Article 

(c) 2024 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. NORTHPORT, N.Y. (21-Sep) -- "Finally!" That's what Jessica McClain shouted as she broke the tape at the Great Cow Harbor 10K here this morning where she won her first-ever national title.  The 32 year-old from Phoenix, who finished fourth at the 2024 USA Olympic Team Trials Women's Marathon last February, stopped the clock at 31:40, a new course record by 13 seconds. She'll leave this picturesque seaside town on Long Island with total race winnings of $10,500: $8,000 for first place and $2,500 for setting a new course record.  Her time was also a championships record, bettering Marla Runyan's 2002 mark of 31:46 set in Boston. "It was so fun," an elated McClain told Race Results Weekly just after finishing.  "I was literally out here just to race and have a good time before New York (City Marathon), and the motivation now is just head-down training, staying in Phoenix the next six weeks." McClain was part of a strong lead pack in the first mile which included Natosha Rogers, Erika Kemp, Emma Grace Hurley, and Amanda Vestri.  Keira D'Amato, Annie Rodenfels, and Katie Izzo ran together about six seconds back.  The quintet ascended the steep James Street Hill in the second mile, then ran together towards the 5K mark, unable to appreciate the breathtaking views of Northport Harbor to their left.  Rogers got the $500 5K prime, but McClain held back.  She was thinking instead about the overall title. "I knew some of the women would be motivated by the 5K bonus," McClain explained.  "So I was like, just tune-out and stay in the mix until then, and then just feel it out.  When I felt comfortable enough, make a move and make it definitive." Her legs full of strength from marathon training, McClain pulled away in the fourth mile. She ran the mostly downhill second half of the race in a snappy 15:42, much faster than the second-place Rogers (16:03).  Spurred on by the hundreds of spectators who lined both sides of the course, the Brooks-sponsored athlete sailed to the finish line on Main Street alone.  She was particularly pleased with her tactics today. "I've been really bad about getting out and making half-assed moves," McClain admitted with a chuckle.  "I was really trying to get to a point where I was antsy and just go." Despite suffering from a badly upset stomach in the final mile, Rogers was a clear second in 32:00.  Hurley, the overall leader in the USATF Running Circuit points race, took third in 32:05 and Kemp, who won here in 2021, got fourth in 32:10.  D'Amato, who will run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in three weeks, completed the top-5 in 32:13. "I wasn't sure how this was going to pan out two miles in," said Rogers, who took the lead at 5K.  She continued: "Jess went with me, and then I just kept telling myself, 'just hold on; it's not easier being in no-man's land.'  I tried to hold on to her as hard as I could, but she just has a lot more strength on me." The men's competition quickly became a two-man race when Simbassa --the 2022 champion here and the course record holder-- pulled away with two-time Olympic steeplechaser Hillary Bor after Anthony Rotich surged for the halfway prime (14:19).  In the downhill, fourth mile Bor drafted Simbassa and the pair quickly developed an 11-second lead over their nearest chasers, Sam Chelanga and Kirubel Erassa.  Simbassa used his knowledge of the hilly course to his advantage. "This course can be tricky," Simbassa told Race Results Weekly.  "If you take a lead, make sure you don't go back because there is no place you can take a break." Bor stayed in his taller rival's draft trying to conserve energy.  He wasn't feeling his best. "Today I didn't run the way I expected to," Bor told reporters.  "I felt like I was in shape to run sub-28:00, but for some reason I woke up today and I was feeling tired.  My legs were just flat." The pair were still together through five miles (22:48), but in the final mile Bor had to let Simbassa go.  Although his finish time of 28:18 fell short of his own course record of 28:13, Simbassa was happy.  Today's win represented his second USATF 10K title in three years.  He had to skip last year's race because he competed in the World Athletics Road Running Championships, instead. "It feels good," said Simbassa, who won $8,000 in prize money.  "It's been a while (since) I won (a national) title.  You know, every year I set a goal at the end of the year, I want to win one national championship.  So, today's comeback and win here is just a blessing."   Bor, who later admitted that he knew he wasn't going to win in the first mile, got second in 28:34.  Chelanga won the battle for third over Erassa, 28:34 to 28:50.  Rotich, who won the halfway prime, rounded out the top-5 in 28:59. Today's race was held in near-perfect, late summer weather (fall officially begins tomorrow).  Many residents came out of their homes to cheer, some holding front-porch parties.  Organizers sold out at 5,000 entries four weeks ago, the earliest in race history. ** The 2024 USATF Running Circuit concludes at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5-K in New York City on Saturday, November 2, where the overall series champions will be crowned. PHOTO: Biya Simbassa and Jessica McClain celebrate after winning the USATF 10-K title at the Great Cow Harbor 10-K in Northport, N.Y. (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

