Fast Women: Trials qualifiers, a coaching ban, and a runner rebuilds
Plus Courtney Dauwalter drops down in distance.
Issue 375, sponsored by Bakline
Jane Bareikis is the first women’s time qualifier for the 2028 Trials, and Courtney Dauwalter runs a marathon
Jane Bareikis led the Twin Cities Marathon from wire to wire and became the first woman to qualify for the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on time, winning the race in 2:32:54. Megan O’Neil took second in 2:36:45 (2:36:43 chip time) and narrowly dipped under the 2:37:00 qualifying mark.
Allie Kieffer ran in second place through 35K before struggling over the final 7K, but she hung on to take third in 2:38:44. Former professional runner Missy (Buttry) Rock was the first masters runner across the line, taking fifth in 2:43:34. And ultrarunning legend Courtney Dauwalter, 40, finished seventh in 2:49:54, taking 28 minutes off of the PR that she set in 2009. (Clearly she could have run much faster somewhere along the way, but she doesn’t run road marathons often.)
Bareikis, who lives in a Chicago suburb, earned $10,000 for the win, plus an additional $4,000 for being the first finisher in the “Best of the Midwest” category. After the race, when asked about what it’s like to be coached by her husband, she laughed and said, “It’s nice and terrible sometimes.”
O’Neil also had a good payday, earning $8,000. The race conditions were warmer than ideal, but Bareikis said the wind helped cool things off. In her post-race interview, Dauwalter, who was on pace to run 2:48-low early in the second half of the race, acknowledged that the race was hard and told Carrie Tollefson, “You marathoners are crazy.” But Dauwalter also said she might run another marathon some time.
The accompanying TC 10 Miler attracted a deeper field. Mercy Chelangat of NAZ Elite and Kenya won the race in 52:05 and her former NCAA competitor, Everlyn Kemboi, who is also originally from Kenya, took second in 52:38. Annie Frisbie rounded out the podium (52:51) and Amanda Vestri took fourth in 53:13. (Marathon results | 10 mile results | Event replay, which didn’t include a lot of air time for the women)
Andy Young, who coached Laura Muir to Olympic silver, receives a three-year ban
Last week, UK Athletics announced that a disciplinary panel concluded that coach Andy Young had “placed performance above athlete welfare, ignored medical advice, and used manipulative and coercive behavior towards those he coached.” Young previously coached several Olympians, including Great Britain’s Laura Muir and Jemma Reekie.
He was originally given a five-year ban, backdated to April 2023, but Young appealed the decision and his ban was shortened to three years. That means he will be able to resume coaching in six months. The Times has a good summary of the case here. The full case decision is available here, and the full appeal decision is here.
In March 2023, Muir and Reekie abruptly split from Young while at a training camp in South Africa. At the time, The Times reported that the duo wanted to use a rental car to go to a coffee shop, but Young told them they could not, because they had already eaten out twice that week. That was just the tipping point in a series of events.
Canada’s Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, who left the group in 2020, said in a February 2022 episode of the Run Your Mouth podcast that she did not depart on good terms. She described Young as a micromanager and very controlling. According to another article from The Times, British runners Erin Wallace and Eloise Walker also left the group prior to Muir and Reekie, and complaints against Young were already being investigated at the time of the 2023 training camp.
Reading through the case decision, it really seems like the panel gave Young the benefit of the doubt in a lot of instances. Muir put out a statement (scroll down after clicking) saying she supports the decisions both panels reached. DeBues-Stafford, on the other hand, seemed frustrated with the investigation process and described it as “dehumanizing.”
Young will have the opportunity to begin coaching again soon, but hopefully because these athletes spoke up about the way they were being treated, others will know what they would be getting into.
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Some goals take years to reach. It’s painfully easy to forget most of us are not elite athletes. We don’t do this for a living. We train through heat, wind, doubt, and attempts that don’t go to plan. Every time we lace up again, we’re not starting over. We’re starting stronger. And every time we cut ourselves come slack, that’s not giving up. It’s an honest attempt to meet ourselves where we are.
