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Olympic medalist, Global medalist and seven-time USA Track and Field National Champion, Alysia Montaño has used her platform to initiate a movement that has changed the dialogue around the capabilities and experience of professional athletes when they become mothers. As an athlete, author, analyst, and entrepreneur, Alysia has experience in building a brand while building partnerships and community. She continues to channel these gifts as well as her ability to inspire others to demand and make change. She talked to Running USA's Leah Etling about her non-profit, For All Mothers+, and it's efforts to lead the way for mothers in sport and everywhere.

ATLANTA (02-Mar) - In near-freezing temperatures with biting winds, Alex Maier and Taylor Roe of North Carolina-based Puma Elite Running won the USATF Half Marathon Championships this morning in dramatic fashion.  The former Oklahoma State All-Americans survived fast, early paces in their respective races, then used their strength to pull away from their remaining rivals in the final miles.  Both athletes won their first national titles, $20,000 in prize money, and guaranteed berths on Team USATF for the World Athletics Road Running Championships. "They did OK," joked their coach Alistair Cragg.  "For two youngsters at this level they acted like old veterans out there.  It was great; fun to see." KELATI BLOWS OPEN WOMEN'S RACE National half-marathon record holder Weini Kelati (Under Armour / Dark Sky Distance), made the first big move in the women's race.  After following the solid early pace set by Emily Venters (Nike) who went through 5 km in 16:15, Kelati surged in the sixth mile, splitting 10 km in 32:03 with an eight-second lead over Roe, Emma Grace Hurley (Asics / Heartland TC), Amanda Vestri (Brooks / ZAP Endurance), and Jess McClain (Brooks). "Pretty decisive move," said 2004 Olympian Carrie Tollefson on the race broadcast. Indeed, it looked like Kelati, whose personal best of 1:06:09 was over a minute faster than any other woman in the field, would run away with the race.  But in the eighth mile, Roe and Hurley began to work together to reel her in. "Taylor got moving and I went with her," Hurley told Race Results Weekly.  "She kind of made a comment to me, like, 'let's go try to catch her,' so we tried to pick it up and gain on Weini."  She added: "It was awesome to be chasing her." Forty-three minutes and five seconds into the race, Roe and Hurley caught Kelati.  The trio ran together only briefly before Roe pressed the pace and she and Hurley began to pull away.  By the 15 km point (47:50) Hurley had just run a 15:39 5-kilometer segment with Roe just one second behind.  Kelati was eight seconds back, and Vestri was running alone in fourth place after pulling away from Venters. Hurley - who grew up in nearby Roswell and formerly represented the Atlanta Track Club - knew the course better than Roe, and made good use of the many short hills in the latter stages of the race. She built a small gap on Roe, but the 2023 Big 12 5000m champion had more in the tank.  Roe pulled even with Hurley, then began to get away.  She felt confident in her fitness based on the training she had done with her group which includes Fiona O'Keeffe, the 2024 USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon champion. "I train with some of the best people, best in the world, best in the U.S.," Roe said in her post-race broadcast interview.  "I came in with confidence.  What my competitors are going to do to me today is nothing I haven't faced in practice." Roe ran alone to the finish in the Home Depot Backyard adjacent to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and broke the tape in 1:07:22.  She smashed her personal best by nearly a minute and a half, and made her first national team. "It's good news, but it's bad news that I have to run another half-marathon," Roe said with a laugh.  She added: "I'm really glad, grateful." Hurley, who only finished 89th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in her senior year at Furman University, held on to second place and finished in a big personal best of 1:07:35.  Like Roe, today's race was only Hurley's second half marathon and she thought that she got her tactics nearly right. "I may have gone a bit early, although I think sometimes in the race if you're feeling good it's OK to take a little bit of a risk," Hurley told Race Results Weekly.  She continued: "It was so special to be out there today." Kelati struggled in the final kilometers of the race, and was passed by Vestri, McClain and Venters (she finished sixth in 1:09:07).  Vestri held on for third, and in her third half-marathon clinched her first national team berth in 1:08:17.  She was very happy with her race. "By the grace of God," Vestri said, when asked how she maintained her composure in the final stages of today's competition.  "That was the only thing I was holding on to towards the end.  I was like, God, just get me through this.  Miles eight to twelve I was suffering pretty bad." McClain finished fourth, the same position as in last year's USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon.  But the 33 year-old from Phoenix was pleased with a new personal best of 1:08:37 while in the middle of her mileage-heavy Boston Marathon build-up. "It's OK," said McClain, who had trouble getting her words out because her jaw was so cold.  "I would much rather take fourth than Amanda.  I'm happy."  She added: "I felt really good on the hills; that's a good sign for Boston." Given the cold temperatures, strong winds, and hilly course, it was remarkable that the first ten women broke 1:10. BOR TAKES IT OUT HARD Two-time Olympic steeplechaser Hillary Bor (Hoka) stated his intentions early in the men's race, going right to the front from the gun.  He clicked off the first two miles in 4:37 and 4:28, respectively, and built up a small lead.  But by the 5 km point (14:06) the main pack of Teshome Mekonen (On), Nate Martin (Asics), Joe Klecker (On Athletics Club), Andrew Colley (ZAP Endurance), Ahmed Muhumed (Hoka NAZ Elite), Shadrack Kipchirchir (Puma / American Distance Project), and Maier were with him again. "You know I looked at the entries and I knew there were a lot of 10K guys," Bor told Race Results Weekly.  "I didn't want it to come down to a kick."  He added: "I knew if I was going to make the team I had to run my own race." Bor, Martin, Mekonen and Muhumed got away in the fourth mile, but the chase pack --led by Colley-- closed them down just a mile later.  Bor was still leading at the 10 km point (28:27), but the pack had grown to nine: Bor, Mekonen, Muhumed, Martin, Colley, Klecker, Maier, Kipchirchir, and Ryan Ford (ZAP Endurance).  Bor decided to put in another move, and he and Mekonen started pulling away from the field in the eighth mile, but then he backed off his pace again. "I was expecting someone to come with me," said Bor.  "When I got to mile seven I didn't want to run all the second half by myself.  I slowed down, waited for the crew and run with the group." By the 15 km mark (42:55) only Klecker, Martin and Mekonen had been dropped.  That's when Maier asserted himself.  He got on the front, and started to pull the field single-file.  Only Bor and Kipchirchir could stay with his pace.  Like his teammate Roe, he was feeling confident. "I mean, I knew I was capable of it," said the 24 year-old Maier.  "I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself coming into it.  I'm still relatively new to marathons, half-marathons.  I felt like I was in a good place fitness-wise." With about a mile to go, Maier dropped both Bor and Kipchirchir.  He ran unchallenged to the finish, breaking Publix-branded finish tape in 1:00:48, a three-second personal best. "It was about going out and running my best race," said Maier, who enjoyed the hilly course.  "It reminds me a lot of Oklahoma State, training on our cross country course.  Our cross country course is super hilly, right?  So, I feel like I was very in my element today." Kipchirchir edged Bor for second, 1:00:58 to 1:00:59.  Kipchirchir, the 2022 USATF cross country champion, got a personal best.  Bor was disappointed not to get the victory. "I wanted to win," Bor told reporters.  "Every time I start on the line I want to win.  But, at the end of the day I ran my race, I made the team, and I'm glad for Shaddy.  This is a strong guy.  It's good to compete." Muhumed took fourth in 1:01:03, a personal best, and Colley - who did a lot of the work mid-race - was fifth in 1:01:09.  He had hoped to make the team after recovering from a virus and training well. "I didn't really have any expectations for how it would run out," Colley told Race Results Weekly.  "The glutes started seizing up when everybody started moving and I tried to just stay focused and keep an eye on them.  I got closer, but by the time I started feeling good again it was gone." PHOTO: Taylor Roe winning the 2025 USATF Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)  

