Fast Women: Keely Hodgkinson’s WR and Anna Gibson’s Olympic success
A look at medical student Clara Mayfield’s road to the Olympic Trials.
Issue 396, sponsored by WHSP Medical
Keely Hodgkinson fulfills her destiny in Liévin
On March 3, 2002, the day that Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson was born, Slovenia’s Jolanda Čeplak set a world indoor 800m record of 1:55.82. That record stood for nearly 24 years, until Hodgkinson smashed it on Thursday, running 1:54.87 at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais Trophée EDF in Liévin.
Given the timing and her talent, Hodgkinson believed that breaking the record was her destiny. She had planned to take a crack at it in February 2025, at the Keely Klassic, which was named for her. But a hamstring injury, which affected both her indoor and outdoor seasons, forced her to withdraw from the meet.
Hodgkinson and her team were confident that she could break the record last week, the question was by how much. They chose Liévin for its fast track. “I would have not been very happy if I had just run 1:55, to be honest,” Hodgkinson said afterward. “I knew that I was in much better shape than that.”
Hodgkinson’s time was only 0.26 seconds slower than her outdoor personal best of 1:54.61. And it sounds like she thinks she has more in the tank for the future. Her coach, Jenny Meadows, hinted that if all goes well in training, we might see Hodgkinson go after Jarmila Kratochvilova’s outdoor world record of 1:53.28 at the London Diamond League meet this summer.
During Thursday’s record run, Hodgkinson hit splits of 26.80, 29.21 (56.01), 29.05 (1:25.06), and 29.81. She had to run the first 200m perhaps a little faster than was ideal in order to get in front of Switzerland’s Audrey Werro, who finished a distant second in a still quick 1:58.38. Runners seem to unanimously agree that a World Athletics’ rule change in the 800m this season has led to faster times in the event. Athletes previously ran in lanes through the first turn of the race, now they stay in lanes for the first two turns, which gives them more time to get into position and creates less urgency in the first 50 meters.
My favorite part of Hodgkinson’s race was watching her post-race celebration. Though knew she could do it, she was clearly relieved and thrilled to actually pull it off.
Also in Liévin, Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu won the 3,000 in a world-leading 8:24.59. Australia’s Jessica Hull took a crack at Genzebe Dibaba’s 2,000m world indoor record of 5:23.75. She came up short, but ran a solid 5:26.68. And Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell was clearly hoping for big things in the 1500m, but erratic pacing affected her race. She won in 4:00.21 but posted on Instagram saying she was gutted. Elise Cranny, the lone U.S. athlete, took eighth in 4:06.52.
Femke Bol of the Netherlands was supposed to race the 600m, but she had to pull out due to a tendon issue in her foot. (Race replay | Results with splits | More of Hodgkinson’s post-race comments | All results from the meet)
In appreciation of Anna Gibson
As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve loved following Anna Gibson’s journey into Olympic ski mountaineering, which culminated in a fourth-place finish in the mixed relay on Saturday. She and her partner, Cam Smith, finished just 17.39 seconds from an Olympic medal in the 27-minute race, and they were thrilled.
Until recently, Gibson was best known as a professional trail runner. She ran collegiately for the University of Washington and holds a 1500m best of 4:08.06, and since graduating in 2023, she has gradually shifted her focus toward the trails. But at all levels of her career, she has remained an all-around athlete, refusing to focus on just one thing. And that’s what led to her Olympic opportunity.
On The Freetrail Podcast, Smith told the story of working up the courage to ask Gibson to try ski mountaineering more seriously. She had already been participating in the activity recreationally for years, and she had both Nordic and Alpine ski backgrounds. He knew she had the tools to help Team USA, but he also knew she had her own plans. His wife, Lynn, repeatedly pushed him to bring it up, and threatened to do so herself, and he finally got around to asking at the end of June.
Gibson saw Smith’s enthusiasm and by July, she was attending Team USA training camps. She had the fitness, but she had to learn the rules of the sport and to do the transitions quickly. On The Sub Hub podcast, she talked about how great the junior team members were in helping her with that. And by December, she and Smith qualified for the Olympics in dramatic fashion by earning the U.S.’s first-ever gold in a World Cup ski mountaineering event.