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After a cancer diagnosis, Marie Thompson rebuilt her life without running
This is part three in an ongoing series about how runners’ relationships with the sport evolve over time, especially after their fastest years are behind them. Today’s story is about a runner who has endured more than most and gained a lot of wisdom in the process. (Here are parts one and two.)
As a collegiate runner for Rice University, Marie Thompson, 36, ran 17:03 for 5,000m and 35:13 for 10,000m. Now she celebrates being able to run for 10 or 15 minutes.
She once dreamed of breaking 3:00 in the marathon, or maybe even running an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying time. But on her 30th birthday, a pathology report confirmed Thompson had late-stage esophageal cancer. After undergoing chemotherapy and major surgery, she has spent the past six years figuring out how to rebuild her life without the sport that used to be a major part of her identity.
As a teenager, Thompson took to running quickly. She was good at it, it gave her confidence, and provided a safe space for her to feel big emotions.
“It really became this basis for liking myself and part of my identity that was interwoven into every part of my personality. And therefore I took it super seriously,” she told Fast Women. “It just felt like a gift and something I would be damned if I didn’t try 120 percent every day to maximize my potential. I loved it, but there were certainly some really deep roots that I didn’t understand the tradeoffs around until I got sick.”
The opportunity to run for Rice was a dream come true for Thompson. She had an excellent experience on the team and she met some of her best friends. And she was thrilled to be in the top seven when the team qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2010. She suffered her first serious setback her junior year, when she had a hip injury that took a long time to diagnose.
Thompson thinks that was the first big opportunity she had to separate her identity from running, but she did not take it. Instead, she “bulldozed through” and came back strong enough to make her fifth and final year of college running her best one. She finished her collegiate career in 2013, feeling like she didn’t have anything to prove. And she spent the next several years running most days, and doing some road racing.
Thompson felt a whole new world open up in running when she moved from Texas to the Bay Area to attend business school. She had greater access to trails and other wonderful places to run. And she was beginning to find her groove as a post-collegiate runner and was starting to think about bigger goals.
But in the summer of 2019, shortly after she graduated from business school, she had to stop running because she was feeling what she describes as a big resistance in her body. “Looking back at my journals, I was really mean to myself about it,” she said. “I was like, ‘What is wrong with you? Why can’t you just get out? It’s just three miles.’ But my body was telling me something.”
That was when she learned she had esophageal cancer, which came as a shock because it’s a cancer that mostly affects older men. Thompson had to stop running because she was sick from the cancer and the treatment, but also because she had surgery to remove much of her stomach and her esophagus. “I don’t have an esophageal sphincter anymore,” she explained, “so the risk of stomach acid damaging what was left of my esophagus was not worth it and not tolerated, especially right after cancer.”
Following treatment, she was down 20 pounds, anemic, and had to relearn how to eat and sleep. She also mourned the loss of her sport.
“I grieved running so much more deeply and for so much longer than I thought I would,” she said. “Part of me felt stupid to grieve something like running in a world where there’s deep injustice. But giving myself permission to grieve was a really big step.”
Thompson always knew running played a role in her mental wellbeing, but only after losing it did she realize how central it had been. The approach that had served her in the past—putting her head down and pushing through challenges—wasn’t going to work the way it once had.
“I really attached my value as a human being to things I achieved and things I produced,” she said. “And I think for a lot of my teens and 20s, it really served me more than it hurt me. But when I was diagnosed and my entire life imploded and I had no tools… I was forced to figure things out, and it was a pretty painful process.”
Thompson spent years trying to find something that will fill the role running played in her life. She has yet to find it, but she has found a strategy that has helped. She identified what specific things she liked about running—moving, being outside, being strong, being coached, listening to music, and spending time with friends—and has tried to meet some of those needs individually.
