March 27, 2025. The 10 Km Road Race is the second Non-Stadia LDR event at the 2025 WMA Indoor Championships in Gainesville FL. This is likely to be as successful as the Cross Country Championship event was for Team USA. There are, again, some terrific international athletes who are likely to push our athletes and/or set the pace. The Men's Race goes off Saturday morning at 8 am, with the Women's Race starting at 8:10 AM. The course consists of two 5 K loops, each with multiple 180 degree turns. It is not just flat and fast. There are two honest uphill and downhill segments in each loop (where the course goes over I-75); they are not extreme. The weather forecast is still favorable--low to mid 60's during the race, under cloudy skies, with winds 5 mph gusting to 15, and relative humidity 80%, with dewpoint upper 50's.
As before, I take a quick look at each age division. I consider, primarily, individual medal contests but there are team contests as well. This time I will start with the Men as they go off first and then the Women. For the Cross Country, I went from older to younger, so I reverse that this time. In the Cross Country event, American men were not substantially outnumbered among entrants, sometimes making up half or more of the entrants. In the 10K Road race, there is much more international participation!
Notes: 1. Unless I have a specific reason to believe that a runner has scratched, mentioned in the article, I assume that all who are registered will toe the line Saturday morning. I have been told that, most likely there will be a number of athletes who will not be on the starting line. If an athlete is overextended from races earlier in the week, they may decide to forego the 10K. If an athlete is also racing in the 1500M with semi-finals Friday evening and Finals Saturday afternoon, qualifying for the final might result in the athlete scratching from the 10K. Unlike races on the track, there is no requirement that athletes confirm or scratch ahead of time.
2. I often turn to Athlinks to find race results for athletes I do not know well. If I include a comment that Athlinks has no results for an international athlete, no one should be surprised. Most athletes from other countries do not have results in Athlinks. Indeed there are athletes from the USA who either make their Athlinks results private or somehow have their results, even for races that Athlinks is reporting, unavailable in search results.
3. Whenever three or more athletes from a given country are registered within a given five-year age division, they form a 'natural' team. If a country has only one or two athletes, their Team Manager may move two athletes or one athlete down from an older division to make up a composed team.
4. If I mention an athlete by name initially without a country attached, that person competes for Team USA.
Men's 10 Km Race
35-39 There are 22 international entrants and three for Team USA. The sole American who appears to be competitive is Edwin Pagan who ran 33:47 at the BAA 10K last June and 1:11:42 at the Trials of Miles Project 13.1 earlier this month. But he will have his work cut out for him if seed times are anywhere near accurate. Nine international athletes have seed times under 32:00. Some of these may be all time bests rather than recent achievements. And surely the 26:00 seed time for one Kenyan runner is a mistake. In addition to the USA, Algeria and Uganda have natural teams (3 or more entered in the division).
40-44 There are eight Americans, and 14 international athletes entered. Joseph Gray and James Grabow, who went 1-2 in Cross Country are back for the 10K. They are joined by Bryan Hendricks, who finished 8th in Cross Country and by Aaron Rowe, with a seed time of 33:21, from his M40 fourth-place finish at the Masters 10 km Championships last April. The USA and Kenya have natural teams. Kenya is favored, on paper. The family names are familiar to those who follow open international road racing although I imagine the first names are different: Kipsang 30:00 , Kirui 30:00, Kosgei 32:05, and Ngeno 30:10. To be fair, Gray can, no doubt, run with them even if the times are accurate. His seed time is 31:00 but he actually ran 30:44 at the Masters 10 km Championships, over rolling hills, last April. It will be interesting to see if the Kenyans live up to their seed times! They have the heritage for it! The four Americans mentioned above all have seed times 33:21 or faster; they will battle the Kenyan team for the Team Gold!
