Fast Women: In 2024, women raised the bar
The U.S. women had some big moments, but also dealt with a lot of setbacks.
Issue 330, sponsored by the Feisty Fueled Challenge
Kenyan women led the way in 2024
Since I began writing this newsletter in 2019, all of the world records in frequently run women’s distance events have been rewritten. Common sense would suggest that that has to slow down at some point, but 2024 was not the year. Four different Kenyan women set world records over commonly contested distances this year. In January, Agnes Jebet Ngetich became the first woman to break 29:00 in a road 10K, running 28:46. (She also set the mixed-gender 5K mark of 14:13 en route.) In May, Beatrice Chebet became the first woman to break 29:00 on the track, running 28:54.14 for 10,000m.
In July, Faith Kipyegon lowered her own 1500m world record to 3:49.04. And in October, Ruth Chepngetich, who didn’t even make Kenya’s Olympic marathon team, produced the most mind-blowing performance of all, becoming the first woman to run a sub-2:10 marathon with her 2:09:56 at the Chicago Marathon.
They accomplished all of that in a year where record attempts took a backseat for most athletes, because of the Olympic Games. At the Games, the already-accomplished Chebet had a breakout performance, winning the 5,000m/10,000m double. Kipyegon made history, becoming the first person to win three Olympic 1500m titles in a row. Reigning world champion Winfred Yavi of Bahrain won the steeplechase, and after three consecutive years of earning silver medals at global championships, Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson earned 800m gold.
But the most dramatic distance performance of the Games came from Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands. After a series of lackluster early-season performances, which her coach, Tim Rowberry, later attributed to overtraining, Hassan pulled things together enough to win bronze medals in both the 5,000m and 10,000m. But she saved the best for last, kicking to a dramatic win in the marathon.
Kenyan and Ethiopian women ruled the distance events in 2024, producing the top 16 times in the 5,000m, the top 13 times in the 10,000m, and the top 15 times in the marathon. While Kipyegon continued her reign in the 1500m, the rest of the world began to catch up a bit with Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay (3:50.30, No. 3 all-time), Australia’s Jessica Hull (3:50.83, No. 5), Great Britain’s Georgia Bell (3:52.61, No. 11), Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji (3:52.75, No. 12), Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom (3:53.22, No. 13), and Great Britain’s Laura Muir (3:53.37, No. 14) moving up the world all-time list.
I’ve filled a year’s worth of newsletters with many of the incredible feats female distance runners accomplished in 2024, but it hasn’t been all positive. Kenyan women may have dominated this year, but in the background, the country is also dealing with major gender-based violence and doping problems. This excellent but hard-to-read article from The Athletic, which focuses on Rebecca Cheptegei’s story, briefly touches on how the two things are sometimes related. Three weeks after Cheptegei represented Uganda in the Olympic marathon, her Kenyan ex-boyfriend doused her in gas and set her on fire. She died of her her injuries four days later.
According to the Athletics Integrity Unit’s database, as of December 1, 56 of Kenya’s female distance runners were serving doping suspensions. For comparison, seven of Ethiopians, two Americans (Shelby Houlihan and Lindsey Scherf), and zero British female distance runners are currently suspended by the AIU.
When Ngetich ran her 28:46 10K world record in January, runner-up Emmaculate Anyango Achol of Kenya became the second woman to break 29:00, running 28:57. Twenty days later, she had her first of four positive drug tests, which indicated she had used both testosterone and EPO. But because her first positive test didn’t come until after her mind-blowing 10K, the performance was not disqualified. The 24-year-old is now serving a six-year ban.
The sport’s anti-doping system is far from perfect, but in order to continue to be a fan, I have to trust that at least to some extent, it’s working.
Thanks to the Feisty Fueled Challenge for sponsoring this week’s newsletter
We’ve all heard too many stories of female runners and athletes being told they have to lose weight to get faster, often with disastrous results, and that narrative can get especially out of control this time of year. Slimdowns, cleanses, diet challenges, New Year, new you. These are things created by the fitness industry to focus on how our bodies look, not what they can do.
And, for female runners, we know too well that this kind of messaging can actually sabotage our goals and lead to underfueling.
That’s why I’m excited Fast Women is supported by the Feisty Fueled Challenge this week. It’s a FREE five-day challenge from Feisty Media created with nutrition and psychology experts to help you leave the diet mentality in 2024 and change your mindset around fueling, along with some practical information to fuel your 2025 goals.