She has found that of the activities she can do, using an assault bike, a specific type of stationary bike, feels the most like running. To meet her need to go outside, she started doing evening walks and weekend hikes. She hired a personal trainer to fulfill her desire to feel strong and be coached.
“I feel like I’ve pulled the threads that together made running what it was,” she said. “The sum of the parts is not equal to what running was for me. All of these things together is maybe a 20 percent replacement.”
For years, Thompson has worked with a therapist who specializes in life-changing disease and has helped her recognize that she has value outside of what she achieves or produces. And that has allowed her to appreciate that 20 percent more.
“The ability to go into the gym and see myself getting stronger is beyond my wildest dreams of what I thought I could do post cancer,” she said. “It’s so energizing. So even though it isn’t running, I can at least tap into a higher level sense of what it means to be an athlete in a way that really starts to feed my soul.”
Thompson has come to terms with the fact that running can no longer be her main source of fitness. But since graduating from oncology in January, she has been able to reintroduce small amounts of running back into her life, 10 or 15 minutes once or twice a week. And when she’s out there, she’s not wishing she was faster, she’s just appreciating what she can do. “It’s just pure elation and an immense amount of gratitude,” she said. “The other day, I was like, ‘Thank you, legs. I know you ran 35:13 a lifetime ago, but I can’t believe we’re back here again.’”
Last month, to mark her 36th birthday and six years since her diagnosis, Thompson invited friends to do a track workout with her. Only one of them had run track previously, but they were enthusiastic to learn more about her “former life.” In college, she loved doing repeat 300s, so they did 4 x 300m followed by an all-out 300m, 200m, and 100m. Thompson couldn’t stop smiling the whole time. She wore her college track spikes, which she had recently found, and they lasted up until the final 100m when the soles fell off.
“It felt like a fitting end, like a track spike version of a Viking funeral,” she said. “My calves were also insanely sore for over a week and eventually I got sick from being run down, likely from pushing it a bit too much that day. But it was totally worth it—a real YOLO day.”
Thompson knows there’s a good chance that she will have to phase running back out at some point, but she’s appreciating what she has while she has it.
She still follows the sport, but for her peace of mind, she has to be selective about how she does so and who she follows. She attended last year’s Olympic Trials with one of her former college teammates and had a great time, but there were also some challenges. “I kind of felt like an alien because there’s so much community and casual fitness, and I can’t talk about running shoes,” she said. “I think it’s very fun to be in community with others on that, but I also feel very much outside of the typical running viewership.”
When reflecting on the running-related lessons she has learned from her struggles, Thompson offered the following advice: “Do the work to diversify your identity. Don’t wait until you’ve hit rock bottom. The trap I kept falling into is, ‘Well, I have running, so I don’t need to meditate.’ Or, ‘I don’t need to to go for mindfulness walks, be more intentional about talking to my friends, or find other ways to decompress and feel calm.’”
She says diversifying one’s identity could take many forms, but it might look like a runner identifying the season they enjoy running in the least and taking a step back and leaning into something else, socializing in a different way, or experimenting with a new hobby.
And for those who already can’t run or are afraid of losing their ability to run: “I think a big part of running is just tapping into yourself and digging deep,” she said. “And in your bones, you have tools to find a way through. It won’t be fun. For me, it was massively depressing and very hard. But it’s also not going to kill you. Give yourself space to grieve, maybe see a therapist, and keep trying and asking for help.”
Other News
In an Instagram story, Krissy Gear wrote that she found out last Monday that the hip pain she’s been dealing with since April was a stress fracture that an MRI in May missed. “I stopped training and took days down several times in an effort to listen to my body,” she wrote. “But I was told nothing was wrong and it was safe for me to train as normal. It’s validating now to know there actually was something at hand. It wasn’t all in my head, like I started to convince myself.” I think many of us have unfortunately been there, with the missed diagnosis.
