Fast Women: Whittni Morgan surges to thrilling Millrose victory
Abbe Goldstein forges her own path to a mile breakthrough.
Issue 336
Big wins for Whittni Morgan, Georgia Bell, and Shafiqua Maloney at Millrose
The Millrose Games is always one of the most exciting meets of the indoor season, and Saturday’s races did not disappoint. Whittni Morgan used an incredible kick to pull off a surprise win in the 3,000m, Great Britain’s Georgia Bell won a tactical Wanamaker Mile, and Shafiqua Maloney of St. Vincent and the Grenadines built on her recent momentum and earned a convincing 800m win.
Josette Andrews of the On Athletics Club made a big move with about 350m to go in the 3,000m and broke the race open. After runner-up performances at Millrose in 2022 and 2023, it briefly looked like she might pull off a win, until Morgan made her move. Morgan ran her final 200m in an excellent 28.93 seconds, and she covered the last 400m in 60.29 seconds. She won in a two-second personal best of 8:28.03, took over the U.S. lead, and moved to fifth on the U.S. all-time indoor list. Norris finished close behind in an eight-second PR of 8:29.77, good for seventh all time.
At this time last year, Morgan was just starting to run on the ground again following knee surgery, so it’s great to see her healthy and running so well. And Norris struggled with injury last spring, which made for a challenging Olympic year. Both are now running better than ever.
Sarah Healy finished third in 8:30.79 and took four seconds off the Irish record she set one week earlier. And Australia’s Jess Hull, who missed the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix due to illness, was not fully recovered, but she managed to hold on for fourth in 8:30.91 and secure her World Indoor auto qualifying standard.
At the start of the 2024 indoor season Bell was working in cybersecurity and struggling to get into the most competitive meets, and now she is an Olympic bronze medalist, which comes with more pressure. But she delivered on Saturday, eking out a 4:23.35 win over Heather MacLean (4:23.41) and Nikki Hiltz (4:23.50). While many expected a fast race, no one went with rabbit Emily Richards, and the race came down to tactics as much as fitness. Sinclaire Johnson, who took fifth in 4:23.93, and Hiltz had the fastest final 100m of anyone in the field, but they were too far back to pull off the win.
Back in ninth, Oregon’s Wilma Nielsen, the only collegian in the field, improved her personal best to 4:25.78. California High School senior Sadie Engelhardt finished 11th in 4:27.97 and took 0.28 seconds off of Mary Cain’s high school record from 2013. Her en route 1500m time of 4:09.94 also improved Cain’s mark by 1.78 seconds. A week after running an excellent mile/3,000m double, Elise Cranny finished last in 4:30.64 and said in her Instagram stories that she’s recovering from the flu.
Addy Wiley moved into the lead with 300m remaining in the 800m, but Maloney fought back, retook the lead with about 100m to go, and won with room to spare in 1:59.07. Olivia Baker (second, 2:00.02), Kaela Edwards (third, 2:00.14), and Wiley (fourth, also 2:00.14) led a parade of indoor personal bests. Running her first race as a Hoka-sponsored athlete, Nia Akins was in contention early but faded over the final 100m and took seventh in 2:00.91.
I was blown away by Rhode Island high school junior Lisa Raye, who set a high school record of 7.13 seconds in winning the 60m and right behind her, 13-year-old Melanie Doggett ran a 7.17.
The American women’s performances in the middle-distance and distance events were excellent, but the American men’s performances were next level. Grant Fisher (3,000m) and Yared Nuguse (mile) set world records, and Josh Hoey (800m) set an American record. It makes me wonder what the difference is there, and what it would take for the women to get to the same level. (Results | Mile replay | 3,000m highlights)
Abbe Goldstein forges her own path to a mile breakthrough
Last summer, Abbe Goldstein came close to stepping away from professional running. Struggling with her physical and mental health, she knew something needed to change. So she decided to prioritize her happiness, which meant upending many aspects of her life.
It didn’t take long for those changes to start paying off. On January 31, in her second race of the indoor track season, Goldstein ran 4:28.61 for the mile, a 5.54-second mile personal best, and she dipped under the coveted 4:30 barrier for the first time. The performance validated her belief that there are many paths to success in distance running, and that taking care of her mental health is a critical ingredient in her success.
Goldstein, 25, was a Pennsylvania state champion for Germantown Academy, and she won the high school mile at the Millrose Games in 2017. She graduated with personal bests of 4:48.03 in the mile and 9:33.96 in the 3,000m. During her first two years at Harvard University, Goldstein was mainly a distance runner. But she experienced intense race-related anxiety, which led to gastrointestinal problems that affected her performance.