45-49 Five Americans and nineteen international athletes are entered. Italy and the USA have natural teams. Algeria, Kenya and Morocco all have two athletes entered. Algeria has one athlete entered in 50-54 and Kenya has two. So, either or both of those nations could compose a 45-49 team. [Although it is also true that Algeria and Morocco could move their two 45-49 athletes down to compete in 40-44. If so, neither could have a team in 45-49.] There are four Americans with seed times under 36:00. The fastest time listed is either a mistake or from many years ago. Fredison Costa 29:00, David Angell 32:48, Dave Feruggia 33:00, and Leonardo Canete 35:45. Costa ran a 34:48 10K last November. He clocked 1:09:53 at the Sharkbite HM in January 2024, consistent with a 32:01 10K. Angell finished 7th overall last April at the Masters 10 Km Championships in 33:00, consistent with the seed time. In 2022, in his final year in the division, Feruggia ran 34:34 at the Masters 10 Km Championships to finish 8th in 40-44. He ran 27:36 at the Ashenfelter 8K last November, consistent with a mid 34-minute 10K. Canete ran a 35:49 10K in April of last year, following it up with a 10K just over 36 minutes in November. If the Costa performance in January 2024 is a good predictor of what we can expect on Saturday, Costa could well finish as First American. Otherwise, it is likely to be Angell, with Ferrugia, Costa and Canete providing strong support. If the seed times of international athletes are good predictors it will be very difficult for any of the US athletes to make the podium. There are seven international athletes with seed times between 30:00 and 32:05. The Kenyan athlete entered as Josphat Kiprono Menjo, whom I will refer to as Kiprono, has a seed time of 30:00. It appears this must be the same Kiprono who ran a 58:20 20K at the Paris Marathon in 2022 and a 2:11:54 at the Malaga Marathon last December. Ammar Smaili Algeria 32:30 finished within a second of Peter Brady, one of the best Masters middle distance runners, in the 2023 WMA 1500M Indoors at Torun in 4:14.75. Franceso Nadalutti Italy finished just behind Brady in the same race at 4:13.56. So, we know those two have wheels. Anis Selmouni Morocco, with a seed time of 32:30, apparently ran a 1:03:15 20K in Marrakech in 2019. That is six years ago but it suggests his seed time is plausible. In terms of Team medals, the USA may have to settle for Silver, or even Bronze. Kenya has two athletes in the division. But if they would move Kemutai 32:40 down from 60-64 for Team purposes, they would be favored on paper. Italy has a natural team. They have three entered with seed times between 32:37 and 33:05. If we think Costa's time is more likely to be around 32, then the USA is favored on paper. If we think the correct time for Costa is closer to 33, then it is very close.
50-54 Six Americans and 20 international athletes are entered. Alcides de Quesada, with a 34:34 seed time, leads the American contingent. De Quesada finished second, with a 16:19, in this division at the 2024 Masters 5 Km Championships in Atlanta. He ran 34:38 at the Rockin' Rib 10K last November. De Quesada, with USA teammates, Michael McGrane 36:24, Markelle Taylor 37:30, Boris Lyubomirsky 39:09, Matthew Cutrona 39:15 will do their best to defend the home roads. As with several other divisions, it looks to be a real challenge. McGrane's seed time comes from the Lone Gull 10K last September. Five months before he finished 7th in 36:39 at the Masters 10 Km Championships. Taylor's seed time apparently comes from the 2020 Chinese New Year 10K. His more recent 10K's have been in the 39-to-41-minute range. Lyubomirsky's seed time is from the Mandarin 10K last November. He ran a 30:29 5 Miler last month, suggesting he could go a little faster than his seed time right now. Once again it looks to be an uphill climb for Team USA to put athletes on the podium. Two Kenyan athletes, Kemutai Tallam and Cheryiuot Rotich, have seed times under 33 minutes. Ireland's Lea Fulcher, with a 33:00 seed time, finished 2nd in this division in the Cross-Country race last Sunday. Soren Bay, of Denmark, seeded at 34:01, backs that up with his 1:12:59 at the Copenhagen Half Marathon last September. In terms of team medals, the USA and Ireland have natural teams. Ireland, led by Fulcher is favored on paper. Great Britain has two in this division, but they also have two in 55-59 they could move down. If so, they would be competitive with Team USA, on paper. Spain has two entered in 50-54, with seed times comparable to De Quesada. They have no athletes in 55-59 but they could bring an athlete, Suarez, down from 60-64. Suarez has a seed time of 35:20 and would give the edge to Spain over Team USA. Getting a Team Medal appears to be a worthy goal, attainable but by no means guaranteed. Kenya also has two entered but has no one to bring down from 55-59. The question for Kenya is whether to bring their 50-54 athletes down to run in 45-49. If so, that means Team USA does not need to worry about Team Kenya in this division.
