Fast Women: In a heavy week, the racing continues
Wins for Elle St. Pierre, Dorcus Ewoi, and Roisin Willis in Boston
Issue 392, sponsored by WHSP Medical
I planned to return to writing mainly about running this week. I attended the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on Saturday. Before the masters mile, I was sitting in the photographers’ work area getting some newsletter work done when I opened my phone and saw that another person had been killed by federal agents in Minneapolis.
I didn’t have time to look into the details, so I pushed that as far back in my mind as it would go and watched/photographed a track meet. The meet was fundamentally the same as it has been in recent years. No one I encountered brought up what was happening in Minnesota. I know many of the people who were in the building care, but in many places for many people, life is going on as usual.
When I got home, I intended to get back to work, but instead I found myself catching up on the news. And since then, I haven’t really known what to say. I am still processing it all.
The good news is that in the past week, many more people in the running community have made it clear that they are not on board with what is happening. Maybe it was the five-year-old in the bunny hat taken into ICE custody, maybe it was the two-year-old, or maybe it was Alex Pretti’s murder. There’s still a lot of room for growth in our sport, but people speaking out is progress, and it has helped me feel less alone. And the next step is backing it up with action.
I wish I had something more profound or productive to say here. But the truth is that I’ve spent most of the past 24 hours just taking things in and replying to the many messages I’ve been receiving recently. I saw a post from Joanne Molinaro of Korean Vegan fame that resonated: “To everyone who keeps asking me: ‘When are you going to go back to sharing recipe videos?’ When the government stops killing ppl in the streets.”
I am going to keep sharing running content because it’s what I do and I don’t know what else to do at the moment. But my heart and mind are elsewhere.
Elle St. Pierre, Dorcus Ewoi, and Roisin Willis open with wins in Boston
From a women’s middle-distance perspective, Elle St. Pierre’s 3,000m win was the story of the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. In 2024, 11 months after having her first child, she finished a close second to Australia’s Jessica Hull in this event, running 8:25.25, just off the American record at the time.
It was tempting to compare that race to this year’s race, but this time out, St. Pierre was only eight months postpartum, and Hull is a stronger competitor than she was two years ago. So I was surprised when St. Pierre took the lead with a little over 500m to go and she and Australia’s Linden Hall began to pull away from Hull. (Yes, the Hall/Hull is, and has always been, confusing.) St. Pierre held off a challenge from Hall on the final lap to win, 8:26.54 to 8:27.03. And Hull took third in 8:36.03. According to St. Pierre’s post-race interview, she, too, was a bit surprised.
Oregon’s Silan Ayyıldız finished eighth in a Turkish record of 8:42.29.
The 1500m was exciting, too, with Dorcus Ewoi of Kenya and Puma Elite holding off a challenge from Sinclaire Johnson down the homestretch. In her first track race since she won a surprise silver medal in the 1500m at the world championships, Ewoi ran 4:01.22 to Johnson’s 4:01.30. Both times were significant indoor personal bests. Apparently HOKA shoes work for Johnson, too.
Klaudia Kazimierska took third in a national record of 4:01.78, and Australia’s Sarah Billings was fourth (4:01.79). Gracie Morris lowered her PR by more than seven seconds, running 4:02.12 for fifth. Gabija Galvydyté finished sixth in a Lithuanian record of 4:03.44, and according to the broadcast, the 4:05.38 that 16-year-old Elsabet Amare of Ethiopia ran to finish eighth is a world U18 record.
In her pro debut for New Balance, Roisin Willis (1:59.59) went out aggressively and held off challenges from Great Britain’s Issy Boffey (second, 2:00.14) and Victoria Bossong (third, 2:00.36). All three ran indoor personal bests, and I was particularly impressed by Boffey’s close. Her last lap was her fastest lap of the race, and more than two seconds faster than everyone else’s.
And in the masters mile, Michelle Rohl set a world record for the 60-64 age group, running 5:26.65. Her en route 1500m split, 5:04.46, was an American record. Sascha Scott, 50, won the race in 5:15.02. (Results | 3,000m replay)
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Boston attracts most of the top Americans, Hellen Obiri will go elsewhere
The Boston Marathon had already announced back in December that defending champion Sharon Lokedi of Kenya and American record holder Emily Sisson would run the 2026 race. But last week, we found out who plans to join them.
The most notable absence was Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, who won the race in 2023 and 2024 before finishing second in 2025. Perhaps not being the defending champion gave her an easier opening to try something new this spring. I have zero inside knowledge of what she’s up to, but I’ll be surprised if she’s not in the London Marathon field. Lokedi goes in as a clear favorite, but I expect someone will step up and challenge her on race day.
With her PR of 2:22:10, Fiona O’Keeffe is only the 17th fastest woman in the field, but her fourth-place finish at November’s New York City Marathon showed she has the potential to have an impact at these types of races. Beyond O’Keeffe and Sisson, most of the top active U.S. marathoners—Keira D’Amato, Sara Hall, Susanna Sullivan, Jess McClain, Erika Kemp, Annie Frisbie, Natosha Rogers, Dakotah Popehn, Gabi Rooker, Megan Sailor, and Amanda Vestri—are in the field.
Betsy Saina won’t be there after having her second child in September. Emma Bates, who ran Valencia in December, is sitting this one out. Sara Vaughn is taking a break from marathoning, and Lindsay Flanagan hasn’t run a marathon since 2024. Molly Seidel has detoured to the trails, as has Des Linden, but Linden still plans to run Boston this year. Linden won’t be part of the pro field, and she’ll only be one week removed from racing Marathon des Sables, but she mentioned breaking 2:37 as a potential goal on her podcast.