Goldstein became depressed, and with the support of Harvard coach Alex Gibby, she made the decision to sit out the 2019 cross country season, in the fall of her junior year, and began seeing a school-provided therapist who had a background in athletics. “I literally owe [the therapist for] my resurgence back into running,” Goldstein told Fast Women. When she returned to the track in the winter of 2020, she began focusing on middle distances, and she quickly lowered her mile personal best to 4:35.70.
That season, Goldstein qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships for the first time, but the day before the meet was to begin, it was canceled due to the pandemic. (The Ivy League had preemptively made the decision not to send any athletes.) And though Goldstein graduated from Harvard with a sociology degree in the spring of 2021, she never had the opportunity to run for the school again, as the Ivy League did not resume athletic competition until the fall of 2021.
She was able to compete unattached, however, and at Sound Running’s Track Meet in May of 2021, she had another big breakthrough, dropping her 1500m time to 4:10.94. Over the next two years, she earned a master’s degree in public policy at the University of New Mexico while using her remaining NCAA eligibility.
During her time in Albuquerque, Goldstein began running in the 4:10 range for 1500m more consistently, and she qualified for additional NCAA championships. Her fifth-place finish in the 1500m at the 2023 USATF Indoor Championships was also a big confidence booster. She was out of indoor eligibility, so she was running unattached that season, and she held her own against established pros.
That summer, Goldstein signed a professional contract with Under Armour’s Mission Run Baltimore Distance and made the move to Maryland to train with the group. She felt ready to have another breakthrough year, but instead she got strep throat twice, and then mono. And last spring, the depression returned. Goldstein tried to make Baltimore work, but she ultimately decided that both her location and training situation needed to change if she was going to be happy and perform her best. “I think some people might be better at compartmentalizing their mental health and their execution and races,” Goldstein said. “But it’s so tied together for me.”
She left Baltimore Distance, whose women’s team has since disbanded, moved home to Pennsylvania for several months, and worked to heal, mentally and physically. Goldstein had always wanted to move to Brooklyn, where she knew she would have instant community, but she figured she would have to wait until she was done with running. She decided to make the move anyway.
“I knew the only way I could even hope to have a better season with running would be if I was happier,” she said. And Goldstein has been pleasantly surprised by how strong the New York City running community is, and especially how many sub-elite women there are to train with.
“I'm someone who’s so social and extroverted,” she said. “It’s been so nice having so many people to run with and meeting new people. It’s been so welcoming and exactly what I had hoped for and needed.”
Goldstein is currently looking for a job that would be compatible with running at a high level, and she would love to find a sponsor, but she’s trying not to put too much pressure on using running to pay the bills. “Hopefully I run fast because I want to run fast,” she said. “And then that might [lead to] financial support.”
Once a week, Goldstein takes the subway up to The Armory, where she can pay $10 to get in a track workout. She estimates she has company for half her workouts and three-quarters of her easy runs. She considered joining one of New York City’s many teams, but having switched coaches so many times in recent years, she decided she wanted to go with something somewhat familiar.
Her former Harvard teammate, Judy Pendergast, is now an assistant coach at the school. Pendergast offered her coaching services somewhat jokingly at first, but Goldstein couldn’t see any reason why not to have Pendergast help her get through her fall training. Goldstein found herself enjoying the training more than she had in a long time, and she appreciated the rapport she has with Pendergast. So they decided to continue their remote coach-athlete relationship.
“You don’t have to just take the conventional path that’s laid out,” Goldstein said. “I tried that. I went to the school that was really good at running, and I went to a professional training group. And now, living in New York, working with one of my best friends as a coach, I just set a [big] PR. So I think you just have to know what’s gonna work for you.”
Next up, Goldstein plans to run Saturday’s David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University. With her new personal best, she’s excited that she doesn’t have to worry about getting into a competitive heat anymore. She hopes to earn a spot at the following week’s USATF Indoor Championships, which requires hitting the 4:27.00 auto qualifying standard or having one of the 12 fastest times. With the event taking place on Staten Island, it’s basically a home meet.
When Goldstein contemplated stepping away from professional running, one of the things that kept her in it was the fact that she hadn’t broken 4:30 in the mile yet. The Endless Mileage Project plants a tree in its “Fast Forest” for every U.S. woman who breaks 4:30. Goldstein wanted her tree. But now that she has earned it, she’s wondering what else she can accomplish.
”Now that I’ve had this breakthrough, it’s another moment of, ‘Okay, I do have a place in this sport and I can be really good,’” she said. “It was really hard to believe that for a while.”
Nike unveils the Swoosh TC
Last week, Nike announced the launch of the Swoosh TC, and I noticed that the press release stated that they’ll initially have clubs in Utah, Arizona, and Oregon, which leaves the door open for expansion. The clubs will be coached by Diljeet Taylor (Provo), Mike Smith “in partnership with” Rachel Smith (Flagstaff), and Jerry Schumacher “in partnership with” Shalane Flanagan (Eugene), respectively.
