes her goal or not, she is enjoying the pursuit, and she has nothing to lose by trying.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in Caster Semenya’s favor last week, but World Athletics says their rules for DSD athletes will remain in place.
The town of Ashland, Massachusetts, rejected a proposal to put a statue of Spencer, the late Boston Marathon dog, near the race course, at no cost to the town. One of the select board members who voted against the proposal said that memorializing a dog on town property would be a “slap in the face” to people who have made valuable contributions to the town. Spencer will still get a statue in Ashland, just in a different location.
Additional Results
Sha’Carri Richardson earned a big win against Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson in the Silesia Diamond League 100m, 10.76 to 10.78.
I enjoyed watching the 1500m final at the European U23 Championships, partially because it included a number of NCAA stars. Last month, running for the University of Washington, Ireland’s Sophie O’Sullivan had a tough NCAA meet. She looked great in the 1500m semis, running the fastest time of the day. But in the final, she finished a distant last. So it was great to see her rebound to win the European U23 title in a PR of 4:07.18. Sarah Healy, also of Ireland, won silver (4:07.36), and Great Britain’s Shannon Flockhart, who runs for Providence College, earned bronze with a 4:08.37 PR. (Race replay | Results)
Grayson Murphy earned a win at the Cirque Series mountain race in Brighton, Utah. She covered the 6.7-mile course, which included 3,015 of climbing, in 1:13:44.
Podcast Highlights
It was fun to get an update from Kate Grace, who is four months postpartum, on the Ali on the Run Show.
Sara Hall provided a good update on what she’s been up to on the Sweat Elite podcast. She said she wants to do some shorter races, including a half marathon, prior to her to-be-announced fall marathon. It was interesting to hear her discuss some of the things she is experimenting with in her training, like spacing her hard efforts out more, doing more strength work in the gym, and running a little less mileage.
I loved listening to Melody Fairchild, who was a teen star in the sport, talk about the youth coaching she’s doing now on Run Farther & Faster. I highly recommend this episode if you coach young people or have a child who runs. Fairchild comes on at the 17:45 mark, but, side note, if you listen to the beginning of the episode, there’s some well-intentioned discussion of Autism Speaks being a good cause. If you ever consider supporting that organization, please do some research first.
Age-group world record holder Jenny Hitchings, 60, was on I’ll Have Another. It was interesting to hear her say that she doesn’t do much strength training, and she’s torn between sticking with what has worked so far and trying new things.
Additional Episodes: Erica Stanley-Dottin on Ali on the Run | Makenna Myler on the Lactic Acid podcast | Dani Moreno on The Rambling Runner Podcast
Things that made me smile
I loved the home crowd’s reaction as Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek came from behind to win the Silesia Diamond League 400m in a PR of 49.48.
This is a touching photo. Jeff Cohen, who took it, reported that on her victory lap after winning the steeplechase at USAs, when kids asked for Krissy Gear’s autograph, she asked for theirs in return.
Upcoming
Friday’s Monaco Diamond League meet only has one mid-distance/distance event for athletes competing in the women’s category, but it’s going to be a good one. Last I heard, Faith Kipyegon was planning to go after her own 1500m world record, and Nikki Hiltz and Cory McGee are among the athletes who will race/chase her. The entry lists are here, and the meet will be on Peacock beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET. (Edit: The race is a mile, not a 1500m, and Kipyegon’s 1500m world record suggests the mile record is very much within reach. Also, McGee has scratched, but Elise Cranny is now in the race.)
The entries for Sunday’s London Diamond League meet aren’t out yet, but they’ll be here soon, and the meet includes a women’s 800m, steeplechase, and 5,000m. This one will be on Peacock as well, beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Thanks to New Balance for supporting Fast Women, and to all of you who help keep this newsletter going through your support via Patreon and Venmo. Every little bit of support makes a difference.
I hope you all have a great week!
Alison