KINGSPORT, Tennessee — It was a pair of firsts for Ahmed Muhumed and Rachel Smith, both figuratively and literally. Muhumed and Smith each won their respective races at the 2024 USATF 8 km Championships on Saturday night in Kingsport, Tennessee, with Muhumed winning his first-ever USATF title on the men’s side and Smith picking up the title on the women’s side. The USATF 8 km Championships, hosted by the Crazy 8s 8k Run, were the eighth stop on the 2024 USATF Running Circuit. On-demand viewing of the USATF 8 km Championships will be available following the conclusion of both races on USATF.TV. Muhumed used a late surge in the final stages to cross the finish line first in 22:26 to claim his first national title, besting Isai Rodriguez in 22:27. Muhumed entered Saturday’s USATF 8 km Championships in 14th on the USATF Running Circuit men’s standings with 10 points. He earned another 15 points with his win and put his total at 25 for third on the standings tied with Diego Estrada. With the experience of racing at last year’s championship, Rodriguez went to the lead from the start, with Muhumed, Hillary Bor, Afewerki Zeru and Aidan Reed keying off of him. Rodriguez, who finished third at last year’s USATF 8 km Championships, maintained his lead through 4 km, clocking 11:08 at the halfway point. Muhumed continued to sit on him, while Bor, Zeru and Reed began falling back. Over the next few kilometers, Rodriguez was doing all the work in front and Muhumed stayed in the same position right behind him. As they both hit the final straightaway, Muhumed used a burst of speed to go right past Rodriguez. Rodriguez tried to respond, but Muhumed’s move was too much at the end, resulting in a one second victory and capturing his first-ever national title. Bor, despite falling back in the latter half of the race, eventually crossed the line seven seconds later after Rodriguez in 22:34 for third. Bor collected 10 points to put his total at 37 on the USATF Running Circuit men’s standings, maintaining his first-place position. Eight seconds behind Bor was Afewerki Zeru in fourth, running 22:42, with Aidan Reed another 12 seconds behind in 22:54 to round off the top five. Biya Simbassa managed sixth overall in 22:58, earning five more points to his USATF Running Circuit total, which now stands at 32 and maintains his second-place spot. Jack Mastandrea ran 23:24 for seventh and fought off Nathan Martin in 23:28 for eighth overall. Jason Weitzel earned ninth in 23:39, with Anthony Raftis finishing out the top 10 in 23:44. Smith’s efforts were a dominant one to capture the first-ever USATF 8 km Championship on the women’s side, winning by 17 seconds in 25:40. After finishing fifth at the USATF 6 km Championships, Smith picked up her second USATF Running Circuit title of the year, defeating Emma Grace Hurley, who earned second in 25:57. Smith also won the USATF 15 km Championship back in early March. With her win, Smith earned another 15 points to put her total to 48 on the USATF Running Circuit women’s standings, moving her to first overall. This was Smith’s fourth race on the USATF Running Circuit this season. Hurley, who finished third at the USATF 6 km Championships, picked up 12 points with her second place run, bumping her up to second overall in the standings behind Smith with 44 points. Rogers improved upon her seventh-place finish from the USATF 6 km Championships, finishing third in 26:10, earning herself 10 points and putting her total at 14. Katie Izzo ran 26:17 to capture fourth overall and Annie Frisbie and Logan Jolly sprinted to the line in 26:23 and 26:24, with Frisbie having the advantage for a fifth-place finish. Stephanie Bruce and Tristan Van Ord finished seventh and eighth, respectively, with Bruce running 26:31 and Van Ord running 26:40. Kasandra Parker captured ninth in 27:05 and Stephanie Sherman rounded out the order of top 10 placers, running 28:39.
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 with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $20,100 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 8 km Championships. The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 10 Mile 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 Keenan Gray