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(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. BOSTON (19-Apr) -- Eritrea's Dawit Seare (Hoka) and Ethiopia's Gela Hambese (adidas) won the 15th edition of the Boston 5K presented by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in sprint finishes this morning in 13:33 and 14:53, respectively.  The two athletes got to enjoy the grand finish line of the Boston Marathon which was used for the 5K this year, a change from the traditional finish at the Public Garden four blocks to the east.  Both athletes won $8,000 in prize money. The men's race featured many pace and leader changes, and the 20 year-old Seare was in the thick of it the entire time.  After the leaders split the first kilometer in a sluggish 2:55, Seare took the lead and was followed by Britain's Henry McLuckie.  The pace stayed tepid through the first mile (4:39), and not a single athlete had been dropped from the 20-man elite field. "The pace was a little slow at the beginning," Seare told Race Results Weekly with translation help from his manager, Hawi Keflezighi.  "So, I started surging.  I wanted to surge so they wouldn't out-kick me (at the end).  I wanted to take the kick out of the other runners." Seare, Canada's Thomas Fafard (Brooks), Kenya's Amon Kemboi (Puma Elite Running), Britain's Patrick Dever (Puma Elite Running), and Biya Simbassa (Asics) were in the front at 2K (5:42) when Seare surged again and the leaders went through 3K in 8:26.  At that point Dever and Kemboi started to work together to break the race open. "When we hit that 3K I just said, drop the hammer straight away," Dever told reporters.  "I knew Amon would be right there with me.  Our coach (Alistair Cragg) is always telling us, when you're making moves like that, try not to think too much.  Just turn the brain off and go for it." Kemboi and Dever's surge brought the race through two miles in 9:01 (4:22 for the second mile), and that cut the field to just four: Kemboi, Dever, Seare and Simbassa.  That set up an all-out, straight-line, 800-meter sprint on Boylston Street to the finish.  Simbassa slipped off the back first and would finish fourth in 13:40.  Seare started to lose touch, too, but he was really just gathering himself for the final sprint. "I was exhausted after all the surging," Seare said.  "But, I knew they would be more exhausted and beat-up.  I felt like I had the energy to go." Seare sped past Kemboi and Dever to get the win, and Dever got second (13:35) and Kemboi third (13:37).  Max Turek of Canada rounded out the top-5 in 13:52. Although Seare is young, he has already performed well at top events.  He ran an Eritrean record for 10K in Valencia last January (27:21), and finished tenth at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in the 3000m in March.  This was his first race in the United States, and he was clearly pleased to record a win on Boylston Street. "I am very happy and I would love to come back to win again," said Seare. The women's race was only decided in the final 200 meters.  Hambese simply out-legged both Kenya's Grace Loibach (Nike) and Taylor Roe (Puma Elite Running) to get the win.  Loibach passed Roe just a few meters from the tape to take second in 14:55 to Roe's 14:57.  Ethiopia's Tsigie Gebreselama (On) took fourth in 15:01, followed by compatriot Lemlem Hailu (Nike) in 15:02. "It was so nice," said Hambese, who got translation help from the U.S.-based Gebreselama.  "I'm so very happy." Roe, who had set USATF records at 10K, 15K and 10 miles two weekends ago at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile in Washington, D.C., definitely felt that huge effort in her legs today. "I mean, I did what I could today," said Roe, who set a personal best.  "This one was more about just like racing, try out some different tactics."  She continued: "I definitely went out too early, I would say.  I mean, I don't regret it; strung out the field and got it going.  We live and we learn and we sharpen up for track." In the elite wheelchair competition, Switzerland's Marcel Hug got his third win in a row in 10:02.  Eden Rainbow Cooper of Great Britain successfully defended her title in the women's race, clocking 12:08, just one second ahead of 8-time Paralympic gold medalist Tatyana McFadden.  Both wheelchair winners earned $2500 in prize money According to Boston Athletic Association officials, 9137 athletes finished today's race, about the same as last year (entries for this event are capped). PHOTO: Marcel Hug of Switzerland and Eden Rainbow Cooper of Great Britain were the winners of the wheelchair competition at the 2025 Boston 5K presented by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. BOSTON (18-Apr) -- Before becoming an elite athlete who set American records in the marathon and half-marathon, Keira D'Amato was a recreational runner trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon, which will be held for the 129th time on Monday (the 2020 race was conducted virtually).  