This Runner’s World article from Sarah Lorge Butler included some interesting details, and Taylor also made an appearance on the Citius Mag podcast last week. Unlike Smith, who is leaving NAU at the end of the academic year, Taylor will continue to coach at BYU. She already had a pro group, but now she’ll have one with a lot more resources. There are still very few female pro coaches, so it’s good to see her head a group backed by a shoe company.
It’s interesting how much these clubs plan to share resources. All Nike distance athletes will have access to these hubs, whether or not they are a part of one of the clubs. Lorge Butler noted that non-Nike athletes will be able to train with Taylor and Smith only until their current contracts end. This will affect Nikki Hiltz (Lululemon), Whittni Morgan and Anna Camp Bennett (Adidas), and Courtney Wayment (On), among others.
Long term, this isn’t great news for non-Nike athletes. Coming out of college, pro runners have a limited number of options, and Smith and Taylor are no longer among them, unless those athletes sign with Nike.
Athletes who want to stay with a specific coach have a lot less bargaining power, and hopefully this will not negatively affect their contracts. It will be interesting to see if this rebranding will help the Eugene club, which was previously the Bowerman Track Club, become an appealing destination for top-tier athletes once again.
Brands having exclusive access to a coach is nothing new, but with Nike snatching up two successful coaches at once (they already had Schumacher), it will be interesting if other companies make counter moves. I’d love to see shoe companies get in a bidding war over Laurie Henes.
Lorge Butler also noted that Rachel Smith, who is expecting her second child in April, plans to return to competition. So it will be interesting to see what her role with the Flagstaff club ultimately is. It’s nice seeing Nike make a big investment in supporting professional distance runners. It doesn’t undo their missteps over the years, but hopefully they’ve learned from the mistakes of their past groups, and it’s the start of a new and better chapter.
A tough week for women’s sports
Last Wednesday was National Girls and Women in Sports Day, but there was little to celebrate as the current U.S. president took that opportunity to sign an executive order aimed at prohibiting trans women and girls from competing in women’s sports. He declared that the war on women’s sports was over, which would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. The following day, the NCAA preemptively complied with the order.
Whether or not you consider that to be a victory, I highly recommend this piece Rodger Sherman published soon after. He laid out the issues very clearly, and by the time I was done reading, I wanted to give him a standing ovation.
If the caring about trans women angle fails to move you, consider how this could affect cisgender girls and women. Trans activist Chris Mosier wrote in a post last week: “Excluding women who are trans hurts all women in sport by inviting gender policing that could subject any woman to invasive tests or accusations of being ‘too masculine,’ ‘too tall,’ ‘too strong,’ or ‘too good’ at their sport to be a ‘real’ woman. Some athlete bans allow for inspection of ‘internal and external reproductive organs’ of a child to determine eligibility.” That sounds like a good way to drive young girls, especially, away from sports.
I appreciate that several pro runners—not just Nikki Hiltz this time—spoke up in favor of trans inclusion last week, but both athletes and running/T&F media, especially, could be pushing back so much more. Hiltz spoke more about how they’ve been affected following the Millrose Games.
Other News and Links
Grayson Murphy had made it clear she was training for her debut marathon, and last week, James McKirdy announced that Murphy will make that debut at the McKirdy Micro Marathon: Road to Tokyo on March 30 in New York.
I highly recommend subscribing to Nikki Hiltz and Emma Gee’s YouTube channel; I imagine their content is going to start taking off soon. Their video from last week’s trip to Boston was their best one yet.
Marisa Howard, who made her first Olympic team over the summer, shared that she is pregnant and due in July, after miscarrying in September.
Irish Olympian Sinead Delahunty Evans became a volunteer assistant coach at Providence College, her alma mater, last fall, so it’s good to see she is now a paid assistant coach.
If you watch the February 5 episode of Chicago Med, you can catch a brief glimpse of 800m runner Brenna Detra near the end of the show.
In recognition of Erika Kemp’s recent 2:22:56 marathon in Houston, the Theodore Corbitt Institute for Running History Research reintroduced The List of American-born Black female marathoners who have broken 3:00 last week. One addition to the list that I missed at the time is Christi-Anne Beatty, who ran 2:47:30 in her debut at the 2024 Columbus Marathon.
