ALTHOUGH THE RACE was rescheduled at the last minute to start at 10:30 in the morning, it was still 83 degrees (28C) on a day that would reach 100 (38C) on the track. Eight a.m. would have been better.
A dozen of the 23 starters had the 15:10 WC standard, so with little motivation to run faster, the race quickly deteriorated to 17-minute pace. And so it went through 3km, passed in a jog at 10:08.
“It’s nice to have more honesty from the beginning,” the eventual winner, Elise Cranny, said. “But when it’s hot, no one really wants to take it.”
Then, as they say, the racing began. Karissa Schweizer, less than 24 hours from nearly making the 1500 team, took it and the race was on. Two of her Portland running mates, Emily Infeld and Cranny, went with her, along with a lone outlier, Weini Kelati. Schweizer strung out the field with a 74, then cranked a 67 and a 66. The only question left was how long Kelati could hang on. With a lap and a half left, she let go and the team was decided.
“I’m glad Karissa took it,” Cranny said. “It was a good race.”
In the final strides, Cranny eased into 1st, while Schweizer lost and then regained 2nd over Infeld.
“The last mile was 4:25,” Infeld said. “That’s my fastest mile ever.”
For Cranny, 26, it was redemption after her last-minute withdrawal from the 10K a month earlier. “My season has been a bit up and down,” she said, “so I wanted to come in and focus on the 5K. I was happy to feel like myself today.”
Less than a year after doubling 5/10 in Tokyo, Schweizer, 26, is back in both again, and just for good measure, she threw in a 4th-place finish in the 15, an extraordinary distance triple at the highest levels. “I felt really confident being able to double back,” she said. “I’ve been really happy with the season.” She had surgery in the fall.
For Infeld, who is 32, it is her first national berth since ’17, when she finished 6th in the WC 10. She also won bronze in the WC 10 in ’15. Since then her personal life was put in disarray for years by a stalker. “It feels amazing to make the team,” she said, bursting with exuberance. “I feel so, so lucky. I’m in good shape, and I’m really stoked.”
WOMEN’S 5000 RESULTS
(June 26)
1. Elise Cranny (NikBowTC) 15:49.15 (34.84, 89.66 [2:04.50], 80.45 [3:24.95], 76.56 [4:41.51], 81.82 [6:03.33], 84.07 [7:27.40], 81.91 [8:49.31], 79.45 [10:08.76], 74.79 [11:23.55], 66.89 [12:30.44], 66.13 [13:36.57], 67.21 [14:43.78], 65.37) (65.37, 2:12.58, 4:25.60);
2. Karissa Schweizer (NikBowTC) 15:49.32 (65.74, 2:12.95, 4:26.26);
3. Emily Infeld (Nik) 15:49.42 (65.44, 2:12.62, 4:25.67);
4. Weini Kelati (UArmDS) 15:52.57 (68.30, 2:15.49, 4:29.44);
5. Natosha Rogers 15:57.85 (66.55, 2:18.00, 4:34.28);
6. Fiona O’Keeffe 15:58.86 (67.63, 2:18.16, 4:35.24);
7. Sarah Lancaster 15:58.94 (67.56, 2:18.60, 4:34.78);
8. Whittni Morgan 15:59.85 (68.39, 2:19.74, 4:36.03); 9. Elly Henes (adi) 16:00.08; 10. Eleanor Fulton (unat) 16:04.98; 11. Ella Donaghu (NikUAC) 16:05.67; 12. Josette Norris (ReebB) 16:06.83; 13. Katelyn Tuohy (NCSt) 16:08.80; 14. Ednah Kurgat (NikUSAr) 16:09.61; 15. Abby Nichols (Co) 16:10.72; 16. Allie Ostrander (unat) 16:12.03; 17. Katie Izzo (adi) 16:13.05; 18. Jenna Magness (MiSt) 16:13.85; 19. Emily Lipari (adiGCTC) 16:15.36; 20. Elle St. Pierre (NBalB) 16:15.83; 21. Vanessa Fraser (NikBowTC) 16:17.18; 22. Allie Buchalski (BrkB) 16:31.79; 23. Katrina Coogan (NBalB) 16:42.71. ◻︎