The challenge starts January 6 with daily emails and 10 minutes’ worth of daily exercises. Learn more and sign up for free at https://www.womensperformance.com/fueled-challenge.
Many highlights for U.S. women in 2024, but also some tough breaks
Elle St. Pierre pulled off the performance of the year among U.S. distance runners when she won the World Athletics Indoor 3,000m title in March, running an American record of 8:20.87 (No. 3 all-time). And the fact that she accomplished that feat two days before her son’s first birthday made the accomplishment even sweeter.
The world indoor meet got even better for the U.S. middle-distance/distance crew when Nikki Hiltz and Emily Mackay earned silver and bronze medals the following day in the 1500m. The year was off to a great start. But in an Olympic year, ideally any country’s biggest moments will come at the Olympic Games, and while the U.S. produced some strong individual performances in Paris, most athletes’ best performances of the year happened elsewhere.
February’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials were a highlight, with Fiona O’Keeffe making a big move with eight miles to go and winning the Trials in her first attempt at the distance, Emily Sisson making her first marathon team, Dakotah Popehn pulling off somewhat of an upset to make the team, and Jess McClain making a dramatic return to pro-level running with her surprise fourth-place finish.
The U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials were also thrilling, with Hiltz leading the way in a historically fast 1500m final, Val Constien setting an 11-second best to win the steeplechase, Nia Akins winning the 800m after Athing Mu’s heartbreaking fall, St. Pierre edging out Elise Cranny to win the 5,000m, and Weini Kelati kicking to a dramatic win in the 10,000m.
Kelati put together one of the best seasons by a U.S. distance runner in 2024, starting off with her half marathon American record of 1:06:25 in January in Houston. She won the USATF Cross Country Championships and led the U.S. with a 15th-place finish at the World Cross Country Championships. She ran the fastest 10,000m by an American woman in 2024, finishing second at The Ten in 30:33.82, before going on to win the Trials. She ran 14:35.43 for 5,000m, a big PR, and she had the highest finish by a U.S. woman in the longer distance events at the Olympic Games, placing eighth in the 10,000m.
Parker Valby also had an excellent year, winning four NCAA titles for the University of Florida (and five total during the academic year) before going on to make the Olympic 10,000m team.
While the U.S. women did some incredible things this year, they also dealt with some unfortunate setbacks, which resulted in many of them not being at their best at the end of the season. Mu was the most notable absence this year. After winning the Olympic Games in 2021, the World Championships in 2022, and setting the American 800m record in 2023, she raced at only two events in 2024, after tearing her hamstring in mid May.
By March, another 2021 Olympian, Alicia Monson, knew that she wouldn’t be racing for a spot on the 2024 team, thanks to a root tear to her medial meniscus. Emma Coburn was out by the end of April, when she broke her ankle coming off a water jump during a steeplechase in Shanghai. And around the same time, Courtney Frerichs also injured herself on a water jump, tearing her ACL and her medial and lateral menisci.
I’m not going to do a complete rundown of every U.S. distance athlete who dealt with an injury or setback this year, but there were some tough breaks. Like Elly Henes, who showed a lot of promise in 2023 before needing surgery to deal with a collapsed lung in October of that year. Katelyn Tuohy wasn’t able to open up her season until the Olympic Trials, after dealing with a hamstring injury that led to back and IT band problems. And Sinclaire Johnson, who was fourth in the 1500m at the Trials, developed a stress reaction in her femoral shaft (Runner’s World link) in January, which shortened her buildup.
Several of the athletes who made the Olympic team also struggled with major setbacks in 2024. After having Achilles surgery in the fall of 2023, Karissa Schweizer then learned she had a femoral stress reaction in April. Her ninth-place finish in the Olympic 10,000m and 10th place in the 5,000m were excellent considering the circumstances, but her buildup was far from ideal. And I’m still not over the fact that Schweizer won the Fifth Avenue Mile in 4:14.8 and tied the event record.
Elise Cranny also had a tough buildup to the Games, dealing with burnout (Runner’s World link) at the start of the year and developing a stress reaction in her femur in May. Similar to Schweizer, her 11th-place finish in the Olympic 5,000m was particularly impressive considering the circumstances. Likewise, Whittni Morgan had knee surgery on November 20, 2023. The fact that she made the Olympic team was a minor miracle, and finishing 14th in the 5,000m final and running a PR was icing on the cake.
