Issue 418, sponsored by D+M Engineering PLLC
Lauren Gregory becomes the first U.S. woman to win OCC
It’s been a very exciting week in women’s running, but due to my life being in upheaval, I have a lot less time than usual to recap it this week. So here’s the abbreviated version of what caught my attention.
Yes, my U.S. bias is showing, but my favorite race of the week was Lauren Gregory’s come-from-behind victory at OCC, the 60K race with about 11,000 feet of climbing that serves as the 50K world championship final for the UTMB race series. (And the 50K/60K discrepancy isn’t a typo. They just do a lot of rounding in trail running, and sometimes your “50K” race is 20 percent longer.)
For much of the race, it seemed like it would come down to a battle between Great Britain’s Naomi Lang and Spain’s Sara Alonso. With 5K remaining, Alonso trailed Lang by only 24 seconds, with Gregory 88 seconds out of the lead. But after more than five hours of running, Gregory, who, like Lang, was running her longest race yet, had the most left, and she really began to get rolling.
The last 14 minutes or, if you’re pressed for time, the last five minutes of this race are worth the watch. Five hours and 56 minutes into the race, with about 12 minutes of running remaining, Gregory caught and passed Alonso, moving into second. And with less than three minutes left in her race, Gregory moved to the lead and powered to a win in 6:08:07, finishing three seconds ahead of Lang. Alonso took third in 6:09:11, but her greatest accomplishment may have been running a 60K that fast and still being able to do the worm at the finish line.
Behind them, Makena Morley, who was also a newbie at this event, finished fourth in 6:16:37.
This was one of the most exciting races I’ve followed in quite a while. Trail running is no longer just a niche part of the sport. There’s a reason it’s growing so quickly, and in many ways, when done right, it’s one of the most exciting areas of the sport to follow. In long trail races, we’re more likely to see dramatic lead changes and wild comebacks. There are real dangers and occasional wildlife encounters, the visuals are stunning, pro women occasionally win outright, and the length of the races allows for plenty of storytelling. And I will always be in awe of UTMB’s ability to capture and relay so much footage from the course.
But I don’t think races like this one can consider themselves to be true world championship finals until more of the world is included, especially countries like Ethiopia and Kenya, who tend to produce the world’s best runners. Last year, it seemed like a step in the right direction when Kenya’s Joyline Chepngeno won OCC, but a couple weeks later, she received a doping ban, which likely set back progress on that front.
It’s really cool to see Gregory, who ran for Arkansas, and Morley, who ran for CU, taking a slightly different path than most collegiate stars and excelling. I appreciate that Gregory has also trusted her gut in choosing to be coached by former pro Ben True. Staying patient and hanging back early in the race paid off for her.
It also worked out well for Norway’s Yngvild Kaspersen, who was more than 20 minutes out of the lead halfway through CCC. Due to some late course changes, the race covered 108K (67 miles) with roughly 6,000 meters of climbing this time around. She ran a patient and strong second half of the race, working her way through the field and taking the lead with less than 10K to go.
Kaspersen, who is a doctor, had a disappointing race at Western States two months earlier, and she was forced to drop out a few miles from the finish of the 100-mile race. But she bounced back beautifully at CCC, and she became the first woman to win this race twice, running 12:01:14. (She won the event in 2023, did not race it in 2024, and then DNFed in 2025.) South Africa’s Toni McCann finished five minutes back, in 12:01:14. China’s Miao Yao took third in 12:15:41, and Jennifer Lichter completed an impressive double following her Western States win, taking fourth in 12:24:01.
In the event’s grand finale, UTMB, winner Blandine L’Hirondel—also a doctor—used a different strategy, taking the lead around halfway, building a massive cushion, and then holding on in the closing miles. She covered the 173.6K (107.9 mile) course, with almost 32,000 feet of climbing, in 21:54:49, winning by 21 minutes. L’Hirondel struggled in the closing miles and took a couple of hard falls, but she persevered and became the first Frenchwoman to win the race in 10 years, much to the delight of the home crowd. Following New Zealand’s Ruth Croft, who did it last year, L’Hirondel becomes only the second woman to win OCC, CCC, and UTMB.