Additional Results
At Tuesday’s Czech Indoor Gala, Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu ran a world-leading 8:24.17 to win the 3,000m. Great Britain’s Innes FitzGerald, 18, finished fourth in a European U20 record of 8:40.05. (Results)
At France’s Meeting Metz Moselle Athlélor, Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma won the 800m in a world-leading 1:58.97, and Great Britain’s Jemma Reekie finished second in 1:59.72. (Results)
At Boston University’s Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational, Shelby Houlihan won the mile in 4:20.30, which places her second on the U.S. all-time list indoors. She was hoping for a world and/or American record and wasn’t close, but she took 0.53 seconds off the U.S. lead that Elise Cranny established last week. Houlihan had a pacer for about 500m, but she was mostly on her own. She has been running low-key meets while her competitors run similar times elsewhere, but at the U.S. championships in two weeks, we will see head-to-head matchups in the 3,000m and 1500m. For much more on Houlihan’s current status, this post-race interview was informative. Valery Tobias of the Brooks Beasts, who is quietly putting together a strong season, led the 800m wire to wire and won in 2:00.73, not far off her outdoor personal best. In the 3,000m, Allie Buchalski and Kayley DeLay, also of the Brooks Beasts, worked together to hit the USATF Indoor Championships auto qualifying standard of 8:45.00. Buchalski won in 8:43.83, and DeLay was right behind (8:44.01). It was fun to see marathoner Susanna Sullivan drop down in distance and double in the mile (4:42.64) and the 3,000m (9:10.90). And I was also impressed by the double that Harvard’s Victoria Bossong pulled off. She set two school records, finishing second in the 400m in 52.02, and then winning the 1,000m in 2:41.66. (Results)
At Virginia Tech’s Doc Hale meet, Samantha Bush just missed breaking 4:30 for the first time, with a 4:30.11, and Rachel McArthur finished 0.003 seconds behind her. (Results)
Utah high school senior Jane Hedengren ran a solo 4:36.23 1600m at the REP Distance Classic. The race was held at the Olympic Oval, a 442m indoor track, 4,528 feet above sea level.
Ethiopia’s Likina Amebew won the Monaco Run 5K in 14:33, and Diane Van Es of the Netherlands finished second in a European record of 14:39. Olympic triathlon champion Cassandre Beaugrand finished fourth in a French record of 14:53. (Results)
Lauren Gregory has said that she plans to go all in on the trails this year, and it’s road/track racing’s loss. She won Saturday’s Mesa Half Marathon in 1:09:14, ahead of Kellyn Taylor (1:09:17) and Sara Hall (1:09:34). Taylor noted on Instagram that she had to go to the bathroom for eight miles, but for this level of race, she would have stopped rather than going on the run. Emily Sisson won the 10K in 32:08, and Stephanie Bruce was second in 33:25. Sisson said on Instagram that she’s going to keep racing herself into shape. She has a half marathon planned for next month, and she hopes to run a shorter race before that. Great Britain’s Ellie Stevens won the marathon in 2:39:03. Both the half and the marathon feature significant elevation loss. (Results)
Lauren Hagans won the Kook Run 10K in Encinitas, California, in 32:12. Carrie Ellwood finished second in 33:01. (Results)
Riley Brady won the Black Canyon 100K, running 8:16:18 to break the course record by 29 minutes. They had already secured a golden ticket for the Western States 100, but Tara Dower (second 8:25:08), EmKay Sullivan (8:48:50), and China’s Lin Chen (fourth, 8:50:40) accepted theirs. More here, from iRunFar.
Podcast Highlights
I appreciated Emily Infeld’s candor on I’ll Have Another. She discussed the past year and figuring out what works for her.
On Running--State of the Sport, Jackie Gaughan said that being a little less intense has helped her running improve. She also mentioned that she’s coming off an Achilles injury, but she was optimistic about her Boston Marathon build. She comes on at the 8:20 mark.
It was good to get a Gabbi Jennings update on the Ali on the Run Show. She said the first time she met Emma Coburn, they were at the Wild Duck, and there were body shots involved. (How’s that for click—or listen—bait? That’s most of the story, though.)
On Flight Paths, Oregon’s Klaudia Kazimierska, who is from Poland, talked about her breakthrough 2024 outdoor season and the challenges of adjusting to life in the U.S. But she has adjusted well enough that she wants to join a U.S.-based training group after she graduates.
The Fueling Forward Podcast, hosted by Maddie Alm, is such a great resource, and in the latest episode, she talked to Cory Ann McGee about her path through the sport and the role fueling has played.
Additional Episodes: Oregon’s Wilma Nielsen on The Running Effect | Jennifer Sandoval, a DII national champion who recently finished fifth at the USATF XC Champs, was on Women’s Running Stories | Cristina Burbach, who will compete in the Para Athletics division at the Boston Marathon, discussed her journey from being a competitive local runner to getting a T36 (coordination impairment) classification on Run Farther and Faster | France’s Marie-Ange Brumelot, who returned from injury to finish second at the World 100K Championships, on RunChats with @RonRunsNYC
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to Fast Women’s Venmo and Patreon in response to last week’s newsletter, as well as those of you who have been long-time supporters. Funding this newsletter in 2025 is definitely going to be a challenge, but regardless, I’m committed to keeping it going for now.
I hope you all have the best week possible.
Alison