55-59 Twelve USA athletes and 22 international athletes are entered. John Fernandez, 35:22, Christopher Harris 35:30, Scott Grandfield 36:19, Scott Siriano 37:20, and Dale Flanders 38:38 have the top seed times for Team USA. Fernandez had a breakout yearin 2024 in terms of Masters National Championships, winning the 50-54 championship at the Masters 5 Km in Atlanta in 16:14 and the Masters 10 Miler in Flint Michigan in 58:35. After moving up to 55-59, Fernandez enjoyed a ferocious duel with Craig Godwin at the Masters Half Marathon Championships in October, finishing 2nd to Godwin in 1:16:17 over a very challenging course. That is age grade equivalent to a 34:51! Fernandez leads a very strong 55-59 squad. Harris's seed time is just a few seconds slower than that of Fernandez. Harris finished 5th at Atlanta in 17 minutes and change. Harris's 10K is either his net time from Peachtree or from a different race. I find a time of 35:39 for Harris at Peachtree this past July. That is a fine time on a course that has a tough hill and at a time of year in Atlanta that tends to be too warm. Grandfield finished fourth in this division in the 2023 Masters 10K Championships in 36:57. Athlinks lists three 5K results for him from March to November of last year, ranging from 17:30 to 18:14. If any of those three run into difficulty or scratch, then Siriano and Flanders are poised to move up.
Fernandez is one of Team USA's strongest divisional runners. Still, there appears to be one international athlete who will be tough to beat. Germany's Miguel Molero-Eichwein is entered with a seed time of 33:25. He ran a 32:50 10K a year ago. He followed that with a 1:25:22 time in a 25K in May. Last June he clocked 2:2:29:14 Marathon. Last Sunday he won the 55-59 Cross Country championship here in 28:53. Another international athlete, Canada's Tim Hewson, with a 34:42 seed time, should give Fernandez a good challenge, as well. Hewson ran a 34:56 at the Canadian Army 10K in September 2023. Harris and Grandfield should be able to come in ahead of all others. Runners from Venezuela, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, and Germany have seed times between 37:48 and 38:02. Team USA looks to take two of the three individual medals. They should have a good dust up with Siriano and Flanders.
USA, Germany, and Canada have natural teams. On paper it looks like USA the favorite for the Gold, with Germany and Canada fighting it out for Silver and Bronze. Great Britain only has two entered. They could bring Watmough 35:43 down from 60-64 if they thought they could get a better team medal in 55-59 than in 60-64. They could well get silver but would not be competitive with USA for gold.
60-64 Fourteen are entered from the USA, with thirty international athletes. Mark Zamek leads the squad. He was top American earlier this week at both the Cross Country on Sunday and the 3000M on Wednesday. But he is also dealing with a couple of irksome issues which would motivate a more sensible athlete to scratch the 10K and head home with an individual Silver and a Team Gold. But Zamek is very competitive; he can often find a way to recover enough to race well even when it seems nearly impossible. Rick Lee has the best seed time on Team USA at 36:30, from his third-place finish at the Masters 10 Km Championships last April. Zamek finished 2nd in 36:08 that day. Lee is also entered, and confirmed, as of now, for the 1500M. If it were not Lee, I would speculate that he might scratch from the 10K to focus on the 1500M or vice versa. But Lee often runs multiple events in a short period; I would not be surprised to see him run a controlled 1500M Friday to qualify for the 1500M final, a hard 10K Saturday morning and then the 1500M final Saturday afternoon, with whatever energy he has left. [Lee did qualify for the 1500M final. He was 2nd in his heat and qualified on time with a 4:50.63.] Henry Notaro 37:18, Mark Neff 37:30, or Lester Dragstedt 37:47 should provide the invaluable third finisher or, if either Zamek or Lee is off their best, or not running, move up to fill their place. The strongest international athlete entered is John Meagher of Australia. Seeded at 33:45, Meagher won the 60-64 Cross Country race last Sunday by a half minute over Zamek. Spain's Suarez, who finished 20 seconds behind Zamek and a half minute ahead of Lee in last Sunday's cross country race, enters with a 35:20. Great Britain's Watmough and Sweden's Eriksson finished in 6th and 7th last Sunday, just ahead of Dragstedt. Meagher seems pretty much a lock for the win if he enters. After that it seems that Zamek and Lee are likely to battle Watmough and Eriksson for Silver and bronze. In terms of Team medals, Team USA looks strongest by far. Great Britain, Ireland and Ecuador all have natural teams. On paper, Great Britain is probably the strongest, followed closely by Ireland and then Ecuador.
