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(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. (18-Jun) -- Ryan Ford of the On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colo., is a 2:05:46 marathoner, and a 59:48 half-marathoner.  That makes him one of just four Americans in history who have broken 2:06:00 for the marathon and 60:00 for the half-marathon, under all conditions (the others are Conner Mantz, Zouhair Talbi, and Ryan Hall). But according to his statistics page at WorldAthletics.com his 10K PB is just 30:22.  That's the stat next to his name on the start list for Sunday's B.A.A. 10K in Boston, a World Athletics Label race he'll be running for the first time.  Seeing that stat on the start list gave him a chuckle. "When I saw that I said I guess I only ran one road 10K," Ford told Race Results Weekly in a telephone interview from Boulder yesterday.  "And it was that one at altitude." Ford was referring to the Bolder Boulder 10K last month where, at 1655m/5430ft elevation, he ran that time just five weeks after Boston.  He also ran (and won) the 2025 Cotton Row Run 10K in his hometown of Huntsville, Ala., in 29:04. That race is not on the World Athletics official calendar, so the mark wasn't accepted for the W.A. database. "I've run road races around there," Ford continued, referring to the 10-kilometer distance.  "I've run Manchester (in Connecticut), which is a little under five miles, and I've done a 5-mile road race (the Crazy 8's 8K in Kingsport, Tenn.), and much longer road races.  But I guess I've never run a 10K besides those two when I'm in good shape.  That will be nice to race that for my World Athletics page." As more fast, top-level half-marathons, like the Aramco Houston Half and the Valencia Half, have taken center stage, an increasing number of athletes enter races at that distance in top shape and end up recording unofficial 10K PB's along the way.  Ford is no exception.  At the 2026 United Airlines NYC Half, he went through 10K in 27:58 on his way to a 60:22 finish.  He also split 28:18 at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon last January (on his way to a 59:48 PB), and 28:46 at the same race the year before. But at the race in New York, Ford barely noticed this 10K split. That's because he was focused on competing, not setting a time. "I think I glanced over and I think I saw that it was around 28 minutes," Ford said.  "Just didn't think about it too much, though.  Didn't think about what is that per mile, and all this stuff.  I also knew that we had maybe started out the race, the first couple of miles, pretty fast.  So, I didn't know what pace we were currently running.  It's hard not to glance at the clock but I tried to not think about it too much, to be honest." Since joining the On Athletics Club last October after his previous training group, ZAP Endurance in Blowing Rock, N.C., folded, Ford has raised his expectations.  He's one of three men in the club's road sub-group (the other two are Joe Klecker and Kenyan Patrick Kiprop, who is also running in Boston on Sunday).  Under head coach Dathan Ritzenhein and his assistant Laura Thweatt, the 28 year-old Ford has become a world class athlete, a remarkable achievement for a runner who entered the NCAA system at the University of Tennessee-Martin in 2016 with a two-mile PB of just 9:21.18. "Ryan has been such a great addition to the team," said Ritzenhein in an e-mail.  "He doesn't think about what is on the plan, he just does whatever you tell him to do.  He has complete trust and belief in himself and us." Ford said that adapting to Ritzenhein's coaching has felt natural.  The training isn't that different from ZAP under his former coach Pete Rea.  But the club has so many high level athletes --like Olympic and world medalists Hellen Obiri, Yared Nuguse, and Geordie Beamish-- that the club mentality is different.  The OAC exists to create national and international champions. "ZAP is a little bit more laid back, and OAC is more like organized with the ways we are doing things," Ford explained.  "It's very set-up, and we have a lot of stuff at our disposal that we didn't have at ZAP.  At the end of the day, the training is pretty similar." A big difference for Ford has been that long runs are anything but slow. "At OAC definitely more steady, aggressive long runs versus at ZAP," Ford said.  "At ZAP we would do easier long runs but have maybe some one to two-minute pick-ups at the end of a long run to kind of get a workout out of it.  But here the long run is a big focus.  I'll be running 5:15 to 5:30 pace for 20+ miles on any given long run, pretty much.  Never really happened at ZAP." Ford has developed his talents slowly, both during his NCAA career and his three years with ZAP.  Because of the COVID-19 pandemic he ran for six years in the NCAA system, five with University of Tennessee-Martin and the last year with Iowa State.  