On Thursday, Gibson made it to the semifinals of the sprint event, which was somewhat of a bonus event for her leading up to the relay. Gibson led off Saturday’s relay, in which each team member competed twice. Gibson completed the first lap in fifth place, and Smith moved them to fourth on his first lap. Gibson moved into medal contention on her second and final lap, handing off in third place, and Smith brought the team home in fourth.
The race was thrilling to watch, though I could do without the part where the commentators determined that because Spain completed one of its transitions outside of the designated zone, they either had a three-second penalty or a 30-second penalty (which would have moved Gibson and Smith into the medals). That seems like a pretty big difference! And maybe the rules should be more clear? In the end, it was determined to be a three-second penalty, and the results remained.
I most enjoyed seeing how cool Gibson (and Smith) were under pressure, and how much fun they were having throughout. Maybe it’s easier to detach oneself from the outcome when being part of the competition wasn’t even on your radar until about eight months earlier. But Gibson did a fantastic job of thoroughly enjoying her Olympic experience. (Some U.S.-focused highlights from the race | Extended highlights | Post-race article one and two | A good Q&A with Gibson | iRunFar looks at all of the trail runners who competed in the event)
Thanks to WHSP Medical for supporting Fast Women this month
At WHSP Medical, we believe that peak performance and long-term health are inseparable from mental well-being. As a fully integrated clinic for female athletes, we bring sports medicine, sports endocrinology, sport nutrition, and mental health/performance together under one roof because no injury, plateau, or life transitionexists in isolation.
Our philosophy is simple: Mental skills training and psychological support are foundational components of performance development. Mental health serves as the bridge between inner well-being and sustainable, high-level performance. Intentional investment in mental well-being strengthens resilience, enhances consistency, and sustains long-term success both in sport and beyond.
Female athlete physiology evolves across the lifespan, and so do psychological demands. At WHSP, we’re committed to creating a world where female athletes never hesitate to seek support. We believe that seeking support is not a sign of a barrier, but an opportunity to cultivate empowerment and connection, build confidence, achieve long-term performance, and live a life of meaning. By treating mental health and performance as an essential component of athlete development rather than an optional add-on, we create an environment where all female athletes can pursue excellence without sacrificing well-being.
Our mental health and performance team combines deep clinical expertise with real-world experience in supporting female athletes across all stages and skill levels. Whether you’re coping with setbacks, managing stressors of the day-to-day, navigating injury, or striving to maintain motivation through high-volume training cycles, at WHSP we are uniquely equipped to provide coordinated, evidence-based, interdisciplinary care tailored to each athlete’s needs.
Med student Clara Mayfield qualifies for the 2028 Olympic Marathon Trials
The past year has been a busy one for 24-year-old Clara Mayfield. Last spring, she earned a master’s in public health from the University of Utah, got a puppy, and finished out her NCAA eligibility. Three weeks later, without any specific training, she made her marathon debut. For 18 miles, it went great, then she hit a wall and finished in 2:53:54.
She then moved to Kansas City, started medical school, and in December, with a full marathon build behind her, she PRed by 19 minutes at the California International Marathon (CIM), ran 2:34:26, and qualified for the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. She didn’t expect to qualify for the Olympic Trials so quickly, but she’s one of a growing number of talented young runners moving to the marathon soon after college. So far, 28 runners who are 26 or younger have qualified for the 2028 Trials by running 2:37:00 or faster.
A gradual rise through Division III
Mayfield started out as a soccer player, and she began running in middle school to help build her fitness. After playing soccer the spring of her freshman year at Manhattan High School in Kansas, Mayfield switched to running full-time. In her senior year, she became a state champion in the 1600m and graduated with personal bests of 4:52 for 1600m and 10:36 for 3200m.
Mayfield originally hoped to run collegiately in Division I, but attending Carleton, her mother’s alma mater, was the option that worked out. Any concerns she had about running in Division III vanished during her first week with the team, and she found that Carleton had the right combination of strong academics and athletics. But it was the people she loved most. “Some of my best friends now are former teammates from Carleton,” she told Fast Women. “And I’m still in touch with my coach, Donna Ricks, who is like a second mom to me.”