She signed up for the Missoula Marathon in 2013 and hoped to make the then qualifying time for a 28 year-old of 3 hours and 35 minutes. "The only reason I wanted to run a marathon was to try to qualify for Boston for 2014," D'Amato told Race Results Weekly at a press conference here this morning.  "This was the year I had just seen the bombing and that inspired me to do my first-ever marathon." D'Amato, whose maiden name was Carlstrom, was not an ordinary beginner.  She had competed in the NCAA system at American University where she finished sixth at the 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championships and ninth in the 5000m at the 2006 NCAA Track & Field Championships.  Still, she had no idea how difficult a marathon would actually be. "I didn't really train as hard as I should, and I wasn't really running at the level I was (in college)," said D'Amato, who ran 3:49:56 that day.  "I went in and I was just taught a huge lesson to respect the marathon.  Maybe like 16 to 18 miles (in), and I walked a lot.  I finished --I was really proud to finish-- but it humbled me and really taught me to respect the marathon as a distance." D'Amato, 40, who re-booted her running career in 2018 after having two children and establishing a career in real estate, went on to run more than an hour and a half faster than she did in Missoula, setting a (since broken) American record of 2:19:12 in Houston in 2022.  She enjoyed even more success, placing eighth in the 2022 World Championships, and taking sixth at the BMW Berlin Marathon later that same year.  She's broken 2:23 three times. But the marathon would humble her again.  In 2024 she dropped out of both of her marathons, the Olympic Trials in February and Chicago in October.  Her Chicago experience was particularly painful.  She had moved with her family to Utah to train under Brigham Young University coach Ed Eyestone, and had prepared very well.  She thought she was in shape to challenge her personal best. "Building up for Chicago, that was one of my best builds," D'Amato explained.  "Mileage was there, the strength was there, I was seeing times I had never really seen in workouts.  Five-K into the race my foot started hurting, every K after that it started hurting more, and at 15K I felt it just break. I had to step off. It was very humbling.  You work so hard for these goals and, and when you realize that this isn't my day you just kind of have to accept it, learn from that and move on." Marathoners need to balance confidence and humility in order to be successful, especially in Boston where the fields are strong, the course is hilly, and the weather can be fickle. "I try to tell every beginner that the event always wins," said Kevin Hanson, who with his brother Keith, coaches athletes at the Hansons-Brooks Original Distance Project in Rochester Hills, Michigan.  "The marathon always wins.  Even people who have debuts that are outstanding and think they have it figured out... are always still learning." Conner Mantz, who won the 2024 USA Olympic Team Trials and finished eighth in the Paris Olympic Marathon, doesn't see confidence and humility as being in conflict.  In essence, they are two sides of the same coin. "I don't think there's any other distance that requires so much humility," Mantz told Race Results Weekly.  "You can blow up in a marathon and run so bad no matter how well your training went.  I feel like humility and confidence aren't the opposite at all.  I think being humble is knowing yourself and knowing what you can do, respecting others but also respecting what you've done to get where you are.  So, it's a confidence thing, but not believing you can do more than anyone else." Monday will be Mantz's second crack at Boston.  He finished 11th in the 2023 edition of the race in 2:10:25, a disappointing performance after he ran a celebrated 2:07:47 debut in Chicago six months earlier. "The last Boston Marathon I ran, the last two miles I was like, I can't believe I'm running this slow," said Mantz, wincing as he spoke.  Like, I didn't even know how slow I was running.  My last two miles were, like, six-flat pace.  My first marathon had gone so well that I couldn't believe that my second was going so poorly." Two-time Olympian Kara Goucher had a similar experience.  In her marathon debut at the 2008 New York City Marathon, she ran what was the fastest-ever debut by an American woman, finishing third in 2:25:53.  But at the same race in 2014, she had a soul-crushing experience.  Running the second half more than nine minutes slower than the first, she finished 13th in 2:37:03.  