Thanks to emergency financing from its existing investors, Grand Slam Track was able to pay its athletes half of what they are owed on Friday, Margaret Fleming reports. And next the league plans to pay off some of its vendor debts. Grand Slam partially paying its athletes shouldn’t be big news, but things have gone way off course for the league this year. They apparently remain optimistic that there will be a 2026 season, but I understand if athletes and investors are hesitant to sign on, given the way things have gone. Meanwhile, Athlos has announced that they will pay athletes the moment results are confirmed, with the caveat that all awards are subject to anti-doping compliance. They also announced a $250,000 bonus for anyone who breaks a world record at the event. That’s a tall order for a meet held in October, but stranger things have happened. Less than a week out, there’s still a disappointingly large number of tickets available for the event, especially given that the stadium’s capacity is only 5,000. I would truly love to see all of these ventures succeed, but it’s been a rough year.
Aliphine Tuliamuk announced that her second child is due in four weeks. She said that while she is usually an open book, this is one thing she wanted to keep private, until now. Her post describes some of the thought process involved in family planning as a professional athlete.
Tristin Colley announced just over a week ago that she is pregnant. Because ZAP Endurance is ending she’ll be moving somewhere new, location TBD, in the near future.
And on a similar topic, Jess McClain shared last week that she recently froze her eggs. She said she had a rough go but she’s doing okay. More details in her post.
Last week, someone claiming to be an employee of the Chicago Park District posted on Reddit that they were informed that ICE would be “all throughout the (Chicago) marathon and told us not to interfere.” The Chicago Park District later refuted that claim, but the fact is that a major marathon taking place this weekend in a city where ICE currently has a strong presence. And we won’t know how those two things will interact until race day. It’s been really disappointing to see how much of the running community has remained silent on important issues this year (until they learned it might affect their goal race) and I feel for anyone who feels unsafe running in or spectating at the race. Two people who have not been quiet this year are Carolina Rubio-MacWright and Vanessa Chavarriaga Posada, who had a very relevant discussion about running, immigrants, ICE, having an emergency plan, and being a good ally on the Mangonada podcast last week, prior to the Chicago rumors.
I appreciated having the opportunity to hear from world 800m champion Lilian Odira of Kenya in this 19-minute YouTube interview. She has a three-year-old and a four-year-old (who will be five soon). That explains a good chunk of the gap in her running resume. And I was interested to see that she has a female coach, who was part of the interview.
It was nice to see world 100m, 200m, and 4x100m champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden make an appearance on the Jennifer Hudson Show last week.
With warm conditions at this year’s Twin Cities Marathon and the cancellation of the race in 2023, Ed Whetham, the race’s director of event operations, told MPR News that they’ve thought about moving the event to a later date, but there are many factors that go into such a decision. This is an issue that is going to affect many races, and it will be interesting to see which ones are able to make adjustments and which ones stay put. I can imagine races like the Marathon Project, which is in December, faring well when plan A doesn’t go well for runners, due to warm weather.
This has come up before, but apparently World Athletics president Sebastian Coe remains optimistic that cross country will be added to the 2030 Winter Olympic Games in the French Alps. He also wants some additional track and field events at the 2028 Games to take place outside of the stadium. I’ve said this before, but while I’d love to see running added to the Winter Olympics, it feels like a stretch to pretend that cross country is a winter sport because while it can take place on snow and ice, it usually doesn’t.
Last week, the World Anti-Doping Agency announced that Kenya has made “significant and demonstrable progress” in its anti-doping efforts, so the country will avoid facing sanctions, for now. (WADA’s statement is available here.)