Mayfield was competitive in Division III from the beginning, earning All-America honors in her first season by finishing 30th at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Her first indoor season got off to a good start but was abruptly canceled due to the pandemic. When Division III canceled its 2021 winter championships due to low participation, Mayfield made the best of the situation by studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark. And when DIII competition resumed in the spring of 2021, during her sophomore year, she picked up where she left off, qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 5,000m and 10,000m.
Mayfield’s first outdoor nationals did not go as she had hoped, though. Competing in Greensboro, North Carolina, she overheated during the 10,000m and made it 23 of the race’s 25 laps before DNFing. “I definitely dealt with that mentally for a while,” she said. “Every 10K, I was like, ‘Am I going to get almost done and not be able to finish?’ But I love the 10K and I knew I would be good at it, so I kept going.” Later in the meet, Mayfield finished 14th in the 5,000m.
After that, she earned first-team All-America honors at every DIII national meet she attended, and improved each year. “I had a really gradual progression and wouldn’t trade that for going up and down at all,” Mayfield said. “But I was also never on top and I never had one of those amazing breakout seasons, like a lot of runners do. I always had to remind myself that that’s not [necessarily] sustainable, but sometimes it was hard.”
During her senior year, she earned four top-four finishes at nationals, taking third in cross country, third in the indoor mile, third in the 10,000m outdoors, and fourth in the outdoor 5,000m. She graduated in 2023 as a nine-time All American.
At Carleton, Mayfield also learned to lighten up about aspects of her running. In high school, she had a lucky sports bra and lucky socks, and thought she needed to take an ice bath and elevate her legs for 20 minutes the night before a race. But college academics and the travel schedule left her no time to hang on to any of that, and she continued to improve.
“I realized that not all races are going to have a perfect lead up, and that doesn’t necessarily impact the outcome,” she said. “And those lessons have been really beneficial to me in medical school, too.”
Entering a bigger arena
The pandemic left Mayfield with extra eligibility, and she chose to use it at Utah, which had a strong running program and a degree that matched her academic interests. She loved having so many teammates who could push her during practice, but her one season of DI cross country was humbling. It was the first time in her running career that she found herself running in the middle of an enormous pack. She went from finishing third at DIII cross country nationals to 162nd in Division I.
It helped that she was still a top-five scorer for Utah, and was able to help the team toward its goals. “I was still running faster than I ever had, so I really just had to remind myself that it’s okay, and everyone around me is fast,” she said.
Because Mayfield’s academic focus was on global health, during the summer between her two years at Utah, Mayfield spent a month in India doing menstrual health research in villages as high as 15,000 feet above sea level.
During the winter and spring of Mayfield’s final year at Utah, she continued to work her way up through the DI ranks, running PRs of 16:07 for 5,000m and 33:23 for 10,000m. However, the last few weeks of her track season were challenging, as she took advantage of the opportunity to adopt a puppy, whom she named Lainey. Mayfield’s family had raised puppies, but it was the first time she had done so solo, and she was unable to get much sleep.
It was also in the midst of that sleep deprivation that Mayfield made her marathon debut at the 2025 Grandma’s Marathon. She decided to run the race off of her track training, she never found gels that worked for her, and though she put in a lot of hard work, it didn’t prepare her for the demands of the day. Her longest long run was about 16 miles, and it didn’t help that the race day weather was warm.
The last eight miles were a struggle, and by the final miles she was throwing up. “After the race, I was like, ‘I don’t know why people run marathons. I had to wake up at 3:00 a.m. and now I feel terrible,’” she said. “But the next day, I was like, ‘Maybe I’ll do CIM.’ I rebounded pretty quickly.”
From a rough debut to Trials qualifier
Mayfield took about a month off from running after Grandma’s, and she wasn’t sure what to do next, but then she heard from professional runner Reid Buchanan. The two went to the same high school and were now both living in the Kansas City area, and Buchanan offered to help Mayfield out with coaching if she needed it. He helped spark her excitement about going for an Olympic Trials qualifying time in the marathon, and she began training in August.
Her mileage went up, she ran twice a day when she could, she did less speedwork, and put more emphasis on her long runs, which included a lot of work at marathon pace. Buchanan also built practicing fueling into her training plan and made sure she was trying different types of gels and drink mixes until she found what worked for her.
