Fast Women: Everything Olympic Marathon Trials
Senayet Getachew takes down the world U20 record in Boston.
It’s Trials week!
After much anticipation, the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials will take place on Saturday in Orlando, Florida. I generally avoid making race predictions, because there’s so much I don’t know about how the contenders’ training has gone. I don’t know which runners are trying to convince themselves they aren’t injured, which teammate has been dropping everyone else in workouts, who is overtrained, or who is dealing with personal turmoil. I only know what athletes have done in the past and what they’ve chosen to reveal publicly.
The unpredictability is what makes racing fun. And even a near-perfect buildup doesn’t guarantee success on race day. Everyone gets a clean slate on Saturday. Past accomplishments might get someone a slightly better spot on the starting line, but it’s all about who shows up most prepared, runs a smart race, and can keep their cool.
This is easily the deepest field ever to line up for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. It’s going to be a little heartbreaking every time someone drops out of contention, and some incredible runners are going to go home disappointed. Only three make the team, but even finishing in the top 15 here is going to be quite the accomplishment.
Instead of predictions, here’s my case for why various athletes have a shot at making the team. Runners are listed in order of their seed times here, which were run on a variety of courses in a range of conditions, so don’t read into them too much. Those who qualified with half marathon times are at the end. And there are runners not on this list who absolutely have a shot as well. But as this field gets deeper and deeper, a Jenny Spangler (Outside) or Christine Clark type of surprise seems a little less likely.
Why they might make the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team
Emily Sisson: With a 2:18:29 PR, she’s the fastest American woman ever. And even with a side stitch, she was the top U.S. finisher in Chicago.
Keira D’Amato: D’Amato has the distinction of being both the second-fastest American marathoner (2:19:12) and half marathoner (1:06:39) of all time. Her training shows she’s fit, and you don’t make a post like this if you’re not ready.
Betsy Saina: Saina is flying under the radar a bit, partially because she has run her two most recent marathons in Tokyo (where she ran a fantastic 2:21:40) and Sydney (which she won). She finished fifth in the Olympic 10,000m in 2016, and her marathon training has leveled up since she began training with Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei, who ran 2:17:23 in October in Chicago.
Sara Hall: Hall is the most experienced Trials competitor in the field—this will be her eighth Trials, counting the track and the roads, since 2004! She has a great shot at earning her highest finish yet at age 40. (Her current best is sixth in the 10,000m in 2021.) And she has gone all-in on the training for this one.
Molly Seidel: She’s the only Olympic medalist in the field. And her most recent marathon, in Chicago, showed she’s still one of the country’s best. No matter what’s going on in her life, Seidel knows how to shut out the noise when the gun goes off and just compete. (Update: Seidel announced on February 1 that she’s out of the race. She had imaging done about a month ago that indicated that she had broken her patella and partially torn her patellar tendon.)
Sara Vaughn: Vaughn is still figuring out how good she can be at the marathon, and even so, she was only 17 seconds behind Seidel in Chicago. She’ll get some good advice from her coach, Amy Cragg, who won this race in 2016.
Susanna Sullivan: According to her Trials bio, Sullivan ran the World Championships marathon in August with a broken kneecap. Assuming she has had enough time to recover and rebuild, she should absolutely be in the mix. (Update: Sullivan’s agent announced on January 31, and she confirmed, that she is out of the race after testing positive for Covid the Tuesday before the race. Sullivan’s buildup was not ideal, but until then, she had planned to race.)
Gabi Rooker: Here’s Rooker’s marathon progression over the past 2.5 years: 2:54:57, 2:34:59, 2:29:44, 2:27:38, and 2:24:35. Who knows how fast she can go? And anyone who has competed on a four-inch balance beam has to be good at staying calm when the stakes are high.
Aliphine Tuliamuk: She knows how to win this race. Tuliamuk doesn’t have the fastest PR because she tends to race on tougher courses, but she’s a skilled racer. Though she’s coming back from injury, she has demonstrated her ability to build great fitness quickly in the past. (Update: Tuliamuk did a very honest interview, released the Tuesday before the race. She said her training has been very up and down as she recovers from a hamstring injury. She expressed optimism that things might work out, but she also she said the Trials will probably be the most painful race of her life.)
Dakotah Lindwurm: With a smile on her face, Lindwurm has steadily been chipping away at her marathon time since 2019. She was disappointed with her 2:24:40 at Chicago in October, so if she can run a race she’s happy with, watch out.