She would run only one elite marathon after that. "I had never hit the wall before," Goucher said.  "I've heard people talk about it and I was like, you obviously didn't train right.  Then in 2014 I don't even remember the last eight miles of that race.  I remember I was looking for my coach, Coach Wetmore, because I wanted permission to drop out.  Afterwards I was like, 'You said you were going to be in Central Park!'  And he goes, 'I looked right at you and told you to hang on.'  I don't remember any of that." For D'Amato (pictured at right), who is running her first Boston Marathon, she is headed into Monday's race feeling little pressure.  She is grateful to be healthy again and, with a humble heart, just wants to feel good on the course and see what she can do. "Lining up on Monday for Boston I feel really grateful, and really thankful," D'Amato said.  "It's a gift that I'm healthy and I can hopefully crush it on Monday."  She continued: "I have never felt pressure in running, external pressure.  I have a lot of goals that I want to reach, but I don't think anyone, including myself, thought I'd ever make it this far.  From that first marathon, bonking and hitting the wall, I never thought I'd do another marathon.  Every time I line up I just feel appreciative for it." PHOTO: Keira D'Amato in advance of the 2025 Boston Marathon (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly) PHOTO: Conner Mantz winning the 2024 USA Olympic Team Trials Men's Marathon in Orlando, Florida (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)  

(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved.  Published with permission. WASHINGTON, D.C. (06-Apr) -- It was a very good day for Puma Elite Running's Taylor Roe at the 52nd Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile here this morning. Very, very good. The 24-year-old former Oklahoma State star not only won her second national road running title in 36 days, but also ran a world best for an all-women's race (49:53; previous best 50:32), smashed the previous USATF record of 51:23, crushed the event record of 51:14, and also set a new national 10K (30:56) and 15K (46:24) records en route.  She also earned $30,000 in prize and bonus money: $10,000 for the USA title, $6,000 for the overall title, $1,000 for sub-52:00, $5,000 for a world best, $5,000 for a national record, and $3,000 for an event record. "That is not what we talked about today with my coach," a stunned Roe told reporters.  "Like, what we talked about?  That is exactly *not* what was supposed to happen.  I think at some point I committed to a pace, and you know, I just had to commit to it, believe in it." That pace began at 5:04 for the first mile, but quickly went down to 4:58 for the next.  Roe led training partner Fiona O'Keeffe, plus challengers Emma Grace Hurley, and Ethiopia's Adane Anmaw.  Roe held that sub-5:00 pace through 5 miles (24:52), and by that point she was already alone.  She had passed her coach, Alistair Cragg, who yelled at her, "just go!" as she went by. "I knew kind of the pace I was running," Roe explained.  "I knew if somebody's going to come get me they're going to have to start running low-4:50's.  And if, you know, they do that?  Props to them." But nobody did.  With just the lead truck, a few spectators, and the beautiful cherry trees in full bloom on Hains Point for company, Roe blasted through 10K in 30:56, then ran mile 7 in 4:57, mile 8 in 4:58, and mile 9 in 5:02.  Her form looked exactly the same as in the first mile. "I kind of knew if I maintained that pace, stay composed, it was going to be hard to come back on me," she said. Roe rolled to the finish alone, and even had time to pose for photos before Anmaw took second (51:00), Hurley got third (51:04), and O'Keeffe got fourth (51:49).  Both Anmaw and Hurley achieved personal bests. "I knew that today was going to be grindy and definitely gritty coming off going out to the West Coast and running a 10,000," said Roe, who ran a personal best 30:58.66 at The TEN in San Juan Capistrano last Saturday.  "Today wasn't going to be, like, fresh legs." The men's race was full of surprises, not least of which was that a popular British athlete won the USA title. Charles Hicks, the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships winner for Stanford University who now represents Nike, was part of a four-man break at 15K along with national road running champions Alex Maier, Hillary Bor and Biya Simbassa.  Hicks --who also has USA citizenship and was eligible to run in these national championships because the race did not function as a Team USATF selection race-- showed the best speed in the final kilometer and won in a new event record of 45:14.  Maier took second in 45:15 (a new USA record; Hicks is not yet eligible to set USA records), Simbassa took third in 45:23, and Bor got fourth in 45:30.  