(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. (26-Feb) -- After Emma Grace Hurley finished 89th in her senior year at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships for the ninth-place Furman Paladins, the possibility of a professional running career seemed remote.  Although Hurley had performed well at the conference level, she never made an NCAA national track championships in any discipline.  By the time she graduated she had achieved only a modest 5000m personal best of 15:57.23.  Not a single shoe company tried to sign her. Fast forward six years and Hurley, who represents ASICS, is coming off of a career year where she won the USATF Running Circuit overall title, finished on the podium at five USATF championships, represented Team USATF at the World Athletic Cross Country Championships, and made an excellent half-marathon debut of 1:08:26 which made her the 12th-fastest American of all time. "I'm so grateful to still be in this sport," the 27 year-old told Race Results Weekly in a telephone interview from Atlanta yesterday.  "No one, no one would have thought in 2019 at cross country that I would still have opportunities like this so I am really grateful." It's been a long road for Hurley, originally from Roswell, Ga., where she competed for the Fellowship Christian School before heading for Furman.  Now based in Indianapolis, she's back in Atlanta for Sunday's USATF Half Marathon Championships, part of the Publix Atlanta Marathon Weekend organized by the Atlanta Track Club. The event is the USA selection race for the 2025 World Athletics Road Running Championships. The top three men and women will qualify for the team, and Hurley is the sixth-ranked athlete in the women's field based on personal best.  She's approaching the race cautiously, but thinks she has a shot at the podium. "The thing I always think to myself is to never have my mouth move faster than my legs can run," Hurley said.  "That's a big fear of mine, to throw something out there then not live up to it and have it be this pressure.  But in my head, the way I, like, have to go into it is to see myself as a podium finisher or else it's not going to materialize." With the COVID-19 pandemic gripping the nation after Hurley finished college, her elite running career got off to a slow start.  She moved back home to Roswell and joined the Atlanta Track Club's Elite program under then coaches Amy and Andrew Begley.  She clicked with the Begleys and began to put in the work.  She won the local Thanksgiving Day 5K in 2021 and set a then club record with her 16:13 clocking.  She had found a home. "Andrew and Amy were so chill," said Hurley.  "I actually felt less pressure in races (than in college), not just because they believed in me, but... I felt like they didn't hold expectations and they weren't going to get too high or too low no matter how the race went or how the workout went.  And that for me was really nice, knowing that the race was just the race and they were going to be proud of the effort and still believe in me just as much." In 2022 results started to come, even though Hurley was still only running 60-mile weeks.  In the fall she finished fifth at the USATF 10K Championships at the Great Cow Harbor 10K in Northport, N.Y., putting up a personal best of 32:50 on a hilly course.  She also ran a fast 10-miler of 53:24. Hurley benefited from the diversity of athletes on the Atlanta Track Club team, and was able to work on both speed and endurance without having to train alone. "I was on a team with anyone from 800 to marathon, and so being the only in-between person at that point I was just always getting pushed in workouts by people who were stronger than me in long runs, or... always getting pushed on the track.  I had a really good balance." In 2023 Hurley became a bonafide national-class athlete.  Skipping the indoor season, she took second at the USATF 15K Championships at the Gate River Run in March in Jacksonville, Fla., and was beaten only by American marathon record holder Emily Sisson.  She had struggled with "impostor syndrome" in her earlier elite races, but now she felt like she belonged on those starting lines.  She earned $5000 in prize money, the biggest payday of her career. "That didn't suck," said Hurley with a laugh.  "I think that was kind of the first time I felt like I belonged."  She continued: "Like, the previous year at races, for example like the B.A.A. 5K, I was looking around me and just being like, what am I doing here?  I don't know why I'm here." She got on two more national championships podiums in 2023, third at the USATF 10-Mile Championships at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Miler in Washington, D.C., and third at the USATF 10-K Championships at the Great Cow Harbor 10K.  In the 10K she was beaten only by 2024 Olympian and USA half-marathon record holder Weini Kelati and 2023 USATF cross country champion Ednah Kurgat.  She credited consistent work for her success. "I think that maybe the previous year and a half-ish of work was really good and really consistent," Hurley explained.  "One of the things I do really well isn't necessarily nailing one day and having a crazy workout or anything like that.  But I did a really good job of, up until that point, of not having missed anything." But a big change was coming.  The Begleys and Atlanta Track Club had parted ways, and Hurley had to make a decision about what to do. "There was definitely a level of anxiety," said Hurley, who ran her last race in ATC kit at the USATF 5K Championships at the Abbott Dash in November, 2023 in New York City.  