Makena Morley, a former CU Buff runner, powered away from the women’s field to win her first USATF title, while Abbabiya Simbassa outkicked the men’s field to increase his USATF Running Circuit standings lead at the USATF 25 km Championships presented by Toyota.
Overcast skies, little wind, and 45 degree temperatures made for a near perfect morning for racing. As the horn sounded the start of the women’s race, a lead pack of a dozen women jumped to the lead and set the early tone.
By the 5K mark, the lead pack was down to seven women, with Lindsay Flanagan, Allie Kieffer, and Erika Kemp leading the way. 5K later, it was Morley and Kemp up front, with Molly Grabill, Maria Mettler, Kieffer, and Flanagan just behind.
The pack of six would continue to run together until mile nine, when Flanagan and Kieffer started to fall back. Kemp and Morley continued to push the pace, with Grabill and Mettler working hard to stay connected up front, but the lead duo’s pace eventually was too much.
Kemp and Morley would battle through a two mile stretch of uphill running, but as the two runners crested the hill, it was Morley extending her stride and cruising downhill, putting a gap on Kemp and by mile 12, Morley was running by herself and putting distance on Kemp with every step.
Morley continued to push the pace over the final stages, extending her lead. As the finish came into view, Morley soaked in the fans cheering on both sides of the street, crossing the finish line and winning her first USATF title in 1:23:17.
Kemp held form over the final two miles, taking home a second-place effort in 1:24:00. Grabill ran to a third-place finish in 1:24:31, running away from Mettler in the final 5 km. Mettler would finish a strong fourth overall in 1:25:08, while Kieffer and Flanagan took home fifth and sixth place, respectively, in 1:25:23 and 1:26:05.
Rounding out the top ten finishers, Annmarie Tuxbury held strong over the final half of the race, despite running by herself the entire way, placing seventh in 1:27:26. Madison Offstein claimed eighth in 1:29:46, Christina Welsh took home ninth place in 1:29:52, while Angie Nickerson finished tenth in 1:29:56.
Morley’s victory in Grand Rapids moved her up to second overall in the USATF Running Circuit standings with 47.5 points. With two races remaining in the USATF Running Circuit season, and being only 1.5 points behind standings leader Emily Durgin at the moment, the fight for the overall title is going to be fierce.
Kemp’s runner-up finish added 18 points to her overall point total, giving her 46.5 points, also well in contention to grab the top spot. Flanagan’s sixth place effort bumped her up to fourth place overall in the standings with 34 points.
The men’s side, similar to the women’s start, saw a pack of a dozen runners jump to the front and run together through the early stages of the race.
It wasn’t until five miles into the race when the lead pack would start to establish itself. Haron Lagat, Simbassa, and Lawi Lalang would establish themselves up front, with Sam Chelanga, Brogan Austin, Futsum Zienasellassie, and Fred Huxham right off their shoulders.
Austin and Huxham, along with Chelanga, would take over pacing duties through the half way point. Little would change up front until the final two miles, when Huxham started to push the pace, stringing out the lead group into running single file through the streets of Grand Rapids. Austin and Lalang would drop off and it was a race to the finish for five.
Lagat and Huxham would drop back, not able to match the finish speed, leaving Simbassa, Zienasellassie, and Chelanga to battle.
As Simbassa, Zienasellassie, and Chelanga sprinted to the finish, it was anyone’s guess as to who would pull away. Ultimately, it was Simbassa putting the slightest of gaps on the other two in the final strides of the race, winning his second consecutive USATF Running Circuit race, crossing the finish arms raised in 1:14:27.
Zienasellassie ran tough through the line, crossing second in the same time of 1:14:27, while Chelanga took home third in 1:14:28. Huxham and Lagat would finish slightly back, with Huxham taking fourth in 1:14:34 and Lagat fifth in 1:14:38.
Lalang brought home sixth place overall in 1:15:36, finishing with the same time as Austin, who placed seventh overall. Eric Hamer ran a strong race to claim eighth in 1:15:51, while Thomson and Nick Hauger placed ninth and tenth in 1:16:23 and 1:16:31.
With his victory Saturday, Simbassa increased his USATF Running Circuit standings lead with 75 points, 38 points ahead of second place Clayton Young with only two races left on the 2021 USATF Running Circuit schedule.
Huxham gained 10.5 points, giving him 30 total points, while Chelanga gained 15 points, giving him 30 points, as the two runners are now tied for third in the standings.
The next stop on the USATF Running Circuit are the USATF 5 km Championships presented by Toyota, hosted by the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K, set to take place on Saturday, November 6 in New York City.
About the USATF Running Circuit
The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $42,600 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 25 km Championships.
The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 25 km Championships, scoring is set as 22.5 for first, 18 for second, 15 for third, 10.5, 9, 7.5, 6, 4.5, 3, and 1.5, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series.
The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners.