ST. PAUL, MN – Emily Venters dominated the USATF 10km Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota, Saturday morning, while on the men’s side, Aidan Troutner’s kick proved just enough to edge a pack of pros in the final meters. Both claimed national titles and championship records.
Venters took the lead from the gun. The Utah-based runner split the first mile in 5:15 and had already opened a sizeable gap on the chase pack, led by Kassie Parker. Over the next five miles, Venters only continued to extend her advantage. She hit 5K in 15:51, with her lead growing to 16 seconds. Her closest competitor, still Parker, was no longer visible on the broadcast.
While there was little suspense in the race for the win, Venters delivered an impressive performance. She covered her final two miles in 4:56 and 5:00, respectively, and crossed the line in 31:09. Her time was the fastest ever run at the USATF 10km Championships, breaking the previous record of 31:40 set by Jess McClain in 2024. Venters also came within 13 seconds of Taylor Roe’s women’s-only American record of 30:56, also set in 2024.
“This is the most nervous I have been in a while, but I think the nerves carried me through,” said Venters, who also won the USATF 8km Championships this past summer. “I just ran with joy like my mom texted me this morning to do.” Parker held on for second, 48 seconds back in 31:57. Allie Ostrander took third in 32:02.
The men’s race played out much differently. With the first two miles covered in just over nine minutes, no one had separated from the pack of 18 runners. The pace remained consistent through 5K, with the still-sizeable pack hitting the split in 14:12.
Separation finally came in the fourth mile as the pace quickened to 4:23 and Minnesota favorite Joel Reichow moved to the lead. Over the next two miles, a 4:27 followed by a 4:20, the pack dwindled by just one. But in the final stretch, Ryan Ford, Dillon Maggard, Creed Thompson, Reid Buchanan and Troutner all kicked for the finish.
In the closing meters, Troutner, the BYU alum, opened just enough of a gap to break the tape. His time of 27:40 broke the USATF 10km Championships record of 27:49 set by Dirk Lakeman in 1986. The top six runners finished within five seconds of each other, with Maggard taking second and Ford finishing third.
“It was fast. People were pushing the pace throughout,” said Troutner, who will run the TCS New York City Marathon next month. “I was lucky to come away with the win.”
With one race remaining in the USATF Road Circuit, Parker now leads the women’s standings over Allie Ostrander and Emma Grace Hurley. Both Parker and Ostrander will make their marathon debuts at the USATF Marathon Championships at the California International Marathon in December.
The men’s standings are led by Ahmed Muhumed, with Graydon Morris and Andrew Colley behind him.