JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After a dominating performance at the 2023 USATF 15 km Championships, Olympian Hillary Bor eyes a repeat performance this Saturday at the 2024 USATF 15 km Championships, headlining strong men’s and women’s fields in Jacksonville, Florida, hosted by the Gate River Run. The USATF 15 km Championships are the third stop on the 2024 USATF Running Circuit. Fans can watch the races on-demand on USATF.TV shortly after the conclusion of the event with a +PLUS subscription. Last year, Bor set a quick early pace and ran away from the field over the back half of the race to claim the men’s title. The 2016 Olympian looks to build off his 11th place finish at the USATF Cross Country Championships earlier this year. He finished third at the 2022 USATF 15 km Championships and will look to use that experience to outlast the field on Saturday. Bor’s strongest challengers on paper are Reid Buchanan, Jacob Thomson, and Biya Simbassa. Buchanan and Thomson placed fourth and fifth at the 2023 USATF 15 km Championships. Buchanan placed seventh at the USATF Cross Country Championships in January, while also earning a fourth-place effort at the 2020 USATF 15 km Championships, similar to Bor bringing serious experience on the course to Jacksonville. Thomson had a breakthrough 2023 campaign. In addition to his fifth plave finish in Jacksonville, he won the USATF Half Marathon Championships, placed second at the USATF 25 km Championships, and third at the USATF 10 Mile Championships. He also competed at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in October, placing 36th overall. For Simbassa, he’s doubling back from the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials last month, where he placed 11th overall. Simbassa ran 1:00:45 to place fourth at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in January and brings some serious on-course experience to Saturday’s race, having placed fourth in 2022 and second in both 2021 and 2020. Long-time USATF Running Circuit veteran Diego Estrada is a top contender once again in Jacksonville. Estrada placed tenth at the 2023 USATF 15 km Championships but enters Saturday’s contest in tremendous shape, having placed fifth at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in 1:00:49. Teshome Mekonen returns to Jacksonville looking to build off his sixth place showing last year. Mekonen showed serious success over the marathon distance in 2023, running 2:11:05 at the Chevron Houston Marathon early in the year, following that up with a 2:10:16 showing at the BMW Berlin Marathon. Sam Chelanga and Shadrack Kipchirchir are two other USATF Running Circuit veterans who should challenge for top five on Saturday. Chelanga has two top three finishes to his name at the USATF 15 km Championships, while Kipchirchir has four, having won the event in 2019. In the women’s race, 2023 runner-up Emma Grace Hurley looks to improve one spot and take home the title in Jacksonville. Hurley finished well behind race winner Emily Sisson at last year’s championship, but finished strong and bested the rest of the strong field. She placed second overall in the USATF Running Circuit standings in 2023. In addition to her runner-up effort in Jacksonville, she placed third at the USATF 10 Mile and 10 km Championships. Already this season, Hurley placed second at the USATF Cross Country Championships, earning a spot on Team USATF for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships on March 30 in Belgrade, Serbia. Hurley is in tremendous shape and enters Saturday’s contest as the favorite. Hurley’s strongest competition could come from a trio of athletes who competed at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials last month in Orlando. Keira D’Amato didn’t finish the race in Orlando, but entered in strong shape and looks to rebound with a big-time race in Jacksonville. The two others are Emily Durgin and Annie Frisbie. Durgin placed ninth in Orlando and has much success to her name at the USATF 15 km Championships, having placed second at the 2022 USATF 15 km Championships and third at the 2021 event. Frisbie enters with similar success, having placed tenth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, in addition to earning fifth place at the 2023 USATF 15 km Championships and sixth place in 2022. Rachel Smith is another top contender. Smith placed second at the USATF 5 km Championships last year and is already off to a terrific season on the track, having placed fourth in the 3000m and fifth in the 1500m at the USATF Indoor Championships last weekend in Albuquerque. The 15 km distance will be a good test for the Flagstaff-based runner. Other notable contenders in the women’s field include Allie Kieffer, who placed second at the California International Marathon last fall, Sydney DeVore and Rachel Kennedy, who placed seventh and tenth at the 2023 USATF 15 km Championships, and USATF Running Circuit veteran Joanna Stephens.
The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners. A total of $53,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 15 km Championships. The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 15 km Championships, scoring is set as 15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7 ,6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series. The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners. Contributed by Scott Bush