She added: "Knowing that there was going to be a transition at the end of the year was a little stressful." Amy Begley took a job at USATF as director of long distance running programs and moved to Indianapolis with Andrew.  Hurley wanted to stay with the Begleys' coaching and decided to move, despite the fact that meant she would lose the financial support she got from the Atlanta Track Club.  Atlanta was also her home. "The only reservations I had were that my family and my boyfriend was in Atlanta, and my friends were in Atlanta," Hurley said.  "Obviously that's a lot of reservations, but I don't think anyone really questioned that they were the right coaches for me, and this is such a finite time where I can do this.  Of course, I was going to do everything I could to take advantage of the next few years my body can do this." Early in 2024 Hurley's management agency, Flynn Sports Management, got her a sponsorship deal with Asics. She was already a fan of their shoes, and Asics was making a renewed push into road running.  It seemed like a good fit. "I first got some ASICS shoes to try in early February, and then my first race in their uniform was Gate River Run in 2024," Hurley recounted. Hurley's 2024 competitive year was a whirlwind.  She did more than a dozen races from the mile to the half-marathon.  A very consistent performer, she finished fifth or better in every national championship she entered, except for the USATF Road Mile Championships (she still ran a credible 4:37.55).  In her last two national championships of the year, she finished third in both the 10K and the 5K.  In November she clinched the USATF Running Circuit title which included a $30,000 paycheck. But Hurley saved the best for last.  Just a week after the USATF 5K Championships at the Abbott Dash, Hurley secured a late entry for the CNO Financial Group Indianapolis Monumental Half-Marathon.  She felt fit and wanted to put it all out there in a half marathon for her last race of the year. "I was excited about that," Hurley said.  "I really, like, decided to do it the week of.  I really started thinking about it maybe the day before the Dash, and I had told myself if I get second or third at the Dash I was for sure going to do the half next week."  She added: "I was really grateful that they gave me the opportunity the week of." Because it was a last-minute thing, Hurley didn't have all of her usual race preparations in order, like where and what to have for dinner the night before.  Unable to get a restaurant reservation in downtown Indianapolis, she and a friend ended up eating pub food the night before, and as good as her legs felt during the race her stomach was pushing back. "I had seen Amy and Andrew (on the course) and they told me that I was going to win," Hurley recounted.  "I got to, like, enjoy that last mile (and) that was awesome.  The homestretch, to be completely honest, I had a little whoops on dinner the night before.  She continued: "We didn't get dinner reservations.  I called around too late, and we had, like, burgers and nachos and I was really freaking in the homestretch.  I was not underfueling or losing energy, but I had literally eaten the wrong things.  I was getting sick." She ended up throwing up a few minutes after the race. "It didn't feel good," she said good-naturedly.  "It was my own fault."  She added: "I wouldn't have eaten this before a workout.  Why did I think this was a good idea?" For this Sunday, besides making sure she eats a good meal on Saturday night, Hurley is feeling completely ready.  She hasn't run a race since last November, and she just completed her first-ever altitude camp.  She spent five weeks in Albuquerque and ran three 90-mile weeks, something she's never done before. "I really wanted, like, a good couple of months (to only train)," Hurley said.  "Even if you aren't taking a full down-week for a race you're still missing 10 to 15 miles in there.  I wanted to see what happened if I was just really consistent in training and not interrupting things to race." But running at altitude is so much harder than at sea level, so Hurley isn't sure exactly where she is fitness-wise. "I think preparation went well, but at the same time I don't know what things mean there," she said of her paces.  "So, we'll see how it translates.  But I've been in Atlanta for about a week and a half now, and everything feels really good."  She added: "I'm optimistic." While Hurley didn't discuss the rest of her racing plans for the year, it's a safe bet that you'll see her in longer events. "I think I always knew that I was going to end up in longer things," Hurley said.  "I think we're still kind of exploring and discovering that, but I think that's where I'm most at home right now." PHOTO: Emma Grace Hurley finishing 3rd at the 2024 USA 5K Championships at the Abbot Dash in New York City (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