65-69 Team USA has 12 entered and that is exactly half of the entries for this division. Roger Sayre, Ken Youngers, and Casey Hannan finished 2nd, fifth and 7th in last Sunday's Cross Country race. With the help of Jay Littlepage, who is not entered in the 10K, they brought home Team Gold for the USA. They look good for the same kind of effort in the 10K. Hannan, Sayre, and Youngers enter with seed times between 39:15 and 39:30. The seed times seem to be accurate but partially because Youngers has been injured or rehabbing some irksome injury the last two years the Masters 10 Km Championships have been run. In 2022 when both Youngers and Hannan were healthy, Youngers ran a good half minute faster. USA is certainly lucky to have all three running. James Murphy has a faster seed time, at 38:00, but it may be older. In Athlinks I can find a James Murphy of the right age who has run a recent 18:49 5K in Fort Myers FL. That seems plausible. If so, Murphy adds another solid runner to the team. My best guess is that a finishing order for Team USA of Sayre, Youngers, Hannan may be the most likely. If Youngers has a day like he had for the Masters 12 km Championships last September, he could be first American. The 47:06 he ran that day is age grade equivalent to a 38:47 10K. The favorite will be Jukka Kauppila of Finland, entering with a 38:10 seed time. Kauppila won both the XC and the Half Marathon in this division at 2023 WMA indoors in Poland. He won the 65-69 Cross Country race last Sunday but only by six seconds over Sayre. Sayre could take him on the roads! Colombia's Calderon 39:06 and Uruguay's Perrera 39:23 should also be in the mix. If Youngers has a better day than last Sunday it could well be Sayre, Youngers and Kauppila fighting for the top three spots. Considering Team medals, USA is a lock. There are no other natural teams. Great Britain has two entered. They have three athletes in 70-74 but there seems no compelling reason for them to move one of those down to 75-79.
70-74 There are 13 entries for the USA and 18 from other countries. Rick Becker is the favorite. He won the 70-74 Cross Coun8try race last Sunday. With the help of Jack Pottle and Reno Stirrat, Team USA went 1-2-3. That could happen again on Saturday. All three are entered. Doug Bell is also entered. I was surprised that I did not see his name for Cross Country because Bell loves to compete on the turf. But perhaps he had a conflict. When Stirrat and Bell both competed in the Masters 10 Km Championships last April, Bell had a thirteen second edge. But Stirrat ran better in the second half of the year so he may be able to hold Becker off. Stirrat was able to come in ahead of Bell at the Masters 5 Km XC and at Club Cross in Tacoma. It will be interesting to see how this one turns out! Those are likely to be the top four. But Scott Lucking could break into that bunch. He was only 22 seconds behind Stirrat on the turf last Sunday. If Becker is on his game, no one should press him for Gold. There are five international athletes with seed times similar to Pottle, Stirrat and Bell, and one who has a better time. Yassine Belaabed of Australia has a seed time of 41:35. He did not race last Sunday. But in 2023, he finished 2nd in Cross Country at WMA in Poland. The year before he was 2nd in the 65-69 Half Marathon at WMA in 1:29:29. That is not fast enough to challenge Becker, but he could finish ahead of the rest of Team USA. Others who could, potentially, challenge for the podium include: John Clarke Canada 44:13; Luis Fernandez Suarez Spain 43:11; Bill Kresenoski Canada 42:33;
75-79 Fifteen are entered; nine are with team USA. It appears that Gene Dykes may be a scratch; he did not run the Cross Country event. As I mentioned in that preview, Dykes currently is having some health difficulties relating to knee pain so acute that it is very difficult to train on at all. We all wish Gene the best of luck with overcoming this challenge. He has been a shining light for many of us! Terry McCluskey appears to be our strongest runner. His seed time of 47:42 was achieved at a local 10K race in Youngstown OH in August 2023. In 2024, he ran 51:15 at the Dexter-Ann Arbor 10K, with its tough finishing uphill. McCluskey really came on toward the end of the year, winning the 75-79 division at the Masters 10 Mile and Half Marathon Championships, both on tough courses. His 1:46:29 was especially strong on the Half Marathon. Don Morrison would have been our top runner, most likely. He finished 9th in M70 at the Masters 10 Km Championships last April in 44:11. Unfortunately, he had a cross country skiing accident, with broken ribs and a punctured lung, in January that kept him out of action for a bit. His powers of recuperation are impressive though. He ran a 22:10 5K in early January before his accident. Out