Fast Women: Nikki Hiltz wins the Wanamaker Mile, and Roisin Willis sets an American record
How runners are making a difference, and meet the youngest Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier.
Issue 393, sponsored by the WHSP Institute
Nikki Hiltz earns their first Wanamaker Mile win, and Doris Lemngole breaks the collegiate 3,000m record
Some runners need a tuneup race before they’re ready to run their best, but not Nikki Hiltz. In their first track race of the year, they made a big move with 300m to go, and held off a challenge from Australia’s Jessica Hull to win the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games, 4:19.64 to 4:20.11.
“We don’t have a lot of things in our sport where your name is etched onto something,” Hiltz said after the race. “So no matter what happens in my career, my name’s never getting off that trophy, and that’s a really good feeling.”
Klaudia Kazimierska finished third in a Polish record of 4:21.36 and her former Oregon teammate, Wilma Nielsen, broke the Swedish record and was just 0.1 seconds off of the collegiate record, running 4:23.56 for eighth. The field lost a little bit of its star power heading into the meet when Elle St. Pierre scratched due to illness and Kenya’s Dorcus Ewoi withdrew the day of the race. But even without them, the field and the race were both stellar.
The 3,000m demonstrated how strong the NCAA is right now. In a field of mostly professional runners, collegiate athletes took first and third. BYU’s Jane Hedengren and Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka did most of the pace pushing, but Alabama’s Doris Lemngole sat in the front pack looking relaxed throughout. She moved to the lead with just over a lap to go and won comfortably in a collegiate record of 8:31.39, a 10-second personal best. After running 2:54.02 and 2:51.49 for her first two kilometers, she closed in a 2:45.88.
Great Britain’s Hannah Nuttall took second in a PR of 8:32.94, and Hedengren took third in 8:34.98, five seconds faster than she ran outdoors last summer. Tanaka dropped to sixth, running 8:42.33. Josette Andrews was originally announced as part of this field, but her plans clearly changed.
In the 1000m, Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma took the lead with one lap to go and powered to a win in 2:35.50. She held off a strong challenge from Addy Wiley, who took second in 2:35.77, and Wiley held off Maggi Congdon, who was third in 2:35.91.
New pro Roisin Willis ran away from fellow Stanford student Juliette Whittaker to win the 600m, 1:24.87 to 1:25.64. More on Willis’ busy week below. (Results | Wanamaker Mile replay)
Thanks to the WHSP Institute for supporting Fast Women
The Women’s Health, Sports & Performance (WHSP) Institute – a global leader in female athlete research
Following the global launch of the WHSP Institute last Thursday, WHSP President, Dr. Kate Ackerman, and R&D Director, Dr. Trent Stellingwerff, are building a Boston-based internal expert research team at WHSP and strengthening our existing external national and international research collaborator network.
Over the last few years, our research team has published work highly relevant to runners, including:
Boston Marathon performance and medical outcomes associated with low energy availability
Training and performance outcomes in 42 elite runners before, during, and after pregnancy
The impact of training volume and frequency on Boston Marathon training outcomes
Iron supplementation interventions in elite runners undertaking altitude training
WHSP has been funded with over $50 million from co-founders Jane and David Ott, in addition to the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation. WHSP is also the proud home of the Wu Tsai Female Athlete Program, as part of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance. We are expanding research on female athletes and translating findings into practical guidance for athletes and their support staffs. Current studies planned or underway include iron supplementation, bone stress injuries, female specific biomechanics and peri- and post-menopausal projects.
We are committed to improving health and performance for female athletes of all levels, across the lifespan. We encourage you to visit the WHSP Institute research page regularly, for new WHSP publications, knowledge translation resources for athlete/coach application, and updates on active and upcoming research projects.
A breakthrough for Issy Boffey, and an American record for Roisin Willis
At the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on January 24, Roisin Willis, 21, led wire to wire to win in her pro debut. But the fastest-closing athlete in the race by far was Great Britain’s Issy Boffey, 25, who finished second. Six days later, at Boston University’s Terrier Classic, they raced again, and in round two, Boffey came out on top in a memorable race.
