HIGHLANDS, NJ — Masters athletes kick off the fall season on the roads with the USATF Masters 12 km Championships hosted by the By Hook Or By Crook Run. The Championships are set to take place at the Sandy Hook National Park by the Jersey Shore. Competition is set to begin at 9:00 a.m. ET to beat the heat, with temperatures during the race projected to stay in the 60s. Roberta Groner and Jeannie Rice are the headliners on the women’s side. Groner, who Team USATF’s top woman in the marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha with a sixth-place finish, has been on a tear, setting American records in her new 45-49 division left and right. She has already taken down the 10 km, 10 mile, and half marathon age division records - the last in a swift 1:11:28. At this rate, it may only be a matter of time before Nancy Grayson’s 12 km record from 1995 is taken down. Rice, new to the 75-79 division, ran 3:33:15 at the Boston Marathon earlier this year. Although faster than the age division world record, Boston is not a record-eligible course. Illustrating her range, Rice just set age division world records on the track in July at the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships in the 1500, 5000, and 10,000. Groner is projected to get the win and the American Record, but that won’t come without a fight. Kristen Prendergast is returning to the 12 km Championships to defend her title and was the second masters finisher at the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach in March. Additionally, Prendergast took top women’s honors at the Clinton Township Country Run over 15 km in April. Alexandra Niles, new to the masters division, won the Eversource Hartford Marathon last October. Jennifer Pesce, the masters 5 km national champion, will also challenge at the longer distance. Her second-place masters finish at the Blue Cross Broad Street Run over 10 miles last May shows that she’s primed to handle the distance. Perry Shoemaker, of the 50-54 division, finished third at the 2021 edition of the USATF Masters 12 km Championships and cannot be counted out. She was also the first masters finisher at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Miler last April. Fiona Bayly, now in the 55-59 division, is still a clear threat for the podium, having finished fifth last year to take the overall bronze medal at the 10 km masters championships last April. Fabian Eduardo Daza and Dickson Mercer who finished fourth and sixth last year, just 15 seconds apart, will contest for the overall men’s title. Daza took masters honors at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Half Marathon last spring. Mercer, who was fifth at the Masters Half Marathon Championships, rehabbed a hip issue over the summer and appears to be rounding into shape. David Angell, who finished 20 seconds behind Mercer last year, will test them both. A two-time winner, Angell finished second at the Masters 10 km National Championships last April. Top favorites for the overall age grade awards, which recognize the fastest runners for their age, include: Rice 75, Groner 45, Shoemaker 52, Bayly 56 and Nora Cary 68. Cary set the 65-69 American record here two years ago and running well again after being injured. On the men’s side, only one runner is missing from last year’s top seven. Nat Larson 61, Brian Crowley 58, Gene Dykes 75, Henry Notaro 61, Roger Sayre 65, and Dave Glass 77, finished in that order last year. Larson is a slim favorite to win once again. Dykes just took home four gold medals from the USATF Masters Championships in July. Rick Lee 62 is the American record holder in the 60-64 division in the 50 km and 50 mile distances, and 60-64 winner at the Boston Marathon. Steve Schmidt 62, who beat Lee and Notaro in a downpour at the USATF Club Cross Country Championships, will try to rekindle that magic on the road. Submitted by Paul Carlin Photo Credit: Jason Timochko