of the hospital on January 23rd, he began doing some swimming and running by early March, ran a 26:47 5K on March 9th and a 25:45 5K a week later. He competed in the Cross Country event last Sunday. He was not up to his usual effort, but he finished only 45 seconds behind McCluskey. As long as Morrison did not overdo it last Sunday, McCluskey and he should go 1-2 for the USA. After that, the crystal ball is a bit murkier in terms of who the third American might be. The next best seed times belong to Marc Bloom 48:45, Paul Carlin (That's me!) 49:33, Donald Loewe 50:00, and Victor Vasquez 50:27. If the seed times wind up governing, that leaves us with Bloom, Carlin, Loewe and Vasquez in that order. Even though Vasquez has the slowest seed time of the four, he has achieved times of 49:54 and 51:09 in February of this year, faster times than I can find for any of the rest of us that recently. The accepted marks are suggestive, at best. The good news is that with McCluskey and Morrison leading the way and one of those four emerging from the pack, Team USA looks good for Team Gold. That is a good thing because the individual medals could all go to a strong group of international athletes. Jean Thomas of France and Britain's Ronald Cattle went 1-2 in Cross Country and enter with seed times of 44:39 and 42:46. A third entrant, Canada's Lionel Bonnaire, has a seed time of 45:30. But that may be historical. I found a Lionel Bonnaire who ran 4 hours plus at the Quebec Marathon in 2019 at the age of 70. The only other result is a 70 Km Mountain Bike ride when he was 60. My guess is that McCluskey and Morrison, at least can come in ahead of Bonnaire. The only natural team is USA. It is likely the gold goes to USA uncontested.
80-84 There are four registered from USA and four international. Jan Frisby has the fastest sed time by far at 51:57, his winning 80-84 time last year at the Masters 10 Km Championships. Later in the year Frisby had some minor challenges to overcome but won the 2024 Masters Grand Prix. At this age, nothing is guaranteed. But if Frisby is reasonably healthy and makes it to the starting line, he is the favorite. Don Owens has two low 54-minute 10K's from last spring. Sweden's Jonson has a 54:00 seed time. That suggests they are close. On the other hand, Jonson won the 80-84 Cross Country championship last Sunday. That gives him the edge, possibly even over a reasonably healthy Frisby. Slovenia's Silvester Jemenesk has a seed time of 54:23. There are no results on Athlinks so it is hard to know how recent the 54:23 is. He did not compete in the Cross Country race last weekend. One other American athlete needs to be noted. Richard Kutzner was active on the Masters National Circuit between 2015 and 2017 and won a few medals. He has been able to crack two hours at a couple of Half Marathons in November and December last year. If he has that same fitness now, he is a threat for the win and almost surely will be on the podium. Probably Jonson is the favorite with Frisby, Kutzner and Morrison battling for the Silver and Bronze. Will Jemenesk be in the hunt as well? Who knows?
Team USA is a lock for the Team Gold if at least three of the four registered make it to the starting line.
85-89 There are two registered for Team USA and two international athletes. There will be no Team medals awarded because there are no natural teams and no athletes from older divisions to move down. The top seed time belongs to Mexico's Fidel Diaz Mendez at 56:50. That seems almost too good to be true. Athlinks has nothing on him. My guess is that the result is historical but that is just a guess. George Gilder, who finished fourth in Cross Country last Sunday, should get a medal on Saturday. He has the next best seed time at 1:04:22. He ran 1:04:30 on New Years Day this year, so we know that is a good indicator. Bill Masterson and Canada's Keijo Taivassalo both have seed times around an hour and a half. They should battle for the Bronze medal.
Women's 10 Km Race
35-39 Seventeen are registered; seven are for Team USA. Ariana Fisher and Andrea Richardson own the best American seed times at 36:48 and 37:54. Richardson finished third in Cross Country last Sunday. I cannot find an Athlinks result that sustains Fisher's accepted mark. Portugal's Santos, who won the 35-39 Cross Country by two minutes must be the favorite. Poland's Brzezina, who finished second, just 12 seconds ahead of Richardson is the favorite for second. But Richardson was close enough that she could well reverse that outcome in a rematch on the roads. Poland's Michalak 35:22, Bermuda's Lindsay 36:03, and Chile's Godoy 38:00 could also pay a role. On the Team race, Poland has two strong athletes entered. If they move someone reasonably fast down from 40-44, they could win the gold; otherwise it goes to Team USA.