Defending champion Wesley Kiptoo of Kenya finished fifth in 45:55. Hicks, who was running his first road race, entered these championships after his coach, Jerry Schumacher, saw that he was coming into good form and the race would provide an excellent fitness test. "Talking to Jerry before this he's like, let's see how we go, plan the season from here," Hicks told reporters.  "I'm not sure we can really do much better than that, though.  So, I'd expect to see me on the roads a little bit more." Hicks is in the process of changing his allegiance from Great Britain to the United States (he is still listed as "Great Britain & Northern Ireland" with World Athletics).  He spent the first 12 years of his life in England, then moved to Florida where he lived until he went off to Stanford.  USATF officials who were on hand at the race verified that Hicks was eligible to compete in these championships, who praised Maier --the reigning USA half-marathon champion-- for making the race. "All credit to Alex Maier," said Hicks, whose long dark hair was matted with sweat.  "Alex Maier just took that race.  I mean, I was ready to fall off on that backstretch where he was catching the tail wind.  He went straight out, pulling away." Maier, Bor, Kiptoo, Hicks and Simbassa were all timed in 28:07/28:08 at 10K, but a slight headwind on the trip back to the start/finish line helped Hicks who got a second wind. "Then we came around, went into the wind, and I felt the pace slow-up," Hicks continued.  "Got my legs underneath me.  I think I made a great tactical push for most of the time there, and it just paid off." Hicks earned a total of $20,000 ($10,000 for the national title, $6,000 for the overall title, $1,000 for sub-46:00, and $3,000 for the event record.  Maier earned $13,750 because he got credit for the national record. "He's always an animal, seriously," Maier said of Hicks, an athlete he competed against during his NCAA career.  "Going back to college, watching him win it on our home course (in 2022 where Maier finished fifth).  I was like, man, that guy's tough." Well behind the leaders, 75-year-old Bennett Beach of Alexandria, Virginia, finished his 52nd consecutive Cherry Blossom, the only runner to achieve that feat.  He was clocked in 2:30:54 (net). A record 19,920 runners finished the race. PHOTO: Taylor Roe setting a world best 49:53 for 10 miles at the 2025 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile (Photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. (03-Apr) -- Coming off of a year where he set personal bests from 1500m to 10,000m, two-time USATF national champion Drew Hunter will run the longest race of his career on Sunday, the 52nd edition of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile in Washington, D.C.  Hunter, 27, who lives in Boulder, Colo., but grew up in nearby Virginia, will also be competing in the USATF 10-Mile Championships, the race-within-the-race at the Cherry Blossom, where he hopes to beat national road running champions like Hillary Bor, Biya Simbassa, Leonard Korir, Shadrack Kipchirchir, and Alex Maier. "I feel like every year I put a race on the calendar that's a challenge for me, but also just something different," Hunter told Race Results Weekly in a telephone interview from Boulder on Tuesday.  "Last year that happened to be a track 10K.  I'd never done one; I'd focused on the 1500 most of my career.  I was just like, this is going to be hard, challenging, but it's something new.  I think it's really important for us athletes to just stay inspired by our running." Hunter will face an extra challenge in Sunday's race.  He's still recovering from the 10,000m personal best he ran at The Ten in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., last Saturday night where he finished 11th (fourth American) in 27:24.49.  Coached by his mother, Joan, the 2021 USATF 5K road running champion has been getting ready for this two-race peak since he started his winter training. "Cherry Blossom fit in really well with my schedule," Hunter continued.  "The 10K was the priority, so I could run the 10K and still race Cherry Blossom.  I think the 10-mile will be a good distance for me."  He added: "I really wanted to hit the 10K hard, then race the Cherry Blossom and see what I can do.  It's a little freeing, not doing a 10-miler before.  It's my longest race, ever.  Expectations are low, and that's sort of fun for me." Although Hunter founded the adidas-backed Tinman Elite program in Boulder, he is no longer an official member of that group since his eight-year sponsorship with adidas lapsed at the end of 2024 and he signed a new four-year contract with Asics.  Still, Hunter does some of his training with the Tinman group which is evolving into a marathon-focused team.  