When I saw a bunch of people hyping how fantastic the Boston field was in advance of its release, I wondered if we might see some surprising debuts, but it appears we’ll have to wait a bit longer for those. Either way, it will be a good race.
The Tokyo Marathon field also came out last week, and Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede, who has won the last two editions of the race, is the headliner. She’ll have plenty of competition in fellow Ethiopians Hawi Feysa (last year’s Chicago Marathon champ) and Megertu Alemu, as well as Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru (last year’s Berlin Marathon champ).
Former world record holder Brigid Kosgei is also in the field, and she has confirmed that she plans to represent Turkey in the future, but it sounds like her change of allegiance is still a work in progress.
And after running CIM in December and Houston in January, Hall plans to run Tokyo and Boston about seven weeks apart.
Other News
In case you missed my bonus newsletter earlier this week, I talked to Sinclaire Johnson about her decision to sign with HOKA. (Sorry if I made you think Thursday was a Monday.) Despite covering her entire pro career so far, I had never spoken to her. The best athletes in the country tend to have a lot of media outlets vying for their attention, so most of the time, I try not to add to that. But sometimes I have questions other people aren’t asking, or opportunities like this one present themselves. I jumped at it because I always appreciate how straightforward and open she is in interviews. I also enjoyed listening to her on the Ali on the Run Show last week. There I learned that after her September wedding, at least in the running world, she will keep her last name. And she also did a YouTube interview with FloTrack. And after the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, she confirmed that HOKA is planning to start a pro training group. “There will be a group,” she told LetsRun. “I don’t even know if I’m supposed to say that. Things will be announced…but the intention is to have a middle distance team in Portland.”
Surprise, surprise, Whittni Orton Morgan’s Adidas contract is up and she’s now a Nike athlete, which means she can continue being coached by Diljeet Taylor.
Heather MacLean announced that she has moved on from New Balance (new sponsor TBA). And this post made me wonder if Roisin Willis is joining New Balance Boston. She’s still at Stanford being coached by J.J. Clark for now, though.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone announced that she is expecting her first child, as did Aubrey Frentheway.
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon is leading a project to build a maternity ward in her hometown.
Runners of NYC did a Q&A with Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Maddie Offstein.
Additional Results
At the Dr. Sander Scorcher in New York City, Meghan Hunter won the 800m in 1:59.70. Olivia Baker took second (2:00.46), and Ajee’ Wilson was third (2:00.92). Harvard’s Sophia Gorriaran took fifth in an NCAA-leading 2:01.30. Oregon’s Wilma Nielsen won the mile (4:26.74), Rachel McArthur was second (4:26.98), and NC State first year Sadie Engelhardt was third (4:27.54). (Results)
Great Britain’s Katie Snowden won the mile at the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational at Boston University, running 4:22.37. Annika Reiss finished second in 4:28.29, and Great Britain’s India Weir was third in 4:28.97. And Eloise Walker, also of Great Britain, dominated the 3,000m, running 8:42.90. (Results)
Italy’s Nadia Battocletti won the Campaccio cross country race on a very muddy course.
Uganda’s Stella Chesang won the Osaka Women’s Marathon in 2:19:31.
Great Britain’s Clare Elms set a 3,000m world indoor record for the 60-64 age group, running 10:37.53.
Podcast Highlights
Canada’s Lucia Stafford was really good on The Shakeout Podcast. In discussing why she thinks the M11 Track Club is a much better fit for her than the Bowerman Track Club was, she said, “I think this group has really perfected the art of work hard, play hard, honestly. They’re like the Type B running group.” It was also interesting to hear her say that while figuring out possible future plans, she applied and was accepted to law school, but that plan is on hold for now.
Molly Seidel discussed winning the Bandera 50K and many other topics on Getting Chicked. There was more discussion of vomiting than I expected.
Additional Episodes: Calli Hauger-Thackery was on C Tolle Run, and then she was also joined Sara Hall on I’ll Have Another | Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Maddie Block on Road to the Trials | Grayson Murphy on The Steep Stuff Podcast | Trail runner Beth McKenzie on The Freetrail Podcast | Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Melissa Berry on The Lane 9 Podcast | Western States champion Abby Hall on Trail Society | Riley Chamberlain on the Lactic Acid Podcast | Olympic Trials qualifiers Elizabeth and Zouhair Talbi on Road to the Trials
A big thank you to this week’s sponsor, WHSP Medical. It’s not always easy to find medical professionals who get runners, but they do. And I’m thrilled that they’ve chosen the Boston area as their home. They’re conveniently located right across the street from The TRACK at New Balance, and we’ll be sharing more about what they offer in the weeks to come.
As I write this, school has already been canceled for tomorrow because of the storm that is affecting much of the country. I hope you all have a safe week.
Alison
Thank you, Alison for your honesty and for charting the course, demonstrating the courage to speak out. It’s important! The more visibility we all bring against the terror of this administration in MN & elsewhere, will go a long in creating the momentum we need for united, and ultimately sustained, action. … I hope you have the best week possible!❄️
thank you, alison, for all that you're doing. i appreciate you continuing to speak up and out against the atrocities in minnesota (and always championing social justice more broadly in an ongoing way), and making space for others to do so too. thank you for this newsletter, even in the midst of heaviness. sending you lots of positive energy.