June 28 2025. The USATF Masters 4 Mile Championships were held on Saturday, June 14th, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria, Illinois. Athletes enjoyed the course and praised the Steamboat Classic for a well-organized race! Although it was humid, temperatures stayed below 70F during the race; winds were moderate. The course made for good times and many tight races!
OVERALL Gun time is used for Overall, Age Group and Team results.
WOMEN Three athletes separated from the pack early. Jessica Hruska, overall winner of the 2022 Masters 5 Km Championships in 18:15, enjoyed a dominant win. Up by 50 meters at the 1 Mile mark, Hruska added to it steadily, claiming the win in 24:48, with a cushion of 200 meters.
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| Jessica Hruska breaks the tape as she wins the Overall 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Kara Parker, out of the 55-59 division, overcame an early push by Abby Dean 25:49, to claim the silver medal. Dean was up by a few strides at the 1 Mile mark. By the halfway mark they were even. Despite her best efforts, Dean found herself slipping back a few strides by the end of the third mile. Parker was able to take full advantage of the down sloping finish, leaving Dean fifty meters back in third. The rest of the field was a good two minutes back. It was a fabulous win for Hruska; she adds this gold to the one she earned over 5K in 2022.
Jessica Hruska 24:47 Kara Parker 25:35 Abby Dean 25:48
MEN David Angell, who won the 5 Km Masters Overall Championship last year in Atlanta, took it out hard on the first uphill segment, but Dickson Mercer stayed right with him. Mercer had edged Angell by seven seconds at the Masters 10 Km Championships in Massachusetts at the end of April. Chris Brown was right on Mercer's heels, with Taylor Smith and Frank Zoldak tucked in. Brown took 2nd Masters at Kansas City's CCVI Trolley Run, covering four miles in 20:52. Smith, like Zoldak, out of Boulder, has some strong times in races at altitude, including a 33:12 at the 2024 Bolder Boulder 10K. Zoldak, out of the 55-59 division, has won his division and the age grading championships at the last two USATF Club Cross Country M40 Championships. This is his first try at a Masters Road Championship. He was conceding nothing to the younger runners. Chuck Terry was a few strides off that pace, biding his time.
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| David Angell left Leads Dickson Mercer right, Christopher Harris red singlet and Frank Zoldak white singlet at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
The two leaders kept the pedal down for the second mile. By the time they emerged from the turnaround in the park, they were still running in tandem at the front. A small space was starting to emerge behind them as Brown, Smith and Zoldak were now in single file behind; Terry was 30 meters further behind. Mile three came and went with neither of the two leaders flagging. Smith had left Brown behind but now found himself almost 50 meters behind the leaders. Brown was thirty meters back with Zoldak falling 30 meters off of Brown. Terry had closed to within 15 meters of Zoldak. As they approached the final turn about a third of a mile from the finish, Angell made a move that Mercer could no longer answer. A small gap became bigger as Angell cruised down to the finish line, crossing it in first at 20:42, an average of 5:10 per mile.
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| David Angell wins the Overall 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Mercer held it together, finishing eleven seconds back. He must have heard Smith coming as Mercer managed to cross the line, in second place, just two seconds ahead of a fast-closing Smith! Brown finished fourth in 21:17. Terry closed hard enough to nip Zoldak at the line, both receiving the same 21:29 time. Angell enjoyed his second overall National Masters win running out of the 45-49 division. Mercer had his best finish yet at a Masters National Championship. Smith, a newly minted Masters athlete, announced that he is to be taken seriously at the national level!
David Angell 20:42 Dickson Mercer 20:53 Taylor Smith 20:55
AGE GRADING Age grading indicates the best performance, adjusted for age, across all age divisions. Chip time is used for age grading and American age group records. MEN Not surprisingly, Frank Zoldak had the top performance. His 21:28 not only resulted in a top six finish overall but earned a Performance Level Percentage PLP [age grading score] of 94.41%.
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| Frank Zoldak sprints to the Finish Line and His 55-59 and Age Grading Win at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Gary Ostwald’s M75 win at 27:48 scored a few hundredths of a percent lower. Ostwald's running has continued to improve as he ages through his late seventies. After the race, he commented that this was his first time with a PLP above 90%.
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| Gary Ostwald Finishes Off his 75-79 Win and Collects his Age Grading Silver medal at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Dan King closed off the podium. His 23:39 graded just over 92%. Next week he goes for the M65 One Mile American record in Indianapolis. This was a very nice, controlled cruise into that effort.
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| Dan King speeds to the Finish Line, the M65 Winner and Age Grading Bronze Medalist at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Other top PLPs were turned in by Mark Zamek, 62, at 90.39, and the Overall winner, Angell, 48, at 90.02.
Frank Zoldak 58 21:28 94.41 Gary Ostwald 79 27:48 94.21 Daniel King 66 23:39 92.11
WOMEN Patrice Combs, the 2025 Masters 10 Km W65 Champion, won this 65-69 championship in 28:18, earning the top PLP at 91.57.
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| Patrice Combs wins the 65-69 Division and Claims the Women's Gold Medal in Age Grading at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Parker’s second place overall and W55 win, netted 86.64% for second. Suzanne Cordes, who finished second to Combs in W65, claimed the bronze age grading medal at 85.95.
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| Suzanne Cordes finishes Off Her W65 Silver medal Run that Earned her the Age Grading Bronze medal at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Cordes, who prefers the cross country turf to the roads, showed some toughness on the roads. She edged Kris Huff, who won W60, for the bronze age grading medal. Her net time of 28:00 netted an 85.30 PLP. Dean, third overall, finished 5th with a PLP of 83.91.