(c) 2024 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. NORTHPORT, N.Y. (18-Sep) -- Saturday's 44th Great Cow Harbor 10K boasts a sold-out general field and will host the USATF 10K Championships for the third consecutive year.  A total purse of $47,000 is on the line including $8,000 for the winning man and woman and $2,500 for new course records. "We have great fields and I fully expect two course records as weather is looking good for fast times," said Will Fodor who recruits and organizes the elite athletes for the race.  "If we give out two bonuses we will be awarding $47,000 in USA-only prize money." Those course records are tough, however: 28:12.4 for men (Biya Simbassa, Under Armour, 2022), and 31:53.0 for women (Stephanie Bruce, HOKA Northern Arizona Elite, 2022). Although the USATF-certified course is net-downhill by about 41 meters (135 feet), it has a steep climb in the second mile on James Street which usually separates the contenders from the rest of the field.  Later, the final mile is nearly all downhill, conducive to fast sprint finishes. The women's field is very strong, despite the absence of 2023 champion Weini Kelati.  Erika Kemp (Brooks), who won the race in 2021 in a solid 32:18 will be back, and should face stiff challenges from former USA marathon record holder Keira D'Amato (Nike), 2023 national 5000m and 10,000m team member Natosha Rogers (Puma Elite Running), 2024 USA Olympic Marathon Trials fourth-placer Jess McClain (Brooks), 2023 USATF 5K road running champion Annie Rodenfels (adidas/BAA High Performance), the top American at the 2024 Mastercard Mini 10-K Amanda Vestri (Brooks/ZAP Endurance), and the second place athlete in the 2024 USATF Running Circuit Emma Grace Hurley (Asics/Heartland Track Club). Rachel Smith (Hoka), the USATF Running Circuit points leader, had planned to run but has scratched. Biya Simbassa, the 2022 men's champion and course record holder, leads the men's field.  He is currently second in the USATF Running Circuit points to Olympic steeplechaser Hillary Bor (Hoka) who will also be competing here on Saturday.  At the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race on Labor Day (the USATF 20K Championships), Bor handily beat Simbassa (who was third) which moved the two-time Olympian to the top of the USATF Running Circuit points table. Veterans Willy Fink (Under Armour), Sam Chelanga (Unattached), Anthony Rotich (U.S. Army), and Diego Estrada (Unattached) should also factor into the fight for the podium. The race prize money goes 10-deep: $8000-4500-2750-1500-1200-750-600-500-400-300.  There is also a $500 prime for the leaders at halfway.  Kelati, who won the women's race last year wire-to-wire, collected the 2023 women's prime, while Tai Dinger got the halfway prize on the men's side (he would finish seventh. The race reached its entry limit of 5,000 runners a full four weeks before race day.  That took organizers by surprise. "Our earliest, ever," said Fodor, whose son, Thomas,   "We did create a wait list to allow runners in the event if any valid scratches occurred enabling us to back-fill the available bibs.  To our astonishment we ended up with over 500 on the wait list." While it's tempting to make the race larger, Fodor said that keeping the runner experience at a high level is what is most important.  The population of Northport is only about 7500 and Fodor and his team want to give runners a genuine small-town race experience.  The race uses a wave start to assure every runner the chance at a clear roadway. "Our goal is to put on a quality event and to keep the name 'Great' in our name," said Fodor.  "We need to ensure all of the runners' safety (adequate water and medical personnel on site), while also achieving the goal of great overall customer satisfaction which we can confidently do with 5,000 runners." After Saturday's race here, only one event remains in the USATF Running Circuit program for 2024: the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K in New York City on Saturday, November 2.  The overall series champions will be crowned that day, and each will receive $30,000 out of a $300,000 series purse. PHOTO: Biya Simbassa winning the 2022 Great Cow Harbor 10K and the USATF national 10K title in a course record 28:12.4 (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)    