Rachel Entrekin, who received a flurry of attention following her outright win at the Cocodona 250 in May, is best known for her accomplishments in longer events, so it was nice to see her drop down in distance and hold her own in Chamonix. She finished second in 22:15:54, fending off a strong challenge from fellow American Emily Schmitz, who took third in 22:17:28.
Schmitz, 45, who has lived in the Chamonix valley for the past four years, went in thinking that a good day might mean finishing in the top 20, but she had a great day and pulled off one of the bigger surprises of the event. Schmitz finished fifth at both OCC in 2019 and CCC in 2023. She had never run UTMB before, but her experience on the course paid off. (OCC results | CCC results | UTMB results | Post-race podcasts with CCC champ Yngvild Kaspersen and OCC champ Lauren Gregory)
Thanks to D+M Engineering PLLC for their support in August!
Muna and David Mitchell own and operate D+M Engineering PLLC, a woman-owned, Austin-based engineering firm. It has been our pleasure to sponsor the Fast Women newsletter for the month of August.
Twenty years ago, after dating for one week, David proposed to Muna by saying that we would get married the day after she ran the Boston Marathon. She had never qualified, but he had faith in her (or maybe thought it was a long shot that would let him off the hook!). Two months later, Muna qualified at the Austin Marathon. Two months after that, she ran her first Boston Marathon on Monday, and they got married the next day. (It was a different time when qualifying and registering could be done within two months of each other.)
Boston became a part of our love story and our love of running. If we were not running the marathon, we spectated. The fast women of all ages never failed to inspire us, and sometimes we were lucky enough to meet some of our heroes there.
To learn more about our engineering services and community endeavors, please visit www.dplusmengineering.com or contact Muna Mitchell at muna@dplusmengineering.com.
Other Results, News, and Links
Back on June 7, in her second 800m of the outdoor season, Switzerland’s Audrey Werro surprised many by running 1:53.98, which made her the third-fastest 800m runner of all time. She has remained undefeated in 800m finals since then. But dipping back into the 1:53s this year began to seem like a tall order, until Thursday, when she battled Femke Broeders-Bol of the Netherlands in front of a home crowd at the Zurich Diamond League meet. Broeders-Bol took the lead and pushed Werro until the final 150m. The result was a 1:53.70 national record for Werro, and Broeders-Bol ran 1:54.71 for second, her third 800m national record in less than two weeks. Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter-Bell ran 1:55.03 for third. (Keely Hodgkinson was originally supposed to be in the race, but she said via a statement that her body wasn’t quite ready to race again after the European Championships.) In the steeplechase, Kenya’s Faith Cherotich ran 8:55.82 to earn her second Diamond League win of the season, and I was impressed by former Alabama star Doris Lemngole, also of Kenya, who challenged Cherotich the whole way and finished second in a small PR of 8:55.94. Lexy Halladay-Lowry ran an aggressive race and faded a bit at the end, but she held off everyone in the chase pack and took fourth in 9:11.10. Gabbi Jennings took ninth (9:16.54), Gracie Hyde was 12th (9:20.75), and Emma Coburn finished 14th (9:36.83). (Results)
Nadia Battocletti showed that she has an impressive kick in the 1500m, too, running an Italian record of 3:57.54 at the GalAthletics Bellinzona on Sunday. Addy Wiley took second in 3:58.96, narrowly improving her three-year-old personal best. Heather MacLean took fifth in a season’s best of 4:00.86, Gracie Morris took ninth in 4:02.95, and I was pleased to see that in Jessica Kain’s first-ever European race, she took another three seconds off of her PR, running 4:03.11. France’s Rénelle Lamote and Agathe Guillemot went 1-2 in the 800m, running 1:58.55 and 1:58.65. Meghan Hunter finished sixth in 1:59.85. (Results)
Saint Vincent’s Shafiqua Maloney won the 800m at Grand Prix Brescia, running 1:58.03, and Ireland’s Sophie O’Sullivan, who was an NCAA champion at the University of Washington, took second in 1:58.60. Roisin Willis was the lone U.S. competitor in the race, and she took fifth in 1:58.95. (Results)