That long incubation period gave Ford time to develop more intentionally.  By the time he finished up at Iowa State, his 5000m best was 13:34.79 and his 10,000m best was 28:34.35.  He finished 47th at the 2021 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, the fifth and final scorer for the Cyclones who finished second to Northern Arizona. "Everybody kind of progresses differently," Ford observed.  "Maybe some of these people (his OAC teammates) were doing more serious training in high school and that led them to maybe a bigger program as a freshman in the NCAA, versus I did six years in the NCAA because of COVID.  It wasn't until my sixth and final year that I transferred to a big program like Iowa State and actually that final year of college I improved 30 seconds in the 5-K and around a minute in the 10-K.  I was thinking, wow, what if I was here as a freshman?  But in high school my times were not good enough.  I wouldn't have been in that kind of program from the start.  Maybe that slowed down my progression a little bit, but it got me to where I am now." Ford likes racing in Boston.  Competing at the Boston Marathon in 2025 while he was still at ZAP, he ran 2:08:00 and finished tenth, a performance he called "the race of my life" when asked about it.  He's guardedly optimistic about competing on Sunday because over the last couple of weeks he has finally felt like he has his legs under him again.  His recovery from the Boston Marathon has been slow due at least in part to those fast downhill miles early in the race where his quads got pounded. "I feel like I'm mostly back now," Ford said.  "To be honest, this has been the longest my legs have felt beat-up after a marathon.  This is my fourth marathon, but I ran a pretty aggressive race.  I know the first half of Boston is easier, but my first half was very fast (1:01:52), much faster than I went out before, and I think that played into that last 10-K when I started to slow down a bit." Sunday's 10K is mostly flat.  The course goes from Back Bay, into Cambridge, returns to Back Bay, passes through the Boston Marathon finish line, then finishes adjacent to the Public Garden and Boston Common on Charles Street.  The highest elevation on the course is only six meters above the start line, Longfellow Bridge between Boston and Cambridge.  Ford is almost certain to smash his official 10K PB, but that's not what he's focused on. "I'm starting to come around and starting to feel good again," he said.  "Just looking at the field I want to, again, focus on competing.  I don't know exactly how fast the course is or what time I would shoot for.  I just want to feel like I'm in the race and relevant, hopefully be able to cover some moves and get back to practicing some racing tactics.  Hopefully have a good day I guess.  If I could be up there and place well I'd be very happy with the weekend." * The 14th annual B.A.A. 10K presented by Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute starts at 8:00 a.m.  The professional start lists and prize money details are here: https://www.baa.org/races/boston-10k/pro-field/.  The open division winners will earn $12,000, and a $7500 course record bonus is available for both men (27:19) and women (30:36).  The race also has pro wheelchair and para divisions with separate prize money purses. Sunday morning's weather should be cool for late June, about 64F/18C, but with high humidity (about 70%).  Boston Athletic Association officials are expecting a total field size of about 10,000 runners (the 2025 race had 7615 finishers when it rained and the race was nearly cancelled due to the threat of thunderstorms). PHOTO: Ryan Ford of the On Athletics Club (photo courtesy of On)

(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. NEW YORK (06-Jun) -- On her last trip here in March, reigning world cross country champion Agnes Ngetich (adidas) got hypothermia competing at the United NYC Half and struggled just to finish the race.  But today, the 25 year-old Kenyan embraced the 76-degree weather, blasted the first mile in 4:47, and ran essentially a solo loop of Central Park to win the 54th Mastercard New York Mini 10K in a course and event record of 30:07.  She handily beat defending race champion, compatriot Hellen Obiri (On Athletics Club), who finished third in 31:10.  Ethiopia's Tsigie Gebreselama (On) was the runner-up in 30:53.  Ngetich earned $10,000 in prize money and was also paid an undisclosed appearance fee. "I didn't give up coming back to New York," Ngetich told Race Results Weekly.  She continued: "I'm so happy for New York Road Runners for inviting me again.  The challenge today --it was humid, yes-- but not so much. I pushed alone from the start." Ngetich made her intentions known just after reaching the first kilometer mark.  She was still running with Obiri, Gebreselama, Americans Weini Kelati (Nike) and Emma Grace Hurley (Asics), and Slovenian Klara Lukan (Puma).  