That's been particularly helpful for his build-up for these two longer races. "I train a lot with (Tinman's) Reed Fischer and he's run really well over that distance," Hunter explained.  "So, I'm very, sort of like, intrigued to see what I can actually do." Hunter --who turned pro right out of high school in 2016 after initially deciding he was going to enter the NCAA system at the University of Oregon-- has focused his career mostly on middle distance running.  He beat Alan Webb's national high school indoor mile record in 2016, running 3:58.25 (his first sub-four mile) then ran 3:57.81 later that season.  He eventually lowered his mile time to 3:54.80 in 2022, and last year ran a snappy 3:33.78 for 1500m. Hunter stressed that running two long-distance races two weekends in a row doesn't signal a move away from the track or the mile.  Instead, he said, he hopes that this phase of his training, which included an 18-mile long run, will make him a better all-around runner. "I just have to get strong," Hunter admitted.  "Racing an over-distance race is really good for me to do.  Just in training, just for the preparation I've done for it, will set me up for a great track season."  He added: "I can really be solid in anything I put my mind to." Hunter's 2024 track season was short, but impactful.  After making USA Olympic Team Trials qualifying marks for both 5000m and 10,000m, Hunter decided to focus all of his energy on running the 10,000m.  He saw an opening for one team spot assuming that Grant Fisher and Woody Kincaid would take the top-two spots (they did).  Near the end of the race, Hunter came close to beating former Northern Arizona star Nico Young; Young only beat Hunter by .95 seconds. Hunter recounted how his mother helped prepare him for one mighty peak at the Trials. "I think I can show up at the Olympic Trials and have my very best race of the year be at the Olympic Trials," Hunter recalled thinking a year ago.  "While under pressure, I think a lot of the other guys will be cooked, they'll be tired, I think they'll be training-through.  I think I can run really well, and my Mom developed a program for me that would have me ready then.  It took a leap of faith --like I didn't run amazingly in some of my earlier races, like U.S. cross country (he finished ninth), and some other things-- but I ran my best race of the year at the Olympic Trials when it mattered the most." Hunter has been a pro for almost a decade, and his recent switch of sponsors --and having a second daughter with his wife Sandy last September-- gave him a chance to reflect on his career, both on the field of play and off.  He has surprised himself, he said. "I did a lot of things in my running career I never thought I would do," said Hunter.  "I started a team, I made a shoe with a company, I sold millions of dollars of gear.  Those are things --they're not running goals-- but they're things I'm very proud of that I accomplished in my career.  So, I think that my path is my path, and my journey is not over with yet.  This new contract with Asics, the excitement about future races, I really feel like I have a lot more to give." On Sunday in Washington, where Hunter said he'll be racing in the Asics Metaspeed Edge, he'll have a lot of support throughout the weekend.  Growing up in Loudoun County, just a one-hour drive northwest from central Washington, he plans to see friends and family alike.  He will also be joining a Hunter family tradition of going to the Cherry Blossom, a race historically known as the "Runner's Rite of Spring." "It's a race that I've always wanted to do," said Hunter.  "One of my first memories of running, actually, was my Dad took some Reston Road Runners to the Cherry Blossom when I was a little kid and I got to watch.  I grew up outside of Northern Virginia, so D.C. is very close to home for me.  All of my in-laws will get to watch me run.  Some of my friends from high school will get to come out and see me run."  He added: "I'm excited to sort of go back home.  I'm actually spending some time with my family afterwards, some of my friends, and we'll celebrate my sister's birthday which is on the day of Cherry Blossom." ** The 52nd Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile will start near the Washington Monument with the elite women's race at 7:18 a.m., followed by the elite men and masses at 7:30 (last year's race had 17,856 finishers).  The race has an $80,600 prize money purse ($48,600 for the national championships), and is also part of the prestigious 2024/2025 Professional Road Running Organization (PRRO) Circuit.  The 28th PRRO Championship will be held at the Utica Boilermaker 15-K on Sunday, July 13, in Utica, N.Y. PHOTO: Drew Hunter competing at The TEN in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., on March 29, 2025 (Photo by Kevin Morris and provided by Asics; used with permission)