Willis went out hard again, hitting 400m in 56.95 seconds. But Boffey stayed closer this time, took the lead with less than 150m to go, and held Willis off 1:57.43 to 1:57.97. Boffey’s performance moved her to eighth on the world all-time list, only 0.25 seconds off of Keely Hodgkinson’s British record. She improved her indoor personal best, set last week, by an incredible 2.71 seconds and ran nearly two seconds faster than her outdoor PR.
Willis’ original plan was to race the New Balance meet and then Millrose. But she made a late decision to tack on the extra Boston meet because she knew she had a fast time in her. She took 0.32 seconds off of Ajee’ Wilson’s American indoor record, which had stood since 2020. She lowered her indoor PR, set six days earlier, by 1.62 seconds, and she also ran faster than her outdoor PR (1:58.13). Willis’ season will end here, as last year was a very long year for her and she’s prioritizing the outdoor season. After her record-setting 800m, Jonathan Gault asked if she’s planning to join New Balance Boston. She said she still has things to figure out.
And not to be overlooked, Clemson’s Gladys Chepngetich took third in 1:58.81, which puts her second on the collegiate all-time list behind only Athing Mu’s 1:58.40 collegiate record. (Race replay | Results | Interview with Boffey)
How runners are helping in Minnesota and beyond
It’s hard to believe that it was only two weeks ago that I was writing about the silence of the running community. Since then, countless people have spoken up about what is going on in Minnesota and elsewhere. Now I want to focus on some of the things people are doing off of social media.
Last week, I asked what people are doing to help Minnesotans and and/or their own communities right now, and the responses were inspiring. Especially the ones from Minnesotans. There are runners of all speeds delivering food and supplies to people who can’t safely leave their homes. They’re also participating in ICE Watch, serving as constitutional observers, and standing guard outside schools. I wish I could tell the stories, but for safety reasons, they’re doing these things quietly. Some of them weren’t particularly politically engaged before this, but the situation has forced them into action.
“What we are seeing right now in Minneapolis is not that we have a city full of activists and organizers, it’s that we have a city full of neighbors who care about each other and are willing to step outside and film, or deliver food, or show up at a hotel in the middle of the night,” Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, said on the Better Future with Michael Mezz podcast last week. “And the vast majority of people I talk to have never done a thing like this in their lives. Many of them have never attended a protest before. If you think you can’t do it, you can. And we need you to. What defeating fascism takes is everyone who feels a little [stuck] in whatever way to take a step outside of their comfort zone and be a little bit braver than you think you can be.”
Some of the other things runners are doing right now:
Attending ICE Watch and Community Defense training. I did a free 90-minute online training last week and found it to be very helpful. (They have more coming up soon. And to be clear, they teach people about documenting ICE activity and alerting others, not being confrontational or breaking any laws.) Many local organizations are offering similar trainings, which might include information more specific to your own community. It’s easy for many people to feel like this is an unlikely, far off threat. But most people in Minnesota never thought they’d be in the position they’re currently in, and it’s better to have the knowledge and not need it than to be unprepared. If you’re looking to become a Constitutional Observer or Legal Observer, you can search for options in your area.
Donating. Stand With Minnesota and this Minneapolis Mutual Aid Linktree list are both good places to start if you’re looking to help Minnesotans. Other states have organizations doing similar work.
Getting involved with local organizations (people mentioned Indivisible, 50501, and DSA) and finding or creating neighborhood networks.
Protesting
Calling your representatives. The 5 Calls app and website can be very helpful if you’re not sure where to start or what to say.
Hosting letter-writing gatherings for friends.
It came up only briefly, but I appreciated 2:10 marathoner JP Trojan discussing the work he is doing as an immigration lawyer in Minneapolis, on the Road to the Trials podcast.
Some of the running-related things people are doing:
NYC Bridgerunners recently held an “anti-freeze” workshop with a run/walk after.
Rainshadow Running is allowing people who don’t feel safe traveling because of ICE to defer their race entries. And they said they will have people at their events who are “versed in ICE rapid response.”
CUSS Running held a solidarity run in Chicago over the weekend, as did Renegade Running in Oakland and LA, and there was one in Boulder as well.