Ethiopia’s Nigist Getachew won the ISTAF Berlin 800m in 1:58.04, and Poland’s Klaudia Kazimierska, formerly of the University of Oregon, took second in a personal best of 1:58.11. Nia Akins finished fourth in 2:00.51, and competing for the first time since mid June, Kenya’s Mary Moraa struggled to a 10th-place finish in 2:08.20. (Results)
Raevyn Rogers won the 800m at the International Wiesław Maniak Memorial, running 1:58.86. Meghan Hunter took third in 1:59.55, and Maggi Congdon was sixth in 1:59.99. (Results)
McKenna Keegan won the Monmouth 800m in 2:00.55 (Results)
ATHLOS announced on Friday that it was canceling its New York event, scheduled for October 2. Their statement seems to suggest that they realized that it’s asking a lot to have track & field athletes extend their seasons into October. I agree, but it’s disappointing that they only came to this decision after a lot of people had already made plans to attend the event. And given what happened with Grand Slam Track last year, I think a lot of people are feeling a little leery. ATHLOS will still hold their London event on September 18, and they said that in the future they will “move to be aligned with the global athletics calendar.” Femke Broeders-Bol’s coach, Laurent Mewly, had some critical—and I think fair—words for ATHLOS on X. I feel like there’s this unstated understanding that we’re not supposed to criticize ATHLOS because Alexis Ohanian is doing us all a favor by bringing attention and money to the sport. I think it’s great he’s trying something new—and I think he has made some mistakes that were very avoidable, he has overpromised and underdelivered, and the dishonesty about selling out just makes me trust everything that comes from their PR team a little less. But I also hope the London meet is a success and they can build from there.
I appreciated this UTMB-related comment from Katie Schide on Instagram: “It’s wild to see how far the sport has come in just a few short years. But even when all the noise seems overwhelming, it’s still just running, eating, and a lot of walking too.” I feel that way about the sport in general, not just trail running.
You might remember Kenya’s Priscah Cherono, 46, who burst back onto the scene with her win at the Marathon Project last December. She followed that up with a win at the LA Marathon in March. And on Sunday, she ran her fastest marathon yet, despite doing it the hard way. She led the Sydney Marathon through halfway in 1:07:58, and maintained her lead until about 27K. But even once fellow Kenyans Peres Jepchirchir and Irine Cheptai caught her, she hung with them until about 31K. The race coverage missed Jepchirchir’s move, but by the 36th kilometer, she had broken away, and she went on to win by nearly four minutes, in 2:18:31. Cheptai struggled, but held on to take second (2:22:11), and Cherono dominated the masters division, taking sixth in a PR of 2:23:49.
I unfortunately did not have the time to follow the World Masters Athletics Championships this week, but I did see that four-time Olympian Joetta Clark set a pending world record in the 60-64 200m, running 27.44.
Elle St. Pierre, who has repeatedly demonstrated her ability to successfully balance a pro running career with having kids, announced that she is pregnant with her third child.
Sage Hurta Klecker said on Instagram that running in spikes has continued to hurt her foot, so she has shut down her season.
I ran out of time to write a podcast section this week, but I really appreciated hearing a little more about the work Viola Cheptoo is doing to combat gender-based violence in Kenya on NYRR’s Set the Pace podcast. I also enjoyed hearing from Sabrina Pace-Humphreys on the Trail Society podcast, Canada’s Jadyn Keeler on The Shakeout Podcast, and Sinclaire Johnson on Hurdle.
I regret the fact that I don’t have more to give here in what was a great week in women’s running. One final thanks to D+M Engineering PLLC for supporting Fast Women this month! I hope you all have the best week you can.
Alison
You’re giving *a lot* Alison - and i’m grateful - always excited on Monday mornings when your newsletter pops into my inbox 🙏🏻 Hoping you also “have the best week possible” 💫✨
Anything you can give us each week is definitely appreciated, Alison! Thank you 🙏🏽