But just a few seconds later, she upped her tempo and opened a small gap.  A chase pack of four quickly formed: Gebreselama, Kelati, Obiri and Lukan. While the first mile is nearly all downhill, the second goes down and then has a long climb up on the park's east side past the famous Central Park Carousel.  Remarkably, Ngetich ran her second mile in an even faster 4:43.  That put the chase pack well behind. "It wasn't my plan," said Ngetich when asked if she had intended to break away so early.  "I was to move from 5-K or 4-K, but in 400 meters I said let me try to push and see who will follow me and we will fight until we arrive, and push together as ladies."  She added: "No one came and I was like, let me push and see if I can make a course record or run faster." For the remainder of the race, Ngetich had only the TV motorcycle for close company.  She split 5K in 14:57 opening up the possibility of the first sub-30:00 Mini in history, but that proved too difficult in today's conditions. "It was so humid," Ngetich said.  "I tried.  I ran 30:06, and that's course record, alone.  Today I didn't push from the start; I waited almost one kilometer." While the rest of the podium came from the chase pack, Kelati struggled badly in the second half of the race after splitting 15:14 at 5K.  She could be seen on the race broadcast swerving back and forth on the course, and had to walk in the final stages. She finished in 40:38, and immediately fell to her knees and vomited.  She was attended to immediately by the race medical staff. Emily Venters (Nike) celebrated her 27th birthday today by finishing fourth overall and taking the top USA spot.  She ran a personal best 31:36 off of a 15:38 halfway split.  Venters, who competed for both Boise State and the University of Utah during her NCAA career, moved up from the third pack where she was running with compatriots Emma Grace Hurley (Asics), Ednah Kurgat (U.S. Army), and Jess McClain (Brooks).  Kenyan Sharon Lokedi, the reigning Boston Marathon champion, was also with this group.  Venters, who said she won't be doing a summer track season, felt an inner calm as she competed today. "I was telling my coach on the phone last night, 'I'm not nervous,'" Venters told Race Results Weekly.  "'It kind of feels weird not to be nervous. I haven't thought about the race yet.'"  She's like, 'that's a good thing.' I tried to channel that." Kurgat finished sixth in a personal best 31:44, Lokedi seventh in 31:44, and McClain eighth in 31:53.  McClain, the top American at the 2026 Boston Marathon, had hoped to be the top home-country athlete today. She admitted that she's still rebuilding, physically and mentally, after running 2:20:49 at Boston, the fastest time ever by an American woman there. "The Mini is so fun that it wasn't hard to choose the Mini to come back to race for the first time after Boston," McClain told Race Results Weekly.  "But I think I underestimated (where I am).  It's the best my body has felt coming off the marathon, which is really good... (but) it's more like I need the mental to catch up.  Arizona is really hot.  I have to wake up at 4:30 every day (and) I'm still working full-time.  Getting back on the horse has been a little interesting on the motivation side.  But this is the perfect way to rip the band-aid off and get excited for summer racing." Back in 13th place, former Arkansas Razorback Sydney Vaught ran her first-ever road 10-K.  She ran a creditable 32:16 and said she was more excited than intimidated. "It's awesome," Vaught told Race Results Weekly.  "I'm lined up with people that I've looked up to and been my inspiration since getting into this sport at a young age.  "Seeing how they compete, and seeing myself on the same starting line, has actually been a dream come true." Tatyana McFadden, who has won 22 Paralympic medals, won the professional wheelchair competition in 22:50.  She won by about two and a half minutes.  Reigning champion and course record-holder Susannah Scaroni is on maternity leave and did not compete.  McFadden earned $2500 in prize money. New York Road Runners (NYRR) have used several different courses for the Mini since the inaugural edition in 1972, and the current course was introduced in 2023 with the start on the Upper West Side on Central Park West.  This course allows NYRR to accommodate a larger field (today's race had over 10,000 finishers), but is not record-eligible.  