Ideal racing conditions led to quick times and fierce finishes Saturday morning in Northport, New York, as Biya Simbassa and Jessica McClain claimed victory at the USATF 10 km Championships.
The USATF 10 km Championships are the tenth stop on the 2024 USATF Running Circuit. Race highlights and coverage of the event, hosted by the Cow Harbor Run 10K, are available and can be viewed with a +PLUS subscription on USATF.TV.
From the sound of a fired cannon, Simbassa and recent USATF 20 km champion Hillary Bor set off on a battle between the two that wouldn’t relent until the final portion of Saturday’s race.
Through the first mile the two runners ran nearly stride for stride. Simbassa and Bor took turns leading the race, stringing the rest of the field along. Through the first mile there were seven runners in the lead pack and by mile two there were only five runners packed together, with Sam Chelanga, Kirubel Erassa, and Anthony Rotich joining.
By the halfway point, when Simbassa and Bor passed through 5 km in 14:17, it was only the two USATF Running Circuit veterans running together, the other three contenders falling back, not able to challenge the near course record pace.
Simbassa and Bor would continue to challenge each other over the Northport course, but it wasn’t until one mile to go when Simbassa would start to slightly put distance on Bor.
Simbassa left no chance for Bor to catch him over the final mile, powering away and gaining valuable seconds on his foe with the finish line coming into view. Simbassa made one last push to the finish and earned his first win on the 2024 USATF Running Circuit season, clocking a winning time of 28:18 – just off his course record of 28:12 set in 2022.
Bor maintained form all the way to the finish as he crossed the line second in 28:24, his fifth top three finish of the USATF Running Circuit season.
Simbassa’s win earns him another 15 points on the USATF Running Circuit, where he currently sits second with 57 points. Bor’s runner-up finish gives him another 12 points, keeping him atop of the USATF Running Circuit standings with 64 points.
Behind the lead duo, Chelanga pulled away from the competition over the final two miles to earn third place overall in 28:34. Erassa and Rotich held off the rest of the talent in the field to claim fourth and fifth overall with finishing times of 28:50 and 28:59.
Afewerki Zeru continued his strong 2024 campaign with a sixth-place finish, crossing the finish line in 29:10. Former Gonzaga all-American James Mwaura took home seventh overall in 29:15, while Jackson Siddall ran to eighth place in 29:19. Rounding out the top ten, Ryan Kutch placed ninth in 29:20 and Jack Mastandrea finished one second back in 29:21 for tenth.
In the women’s race, a pack of five athletes banded together early and held together for much of the first half of the race. McClain, Natosha Rogers, USATF Running Circuit standings leader Emma Grace Hurley, and Brooks athletes Amanda Vestri and Erika Kemp packed up and pushed the pace clearing the rest of the field very early on.
McClain started to push the pace around the five kilometer halfway point, with only Hurley hanging on. McClain would build a 10-meter lead on Hurley over the next mile, then extending her lead to 40 meters with a mile to go.
Rogers took over second place from Hurley around the four-and-a-half-mile mark, a position should wouldn’t relent the rest of the way.
With a half mile to go, it was clear McClain simply couldn’t be stopped. The Brooks sponsored pro continued to power over the final stage of the course, raising her arms in victory as she crossed the line in first while clocking 31:40, a new course record, besting Stephanie Bruce’s past course record of 31:52.
Rogers hung on over the final mile to claim second with a finishing time of 32:00, while Hurley placed third in 32:05, picking up another ten points towards her USATF Running Circuit standings lead. Hurley’s ten points puts her atop of the standings with 60 points, ten points ahead of second place Rachel Smith, with only one more race to go in this year’s USATF Running Circuit.
Kemp continued to push the pace over the final five kilometers despite losing touch with the leaders. The USATF Running Circuit veteran powered to a fourth-place finish in 32:10, finishing three seconds ahead of Keira D’Amato, who placed fifth overall in 32:13.
Vestri placed sixth overall in 32:21, with Annie Rodenfels finishing just behind in seventh with a finish time of 32:25. Katie Izzo took home eighth overall in 32:34, while Annamaria Kostarellis placed ninth in 33:09 and Hannah Eagon claimed tenth in 33:35.
The final stop on the 2024 USATF Running Circuit takes place on Saturday, November 2, as the USATF 5 km Championships get underway in New York City, hosted by the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K.
About the USATF Running Circuit
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 $41,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 10 km Championships
The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 10 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