Fast Women: Emily Infeld FTW!
At 35, after many ups and downs, Infeld wins her first national title on the track.
Issue 362
Note: This is a bonus issue of Fast Women. This newsletter will return to its regular once-a-week schedule on Monday.
Emily Infeld pulls off an upset in the 10,000m
On Thursday night at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, 13 years into her professional running career, 35-year-old Emily Infeld did something she had never done before: She won her first national title on the track. Plenty of incredible things will happen at Hayward Field this weekend, but this story will be tough to top.
After a relatively slow start, roughly 7,000m into the race, Taylor Roe took the lead and began running 72- and 73-second laps, which quickly whittled the field down to four: Roe, Infeld, Weini Kelati, and Elise Cranny. The kicking really began with 600m to go, but all four runners were still in it with 200m remaining. Cranny led at that point, but Infeld passed her coming off the final turn, and surged to victory, 31:43.56 to 31:44.24. Infeld covered her final 200m in 30.83 seconds.
Behind them, Roe and Kelati had a very similar battle, with Roe being the one to take the lead coming off the final turn. She held on to grab the third and final spot on the U.S. team, 31:45.41 to 31:46.37.
None of the top three athletes has the world championships standard, but Infeld and Cranny did what they needed to do to put themselves in a comfortable position in the world rankings. Roe is currently in a good enough spot, but she’s more on the bubble, so it will be interesting to see if she makes an effort to improve her world ranking. (If there’s anyone I can imagine cranking a fast solo 10K on the roads or track, it’s her.) If Roe does not wind up with the necessary world ranking, Kelati will be on the team.
Ten years ago, Infeld used a stunning kick to earn a surprise bronze medal in the 10,000m at the 2015 world championships. The following year, she made the Olympic team. But until now, her highest finish at USAs was second in the 10,000m in 2016 and 2017.
“I can’t believe it,” she told reporters after the race. “I was manifesting in my head, I wanted to break the tape, and I did. Which is wild.” (You can listen to her lengthy post-race interview here.)
Infeld has had more than her share of challenges since becoming a professional runner in 2012. She’s dealt with countless injuries, including major hip surgery at the end of 2018. She endured a three-year ordeal with a stalker. Since leaving the Bowerman Track Club in 2021, she has had three different coaches (Jon Green, Joe Bosshard, and now Chris Miltenberg). Last year, she finished last in the 5,000m final at the Olympic Trials, while dealing with Achilles injuries. And at the end of 2024, after 12 years with the brand, Nike opted not to renew her contract.
Infeld knew she had more in her. Late last year, she reunited with Miltenberg, her college coach, who works with her remotely. And Brooks saw her potential, too. She signed a sponsorship deal with the brand in January.
Initially Infeld was planning to focus more on the roads going forward, but Miltenberg convinced her the track was still an option. “I really appreciate that he was like, ‘I think you have a lot of room to still run well on the track. I don’t want you to just do the marathon because you don’t think you’re good at the track anymore,’” she said on the Fast People podcast in April. And I’m happy he said that to me because I do feel like I still love the track.”
Infeld said that over the past two years, she started to believe that maybe PRs weren’t in her future, but she has been able to rewrite that mindset this year. And in March, eight days after turning 35, she ran 30:59.38 in the 10,000m and broke her four-year-old personal best. And eight days after that, she impressed with a fourth-place finish in the 5,000m at Grand Slam Track’s Kingston Slam.
I wrote in my preview that I would not be surprised to see Infeld do something big in this race, and that’s because she’s had a good year. But I wasn’t thinking big enough. I thought making the team would be a great step for her, but I wasn’t expecting a win. It sounds like, despite her manifestation, she was surprised, too.
After the race, Infeld did what had to be her slowest-ever lap of Hayward Field, as her victory lap took nearly a half hour. Having made many connections in the sport over the year, Infeld had many people who wanted to share in the joy of her win.