River Valley Running in Mankato, Minnesota, has added a suggested/optional donation to its normally-free group runs, and the proceeds will go to COPAL.
Some races are allowing people to keep their names off of public participation lists and results.
For additional thoughts, I appreciated this post from Carolina Rubio-MacWright and what Verna NezBegay Volker had to say on the latest episode of Women’s Running Stories. Both have stressed that it’s important for runners to check in on and offer assistance to members of their running groups or nearby groups who are most likely to be targeted. That could mean inviting them to join a group run, where there’s more safety in numbers, or something else. And I appreciate Volker asking race directors what they are doing.
In this Outside Run article, Andrea Haus said that some members of the Mill City Running team are meeting outside of the scheduled group runs and running back and forth in the hardest hit areas, patrolling for ICE activity.
Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier and Minnesotan Amanda Mosborg is selling Ice Out Minneapolis apparel and bags with her own design, and the proceeds will go to Haven Watch MN.
Luke McCambley, better known as The Orange Runner, designed Minneapolis-themed postcards and all proceeds will be donated to UNIDOS MN.
Most of the best ideas about how to make a difference right now are coming from outside the running community, but I wanted to provide some possible steps forward for people who aren’t sure what to do and aren’t getting this kind of information elsewhere. Everyone’s capacity to help is different, but there are a wide range of ways to do so.
Being praised in recent weeks for bringing attention to what is happening has made me very uncomfortable, because I feel like I’m doing the bare minimum. White people who aren’t part of other groups that are being targeted should be leading the way. The people with the most privilege are often the last ones to speak up or get involved, because they tend to be the ones who benefit most from the systems that are in place. Some of the most outspoken runners belong to groups that are being targeted, but they continue to use their voices and platforms despite the risk. White cis male runners continue to be the quietest group.
I’ve also had people tell me I’m brave for acknowledging what’s happening, but I don’t see it that way at all. If we get to the stage of this where the government goes after a white woman who mostly writes about running and has a decent but not huge following for sharing her views online, it is probably already too late. I get that all of this sounds dystopian, so it’s easy to dismiss as not real, but listen to what Minnesotans are saying. The more of us who speak up and push back, the safer everyone is.
After an abrupt change of plans, Dani Barrett becomes the youngest qualifier for the 2028 Olympic Marathon Trials thus far
Had Dani Barrett stuck to her original plan, she would still be running in the NCAA right now. But in August, her plans changed, and now she’s the youngest qualifier for the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. In December, less than three months after her 22nd birthday, she earned her qualifier by running 2:34:27 at the California International Marathon in her debut at the distance.
Barrett remembers going for her first run, a little less than a mile, when she was four years old. By the time she was six, she was regularly joining her father for his three-mile morning runs and doing a longer run on the weekends.
Many stories of kids being avid distance runners from a young age don’t end with them having a lot of running success as an adult. But Barrett’s running was purely for fun. She didn’t race or concern herself with how fast she was going, no one was pushing her, and she continued to take part in a range of sports and activities through middle school.
Barrett let go of her other sports heading into her freshman year at the Wildwood School in Los Angeles, California, but her running remained pretty low key. There were only 45 students in her graduating class, so the cross country and track & field teams were both tiny and close knit. Barrett never qualified for the ultra-competitive California state meet, but on about 20 miles per week, she ran 10:59 for 3200m and a 5:19 mile, despite the fact that her last two years of high school were disrupted by the pandemic. She was always young for her grade, and she didn’t turn 18 until the September after she graduated from high school.
During the college recruiting process, Barrett clicked immediately with Emma Peterson, UC Davis’ head coach at the time, and her husband Drew Peterson, the team’s assistant coach. “I credit so much of my success in running and my happiness and development as a person to them,” Barrett said. “I honestly think about this almost every day—it was the best decision of my life to go to UC Davis.”
The friends Barrett made at the school were the highlight of her experience, and she loved having the opportunity to major in wildlife, fish and conservation biology. She arrived on campus running much lower mileage than most of her teammates, but her coaches took that into account and eased her into the training.