The American Trials system can make it difficult to time one’s peak for the Olympic Games, and the long NCAA season adds to the challenge. But Juliette Whittaker, who was coming off her sophomore year at Stanford, produced one of the biggest highlights of the Games from a U.S. women’s middle-distance/distance standpoint. The then-20-year-old ran a PR of 1:57.76 to make the 800m final, where she placed seventh.
Hiltz also had a massive breakout year this year. Going into the outdoor season, they had only broken 4:00 in the 1500m once. Now they are Olympic Trials champion, with a PR of 3:55.33, and they’ve broken 3:57 three times. Their seventh-place finish in the Olympic final was solid, but the standard in the 1500m is so high right now that it’s going to take another jump before they’re likely to be in the hunt for a medal outdoors.
Popehn had a very solid showing in the Olympic marathon, finishing 12th, but it was a tough day for the other two U.S. women. After showing so much promise with her Trials run, O’Keeffe lined up for the race with a stress fracture in her femur (Runner’s World), though she didn’t know it at the time. She made it about a mile before dropping out of the race. And Sisson, who said she had a tough buildup and just didn’t feel like herself, finished 23rd. It was a solid run considering the circumstances, but not what she’s capable of at her best.
The fact that Constien made the Olympic team at all was incredible. When she had bilateral ACL construction in May 2023, she assumed she would miss the 2024 Trials. But she said that taking the pressure off and not rushing back ultimately contributed to her success. She had a fantastic run at the Trials and another excellent run at the Rome Diamond League meet after the Olympic Games. But she got Covid after the Trials, and she said she thought that contributed to her struggles in Paris. (She finished 15th out of 15 runners in the final.)
Every year is full of ups and downs, but for the top U.S. middle-distance and distance runners, 2024 seemed to involve a little more struggle than most years do. That might have something to do with taking more risks and pushing boundaries in an Olympic year. Hopefully there won’t be quite as many collective barriers to clear in 2025.
Storylines I’ll be keeping an eye on in 2025
The best women’s running stories of 2025 are likely to be ones I can’t see coming right now, but here are some of the things I’ll be watching for in the coming year:
Who will be the breakout stars of 2025? At this time last year, Great Britain’s Georgia Bell was barely on my radar. Now she’s an Olympic 1500m bronze medalist. Who will the next surprise star(s) be?
The coming year will include a World Indoor Championships in March in Nanjing, China, a World Outdoor Championships in September in Tokyo, and the World Road Running Championships in San Diego a week later, also in September. The latter includes a mile, 5K, and half marathon. Judging by the number of athletes who have already said they’re running the half marathon selection event on March 2 in Atlanta, which also serves as the U.S. championship, I expect all of the selection races to be good.
It will be interesting to see how Grand Slam Track fits into the season, if it’s a game-changer, and if event organizers will be able to fill seats and attract new fans. And what does Athlos look like in year two?
Can Athing Mu make a healthy return to the sport in 2025? As of the last update I saw, on The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast, she seemed to already have her eyes on September’s world championships, which will be held in the city where she won Olympic gold—a full-circle moment of sorts.
There will be a lot of eyes on Parker Valby’s rookie year, and it will be interesting to see what being a full-time pro does for her running. After spending much of 2024 injured, Katelyn Tuohy will also get somewhat of a do-over rookie year in 2025. Hopefully both can have a strong impact on the pro scene.
Like it or not, Shelby Houlihan’s four-year doping ban will be over in a couple of weeks. I’m curious to see if she joins a training group, whether she can be as competitive as she was pre-ban, and how her return is received by her competitors and fans. I’ve been following the sport for more than 30 years. This is the first time I can remember a top U.S. female distance runner returning from a four-year ban and attempting to compete at a high level. The last U.S. woman of Houlihan’s caliber to receive a similar ban, Regina Jacobs, was 40 at the time, and she retired. Houlihan, on the other hand, is 31.
I don’t think we’ll have an answer to this in 2025, but I’m curious what the longer-term effects will be of giving NIL deals to a lot of high school kids. I don’t think it’s going to turn out to be an all-good or all-bad thing, but we’re in the midst of a social experiment of sorts.