Lindsay Flanagan: Flanagan led the U.S. team with a ninth-place finish in the World Championships marathon last summer, and she seemed to nail her heat training. She trained for the Trials in Australia, out of the spotlight, but look for her up front. (This is a great pre-race article, from Runner’s World, about Flanagan and her sister, Kaylee, who is also in the field.)
Nell Rojas: Rojas has run all of her recent marathons in Boston and New York, so her PR is a little less flashy than some, but there’s no question she can hang with the country’s best. Rojas got injured over the summer and had to miss Chicago, but her half marathon PR two weeks ago shows she’s ready to go.
Sarah Sellers: Sellers, who had her second child last April, is best known for her surprising runner-up finish at the 2018 Boston Marathon, so who knows when she could surprise again? She ran her marathon PR 17 months after having her first child. And in her Trials bio, she says she thinks she’s at about the same point as she was 17 months postpartum with her first child. So…maybe she’s in PR shape?
Lauren Hagans: She’s a veteran racer but new to the marathon. The Trials will be only her second try at the distance, but she nailed her first, winning the 2023 Grandma’s Marathon in 2:25:56. And her teammate, Kellyn Taylor, recently told Lindsey Hein, “Don’t be surprised if she runs really well in a few weeks.”
Tristin Van Ord: Van Ord is another athlete who has been quietly chipping away at her PRs. She ran 2:40 in her debut in 2019, and less than five years later, she’s a 2:25 marathoner, still finding her ceiling. In December, she talked to Hein about taking some risks during her Trials buildup, saying being cautious probably won’t get her on the team. It will be interesting to see if that pays off.
Emily Durgin: She ran 2:26:46 in the first marathon she completed, and she’ll only get better from here. And it sounds like her training has gone well. “I’m going there to be top three. We’ve talked it into existence,” Durgin told her hometown newspaper. “I believe if I race my best and run smart, I 100 percent should be on the podium.” Durgin also said she feels prepared to run anywhere from 2:21 to 2:23.
Annie Frisbie: She ran 2:26:18 at the 2021 New York City Marathon, in her debut, which is still her PR. Since then, injuries have interrupted her training. But according to her Trials bio, she’s happy and healthy going into the race, so who knows what she can do.
Jackie Gaughan: Gaughan, 24, might be the least well known runner on this list, partially because she only finished her collegiate eligibility in 2022. But in 2023, she ran three marathons in eight months, improving with each one and going from 2:34:37 in Houston to 2:27:08 in Berlin. The marathon seems to be her event, and she’s just getting started.
Des Linden: No one in the field has been more consistently good in this event than Linden, and she’s one of the smartest racers in the field. Her past Trials finishes have been 13th in 2008, second in 2012 and 2016, and fourth in 2020. She seems pretty relaxed going into this one; she hosted a dogs of the Trials party last week.
Steph Bruce: Okay, so maybe this isn’t going to be Bruce’s year to make the Olympic team, but I wanted to include her here, because it’s cool that she’s lining up. She’ll be 4.5 months postpartum on race day and she said on Instagram that the goal was to get healthy and strong and make it to the starting line. It appears she’s going to pull it off, and it’ll be fun to watch her race with no pressure on her. This will also be her first race as a masters runner as she turned 40 earlier this month.
Elaina Tabb: I love that Bruce and Tabb are seeded right next to each other because Tabb will be exactly five months postpartum on race day. This is unlikely to be Tabb’s year to make the team, too, but how cool is it to run in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with your five-month-old on the sidelines, not appreciating the feat at all.
Maggie Montoya: Montoya has a 2:28:07 personal best, which is great, but based on her performances at shorter distances and how her past couple of marathons have gone, I think she has a breakthrough marathon in her, waiting to come out.
Kellyn Taylor: I’ve jumped down the list a bit to include Taylor, because even though her seed time is 2:29:48, it would almost certainly be faster if she hadn’t had a baby during the Trials qualifying window. Since becoming a mother of four, she’s made an impressive return to racing, and she should absolutely be in the mix up front. And anyone with four kids and more pets than I can keep track of can’t be fazed by much. It might feel like a nice break to have several hours mostly to herself. (Sara Vaughn and Sara Hall have four kids each as well, but theirs are older, on average.)