“There were seven of us freshman girls and I was the slowest,” she said. “I never felt down on myself about it, I was just so happy to be there. I couldn’t believe I was getting to do my sport in college, and I was having the best time. There was zero pressure put on me.”
By the spring of her freshman year, she found herself keeping up with her teammates in races, and her running took off. During her four years at the school, she suffered her share of injuries, and learned that intense aqua jogging sessions could go a long way in keeping her fit. She became a Big West Conference champion, earned second-team All-America honors by finishing 11th in the 10,000m at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships, and lowered her PRs to 16:07.94 for 5,000m and 33:07.17 for 10,000m.
Barrett planned to use her fifth year of eligibility at UC Davis, while working towards a masters degree, but at the beginning of August, she received word that her coaches had taken jobs at Bellarmine University. She considered both staying at Davis and transferring, but she says Davis’ athletic department essentially made it impossible for her to transfer. The experience left a bad taste in her mouth, so she decided to explore other options.
“I loved my time in Davis so much,” she said. “I was like, ‘That was perfect. I don’t need to overstay my welcome in this [chapter] of my life. I had the best time. I’m sure the next thing will be really fun, too.’”
Within a month, Barrett was living a completely different life. She found some roommates and a place to live in San Francisco, and got a job in wealth management. She had originally envisioned herself doing something more related to her major. Over the summer, she interned with the Arizona Game and Fish Department in Flagstaff, but she knew she wanted to spend some time living in San Francisco, and she needed to be able to pay her rent. Though it’s a dramatic change, Barrett’s been enjoying the fast-paced environment and learning a lot.
Barrett also decided to train for December’s California International Marathon. In order to do the type of training she wanted, she was working out by 4:30 most mornings, spending more than 10 hours at work, and then doing a second workout in the evening.
Barrett still does a lot of cross training, but it’s on the bike now instead of in the pool. Her running leading up to CIM topped out at 85 miles, but most weeks, she hovered in the 60s. She calculates her weekly training volume by counting 10 minutes of cross training as one mile and adds it to her running mileage. Using that system, she averages what she considers to be the equivalent of 130 miles per week. She is also diligent about her strength training.
One downside of her schedule is that it doesn’t allow her to do much training with other people. “I haven’t found anyone who wants to run 16 miles with me at 4:30 in the morning,” she said. “So if you’re seeing this article and you live in San Francisco and you want to do that, let me know.” The catch is that they need to be able to keep up with Barrett, which isn’t easy.
Barrett is coached by John Mansoor, who mentored the Petersons and helped out at UC Davis. She acknowledges that she’s not always the most coachable athlete because she’s hard to hold back, but she appreciates that Mansoor lets her make her own mistakes and learn from them. Mansoor co-founded CIM and served as director of the race for many years. Prior to this year’s race, he and Barrett drove the course together and she got to hear all about the history of the race.
CIM was Barrett’s first post-collegiate race, and it couldn’t have gone much better. Mansoor thought that breaking 2:37:00 and qualifying for the Trials would be a good goal for her, but she didn’t buy in to the idea that she could really do it until about three-quarters of the way through the race. She went through halfway in 1:18:00 and ran the second half of the race in 1:16:27.
Barrett knows there’s room for growth, especially in her fueling and hydration. She didn’t practice either one in her training leading up to CIM, and she didn’t want to try anything new on race day. The nearly perfect weather conditions helped her get away with it. But she took note that everyone around her was fueling and hydrating, and she’s planning to work that into her training and racing going forward.
Barrett’s legs were sore after CIM, but the race didn’t set her back all that much. Because she’s so young, she’s planning to spend some time focusing on bringing her half marathon time down. And she probably won’t run another marathon until CIM next year. “I want to keep doing this as long and successfully and sustainably as I can,” she said.
Other News
April 26’s London Marathon will be the race of the season. The field has four sub-2:15 marathoners: Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, and Kenyans Joyciline Jepkosgei and Peres Jepchirchir. And Kenya’s Hellen Obiri will take her first crack at a fast marathon on a flat course.
Though there are some notable exceptions, the majority of the highest profile current and former pro runners in the U.S. have, for a wide range of reasons, chosen not to acknowledge what is happening in Minnesota and other states. That makes me all the more appreciative of this Substack post from Fiona O’Keeffe.