40-44 Twenty are entered; eleven are with team USA. April Lund, Katie Sherron, and Karen Bertasso give Team USA an impressive top three. Lund has the fastest accepted mark of 34:21. She ran 35:32 to take 40-44 Silver at the 2023 WMA Indoors 10K Road Race. Lund also won the Masters 5 Km Championship last year in Atlanta over a stellar field. Sherron was first Overall in the Masters Women's race at the 2021 Club Cross County Championships and also won the 2023 Masters 1 Mile Championships. Sherron edged Lund for the Cross Country win last Sunday by a single second. The rematch should be interesting. Bertasso took second behind Roberta Groner at the Masters 12 Km Championships in New Jersey last year in 43:54, age grade equivalent to 36:02. She should be right up there with Lund and Sherron. Shannon Bain could also make some noise. Her accepted mark of 36:34 is backed up by her 37:03 at the Cooper River Bridge Run in 2024.Sarah Bishop 37:00 and Natasha Yaremczuk 38:00 could also be in the race for the podium. Yaremczuk's 1:02:54 earned the silver 40-44 medal at the Masters 10 Mile Championships. She added another silver at the Masters Half Marathon championships with a 1:25:33. Both courses are challenging. The Czech Republic's Eva Vail finished third, a half minute behind Sherron and Lund at the Cross Country event. She will try to stay with them a bit longer this time. Britain's Rebecca Luxton and Ireland's Rachel Murphy finished 5th and 6th; they will try to race their way onto the podium, but it will not be easy. Team USA is a lock for the Gold team medals. Great Britain looks good for Team Silver.
45-49 Fourteen are entered; seven are with Team USA. Jennifer Pesce finished third in 40-44 at the Masters 5K Championships last year in Atlanta, clocking 17:52. In 2023, she was the overall winner at the 12 Km Masters championships in 44:30, age grade equivalent to 36:50. Last Saturday she finished 3rd in 45-49 Cross Country, a good half minute behind Michelle Kenny, of Ireland, who is entered in this race also. Kenny is the favorite, then, but it should be a great rematch! Outcomes on the turf are not always good predictors of outcomes on the roads. None of the other American athletes appear likely to break 40 minutes. Lindsay Brogan, who ran a 19:57 5K last November and Dana Hayden, who runs her 5K's in the 20-to-21-minute range seem most likely to finish as 2nd and 3rd Americans. But Alicia Martinez, who focuses mainly on the track, could also be competitive. She won the 45-49 division at the 2024 Masters Half Marathon Championships in Indianapolis in 1:48 over a challenging course.
Two Kenyan athletes also deserve some attention. Rosaline David 36:12 and Joan Jepchirchir Kigen 32:00 have very strong accepted marks. Jepchirchir apparently clocked 2:34:05 at the 2019 Peace Marathon in Kosovo. What does that mean for 2025? I find no plausible results for David on Athlinks. Team USA has the only natural team. None of the other countries seem able to drop anyone down from higher age divisions to contend with Team USA.
50-54 Twenty-five are entered; fifteen are with Team USA. The USA is loaded for this division. Euleen Josiah-Tanner 39:28 and Hortencia Aliaga 38:00 went 1-2 in Cross Country last Sunday. They are joined by Perry Shoemaker 37:14 Abby Dean 39:26, and Jennifer Rodriguez 39:30. Shoemaker holds the American 50-54 Records for the 12 Km 44:39, the 10 Mile 1:00:34, and the 20 Km 1:17:03. Shoemaker is clearly the favorite but Josiah-Tanner and Aliaga's Cross Country results last Sunday show how strong they are. Aliaga won the Masters 12 Km Championships last year in 47:49 [10K equivalent of 39:32]. On the same course in 2022, but on a warmer day, Josiah-Tanner finished second 45-49 in 49:44 [10K equivalent of 41:07]. Josiah-Tanner ran 40:16 at the Master1s 10 Km Championships last year, finishing 15 seconds behind Dean. Dean's 19:09 5K at the Haddonfield Adrenaline 5K suggests she may be past the injuries that hampered her off and on in 2023 and 2024. In 2024, even so, Dean ran 40:01 at the Masters 10 Km Championships. If Dean is ready to break 40, she will also be in the hunt for a medal. If Josiah-Tanner runs as tough on the roads as she did on the turf, she will be tough for Aliaga and Dean to beat. I do not know Rodriguez and, as one might guess, there are many Jennifer Rodriguez athletes on Athlinks, more than one in her 50's. Still, it seems likely that the Rodriguez entered here is the same one who ran 19:50 at the Princeton NJ 5K last weekend. I could not find a recent 10k result. That performance is consistent with a 41-42 minute 10K. But, of course, it is just one result. It will be interesting to see if she can hang with this strong group for a full 10K. Shoemaker is the clear favorite on Team USA. After that it seems like any of the four athletes could be second and third for Team USA. Poland's Bialorczyk and Lachowska, who finished 3rd and 4th behind Josiah-Tanner and Aliaga on the turf, will try to stay closer on the roads. Bialorczyk finished 19 seconds behind Aliaga. Are there any others? The only other athlete with an accepted mark below 40 minutes is Ukraine's Valentyna Poltavska 36:42. Unless Poltavska is much faster on the roads than the turf, it seems unlikely that 36:42 reflects current fitness. She finished two minutes behind Aliaga last Saturday. Shoemaker seems likely to win. After that, Aliaga, Dean and Josiah-Tanner could give the USA a 1-2-3 sweep! The Team Gold seems to be a lock in this division.
