SEPTEMBER ROAD competition brought exciting results including a macadam mile WR:
Giles Breaks Road Mile WR
DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY, September 01 — British 800 Olympian Elliot Giles gave the road mile World Record a bashing at the New Balance Kö Meile, hammering a 3:51.3 to take down the best of 3:54.6 that Emmanuel Wanyonyi ran in April, as well as the ratified WR of 3:56.13 that Hobbs Kessler set a year ago. (The Fifth Avenue Mile, where Josh Kerr ran 3:44, is point-to-point and not record eligible.)
Giles bested Yared Nuguse, who finished at 3:51.9, with Kenyan Vincent Keter 3rd in 3:54.6. It capped an interesting year for the 30-year-old, who fell in the British Trials and was only named to the Olympic team after Jake Wightman withdrew with injury. In Paris he failed to make the final.
The women’s race was won by Marissa Damink of the Netherlands in 4:30.3, ahead of Spain’s Esther Guerrero (4:31.2) and American Anna Camp-Bennett (4:32.8).
Bor & D’Amato Take USATF 20K
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, September 02 — Hillary Bor set a course record 58:09 to take the men’s USATF 20K title at the New Haven Road Race over Labor Day weekend. His time bettered the 58:30 set by Matt Tegenkamp in ’12.
Bor started out hard, shaking the field by 4M in what would end up being a largely solo effort. Nathan Martin made his way up through the pack and finally caught Biya Simbassa in the final stretch, 58:26–58:29. Aidan Reed (58:31) and Sam Chelanga (58:37) finished in 4th and 5th. Said Bor, “I was able to just run my race. I was glad the weather allowed me to stick to the plan.”
The women’s pack passed halfway in 33:18. By 9M it was down to 4: Savannah Berry, Keira D’Amato, Emma Grace Hurley and Jess McClain. Over the final 3M D’Amato threw in surges that proved painful for the others. She eventually built a lead of 30m and took the win in 1:06:25, well off her ’22 course record of 1:04:29. McClain grabbed 2nd in 1:06:50, ahead of Berry (1:07:03), Annie Frisbie (1:07:19) and Hurley (1:07:29).
“This really means the world to me,” said D’Amato, who will turn 40 in October. “This year has been a little bumpy for me, and I’m not getting any younger.”
Kipkemboi & Sawe Blaze Copenhagen Half
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, September 15 — For Margaret Kipkemboi, a fast run through the streets of the Danish capital helped make up for the disappointment of Paris, where she had missed the 10K podium by just 0.05. Here she ran solo for the second half of the race to win in 1:05:11. In 2nd came Judy Kemboi (1:05:43) with Catherine Reline Amanang’ole 3rd in 1:06:09.
A WR was definitely the goal for the men, as Olympic 10K runner-up Berihu Aregawi paced the men’s field through 10K in 27:27. Aregawi dropped at 12K, leaving just 4 in contention: world champion Sabastian Sawe, WR holder Jacob Kiplimo, and Kenyans Isala Lasoi and Amos Kurgat. Sawe and Lasoi broke away at 17K but Kiplimo reeled them back in.
The battle to the finish saw Sawe come up with a 4-second win in 58:05, just missing the course record and more than 30 seconds off the WR of 57:31. Kiplimo edged Lasoi 58:09–58:10. Olympic 5000 champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran with the leaders until 10K, when he stopped before summoning the will for a 34th-place finish in 1:03:13.
Simbassa Tops Bor At 10K
NORTHPORT, NEW YORK, September 21 — Biya Simbassa outlegged Hillary Bor over the last mile of the USATF 10K at the Cow Harbor Run to take the win in 28:18, just missing his own course record by 6 seconds. The two ran together through halfway in 14:17, the others having already dropped off the pace. Within sight of the finish line, Simbassa surged and left Bor behind.
Bor, who was 13th in the Trials steeplechase despite running 8:13.30 in May, crossed in 28:24. It was his fifth top-5 finish on the USATF road circuit this season. Sam Chelanga finished 3rd in 28:34, ahead of Kirubel Erassa (28:50) and Anthony Rotich (28:59).
Jessica McClain won the women’s title with a strong surge that started after the 5K mark, carrying to the line in a course record 31:40. Natosha Rogers hung on for 2nd in 32:00, with Emma Grace Hurley at 32:05. Erika Kemp (32:10) and Keira D’Amato (32:13) took the next two places. ◻︎