(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. NEW YORK (16-Mar) -- New York City may have been socked-in with fog and drizzle this morning, but the champions of the 18th United Airlines NYC Half were crystal clear.  Sharon Lokedi (Under Armour) and Abel Kipchumba (adidas), both of Kenya, won the open divisions by margins of 42 and six seconds, respectively, and both set event records.  Manuela Schar of Switzerland and Geert Schipper of the Netherlands each won the professional wheelchair divisions by about four minutes.  Lokedi and Kipchumba each won $20,000 in prize money, while Schar and Schipper took home $7500.  A record 28,750 runners started today's race on a course which ran from Prospect Park in Brooklyn, over the Brooklyn Bridge, to Central Park in Manhattan. EARLY FAST PACES With a tough course --including an uphill last five kilometers-- athletes are usually cautious in the early stages of the NYC Half. But not this year. Both the elite men and women got on a quick pace early, especially the men, where USA half-marathon record-holder Conner Mantz (Nike) ripped through the first 5K in 13:50.  Only four other athletes --Kipchumba, Patrick Dever of Great Britain (Puma Elite Running), Hillary Bor of Colorado Springs (Hoka), and Wesley Kiptoo (Northern Arizona Elite) of Kenya-- could handle that pace. "This is a really big race," Mantz told Race Results Weekly.  "I tapered well for it.  This was kind of where I was going to test things out for the Boston Marathon.  So, this was about trying to cover moves, push on the hills, make sure I ran smooth, and was able to adjust off the paces." As the leading men started the ascent of Brooklyn Bridge in the eighth kilometer, Mantz continued to press.  At the crest of the 41-meter high roadway above the East River, Kiptoo was beginning to lose contact (he would eventually finish fifth in 1:00:56).  Mantz split 10K in 27:48 --on pace for an improbable 58:41 finish-- but Kipchumba, Dever and Bor remained with him. Running north on the FDR Drive, a six-lane highway that is normally choked with traffic, Kipchumba became the aggressor and went to the front.  Dever and Bor fell back, leaving Kipchumba and Mantz to battle it out in the last seven kilometers.  In the 17th kilometer Kipchumba put in a surge, and began zig-zagging in the middle of 42nd Street. "I was trying to run away," Kipchumba said after the race.  "I was trying to shake the move." Mantz, 28, battled to stay with the 31 year-old Kenyan, who also won last year's race. "Some of those moves that Abel put in were pretty tough," admitted Mantz.  "I just knew that's where he was trying to make his move."  He added: "When he started to zig-zag I was like, this is his move. I think this is his last move.  I have to go with it." After turning right onto Seventh Avenue and running through Times Square, Kipchumba started to pull away.  By the time he hit the 20K mark at the south end of Central Park, Kipchumba had five seconds on Mantz. "When I see he is not following me, I maintained the pace and ran (by) myself," said Kipchumba. Kipchumba ran the final stages in Central Park to finish on the famous TCS New York City Marathon finish line, albeit in the opposite direction.  He broke the tape in 59:09, breaking Haile Gebrselassie's 2007 event record of 59:24, a remarkable feat given that the two-time Olympic gold medalist from Ethiopia ran on a course that was 30 meters downhill. "I am very happy," said a smiling Kipchumba when a reporter pointed out that he had broken Gebrselassie's record. Mantz, who finished second in 59:15, was equally pleased with his race.  Despite the hilly course, he ran two seconds faster than his American record time from Houston in January (the NYC Half course is not quite record-eligible).  His preparations for April's Boston Marathon were right on track, he said. "I'd give myself an 'A'," said Mantz.  "Today was a good day.  I think training's been a lot better than it was going into Houston.  Obviously, Coach Eyestone has prepared me very well."  He added: "I'm very happy about that." Bor, who represents Hoka, finished third in 59:55 recording his first sub-60:00 half-marathon in four tries (three of them this year).  He said he's learning the event and is starting to feel more comfortable with the distance. "Racing against Conner Mantz brings the best out of everyone," Bor told reporters.  He added: "This is, let me count, my fourth half.  It's getting more comfortable, it's getting more comfortable.  I'm getting used to it." Back in 12th place two-time Olympian Woody Kincaid (Nike) made his half-marathon debut in 1:03:00.  He had to deal with some cramping early in the race, and tried to make the best of what he said was a good learning experience.  