Who will be the U.S.’s next great marathoner? I can think of some excellent candidates (Weini Kelati, Amanda Vestri, and Emma Grace Hurley, to name a few), but it’s TBD who will be ready to move up to the distance in 2025.
What impact will the House vs. NCAA settlement have on NCAA cross country and track & field? I’m hoping for some positives that I can’t quite see at the moment. As of now, it seems like the changes will be a net negative for the sport.
What does Nike have up its sleeve as far as training groups? Thanks to Runner’s World, we know that current NAU coach Mike Smith will become a pro coach at the end of the current academic year, and he’ll be coaching Nike runners based in Flagstaff. We also know that the Union Athletics Club moved to Colorado, but few, if any, of the athletes followed the team’s coach, Pete Julian. Meanwhile, in Utah, BYU coach Diljeet Taylor, who has been working with Nike for several years, seems to be collecting Nike athletes. TaylorMade Elite made it clear change was coming. Sadie Sargent Mitchell recently signed with the company, and two former UAC athletes, Ella Donaghu and Canada’s Simone Plourde, have been training under Taylor. If there’s a grand plan, I expect we’ll learn about it in 2025.
We already know that five NAZ Elite women will not have their Hoka contracts renewed in 2025. (Runner’s World) And they aren’t the only athletes whose contracts are expiring. I’ll be looking forward to learning which athletes can find new sponsors and who will find other creative ways to help keep their running careers afloat. I hope that all of them will find ways to continue running at a high level for as long as they want to do so.
Other News and Links
Allie Ostrander announced via her YouTube channel (and on Instagram) that she has parted ways with her former sponsor, NNormal. She said that being a NNormal athlete led her to try long trail races that were out of her comfort zone. “I have decided to leave because while I do love the trails, I have so much passion for the track and the roads,” she said. “I want to have freedom to pursue those whenever I want and not have any obligation to be on the trails, unless I absolutely want to.” Ostrander said she plans to race on the roads, track, and trails in 2025. She has already signed with a new sponsor, but like any good YouTuber, she’s making us wait for an upcoming video before she reveals the company.
I’ve been enjoying the content the M11 Track Club, Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Bell’s team, has been posting recently, including this footage from a very windy sand dune workout. The road to becoming an Olympic medalist isn’t always glamorous.
Great Britain’s Verity Ockenden, a 15:03 5,000m runner, wrote about a terrifying encounter she had on a training run in November.
The BBC published a good article about Julien Alfred’s struggles on her way to winning Olympic 100m gold.
Heather MacLean got engaged on Christmas.
The Valencia Marathon raised around €1,000,000 to help those affected by the late October flooding. More than half of that came from a donation from New Balance, one of the race’s sponsors.
According to USATF’s recently-filed 2023 tax return, the organization spent $5.6 million more than it made that year. (Runner’s World)
There weren’t enough notable results this week for me to include a results section—racing action will pick up on New Year’s Eve—but Great Britain’s Hannah Nuttall won Sunday’s Ribble Valley 10K, in Clitheroe, England, in 31:53. In the final mile, she kicked past Jess Warner-Judd, who finished second in 32:01. (Results)
There also weren’t enough relevant podcasts for me to include a podcast section this week, but I enjoyed learning about NCAA DII cross country champion Lauren Kiley of Grand Valley State on the Lactic Acid Podcast.
As I look back on another year of Fast Women newsletters, I am so thankful for the many people who helped behind the scenes to make it all possible. These emails come from one person, but it’s truly a team effort. For six years, Sarah Lorge Butler has been interrupting her Sundays to edit these newsletters, and she’s truly one of the best in the business. I’m so lucky to have her help.
I’m also tremendously grateful to the photographers who travel all over and put in long hours of work to get the images that make these newsletters so much more visually appealing. Gregorio Denny and Amy Roberts, especially, went above and beyond for Fast Women in 2024. But so many photographers contributed images, and I appreciate all of them.
I am also thankful to Brooks, SOAR, Bombas, Topo Athletic, Runbuk, and Feisty for sponsoring Fast Women in 2024. And I am also indebted to all of you. Without newsletter readers, there would be no newsletter. And financially speaking, you really kept this newsletter afloat this year. (More on that in an upcoming newsletter.) Every email you open and every sponsor link you click on helps. Thank you.
I hope you all have a wonderful New Year!
Alison