Makenna Myler: Myler’s marathon PR is “only” 2:31:59, but she ran that when she was 6+ months postpartum, and she had to find a race at the last minute, after Twin Cities was canceled. She’s being coached by Ryan Hall now, and she’s been training with Sara Hall. Her 1:08:28 half marathon in Houston showed she’s ready to go. She has a big marathon breakthrough coming, it’s just a matter of when.
Molly Huddle: Huddle is another athlete who would likely have a faster seed time if not for having a baby during the Trials qualifying window. Her daughter will be two in April, but Huddle’s postpartum progress was slowed by injury. You can never count a 28-time national champion and two-time Olympian out.
Fiona O’Keeffe: I think more people are paying attention to the athletes who qualified with half marathon times this go around, thanks to Molly Seidel’s performance in 2020. It’s hard to tell how anyone who hasn’t run a marathon will do in their debut, but O’Keeffe ran 1:07:42 in her first half marathon, so it’s clear she excels at the longer distances. I would not be the least bit surprised to see her up front on Saturday. And she has some extra motivation after a foot infection took her out of the USATF Outdoor Championships last year. Like Sara Vaughn and Natosha Rogers, she is coached by 2016 Trials champ Amy Cragg.
Jenny Simpson: Simpson plays to win, so I expect her to put herself in the mix in her marathon debut. She knows how to make teams. And she’ll have a home turf advantage because she grew up 20 minutes away, in Oviedo, Florida. (This is a nice article about her local ties.)
Natosha Rogers: Has Rogers made some comments that make me question how well she is transitioning to the marathon distance? Yes. She has mentioned lots of vomit during her buildup and has said she would need a miracle. But, she is one of the best distance runners in the field. So if she is anywhere near as good at the marathon as she is at the 5,000m and 10,000m, she definitely has a shot at making the team.
Additional Trials Tidbits
Williams College student Charlotte Staudenmayer, who has been helping me out, wrote nine more brief profiles of some of the less-well-known Trials competitors, and you can read them here. There’s even a pregnancy announcement in there!
I love that in Kidan Kidane’s Trials bio, she said that in 2020, she was working at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, and she remembers looking out the hospital window, seeing the Olympic Trials happening, and being inspired. She was a 2:59 marathoner at the time, and now she’s a 2:36 marathoner who has earned a spot on the starting line. You never know who might be looking out a window in Orlando this time around.
The competitor with the coolest job? That might be Hailey Bowes, who is an animal care specialist at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. She works with the sea otters and penguins.
The Trials bio most likely to make me cry? Veronica Eder’s. She wrote about her mother, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s. She ended it with, “Even though my mom is not aware of the fact that I’m competing at the Trials, she always has (and always will be) my biggest supporter, not only in running, but also in life. I love you, mom. This one’s for you!”
Someone who is not competing at the Trials but could is Zoe Baker of the Colorado School of Mines. She ran 2:36:01 (2:35:52 chip time) at Bakline’s McKirdy Micro Marathon in October, despite taking a fall at mile 20 that left both of her knees bloody. Baker is focusing on the collegiate track season instead, while she finishes her master’s degree. Baker is a good follow on TikTok. She chronicled her marathon training there, which you can check out if you start here and keep hitting the up arrow.
When Trials competitor Rosa Moriello found out the Trials would be held in Florida, a state that has passed a lot of laws that have harmed the LGBTQ+ community, she wasn’t thrilled. To offset her tourism dollars going there, she decided to fundraise to support the Orlando Youth Alliance, an organization that provides a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth in Central Florida. I’m sad this hasn’t gotten more coverage leading up to the Trials, but she was on the For the Long Run podcast last week, and she discussed her decision to fundraise starting at the 27:45 mark.
The Trials record is 2:25:38, which Shalane Flanagan ran in 2012 in Houston. There’s a solid chance it doesn’t last the weekend. (As of now, the weather doesn’t look too bad.)
Julia Griffey opened up about her struggles with infertility in a post explaining why she won’t be running the Trials. Allie Kieffer and Kate Sanborn also announced they are not running. By my count, the max field size is now 157.
How and Where to Watch
The race will stream live on Peacock from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, and NBC will air a tape delayed broadcast from 12:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET. The results will be here, and I am way too excited that they are going to have splits every mile. You can see who is entered in the race here, though some of them have since withdrawn. (There’s an option to select only the women at the top.)