(c) 2024 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. NEW YORK (07-Sep) -- Emily Mackay, who considered herself an "underdeveloped athlete" when she finished her collegiate running career at Binghamton University in Upstate New York two summers ago, took a massive leap forward this year winning a World Athletics Indoor Championships bronze medal at 1500m, lowering her 1500m personal best to 3:55.90 (third fastest ever by an American), and becoming an Olympic semi-finalist after taking second at the USA Olympic Trials.  The 26 year-old from Endicott, N.Y., who will run the New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile here tomorrow, can hardly believe it. "I had no idea what to expect, and it surpassed my expectations in every way," Mackay told an audience of runners gathered today at New York Road Runners' RunCenter on Manhattan's West Side.  "It was really, really special to have that dream come true.  Every professional runner's dream is to become an Olympian." Mackay, who pronounces her name "muh-KYE," credits both her college coach at Binghamton University, Annette Acuff, and her pro-level coach at New Balance Boston, Mark Coogan, for recognizing her talent and drive to succeed. "I feel very proud of the school that I come from, Binghamton University, part of the America East Conference," Mackay told Race Results Weekly in an interview.  "It's a smaller D-I school.  It's not as well known for the running program." But it was the right school for Mackay.  As a sophomore (after transferring from Oregon State), Mackay ran only modest times of 2:11.55 and 4:27.45 for 800m and 1500m, respectively.  But under Acuff's coaching and despite the pandemic disruption of 2020, she got her times down to 2:08.53 and 4:17.37 as a junior, and improved further to 2:03.49 and 4:11.10 as a senior.  She began to see a long trajectory upward despite not competing for a big-name program. "Annette Acuff is an amazing coach," said Mackay.  "Just to show that the America East Conference can produce Olympic athletes, I think that's really special.  I'm very proud of coming from a smaller conference and a smaller school, just showing what we're made of." After college Mackay joined the New Balance Boston training group, which included Olympians Elle St. Pierre and Heather MacLean, and finished a promising seventh at the 2022 USATF Championships in the 1500m.  Under Coogan's coaching, and with the support of state-of-the-art training facilities provided by New Balance, quickly Mackay went all-in. "We just have so many amazing resources that help us compete at this level," Mackay explained.  "Mark's obviously an amazing coach.  He's got a great résumé.  He's definitely known for developing underdeveloped athletes.  That's one of the reasons I chose the program." But despite all of the technical tools that New Balance makes available, Mackay said that Coogan's hands-on, stick-to-basics style of coaching works for her, including regular stints at altitude and 80-mile weeks.  His program first left her exhausted, but her body slowly adapted "He's definitely more old school in his training," she said of the 58 year-old Coogan, who was a 1996 Olympian and competed at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships seven times.  "He's not super-big on lactate testing and VO2 max testing or anything like that."  She added: "I think he saw an underdeveloped athlete and someone who had a lot of room to grow.  I think that he might have seen the fire in my eyes, that he knew how motivated and determined I was.  He knew how much I believed in myself." With her successful track season behind her, Mackay hopes that tomorrow's race on Fifth Avenue will provide a satisfying end to her season.  In her first Fifth Avenue appearance last year, Mackay finished a disappointing 16th in 4:31.8.  She hopes to improve on that performance and was open about her race plan, which she admitted was pretty loose. "I didn't have any specific tactics last year, and I'm not going to lie, don't again this year," she admitted.  "I'm literally going to run as fast as I can.  It's as simple as that.  I'm just going to send it from the gun." *** The New Balance 5th Avenue Mile will be televised live on WABC-TV, Channel 7 in the New York tri state area from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. ET and available for streaming across the rest of the nation on ESPN+. Coverage includes features, interviews, and uninterrupted coverage of the professional heats with commentary from Olympians Carrie Tollefson and Alysia Montaño, ABC New York Sports Anchors Ryan Field and Sam Ryan, and Ali on the Run Show Host Ali Feller. PHOTO: Emily Mackay and her coach Mark Coogan at the 2024 USA Olympic Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