Cranny told Sarah Lorge Butler that she was really happy to make the team after a trying season so far. Between having a rough race at the TEN and being less competitive than she would have hoped for during Grand Slam Track, her confidence took a hit. “For better or worse, I feel like I’m getting really good at going into championship races with a lot of uncertainty,” she said.
Though she would have preferred to break the tape, Cranny was also happy to see Infeld do it. They were Bowerman Track Club teammates, but their relationship goes back farther than that. Cranny, 29, says she still has a voicemail that Infeld left her when she was injured her sophomore year of college. Though Infeld ran for Georgetown and Cranny ran for Stanford, they were both coached by Miltenberg in college, and when Cranny was dealing with a tough injury, Miltenberg knew Infeld’s advice would be helpful.
After the year she’s had, it was no surprise to see Roe make the team. Other than Infeld winning, the biggest surprise of this race was Kelati missing out on the top three. Heading into the race, she had the best 2025 resume in the field. She has been dealing with a stomach problem that causes nausea and fatigue for much of the year, but she said afterward that her training had gone well. (She discussed the problem in more detail on NYRR’s Set the Pace podcast in June.) Kelati isn’t known for being a big kicker, but she pulled out a win in this event at last year’s Trials. Missing out on this team is a blow.
Jess McClain, who is already on the world championships team in the marathon, finished fifth in 32:03.84, and Karissa Schweizer finished sixth in 32:10.82. Like Kelati, she was clearly disappointed after the race. Schweizer said it’s been a rocky season and she has dealt with some illness, but she is healthy. She said she “mentally missed the move” and that her performance was not indicative of her fitness. Both she and Kelati will have another shot in the 5,000m.
In her first track race of the year, Keira D’Amato, 40, impressed, finishing seventh in 32:19.40 and taking a whopping 73.22 seconds off of the American masters record that Stephanie Bruce set last year. D’Amato wrote in an Instagram post that she decided to run this race only a week or two ago, and it was a nice way to break up her marathon training. She said after the race that she is planning to run a fast half marathon and marathon this fall.
I found USATF TV’s coverage of this race to be very disappointing. There was a nearly seven-minute stretch in the middle of the race where they just showed the long jump. While the long jump was exciting, they should have utilized a split screen or had separate feeds for the two events. The upside to not being on Peacock or NBC is that the race didn’t need to be interrupted by commercials, but instead, USATF TV found other reasons not to show it, and as a result, they missed the big move.
Emily Infeld’s history at the USATF Outdoor Championships
2010: 10th in the 1500m
2011: 5th in the 1500m
2012: 8th in the 5,000m (graduated from college)
2013: injured
2014: injured
2015: 3rd in the 10,000, 4th in the 5,000m (world 10,000m team, earned bronze)
2016: 2nd in the 10,000m, 4th in the 5,000m (Olympic 10,000m team)
2017: 2nd in the 10,000m (world 10,000m team)
2018: injured
2019: injured
2021: 8th in the 10,000m
2022: 3rd in the 5,000m, 4th in the 10,000m (world 5,000m team)
2023: 9th in the 5,000m
2024: 16th in the 5,000m
2025: 1st in the 10,000m (world 10,000m team)
Other notes from the USATF Outdoor Championships so far
Because the first round of the 800 only reduced the field from 32 runners down to 27, there wasn’t a lot of all-out racing. Two runners who have had rocky seasons so far—Nia Akins and Athing Mu-Nikolayev—looked good in winning their heats. But tonight’s semifinals, where the field goes from 27 to nine, will be a lot more telling.
It was really nice to see Juliette Whittaker on the starting line, and she was among those who advanced in the 800m, running 2:01.50 for fifth in her heat. She said afterwards that she took 10 weeks off while prioritizing her mental health and this is only her fourth week back training. She said she knows her fitness is not in the same place, so she’s reframing what success looks like at the moment. “I think last year, obviously on paper it was objectively my best year,” she said. “But it was also the year that I think I lost the most love for the sport.” Whittaker thought achieving her goals might help her regain her love of the sport, but it did not. But taking a break has helped. And she said in an Instagram story that she is more proud of yesterday’s race than any other in her career. “I showed up and came back when I never thought I would,” she wrote.