55-59 Fifteen are entered; five are from Team USA. The Icelandic athlete who won the 55-59 Cross Country race last Saturday is entered in the 10K. Her last name may be translatable from the Icelandic as Torsdottir or 'Thor's daughter', at least that is my best guess. In any case, that win makes her the initial favorite. She finished 47 seconds ahead of Susan McDonald, the British athlete who finished second and three minutes ahead of Rachel Hopkins, who finished third. Hopkins is not entered, but McDonald is. So Iceland and Britain start as 1-2 favorites. The only American athlete who can likely stay with them is Michelle Rohl, who has a 37:30 accepted mark. But Rohl is first a track athlete. She is entered in all three middle distance events on the track, 800M, 1500M and 3000M. She may well be a scratch. If not, will she be able to perform at top speed over 1K. It would be amazing if she can compete with McDonald and the Icelander tomorrow. If Rohl races in the 10K it would take a lot out of her 1500M effort tomorrow afternoon. If she does not run, then the top USA athletes with a 44:30 mark and a back that may act up, is Laura Delea. Only two international athletes have similar accepted marks. Anabelle Broadbent, running for Puerto Rico, has a 44:01 mark and Germany's Ute Rohregger is at 44:30. If Delea's back behaves, it seems likely she could come in ahead of Broadbent. At the 12 Km Championships last September, for example, Delea finished well ahead of Broadbent. Whether Delea could finish ahead of Rohregger is a different question. Delea's 54:49 12K is equivalent to a 45:15 10K. But her 1:37:05 to finish 3rd in 55-59 at the Masters Half Marathon championships is equivalent to a 43:50. My guess is that if Delea's back lets her make it to the starting line she will compete well against Rohregger also. Whether Rohl and Delea compete or not, Cassandra Crane, Brenda Osovski and Christie Patla are solid performers who will be sure that team USA has a team score. If so, it is likey to be gold. The only glitch could be Canada. They have only two entered in 55-59 but they have two in athletes in 60-64. Even so, Team USA should still take the Team Gold.
60-64 Sixteen are entered; seven are with Team USA. The two British athletes who went 1-3 in the 60-64 Cross Country race, Clare Elms and Fiona Usher, are back for the road race. That accomplishment makes them the initial favorites. Suzanne La Burt, who finished second last Sunday, is not entered in the 10K. Tina Klein 46:40 and Mary Swan 47:00, who finished 6th and 8th respectively in the Cross Country race, are the top USA finishers entered in the 10K. Dana Blum 43:37 has a faster accepted mark for 10K, but did not compete in Cross Country. In early February, Blum clocked 43:28 in the 10K race at the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon 10K. It appears that Blum, Klein and Swan are likely to be the top three Team USA athletes. No one else has an accepted mark as fast as theirs. None of the other international athletes seem likely to keep pace with Elms and Usher. But there are three who should give Blum a good run for the bronze. Sweden's Karin Schon, at 42:30, has a mark that is a minute faster than Blum's. Schon finished 5th in the Cross Country race, a half minute ahead of Klein. Blum should be competitive with her. Two others, Germany's Sabine Lahmann 43:34 and Canada's Makie Ohler 43:39 have marks that are comparable to Blum's. Despite Great Britain has a complete team. On paper, they appear to be the favorites for Team Gold, with Team USA the favorite for Silver.