Additional Results
UVA graduate Jenny Schilling won the Portland Half Marathon in 1:14:14. (Results)
Emma Howe won the Maine Marathon in 2:45:25, and Cliodhna O’Malley won the half marathon in 1:15:06. (Results)
Hannah Gapes (19:19 for 6K) and Bethany Michalak (19:34) went 1-2 and led NC State to a win at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational. (Results)
Georgetown’s Melissa Riggins won the Gold 6K at the Paul Short Run in 19:34.8, and Villanova edged out Penn State to win the team title, 110 to 115. (This is your annual reminder that low score wins in cross country.)
Canada’s Ceili McCabe, who is now a professional runner for On, won the Louisville Classic 5K in 15:40.6. Clemson’s Silvia Jelego, who was second in 15:45.6, was the top collegian, and West Virginia won the team race. (Results)
Notre Dame’s Mary Bonner Dalton ran 15:53.1 for 5K to win the Joe Piane Invitational on her home course and lead her team to a win. (Results)
Ethiopia’s Medina Eisa ran away from a strong field to win Romania’s Brasov Running Festival 10K in 30:28. (Results | Race replay)
Only 20 days after finishing fifth in the marathon at the world championships, Finland’s Alisa Vainio dominated the Finnish Marathon Championships, running a national record of 2:23:06 and winning by 26 minutes. (Results)
Kenya’s Miriam Chebet won the Cardiff Half Marathon in 1:06:36. (Results)
Germany’s Esther Pfeiffer won Germany’s Köln Half Marathon by more than six minutes, in 1:07:28. (Results)
Podcast Highlights
Dani Jones was really good on The Fueling Forward Podcast, and she seems to be a relatively rare example of what a pro athlete can accomplish when they are well fueled throughout their career. It was interesting to hear her discuss her experience with hemochromatosis, too.
I enjoyed hearing more from Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell on the Ali on the Run Show.
Australia’s Jessica Hull already did a great post-race interview at worlds, but it was nice to hear more from her on The Citius Mag podcast. Josette Andrews was also good on Citius Mag, and I was glad to hear that with a little reflection, she now feels better about her sixth-place finish at worlds.
On The Trail Network Podcast, it was interesting to hear Rachel Entrekin discuss her win at the Mammoth 200 and her trouble finding sponsors who can pay her enough to make a living, despite the incredible year she has had.
Great Britain’s Phily Bowden was on Marathon Talk, but she announced yesterday that she will have to miss the Chicago Marathon due to a knee injury
On I’ll Have Another, Natosha Rogers talked about this weekend’s Chicago Marathon, temporarily living with her parents after a breakup, and said that this is the last guaranteed year of her Puma contract, so the pressure is on. (Nell Rojas is a Nike athlete and she’s not running Chicago, but she posted something similar last week.)
Could I pick out Harry Styles in a lineup? Probably not. Can I name any of his songs? No. But I still enjoyed hearing about Meghan Howard’s experience running part of the Berlin Marathon with Styles on the Ali on the Run Show. And I really feel for celebrities who just want to run their races (and live their lives) in peace.
Additional Episodes: Angelina Napoleon on Citius Mag | Keira D’Amato on Run Farther and Faster | NC State coach Laurie Henes on The Running Effect | Mary Denholm on The Drop | NC State’s Vera Sjöberg on Beyond the Stride
Upcoming
Sunday’s Chicago Marathon will air on NBC 5 Chicago and you can find more details about where to watch the race here. The women’s wheelchair race begins at 8:21 a.m. ET and open pro field goes off at 8:30. The start lists, as of last month, are available here. (Lindsay Flanagan is another scratch.)
A huge thanks to Bakline for their multi-month support of Fast Women. And thanks to all of you who help keep this newsletter going with your support via Venmo and Patreon.
Even when I think it’s a quieter news week, I still manage to write a long newsletter. I hope you all have the best week possible.
Alison
Thank you so much for your wonderful piece about Marie Thompson. I hate that she’s gone through so much but I’m grateful that she was willing to share what she’s learned about creating balance with us all.
Thank you for sharing Marie’s story and all of these stories as a part of this series.