High schooler Natalie Dumas, 16, had a rough day in the 800m at the end of a long season, running 2:08.09 to finish eighth of eight in her heat. But how impressive to make it to this starting line.
There were no major upsets as far as who advanced in the steeplechase, but I was impressed by Emma Gee, who ran a seven-second PR of 9:33.08 and made her first U.S. final. I still think this final is going to be one of the most exciting distance races of the meet.
The 1500m had slightly more drama because the deep field went from 34 down to 12. Seeing Margot Appleton in a New Balance kit made me wonder if I missed an announcement, but she PRed by nearly a second, running 4:04.72 to finish second in her heat. Rachel McArthur also had a good run, PRing by nearly two seconds and taking fourth in her heat in 4:04.80. Laurie Barton had a bit of a scare, missing out on an automatic qualifier in the first heat by 0.01 seconds, but her time held up and she advanced on time. Recent high school graduate Sadie Engelhardt, the youngest runner in the field, finished eighth in her heat in 4:11.23.
Dani Jones cut things close in the 1500m. She finished fifth in her heat in 4:07.13 and grabbed the last spot in the final. She said in an Instagram story that she was happy to have advanced after dealing with some food poisoning the day before the race.
Nikki Hiltz acknowledged after winning their 1500m heat that their win streak at USAs has added some pressure. “It definitely puts a huge target on my back,” they said. “But I kind of put it there myself. So everyone come get me, and if you do, I’ll be the first to congratulate you because hopefully I’ll be second.”
I learned from Heather MacLean’s post-race interview that Juli Benson is coaching Taryn Rawlings now too, so Benson has four athletes in the 1500m final.
At the USATF Para National Championships, Kaitlin Bounds broke her T20 American record in the 1500m by five seconds, running 4:35.43. Even though they compete in separate categories, she raced with Lipscomb’s Liza Corso, who won the T13 1500m, breaking the tape in 4:24.04.
Zero surprise here, but both Lexy Halladay-Lowry and Meghan Hunter announced on Thursday that they have signed with Nike. Halladay-Lowry said she will be joining the Swoosh TC in Provo, Utah, which means she will continue to be coached by BYU coach Diljeet Taylor, and I assume Hunter will do the same.
USATF has updated the meet schedule at least twice since Monday, so make sure to keep checking the USATF Outdoor and Para Nationals results sites for updates, if there’s an event you don’t want to miss.
We already knew sex testing was coming, but World Athletics provided some additional details this week
World Athletics put out a press release this week with some of the details of the sex testing they will be doing for elite athletes who wish to compete in the women’s category going forward. The number of media outlets that treated compulsory sex testing for women as breaking news just shows how many people have not really been paying attention.
This was announced back on March 25. But this week’s release confirmed that the new policy will go into effect on September 1. Anyone who wants to compete in the women’s category will have to undergo a one-time test, which can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test. The testers will be looking for the SRY gene. Each country’s governing body will oversee the testing.
This week’s release included a link to a FAQ document that provides additional information. Everyone wishing to compete at the world championships need to be certified as a bona fide woman (eyeroll) by September 1. Because the labs can take up to two weeks to process the results, athletes will not have a lot of time to get this done. (I wouldn’t be surprised if this is part of team processing for athletes who make the U.S. team this weekend. I have no idea how much of a heads up any of the federations received.)
This all makes me sad, and I hope these new regulations don’t destroy anyone’s career. (For more, listen to Rose Eveleth’s podcast Tested. Particularly episode three.) World Athletics has made several mentions of considering offering other opportunities to “elite gender-diverse XY athletes,” but it’s all talk at this point.
Nikki Hiltz posted a thoughtful response in their Instagram stories. “I’m extremely disappointed that track & field is heading down this path,” they wrote in part. “Despite the fact that these tests are both invasive and unethical, they’re also NOT solving a problem that exists…Would be so cool if World Athletics could spend their time, money, (and) energy on finding solutions to actual problems the women’s category faces, like banning abusive coaches or funding more doping control efforts. But no, let’s just find another way to monitor and control women’s bodies.”