65-69 Fifteen are entered, eight for Team USA. Kitty Musante 47:53 and Diane Rothman 48:17 finished 2-3 in the Cross Country championship last Sunday, behind Suzanne Cordes who is not entered in the road race. That makes Musante and Rothman the initial favorites. On the other hand, Stella Gibbs has, by far the fastest accepted mark, at 43:05. That was achieved last April at the Masters 10 Km championships. At Atlanta in February 2024, Gibbs won 60-64 in 21:14, with Musante third in 23:04. Dianne Rothman ran 23:28 at the Asbury Park 5K in December 2024. It is a faster course, but the weather may not have been perfect. She also ran a 50:44 10K in Florida in January. That suggest that Gibbs is the favorite with Musante second and Rothman third. Lauren Siegel 49:03, Donna May 51:15, and Susan Stirrat 52:01 provide very solid support behind those first three should anything go wrong. It does not appear that any of the international athletes can trouble Gibbs. But there are three who could battle for Silver and Bronze: Britain's Marian Grace 45:36, Peru's Otarola 45:20 and Grace's teammate, Susan Payne 46:20. Otarola, a US resident, ran in the Masters 12 Km Championships last September, finishing 9 seconds ahead of Rothman. It appears those two are competitive with one another. I found a 10 Mile result in Britain for a Marian Grace in December last year. She ran the 10 Miler in 1:15:32, consistent with a 45:30 10K. Gibbs is the favorite, followed by Musante, with Grace, Otarola and Rothman likely to compete for bronze. Team USA should get the Team gold medals. Great Britain has a complete team and should have no competition for Silver.
70-74 Seven are entered; three are from Team USA. Nora Cary is the overwhelming favorite. She won the 70-74 Cross Country race last Sunday by almost four minutes. Her accepted 10K mark of 42:56 is more than ten minutes faster than anyone else in the division. The race for Silver should be between Cynthia Lucking 56:55 and Canada's Corinne Krezonoski 55:25. Athlinks has a 25:27 5K for Krezonoski at the fast Brian Kraft memorial 5K in Minneapolis. Lucking finished 2nd in 70-74 at the 2024 Masters 5 km Championships in Atlanta last February with a 26:51. The Atlanta course is definitely slower than the Kraft 5K, but that 25:27 suggests that Krezonoski is a worthy rival for Lucking. None of the others entered has an accepted mark close to an hour. Cary is a lock for the win. Krezonoski and Lucking battle for Silver and Bronze. In terms of team medals, USA should get the Gold. No other team is complete. In addition to Cary and Lucking, Yong Collins and Helene Myers are reliable finishers.
75-79 Eight are entered; five are with Team USA. Jeannie Rice is the favorite. Somehow, Eileen Kenny, of Ireland, managed to beat Rice in the 6 Km Cross Country. But over 10 Km on the roads it seems unlikely. Rice's accepted mark is 46:54. Rice ran 47:04 at a 10K in Cleveland last July. Her 1:44:13 at the Naples Half marathon in January is age grade equivalent to a 46:09 10K. Kenny's mark is 51:00. Unless Rice runs into unexpected trouble, she should take the Individual Gold medal. Kenny's mark is matched by another team USA athlete, Lillian Rustin 50:48. But Athlinks provides only one result for a Lillian Rustin in her mid-70's and that is a 45:02 5K at the national Senior Games in Pennsylvania in 2023. Most likely the 50:48 represents a mistake. Although with just one race result it is possible she was running slow to accompany a friend or relative. For now, I will take the result as indicative and suggest that two other Team USA athletes, Deborah Barchat 1:09:00 and Sue Herscher 1:05:05 will be the two battling for the bronze medal. Earlier this month, Barchat ran a 32:28 5K. Last June she clocked 1:09:03 at the Citizens Queens 10K. Herscher ran a 31:56 5K in February. Last July in Cleveland she ran a 1:09:56 10K. It appears that they are closely enough matched it will come down to which of them has the better day. Team USA is a lock for the Gold. There are no other teams.
80-84 No entries.
85-89 Joyce Hodges-Hite is the sole entrant as she was for the Cross Country event last Sunday. She did not compete in that race after all. I do not know if she plans to be on the starting line tomorrow or not. If she is, Hodges-Hite is a dedicated runner. She finishes what she starts. She should win a Gold medal if she is there. There are no complete teams.