(c) 2024 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Reposted with permission NEW HAVEN (02-Sep) -- On a beautiful late summer day here in the Elm City, Hillary Bor (Hoka One One) and Keira D'Amato (Nike) scored convincing victories at the Faxon Law New Haven Road race which hosted the USATF 20K Championships.  Bor, an Olympic steeplechaser, ran away from the field and won in a championships record 58:09.  D'Amato, the former national record holder for the marathon, won in a more tactical effort, clocking 1:06:25, well off of her course and championships record of 1:04:29 set in 2022.  Both athletes won $9,000 in prize money. BOR IN A TIME TRIAL Bor, 34, who lives and trains in Colorado Springs, took a clinical approach to today's race.  Right from the gun he could be seen checking his watch frequently even after splitting a snappy 23:02 for the first five miles and 28:41 for 10K, about 18 seconds ahead of the chase pack.  He had a plan. "I wanted to test my fitness," Bor told reporters after the race.  "I got accepted for Valencia Half-Marathon (October 27) and I know it's going to be really fast."  He continued: "For me to go run the American record in Valencia Half (sub-59:47), also for me to run 59:30, I knew I needed to run at least 57-something in this course.  That was the plan." Bor took the lead in the first mile and recorded a 4:31 split.  That was a little faster than he wanted. "I just wanted to maintain about 4:35," he said. Bor only had Kirubel Erassa for company in the first two miles, but by the three-mile mark (13:48) Erassa had to back off (he would later drop out).  From there Bor just ran by time, cheered on at various points by handfuls of fans gathered on the course. When he went into East Rock Park in the tenth mile he began to tire, despite hitting a fast split of 46:44. "There was a lot of hills and I just got a little bit tired at the end," Bor lamented. For the final 2.4 miles to the finish, Bor backed off his pace and was able to enjoy the cheers from the crowd which he acknowledged with friendly waves.  His time of 58:09 surpassed Matt Tegenkamp's 2012 championships record of 58:30 (also set in New Haven), but did not approach Khalid Khannouchi's 1998 event record of 57:37.  In all, Bor was pleased with his race. "I'm excited, I'm excited," he said.  "I have a 10K to test my speed in two weeks then Valencia." Behind Bor the four-man chase pack of Nathan Martin, Biya Simbassa, Aidan Reed and Sam Chelanga hung together until about the final mile when the sprinting began.  Martin, who had led the chase pack most of the race, got second in 58:26, three seconds ahead of Simbassa.  Reed ran 58:31 and Chelanga clocked 58:39. "The game plan was, hey, if I have a shot to win just to go for it," Martin told Race Results Weekly.  "Hillary kind of took it out really strong (so) I wanted to be conservative and not make moves that would cost me later in the race."  He continued: "Overall, a fantastic race.  Really happy with it." D'AMATO COMES DOWN FROM ALTITUDE D'Amato, 39, came to New Haven after her first-ever training stint at high altitude in Park City, Utah, under Brigham Young University coach Ed Eyestone.  She incorporated today's race into her build-up for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 13, and decided to run a more moderate pace than when she set the course and championships record of 1:04:29 here in 2022. "I tried to stay relaxed through half, and then squeeze it down a little bit," D'Amato explained to reporters.  "I was really fortunate to have a very strong group of ladies to pull through." At the 10-K mark (33:20) Annie Frisbie led D'Amato, Jess McClain, Savannah Berry and Mary Grace Hurley.  By nine miles (48:21) D'Amato began to pull away. "I was feeling really strong so when I got to the top of the hill (just before the 10-mile mark), knowing all the tangents through I figured I could pick up some speed and hopefully put on a little gap, and just hold strong for the rest." Indeed, she did.  D'Amato finished 25 seconds clear of McClain (1:06:50), with Berry (1:07:03), Frisbie (1:07:19) and Hurley (1:07:29) making up the rest of the top-five.  D'Amato got emotional when she said how important this race was for her especially after failing to finish the USA Olympic Trials Marathon back in February. "This has been a year for me," said D'Amato.  "I've had a lot of lows, some changes, and I'm just so pumped to have a really strong, hard effort today.  I feel like I'm moving in the right direction." Coach Eyestone agreed. "Obviously, this is just kind of a checkpoint in the build (for Chicago)," Eyestone told Race Results Weekly.  "You come into this with some pretty heavy mileage.  I think this was good.  She said that she felt strong."  He continued: "Coaches like it when it's not close at the end." In all, 533 athletes finished the 20K while another 1142 finished the companion half-marathon, and 2459 finished the 5K. PHOTO: Hillary Bor wins the 2024 USATF 20-K Championships at the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)