The drop in elevation of 1.53 meters per kilometer is larger than the 1.0 m/km allowed for record-setting. Still, with all of the hills it should be considered an honest course. PHOTO: Agnes Ngetich winning the 2026 Mastercard New York Mini 10K in a course and event record 30:07 (Photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. NEW YORK (05-Jun) -- To speak to Klara Lukan is to feel unaccomplished. The 25 year-old Slovenian from Šentjerjej is already a two-time Olympian, the European record holder for 10-K on the roads, the reigning World University Games 10,000m champion (and Games record-holder), a 2025 European Road Running Championships bronze medalist, and the ninth-fastest European woman ever in the half-marathon. But there is so much more. The Puma-sponsored athlete has a masters degree in international business, is an employee of the Slovenian Police (who help support her athletics career), and works 20 hours a week for a software company in her spare time. "I am currently employed in police as a professional athlete," Lukan told Race Resuts Weekly in a sit-down interview at a midtown hotel this morning.  "As a part-time job I'm employed as a project manager at a Norwegian software company.  For me it's perfect because I can combine also with athletics.  It's 100% remote on-line, so I can work from anywhere around the world." That's good because Lukan gets around.  Last weekend she was in Manchester, England, where she won the very competitive AJ Bell Great Manchester Run 10-K in 30:58, and she flew directly here for Saturday's 54th Mastercard New York Mini 10-K, the world's original all-women's road race founded in 1972.  About 10,500 women are expected to take part according to race founders and organizers, New York Road Runners.  It's Lukan's first-ever trip to the United States. "I heard it has a special tradition," Lukan said.  "It's meant for elite athletes, and I have heard that it's really popular here in the States.  Also, they invite many world class athletes to come here.  I'm super-excited to be here, to compete tomorrow against the best women." Indeed, the Mini has a truly top-class field.  Led by a trio of top Kenyans --world 10-K record holder Agnes Ngetich, reigning TCS New York City Marathon champion Hellen Obiri, and reigning Boston Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi-- Lukan will line-up against ten women who have run 31:30 or better on the road.  Lukan is the second-fastest athlete in the field with her 29:51 European record set in Laredo, Spain, on April 18. "It was a surreal feeling," Lukan said of setting that record.  "It was not a surprise, actually.  "I've been having this idea in my mind for quite some time before the race.  My goal was not to break the area record (30:07), but to become the first European woman under 30 minutes." Could she win the Mini? The last European woman to win the race was Hilda Kibet of the Netherlands in 2008. "That would be something really awesome," said Lukan.  "Even to be part of the elite field and then to win the race would be really special." Such an accomplishment would have seemed impossible for Lukan just three years ago when her road 10-K personal best was a modest 33:03.  But working with her coach Tevž Korent --the man who told the former 800m runner that long distances were her calling-- she has steadily developed into a top distance runner.  Korent, whom Lukan has worked with since 2017, has slowly increased her training volume to about 130 km per week (peak weeks of 150 km), still modest for an athlete who has run 1:06:43 for the half-marathon. "He told me the first time he saw me that if you continue to work you're going to be a long distance runner," Lukan recalled.  "Because he saw, based on my running abilities and my running step that I'm more suited for the longer distances.  It was an organic transition." Lukan did not run a 3000m race until she was 18, or a 5000m race until she was 19.  That was the summer of 2019 before the global COVID pandemic shutdown, and Lukan, in just her second race at the distance, won the European U20 title at 5000m (she beat eventual Olympic silver medalist Nadia Battocletti of Italy by six seconds).  She did her first road 10-K that fall in Ljubljana and ran 33:23, and immediately fell in love with road running. "I think I was born a road runner," Lukan explained.  "Because also my coach tells me that my running step is much more efficient on the roads than on the track.  Apparently, I have this technique which is more suitable for road running.  Also, I see that my recovery is much faster after road races than after the track.  That's for sure, probably because of the carbon-plated shoes." Lukan also admitted that road races are a lot more fun. "You know, overall road running for me is much more fun, especially when I do those long runs, like 10-K.  For me, it's a different world than the track 10-K (where) you have so many laps and it's so repetitive.  On the roads it's just the atmosphere is different.  I would say much more people, more support, more dynamic.  To me it's really fun when we all start together." For tomorrow, Lukan will have to use her best racing instincts to race well.  There are no pacemakers and the Central Park course has several significant hills (the race has used several different courses over the years; tomorrow's course is slightly downhill so it is not record-eligible).  