By the time marathon training began, she had already started medical school, so she was often getting up early to run, and working her training around her demanding schedule. Fitting it all in hasn’t been easy. Generally, Mayfield is very good at putting in the work, regardless of how she’s feeling, but occasionally, something had to give. “Most of the time, running is a nice balance, but sometimes I really need to do nothing,” she said. “If I felt too stressed to do a run, it wasn’t worth it.” And training for CIM while attending medical school has been a good reminder of what she already learned during college—that her training doesn’t need to be perfect in order for her to hit her goals.
Mayfield mostly trains alone, but there’s an informal group of post-collegiate runners in the area, so she’ll have company a couple times per week, or a little more if she’s lucky. And Lainey, who is a Lab-German Shorthaired Pointer mix, is now able to run eight miles a couple times a week and has become a solid training partner.
Lainey has gotten much easier with time, and having a dog has forced some balance into Mayfield’s life. “I just love dogs and it helps me to have something that I have to get home for and a designated time that I have to stop working each day.”
By the time CIM rolled around, Mayfield’s confidence was on another level. She knew there were many reasons for her struggles at Grandma’s, and the training she had put in the second time was completely different. During the race, her fueling went to plan, she got all of her bottles and held on to them as long as she could. And her mother, aunt, and cousin drove around the course and cheered for her at about five different spots, which buoyed her. She earned her Trials qualifier with room to spare.
Because of her interest in global health, Mayfield will soon spend a week in Guatemala, shadowing doctors and learning about the healthcare system. She plans to take that week off from running before gearing up for a half marathon or a longer race in May or June. She’s also considering doing another marathon in the fall.
Mayfield is one of at least five medical students on the women’s side who have qualified for the 2028 Trials so far. She isn’t thinking ahead to the race yet, partially because she has no idea what life will look like in her third year of medical school. But she’s encouraged by others who have shown that doing both is possible.
Other News
Keira D’Amato announced last week that she is recovering from hip surgery, to fix a long-standing issue.
If you haven’t listened to Roisin Willis’ recent podcast appearances, this article from Mary Albl covers some of the same topics.
Great Britain’s Phily Bowden has signed with Lululemon.
I don’t think this is a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to what she’s been up to, but Emily Durgin has joined Tinman Elite.
Additional Results
Kenya’s Caroline Gitonga had a big breakthrough to win Sunday’s 10K Facsa Castellón in 29:34, which places her ninth on the world all-time list. In fourth, Great Britain’s Megan Keith set a pending European record of 30:07, taking one second off of the mark Eilish McColgan set earlier this season. (Recap | Results)
Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba won the Osaka Marathon in 2:21:44.
At the Orlen Copernicus Cup in Poland, Ethiopia’s Nigist Getachew won the 800m in 1:59.32, and France’s Agathe Guillemot won a tight 1500m over Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu, 4:00.64 to 4:00.67. (Results | 1500m replay)
Laura Muir returned to the Scottish Cross Country Championships for the first time in 14 years and earned another win.
On Friday at the Jackpot 100 Mile, Ashley Paulson set a pending 100-mile world record of 12:19:35, shaving 17 minutes off the mark that Ireland’s Catriona Jennings set at Tunnel Hill in November. The race, held in Henderson, Nevada, served as the USATF 100 Mile Championships. Paulson, 44, averaged 7:21/mile for 100.5 miles and finished second overall. (iRunFar recap | Results)
Paced by Sage Hurta-Klecker, CU’s Avery Pearson set an indoor 800m school record of 2:00.76 in winning the Colorado Last Chance meet. Pearson took nearly two seconds off of the mark previously held by Hurta-Klecker. Though records don’t get adjusted for altitude, based on the NCAA’s calculator, Pearson’s mark is worth a 1:59.98 at sea level. (Results)
Running unattached, Notre Dame’s Sophie Novak lowered her mile PR to 4:26.09 with a win at the Alex Wilson Invitational. (Results)