For those not in Orlando, there will be watch parties in New York City, Flagstaff, and Seattle. (The one at the Sports Bra in Portland is sold out, but I love that it’s happening.)
Other News
Emilia Benton wrote a good piece about Betsy Saina for Women’s Running. Saina had already said that she couldn’t get into the Chicago Marathon field last fall. But in this article, she revealed that Chicago had assured her agent that she had a spot in the field, and she only found out that she didn’t when the elite field was announced in August. (I’d like to hear what Chicago has to say about this.)
Benton also reports that this year’s Marathon Trials will be the most diverse in history. That’s not saying much, but more than 12 percent of the runners in the field are women of color. The piece includes thoughtful comments from some of them.
Trials competitor Elena Hayday wrote a frank piece about her running journey and her longtime struggle with depression.
Allison Torres Burtka wrote about Ari Hendrix, who is hoping to become the fastest American-born Black woman in the marathon (Runner’s World). She’s going to have some good competition.
LetsRun did a pre-Trials Q&A with Sara Hall.
Trials competitors Kim Conley, Jessie Cardin, Sofie Schunk, Jackie Gaughan, Veronica Eder, and Ann Marie Pierce received additional coverage last week.
Sarah Lorge Butler did a really good Q&A with Stanford sophomore Roisin Willis, who discussed her struggles with insomnia, anxiety, and depression. (Runner’s World)
Maddy Berkson announced last week that she’s training full-time for the Olympic T&F Trials, sponsored by herself. She’s chronicling her journey via a newsletter, and I love the transparency in the first issue. After reading it, I was much more invested as I watched her race at BU on Saturday. (She took fourth in the 1,000m in 2:41.59 and helped rabbit the 5,000m.)
Addy Wiley, 20, announced last week that she has gone pro and signed with Adidas. According to the Indy Star, Wiley will be coached by former Huntington University coach Lauren Johnson. I’ve already said what I have to say about that situation. In the linked post, from September, I speculated about whether shoe companies would want Wiley to extricate herself from that situation before they sign her. I don’t know about any other companies, but apparently for Adidas, it wasn’t a dealbreaker. Wiley opened her season at a low key meet in Louisville on Friday, running 2:00.84 in the 800m. (Results)
Results Highlights
At Boston University’s Terrier Classic, Ethiopia’s Senayet Getachew, 18, won an exciting 5,000m race in 14:42.94 and broke Tirunesh Dibaba’s world U20 record that stood for 20 years. (Dibaba set the record across town, at the Reggie Lewis Center. All of the indoor records would be faster if the rest of the world had easier access to Boston’s indoor tracks.) It was an Ethiopian sweep as Fentaye Belayneh took second (14:43.25), and Aynadis Mebratu took third (14:44.94). Marta García Alonso (14:46.37, Spanish record), Josette Andrews (14:46.51), and Courtney Wayment (14:49.78) all ran under the Olympic standard (14:52.00). Alicia Monson rabbited the race through 3400m, returning a favor after Andrews, her teammate, helped her set the North American 10,000m record last year. Rachel Smith continued her postpartum return with an impressive 15:10.10 to take seventh. (Results | 5,000 replay)
Also at BU, Canada’s Lucia Stafford won the 800m (2:01.79) and the 1,000m (2:39.62). Stanford’s Roisin Willis finished second in the 800m (2:01.99) before running a leg of her team’s 4x400m relay. Anna Camp Bennett won the mile in 4:27.13 and one of the more remarkable performances of the day was Kimberley May’s runner-up finish. The New Zealander, who runs for Providence College, took nearly 10 seconds off her mile PR, running an NCAA-leading 4:27.85. Behind her, five more collegians ran 4:30. (There are now 10 women in the NCAA who have run 4:30 or faster this season.) Ella Donaghu of the Union Athletics Club dominated the 3,000m, winning in 8:46.45. BYU’s Sadie Sargent was the fastest collegian of the day, running 8:59.45. In the 5,000m, BYU’s Jenna Hutchins (15:30.99), Lexy Halladay-Lowry (15:31.03), and Aubrey Frentheway (15:31.69) were the top collegians, likely securing their spots at March’s NCAA Championships. Sammy Watson dominated the 500m, winning in 1:09.90. Harvard’s Sophia Gorriaran was the top collegian, in 1:11.99. (All Results | 800m replay | 500m replay)