She wouldn't disclose her race plans, but she said she has total trust in her coach. "I believe really that the perfect coach doesn't exist, but if you find the perfect coach for yourself it's basically a fairy tale," Lukan said.  "I believe in my case it goes like that.  You really need to have someone who believes in you, whom you trust.  It's a really close relationship because you work with that person on a daily basis.  You need to communicate, collaborate, and I believe I have the perfect synergy with my coach." Looking ahead, Lukan plans to compete in the European Championships in Birmingham in the 10,000m, and return to the roads after that.  She has her eyes on the marathon, at least eventually. "When I was 12 years-old my previous coach told me you're going to be a long distance marathon (runner) if you continue into the senior category," Lukan said.  "Also, my current coach said I'm going to finish in marathon. I also agree with that because I feel that my strong point is the endurance.  I can really keep the high tempo for a long time.  I believe that the marathon is the perfect distance for that.  I really don't have a strong kick at the finish.  I believe if we push the pace I can endure for a long time." PHOTO: Klara Lukan with her coach Tevž Korent on April 23, 2026 (photo via Instagram/Tevž Korent)

(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. ALBANY, N.Y. (30-May) -- Katie Izzo (adidas/Golden Peaks Track Club) scored a convincing win at the 48th Delightful Run for Women 5K on an uncharacteristically cold and windy morning here in the New York State capital.  Izzo, 29, broke away from the field in Washington Park after the first mile and was never seriously challenged.  She clocked 15:37 and won by 26 seconds. "It feels really good just to kind of visualize what you want to have happen before the race," Izzo told Race Results Weekly.  "I said I was going to try to go for the win, and I'm proud that I executed on what I said I was going to do." On a revised course, where the long uphill at the start (and long downhill at the finish) were shortened, Izzo and veteran Stephanie Bruce (Tracksmith/Stamata) took out the pace.  By the time the race flattened out in the first kilometer, Izzo, Bruce, Caroline Garrett (Hansons-Brooks), Emily Bush (Providence College), Cleo Boyd (Unattached), and Anne-Marie Given (Hansons-Brooks) were together before the left turn into Washington Park.  Izzo and Bruce hit the mile at 5:15 with Boyd, Garrett and Bush within two seconds.  Given had already fallen off the pace. Izzo, who was second at last December's USATF Cross Country Championships, loves rolling hills and she used her prowess to her advantage today.  She accelerated on the first downhill and put some daylight between her and Bruce.  Everything was going according to plan. "I was debating going from the gun at first, but I want to practice my best race," Izzo said.  "I think that staying more settled at the beginning (and) somewhere around mile one I would hit it if I was feeling good.  It just felt like the right time to go, and I'm glad I went." Through the park, Izzo picked up the pace.  Despite the hills, she clipped off the second mile in a tasty 4:57.  Although she shot a few glances behind her, she knew the win was in the bag. "I was just kind of focused on the lead car," Izzo explained.  "I didn't want to go the wrong way or anything.  So, it wasn't too hard to focus.  Doing longer distances in training has made the 5K feel short.  It's always nice when a race is over quickly and you feel good for it." Izzo did not let up, splitting the third mile in 4:55 before sprinting to the finish line adjacent to West Capitol Park.  She won $3000 in prize money, and said she enjoyed the atmosphere of this classic, all-women's race founded in 1979.  As she was exiting Washington Park, the back-of-the-pack runners applauded her as she went by in the opposite direction. "It's the best," said Izzo.  "That was my favorite part when I was coming around and everyone was cheering.  You just feel really empowered and it puts things in perspective.  We're all out here doing something hard together." Bruce, 42, ran alone to the finish after Izzo pulled away.  A 2:27 marathoner who revels in the grind, she kept her eyes up and made sure that Boyd, Garrett and Bush were not gaining on her. "I was thinking of all of the solo workouts I've been doing in Flagstaff," Bruce said as she spoke about the middle section of the race.  "Nobody's going to earn your places or earn your time.  You've just got to keep pushing." Bruce was a clear second in 16:03.  She won the masters' title by more than a minute and half and earned a total of $3900 in prize money ($2500 for second overall, $1000 for the first master, and $400 for the second age-graded master).  She was clearly delighted with her race, and said she would be returning to the marathon in the fall after skipping that distance in the spring to address some gut health issues. "I feel like in my career I've done a lot of that, pushing on my own," said Bruce, who is coming off of a 1:12:28 half-marathon in Pittsburgh on May 3.  "The 5K is just another level of that." There was a good battle for third and Boyd, a Canadian who lives in Charlottesville, Va., edged Garrett by less than a second (both women were timed in 16:17). Boyd earned $2000 in prize money, and Garrett received $1500.  Bush finished fifth in 16:19 (her mother Dana, 47, ran 18:56), and Given (née Blaney), clocked 16:34. Today's race had good depth.  Based on gun time, 19 of the 1857 women who finished the race broke 18 minutes, and the top age-graded performance was the 18:59 clocked by 58 year-old Fiona Bayly of New York City (93.68%).  Two 83 year-olds finished the race, Laddie Toney of Warrensburg, N.Y, who ran 39:36 (net), and Carolyn Polikarpus of Albany who clocked 54:31. Izzo, who said her next competition would be the 10,000m at the USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships in New York City in late July, is coached by the husband and wife duo Terrence Mahon and Jen Rhines in Flagstaff, Ariz.  Rhines, a three-time Olympian, ran the Delightful race several times under its previous name, the Freihofer's Run For Women, as both an open and masters athlete.  Her best time was 15:54 in 1998.  Izzo beat that mark by 17 seconds today. "Well, I have super shoes and bicarb," said Izzo, breaking into a laugh. PHOTO: Katie Izzo winning the 2026 Delightful Run for Women 5K in 15:37 (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. (28-May) -- In the sixth kilometer of last December's USATF Cross Country Championships in Portland, Ore., Katie Izzo and Weini Kelati broke away from the field.  Kelati, an Olympian and national record holder who had already won multiple national titles, eventually surged away from Izzo to take the win as expected.  But behind her, Izzo was having the race of her life.  Running alone, she finished second and qualified for Team USATF for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee.  It was her first-ever podium finish at a national championships, and it had been a long time coming for the 29 year-old former Arkansas Razorback. "It kind of goes back to about a year ago when things started clicking, just being more used to altitude," Izzo told Race Results Weekly in a telephone interview yesterday from her home in Flagstaff where she trains with the Golden Peaks Track Club.  "Obviously, the breakthrough so far has been the U.S. Cross Country Championships.  After that, it was always a level I knew I could get to as a pro, but... it's hard to have everything click.  So once I finally got that result on paper to show that I could compete with the best in the U.S., I think that just finally gave me the last bit of confidence where what I did in that race, where I just went for it, I want to continue to do that in all my races." That performance kicked off an excellent series of performances in 2026 for Izzo, whose collegiate career was interrupted by the COVID shutdown in 2020.  She's raced six times so far this year with three top-five finishes. That included her 24th place finish (third American) at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships, a personal best 31:27 for 10K at the Cooper River Bridge Run (second place), and a 15:10.75 indoor personal best for 5000m.  In April she stretched herself by running the USATF 10-Mile Championships at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile in Washington, D.C., and the highly-competitive Boston 5K just six days apart.  She ran 52:00 for the 10-mile (10th place), and 15:33 for the 5K where she missed second place by just a fraction of a second in a sprint finish. "I just always want to be the person who is fearless," Izzo continued.  "I'm still figuring that out on the track, but it's been really fun to especially do that on the roads, lately." Izzo is taking that confidence into Saturday's Delightful Run for Woman in Albany, N.Y., one of America's most storied 5K road races won by past stars like Lynn Jennings, Marla Runyan, and Libbie Hickman.  She's running at the Delightful Run for the first time, and hopes to compete well.  She's not focused on her time, she said. "I'd say more it's just about competing," Izzo explained.  "Like I said, just going for the win and practicing that.  I feel like the time will be whatever it is.  Of course, I always like to run fast, but I'd be good just with the win and, honestly, just thinking about it as a workout and get the most out of myself."  She added: "That's the goal; just going for it." Izzo's 2026 season nearly got derailed before it started.  She contracted a staph infection in her ankle at last December's national cross country championships and was still getting treatment in the days before the World Championships. "I tried not to vocalize it too much because I was just trying to get healthy after U.S. Cross, but I actually got a staph infection in my ankle after U.S. Cross," Izzo revealed.  "It actually got really nasty where I had to alter training.  It was so infected I had to get it drained, and it was super-painful.  I had to miss some workouts and cross-train it.  On top of that, I was on antibiotics to clear the thing out.  I was worried that I wouldn't even get to the starting line." The meet organizers in Tallahassee created a water obstacle on the course and dyed the water blue.  Izzo was concerned that multiple dips in the water might reignite her infection. "I knew there was going to be a water pit, and I'm like if this gets into the water pit that would be so not good," Izzo recalled.  "There's a story for every result, and I think by the time I got to the starting line I was pretty wiped out just from my body dealing with that infection.  The heat probably didn't help." Izzo, who is sponsored by adidas, is coached by Terrence Mahon and his wife, Jen Rhines.  Her club used to be called the Golden Coast Track Club because the team was located in San Diego, but they changed their name when Mahon, Rhines and Izzo all relocated to Flagstaff.  Izzo was the only athlete who followed Mahon and Rhines from San Diego, and the club had to be completely reconstituted. On May 7, the Golden Peaks name became official and the team consists of five athletes: Izzo, Olivia Howell, Taryn Parks, Ellie Baker, and Alex Carlson.  All are sponsored by adidas, except for Baker who is British and is with New Balance.  Izzo said that it's her best-ever training group and one of the keys to her success. "It slowly became a reality about a year ago," Izzo said of rebuilding the club.  "I was the only one on the team.  I didn't know what I was going to do.  My other teammates had left, and it was just me, Terrence and Jen out here.  But little by little the pieces just fell together.  My first teammate Olivia joined about a year ago, and this fall got Alex Carlson, Taryn Parks and Ellie Baker.  They're all like middle distance, 800/1500, so they keep me speedy.  They drop me like a bad habit when we do 150 meters, but I think I help them with the longer stuff." More importantly, Izzo said, is the group vibe. "They're all just super-sweet girls," she said.  "We definitely just get along great.  They're just fun to be around, and I think that has also helped my training a lot because the environment is so great.  We just feed off each other, and it's enjoyable to go to practice.  We definitely want to make sure that's the way the team always stays." The Delightful Run, which had 1733 finishers last year, is a lot like a cross country race.  The middle section in Washington Park features several choppy hills, and that's just fine with Izzo who took third at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships and helped the Razorbacks win their first-ever NCAA cross country team title. "I'm really excited to race," said Izzo.  "I've been watching everyone race on the track and I'm just dying to race myself.  I have obviously been enjoying the roads and it's been a breath of fresh air doing new races and different distances."  She continued: "It just sounded like a fun one to do.  I feel like women's-only races are always fun.  Like, I've enjoyed the 6K road champs (in Canton, Ohio).  Based off of how the B.A.A. 5K went it just seemed like a new, fun and exciting one to do." Izzo has the best credentials of any of the elites entered in the race.  Her main opponents will be Anne-Marie Given (née Blaney) and Caroline Garrett of the Hansons-Brooks Original Distance Project, Canadian Cleo Boyd, and veteran marathoner Steph Bruce.  Last year's champion, Molly Born, who ran 15:31 in a lashing rain, is not competing this year. Izzo hopes that a good run in Albany will set her up nicely for the Toyota USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships in New York City in late July where she expects to compete in the 10,000m (although the 5000m is still a possibility).  The Delightful race will give her a lower-pressure race to work on both her racing skills and her fitness. "I haven't won a race since (last) Fourth of July, so I really want to practice winning," Izzo said.  "That's kind of another reason I want to do it.  I just really want to put myself in position to win." The Delightful Run for Women was founded in 1979 as the Freihofer's Run For Life with financial support from the Freihofer's Baking Company, famous for their chocolate chip cookies.  It later became the Freihofer's Run for Women, and hosted national championships at both 10K and 5K.  The race was rebranded as the Delightful Run for Women in 2024 when Sara Lee Delightful Bread took over as title sponsor (Delightful is a sister brand of Freihofer's).  The race will be contested on a new, USATF-certified and record-eligible course. PHOTO: Katie Izzo finishing third at the 2026 Boston 5K on April 18 (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)