(c) 2024 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, Published with permission. NEW YORK (18-Feb) -- Olympians Conner Mantz (Nike) and Emily Sisson (New Balance) are set to lead the USA charge at the 18th edition of the United Airlines NYC Half here on Sunday, March 16.  The two USA record holders --the half-marathon for Mantz and the marathon for Sisson-- are part of a star-studded field announced today by race founders and organizers, New York Road Runners.  The 2024 edition was the second-largest half-marathon in the United States last year with 27,824 finishers. Mantz, 28, who won the USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon last February, is coming off a record-setting runner-up finish at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon on January 19 where he set a new American record of 59:17.  In that race Mantz also set national records at 15 km (42:05), 10 miles (45:16), and 20 km (56:23) on his way to the finish.  Last November, he finished sixth in the TCS New York City Marathon in 2:09:00, the fastest time ever by an American at that race. "I was fortunate to kick off my 2025 season with an American record in the half-marathon," Mantz said through a statement. "Racing the United Airlines NYC Half will help me to continue that momentum during an important year of racing. Every time I race in New York, the crowds and camaraderie are unmatched, so I'm excited to have another opportunity to compete against some of the fastest and strongest athletes in the world." Sisson, 33, made her half-marathon debut at the NYC Half back in 2017 when she battled her then training partner Molly Huddle right to the tape, clocking 1:08:21 to finish second by two seconds.  She finished second again in 2018, and hasn't competed in the event since.  However, she later ran excellent half-marathons on flatter courses, and set a since-broken national record of 1:06:52 in Houston in 2023.  She set the still-standing USA marathon record of 2:18:29 at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2022. Both Mantz and Sisson will have plenty of competition for the NYC Half's $20,000 first prize.  Two Kenyans, Abel Kipchumba and Richard Etir, have fast personal best times of 58:07 and 59:32, respectively on their résumés.  Kipchumba, who represents adidas, won the 2024 edition of the race in 1:00:25, while Etir will make his New York debut. Other top entrants include Briton Patrick Dever (1:00:11 PB); Americans Hillary Bor (1:00:20), Biya Simbassa (1:00:37), and Reed Fischer (1:00:54); Kenyan Wesley Kiptoo (1:00:34); Eritrean Yemane Haileselassie (1:01:34); and Japan's Yudai Kiyama (1:00:32) and Hibiki Murakami (1:01:46).  Canadian Olympic 5000m silver medalist Moh Ahmed, and two-time American Olympian Woody Kincaid will make their half-marathon debuts (both have run sub-27:00 for 10,000m on the track). On the women's side three-time European cross country champion, Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal of Norway, will try to retain her title.  She won the 2024 edition of the race in 1:09:09, 18 seconds ahead of Kenyan Gladys Chepkurui. "Winning the 2024 United Airlines NYC Half was a dream come true and set the tone for the rest of my season," said Grøvdal, who represents adidas. "This race is extremely special to me and to have the opportunity to defend my title is an incredible honor." Including Sisson and Grøvdal, a total of seven women who are entered have run under 68 minutes for the half-marathon distance.  The others are Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel (1:06:09), Calli Hauger-Thackery of Great Britain (1:06:58), Sara Hall of the United States (1:07:15), Sharon Lokedi of Kenya (1:07:42), and Fiona O'Keeffe of the United States (1:07:42).  O'Keeffe was the 2024 USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon champion. In the professional wheelchair division, Susannah Scaroni will try for her third straight NYC Half title, while Dutchman Geert Schipper will try to win for the second consecutive time. ** This year's NYC Half will take runners over the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time after using the Manhattan Bridge since the start was moved to Brooklyn from Manhattan in 2018.  The finish line will still be in Central Park, just south of Tavern on the Green.  The point-to-point course is not record eligible, but is very tough with many hills and a high point of 45 meters above sea level. PHOTO: Conner Mantz competing in the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)  

The excitement of #runningusa25 is slowly fading, but we’ve got some fabulous reminders about what an awesome experience we all had in Louisville. Our Executive Director Jay Holder kicks us off with a reminder about how far the industry has come since the pandemic and what to look forward to in 2026 in St. Louis. Jay, take it away!