At the Saucony Battle for Boston, held at BU on Sunday night, Harvard’s Sophia Gorriaran set an NCAA 1,000m record of 2:37.72, taking 0.73 seconds off of the mark Penn State’s Hayley Kitching established last month. Heather MacLean won the 800m in an indoor personal best of 1:59.59 and said after the race that she’s been dealing with hemachromatosis and a little bit of a knee issue. Providence’s Maeve O’Neill ran a big PR of 2:00.33 to win a different heat and moved to eighth on the DI performance list. Canada’s Grace Fetherstonhaugh won the 3,000m in 8:46.86 and Rachel McArthur won the mile in 4:27.56. (Results)
Marisa Howard won the Ventura Half Marathon in 1:10:37. (Results)
Lindsay Flanagan won Saturday’s Gasparilla 15K in 51:24, and Anne-Marie Blaney won Sunday’s half marathon in 1:15:43. (Results)
Sascha Scott’s 5:05.72 in the mile at the Fastrack Last Chance meet is reportedly a pending American record for the 50-54 age group. (Results)
Laura Scholz sent along some details from the USATF Masters Indoor Championships, which were held in Albuquerque. She noted that Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs broke her own American 60-64 age-group record in the 200m, running 27.66. Olympian Michelle Rohl won the 60-64 800m (2:39.21), 3,000m (11:49.13), and mile (5:45.44). She caught up briefly with Leandra Funk, who set an American 70-74 age-group record in the 400m, running 1:18.11. Scholz reports that Funk was unable to race in 2025 due to a calf injury, so she started pole vaulting, because it didn’t require as much running. “I think a lot of people don’t even know there’s such a thing as master’s track and field, and they think after they get out of college or into their 30s, they have to quit running,” Funk told Scholz. “It’s good to get people motivated to continue in our sport.” (All results)
Podcasts
This newsletter has also been brought to you by store brand cold and flu medicine. I was very sick for much of the week, so running podcasts weren’t hitting like they sometimes do, and I didn’t get through as many of them as usual. But I loved hearing Rainshadow Running’s Katy Farrell discuss the work they are doing to make running more inclusive on Earthmovers.
Additional Episodes: Sharon Lokedi on Set the Pace | Olivia Markezich on I’ll Have Another | Riley Chamberlain on Citius Mag | Deena Kastor interviewed Sara Hall on Marathon Talk (starts at 16:00 mark) | Des Linden discussed her first trail 50K on Nobody Asked Us | Heather Jackson on Women of Distance | Hannah Chau and Melissa Berry on Road to the Trials | In addition being featured here, Clara Mayfield was on Conversation Pace with FRE
Upcoming
The USATF Indoor Track & Field Championships will take place this weekend in New York City. The entries are still open as I write this, but Elle St. Pierre, Emily Mackay, and Elise Cranny have all entered both the 3,000m (which is first) and the 1500m. Both are straight finals. Given that Nikki Hiltz’s primary event is on day two, it’s not a big surprise that they have scratched from the 3,000m. Sage Hurta-Klecker leads the 800m field.
You can see the entries here (filter in the upper left corner), the results will eventually be here, and the schedule is here. Most of the meet will be on USATF TV (subscription required), but on Sunday beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET, there will be a two-hour TV window on NBC and Peacock, which includes both the 800m and 1500m finals.
Also on Sunday, the USATF Half Marathon Championships, which have gotten very little fanfare this year, will take place in Atlanta. The race should be a good one, and it will stream live on USATF TV. The entrants include Emma Grace Hurley, Carrie Ellwood, Jess McClain, Erika Kemp, Jessica Gockley-Day, Lindsay Flanagan, Paige Wood, Maggie Montoya, Megan Sailor, Molly Born, and Rachel Smith. And, interestingly Ednah Kurgat, who is listed as being a Nike athlete, will be making her half marathon debut, as will Annie Rodenfels and NC State’s Grace Hartman.
Thanks to WHSP Medical and WHSP Institute for sponsoring Fast Women these past five weeks. I’m so excited about what they’re doing, and I love that they’ve chosen the Boston area as their home. I tried out WHSP Medical as a patient back in November, and I now feel like I’m on a better path, athletically speaking, than I have been in a long time as a result of my visit.
Thank you, also, to all of you who help make this newsletter possible with your support via Venmo or Patreon. I hope you all have the best week possible and stay safe.
Alison
Thanks for the coverage of Anna Gibson. I really enjoyed hearing her story (with Cam Smith) on a few podcasts, and loved watching them compete in skimo. I agree that the commentator not knowing the penalty was annoying. You would think it was clear cut, and he should have known it was a 3 second penalty, not 30 seconds.