For those who still enjoy the specifics of what’s going on with Grand Slam Track, Margaret Fleming wrote a good piece for Front Office Sports, and The Atlantic (paywall) had some additional details. Scrolling through one of the latest court filings, I was interested to see that some of the non-athletes were paid relatively normal rates, while others were paid as if money were no object. Some athletes had multi-year deals with GST, but the Association of Athletics Managers put out a statement last week making it clear that they do not support the league having a 2026 season.
This article has more details about the maternity ward Faith Kipyegon is helping establish in Kenya.
The AIU has handed French middle-distance runner Aurore Fleury a six-month ban and fined her €3,000 after she won €5,000 betting €2,000 that her teammate, Alice Finot, would win gold in the steeplechase at the 2024 European Championships. Fortunately for Fleury, her ban expires at the end of February, so it mostly fell during the off season.
Allison Mercer wrote about ultrarunner Courtney Olsen, who has had great success despite being unsponsored and working several jobs, for Outside Run.
Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Macy McRowe got some local newspaper coverage.
Additional Results
Also at BU’s Terrier Classic, Annika Reiss won the mile in 4:24.38, and Anna Connor, 40, set an American indoor masters record of 4:43.45. Great Britain’s Katie Snowden won the 3,000m (8:39.89), Harvard’s Sophia Gorriaran won the 1,000m (2:38.75), and Victoria Bossong won the 500m (1:09.90). And I loved watching Minnesota Distance Elite’s Elena Hayday win the 5,000m in a PR of 15:30.94, despite everything she’s dealing with at home. (Results | Mile replay | 3,000m replay | 5,000m replay)
At the UW Invite/Mile City meet (on Washington’s oversized, not-indoor-record-legal track), Washington State’s Rosemary Longisa won the mile in 4:24.59, the fastest time in the NCAA this year. Utah’s Erin Vringer won the 3,000m in 8:48.26.
Oregon’s Silan Ayyildiz won the mile at the Razorback Invitational in 4:25.11, Arkansas’ Sanu Jallow-Lockhart won the 800m (2:01.55), and Oklahoma State’s Billah Jepkirui won the 3,000m in 8:45.22. (Results)
At the PSU National Open, Penn State’s Hayley Kitching broke her own school record in the 800m, running 2:00.01, and her teammate, freshman Boh Ritchie, was second in 2:01.60. Kelly Ann Beckford won the 600m in a Jamaican record of 1:24.44. (Results)
At the New Mexico Team Open in Albuquerque, Valery Tobias of the Brooks Beasts won the 600m in 1:24.71. (Results)
You never know where Shelby Houlihan might pop up these days. After her two recent trail races, she won the 800m at the Ron Mann Classic, in 2:09.99. (Results)
Ethiopia’s Anchinalu Dessie won the Dubai Marathon in 2:18:31. (Results)
Kenya’s Dolphine Nyaboke Omare won the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon in 1:06:15. (Results)
Podcast Highlights
Some of the podcasts I listened to in the past week: Laura Thweatt on The Injured Athletes Club | Six-time Trials qualifier Dot McMahan on C Tolle Run | Allie Ostrander on The Runna Podcast | Australia’s Jessica Hull on The Howie Games (it has two parts) | Des Linden on DNF Diaries | Anna Gibson on The Sub Hub Podcast | 2:29 Canadian marathon Erin Mawhinney on The Shakeout Podcast | Great Britain’s Eilish McColgan on Podium Athletics (starts at 33:00 mark)
I tried to cram a lot into this one, so I will end it quickly. Thanks again to the WHSP Institute for sponsoring Fast Women this month, and thanks to everyone who helps keep this newsletter going with your support via on Venmo or Patreon. I hope you all have the best week possible.
Alison
The Dani Barrett story is pretty fascinating. Going from college athlete to full-time job plus marathon training at 4:30 AM takes some serious dedication. Running 2:34 in your debut while working 10+ hour days and doing double workouts is wild. The cross-training calculation she uses (10 min = 1 mile) to hit 130-mile weeks shows a pragamatic approach that more runners transitioning from college could learn from.