Other News
Michael Johnson opened up a little more about Grand Slam Track’s financial struggles on Ready Set Go. That part of the discussion begins here. (It’s also available in podcast form—jump to the 10:30 mark.) He said that in April, the global economy fell apart, which affected a key investor. Since then, they’ve been working to raise more money, but it takes time. Johnson said he has worked out a payment plan with the athletes’ agents. “We’re going to try to get this right as soon as we possibly can, but it is a process.” It was interesting to hear him say that because athletes have so many complaints about how long it takes for them to get paid, they originally committed to paying the athletes within 30 days, which obviously has not happened. “It was never our intention to go out and take advantage of anyone,” he said. “One of the things we’ve had to look at is did we care too much about trying to change the sport and not enough about being a really good business.”
This New York Times piece (gift link) did a good job of outlining why doping can seem like the best option for talented Kenyan runners.
This was a good piece about Gabriela DeBues-Stafford’s resurgence.
I appreciated Jonathan Gault’s LetsRun piece about where all the pro track meets in the U.S. have gone.
Canada’s Ceili McCabe, this year’s NCAA Indoor 3,000m champion for West Virginia, has signed a pro contract with On.
Whittni Orton Morgan’s husband pointed out that when she raced the 5,000m and 3,000m at Grand Slam Track’s Kingston Slam, she was already pregnant. That makes her 8:43.35 for fifth in the 3,000m all the more impressive.
Podcast Highlights
After a hiatus, Fast People is back. Sarah Lorge Butler talked to popular agent Hawi Keflezighi about hitting 20 years in the business, as well as the role agents play in combating doping, agents who promise more than they can deliver, and whether some agents have too many clients. I particularly appreciated the comment he made about sophisticated vs. unsophisticated doping. After posting about the episode, I got so many comments about Keflezighi being one of the good guys in the sport.
On the Ali on the Run Show, Ali Feller got the exclusive with Nikki Hiltz shortly before they raced the first round of the 1500m.
I haven’t even made it all the way through the episode yet, but it was nice get a bit of an Alicia Monson update on the latest episode of the Coffee Club Podcast.
I really appreciated Molly Huddle talking to Portugal’s Marta Pen Freitas about juggling breast cancer treatment and professional running on the latest episode of Keeping Track. Pen Freitas is great, and she had some interesting things to say about egg freezing. She recently announced in a touching video that she has left the Brooks Beasts after six years with the team.
I have been wanting to learn more about Claire Green for a while now, and she was great on Runners of the Bay. She finished an impressive ninth in last night’s 10,000m final.
On the Lactic Acid podcast, Krissy Gear said that her training has been very interrupted since early to mid April. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t getting a big discouraged,” she said.
I was honored to be the inaugural guest on Bakline’s new podcast, Legwork. Host Matt Vosburgh had some really good insights, and I appreciate that we discussed topics that haven’t come up on other podcasts I’ve done. We discussed the state of running media, women in coaching, how Fast Women has changed over time, managing burnout, maintaining journalistic integrity while relying on sponsors, and much more. Matt is trying to do something different with this podcast and I’m looking forward to hearing from future guests.
Additional Episodes: Val Constien on the Lactic Acid Podcast | Allie Ostrander on Women’s Running Stories | Rachel McArthur and Colleen Quigley on Sir Walter Miler’s Summer of Miles podcast | Rachel Entrekin on The Freetrail Podcast | Sarah Carter on The Steep Stuff Podcast | New mom Leah Yingling told her birth story on The Trail Network Podcast and worked in some ultrarunning comparisons
I’m not attempting to cover everything that has happened so far this week in this newsletter, I just wanted to cover some of it, so that Monday’s newsletter won’t be quite as full. And I am only barely getting this out before there’s more to write about! This has been hastily edited, so please forgive any errors.
Alison
Thank you for this bonus newsletter drop!