He had never run a road race longer than five kilometers before today. "It was tough.  I got to the Brooklyn Bridge at five miles and I have this cramp every now and then," said Kincaid, who pointed to his solar plexus.  "For about a minute and twenty, if you see my split.  I thought about how I'm going to attack this from here on out, and I just grinded away after that.  Honestly, for the first time you don't know what's going to happen.  You have to give yourself some grace and try to be competitive no matter what." LOKEDI BREAKS AWAY Thanks to some early front-running by Britain's Calli Hauger-Thackery (Nike), the women's race set up for a fast time.  Hauger-Thackery, who like Mantz is running the Boston Marathon, got to 10K in 32:13.  Only six other women --Lokedi, Diane van Es of the Netherlands (Asics); Fiona O'Keeffe (Puma Elite Running), Emma Bates (Asics), and Sara Hall (Asics) of the United States; and debutante Amy-Eloise Neale (On)-- were able to maintain that pace. "I don't know, I'm not good at running too slow," Hauger-Thackery told Race Results Weekly.  "I felt good and I wanted to, like, go for it.  I don't think I did any crazy moves, but tried to keep it honest." Neale and Hall couldn't hold the pace through 15K (48:12), and Bates was slipping off the back.  Going west on 42nd Street, just a few hundred meters from the United Nations, Lokedi stepped on the gas and quickly opened up a gap on the field.  Despite the elevation gain of about 14 meters, Lokedi ran a snappy 15:26 from 15 to 20K and put the race away.  She ran the Central Park portion of the course alone, and clocked 1:07:04, well under Hellen Obiri's 2023 event record of 1:07:21 (run on a similar course). "I was like, we're almost there so time to go," Lokedi said of her 16th and 17th kilometers in Manhattan.  The Under Armour athlete continued: "I started to warm up.  I felt like I was getting faster and warmed-up, my rhythm and my cadence.  I just kept going with it." Lokedi, who finished second at last year's Boston Marathon to Obiri, is pointing for the same race this year.  She got great feedback today, she said. "I think it's a confidence where my training is," said Lokedi.  "Because, sometimes you just do training and you don't know where you were.  So, I think this was a good run to, like, to tell me what I need to do." O'Keeffe and Hauger-Thackery battled for second, and the American got the best of the Brit by just three seconds, 1:07:46 to 1:07:49.  For O'Keeffe it was her first race of the year, and her first race start since dropping out of the Paris Olympic Marathon last August with a hip injury. "It's just really great to be back out there doing what I love," said O'Keeffe, whose training partner Taylor Roe just won the USATF half-marathon national title two weeks ago.  "I'm glad it was a half so there was some time to figure it out on the course.  It was a fun day, and I'd love to come back and do this race again." Van Es finished fourth in 1:08:03, a much better performance than the 1:12:03 she ran here last year.  Neale ran a solid debut in 1:08:12 to finish fifth, and Bates was sixth in 1:08:21. Norway's Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal, the race's defending women's open champion, was unable to run with the leaders today and finished seventh in 1:09:03.  Although her time was six seconds faster than last year's, she wasn't happy with her race and said that she wasn't feeling well. "It was tough," the four-time Olympian, who represents adidas, told Race Results Weekly.  "I don't feel that well today.  I'm not sure if it's something going on in my body, but I felt from the start that something was not very normal.  It was a tough race." SCHAR AND SCHIPPER ROLL AWAY TO VICTORY Manuela Schar, who in 2019 won all six Abbott World Marathon Majors, blasted away from her two key rivals, Americans Susannah Scaroni and Tatyana McFadden, right from the start and was never challenged.  She clocked 54:09 and said her biggest obstacle was the cool and damp conditions. "I think it was a difficult day for us to make the right call for the gear," she told Race Results Weekly.  "It was so foggy and it felt wet.  I think I was just lucky and choose the right gloves for today." Schipper, who was timed in 49:53, more than a minute slower than he did last year.  He said it was a challenge to maintain his focus while pushing for so long by himself. "That's a good question," he said with a laugh when asked how he stayed mentally engaged in the race.  "I don't have a real good answer on it." PHOTO: Manuela Schar of Switzerland and Geert Schipper of the Netherlands were the 2024 United Airlines NYC Half champions in the wheelchair division (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)