At the UW Invitational/Mile City meet, Nikki Hiltz outkicked Australia’s Jess Hull to win the 1000m, 2:34.09 to 2:34.71. Hiltz’s time is the fastest an American has run indoors, but it won’t count as the American indoor record because of UW’s oversized track. Hiltz said they were encouraged by how good they felt. Hiltz and Hull were briefly teammates at the University of Oregon, where they were coached by Maurica Powell, who is now at UW. Paced by Hiltz through 600m, Carley Thomas of UW and Australia won the 800m in an NCAA-leading 2:00.95. Canada’s Briana Scott won the 3,000m in 8:58.86. And Jenn Randall won the mile in 4:32.17. (Results)
Olivia Baker won a very close 800m race with her former teammate, Allie Wilson, at the Dr. Sander Invitational in New York City, 2:02.84 to 2:02.88. Yolanda Ngarambe of Sweden and Atlanta Track Club Elite won a close mile in 4:29.21. Helen Schlachtenhaufen (4:29.43), Laurie Barton (4:29.68), and Gabbi Jennings (4:29.86) were all close behind. Jennings broke 4:30 for the first time. And West Virginia’s Ceili McCabe was the top collegian, finishing sixth in 4:30.24. (Results)
Georgetown’s Melissa Riggins edged out Virginia’s Margot Appleton to win the mile, 4:30.73 to 4:30.87, at Penn State’s National Invitational. Hayley Kitching, of Penn State and Australia, won the 800m in 2:01.77. (Results)
At the Razorback Invitational, Oklahoma State’s Taylor Roe dominated the 3,000m, running 8:51.60. In the distance medley relay, Oregon’s Klaudia Kazimierska, Ella Clayton, Ella Nelson, and Maddy Elmore teamed up to run 10:47.50, the second-fastest time ever in the NCAA. Shafiqua Maloney, of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, won the 800m in 2:02.29. Christina Aragon, of the Bowerman Track Club, narrowly won the mile, running 4:34.77. (Results)
Kenya’s Esther Gitahi won the 3,000m at Clemson’s Bob Pollock Invitational in 8:51.88. Alabama’s Doris Lemngole finished second in an impressive 8:53.10. Clemson first-year Gladys Chepngetich dominated the 800m with a 2:02.68. (Results)
Taryn Rawlings won the 3,000m at the Camel City Invitational, held on a flat track, in 9:03.41. Less than an hour after taking third in the 3,000m, Kaela Edwards won the mile in 4:37.31 and Abbey Cooper finished 0.20 seconds back. (Results | Video of mile finish)
Ethiopia’s Workenesh Edesa won the Osaka Women’s Marathon in a course record 2:18:51. Japan’s Honami Maeda finished second, eight seconds back, and set an Asian record.
Podcasts Highlights
I assume most Fast Women readers were on the Gabi Rooker bandwagon long ago, but if you weren’t already, she got a lot of coverage last week. Her episode of the Ali on the Run Show was particularly fun, and she was also on DIII Glory Days and Lactic Acid. And she did a Q&A with Citius Mag.
I loved hearing from Joan Benoit Samuelson (and author Stephen Lane) on C Tolle Run. Samuelson was also on Running—State of the Sport, with Frank Shorter.
On Women’s Running Stories, I loved hearing how racing Sally Kipyego inspired 2007 NCAA 5,000m champion Michelle Sikes to write her first book, Kenya’s Running Women: A History.
Other episodes I enjoyed: Allie Wilson on What’s Inside the Box? | Erika Kemp and Fiona O’Keeffe on Keeping Track | Carrie Tollefson on 321 Go! | Natosha Rogers on Citius Mag (partial transcript here) | Ashley Jones, who announced an NIL deal with On last week, on Citius Mag | Lauren Hagans on I’ll Have Another | Genevieve Gregson on Marathon State of Mind | Neely Gracey on RunWithAlliLive | Natasha Wodak on The Shakeout (After missing out in Houston, she said she’ll give the Olympic marathon standard another shot in the spring.) | Gabby Thomas on The Running Effect | Coach Sue Parks on Starting Line 1928 | And there were no women involved, but it was interesting listening to Jesse Williams discuss the business side of running events on The Directors.
Thanks to everyone who supports Fast Women via Venmo and Patreon. This newsletter wouldn’t exist without reader support. I hope you all have a fantastic week!
Alison
Thanks for this very thorough newsletter and for all the athlete bios!
Love your newsletters!!!