Patrice Combs 67 28:16 91.57 Kara Parker 55 25:35 86.64 Suzanne Cordes 65 29:18 85.95
AGE DIVISIONS National Four Mile Champions were crowned: MEN 40-44 Mercer, Smith, and Brown went 1-2-3 overall and so go 1-2-3 in this division. Mercer, Smith and Brown received their championship medals. Following a new policy this year, Mercer received overall prize money, so Brown received the prize purse for winning this division.
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| Dickson Mercer powers to the Finish Line and the Overall Silver Medal at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Dickson Mercer 20:53 Taylor Smith 20:55 Chris Brown 21:17
45-49 Angell, the winner overall, won this division as well. Matthew DiPretore, a solid contributor for the Greater Philadelphia Track Club, finished top five in this division at the 2023 Masters 10 km Championship sin 34:59. Though unable to keep pace with Angell, DiPretore achieved a comfortable second place finish.
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| Matthew DiPretore Finishing Off His M45 Silver medal Effort at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
No doubt, DiPretore enjoyed the prize money that Angell was no longer eligible for. The third entrant, Richard Jennings, made the trip from Texas worthwhile. He finished a few hundred meters behind DiPretore in claiming the bronze medal.
David Angell 20:42 Matthew DiPretore 24:04 Richard Jennings 25:48
50-54 Three highly competitive athletes were entered. Robb Awe, out of Indianapolis, won the M50 race at the Masters Half Marathon Championships last year in 1:20:45. He ran a 36:10 10K in April of 2024 and followed that with a 17:00 flat 5K in November! Alan Black has been less active nationally in recent years. But he won the Overall championship at the 2018 Masters Mile in Flint MI. Earlier this year, Black turned in a 17:48 5K at the Athens Twilite Run in Georgia. Jason Newport was 5 seconds removed from a top ten M50 finish at the 2024 Masters 5 Km Championships. Last November he clocked 17:58 at a Thanksgiving week 5K. Once the gun sounded and they were off, the three quickly found their own pace and ran largely separate races. Awe covered the first mile in 5:25, enjoying a 100-meter lead on Black. Newport was closer to Black but still almost 40 meters back. The gaps grew the rest of the way with Awe earning his second Masters National Road Race championship in 22:03.
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| Feeling No Pressure from Behind, Robb Awe eases in for an M50 Gold Medal at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Black finished strongly, clipping a few seconds off of Awe's lead but still finishing a good 200 meters back, in second place. Newport, another 200 meters back, finished third.
Robb Awe 22:03 Alan Black 22:57 Jason Newport 23:45
55-59 This division is typically stacked with strong runners and this edition was no different. Zoldak finished sixth overall and had the top age grade. He was the clear leader; the gap between him and the rest of the field was significant, but not huge. Christopher Harris won this division at the 2025 Masters 10 Km Championships in 35:20 and finished 2nd at last year's Masters 5 km Championships at 17:06. John McMahon finished a minute behind Harris to take 5th in 55-59 at the World Masters Athletics 8 Km XC Championship race. In March, he clocked 28:12 at the Running of the Green 5 Miler in upstate New York. Michael Mallon finished 2nd M55 in the Masters 10 Mile Championships last August. His 59:33 represents a strong effort over the challenging Crim course in Flint MI. Three months later he turned in a 17:39 5K. John Prineas has not been active at recent road races but ran 5K's last fall in the 17:47 to 18:33 range. While Zoldak was contesting with the overall leaders in the first mile, Harris was establishing a good gap on the rest of the field. His closest pursuer at the 1 Mile split was Mallon who was 50 meters back, followed by McMahon another 20 meters back. Prineas was fifteen meters behind McMahon but that gap continued to grow. Harris's gap on the field also grew steadily, reaching 200 meters by the finish.
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| Christopher Harris Finishes Strong to Claim the M55 Silver Medal at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
But McMahon was locked onto Mallon in the race for the bronze medal. Thirty meters back when they made the 180 turn for the last couple of miles, McMahon kept it right there for Mile three and closed in Mile 4. McMahon was able to blow by and pull away down the final stretch! He enjoyed a twenty second gap on Mallon. A half minute later, Prineas finished fifth.
Frank Zoldak 21:28 Christopher Harris 22:10 John McMahon 23:04
60-64 The top contenders were Douglas Baldwin and Mark Zamek, both running for the Twin Cities Running Club. Baldwin finished fourth in the M60+ race at Club Cross in Tacoma, about a half minute ahead of Zamek. But they would not have an easy time of it. Atlanta's Lester Dragstedt, and GVH's Joe Mora and Mike Nier, out of Rochester NY, would be pressing them. Dragstedt won the 2024 M60 5K Championship at Atlanta in 18:19. This April he finished fifth M60 at the 10K Championships in 39:12. Mora clocked 30:37 at the Liverpool Turkey Trot 5 Miler last November. His third-place finish at the 2023 Masters Road Mile championships in 5:13 shows the kind of potential speed he brings to the race. And Nier is no slouch at speed either. Nier is managing a heart condition so well that he finished within a minute of Dragstedt at the 10K Championships. Like Mora, Nier is no stranger to the middle-distance wars on the track. He, too, can close well when it counts. Of course, closing speed can be taken out of the fastest runner by a punishing pace. Baldwin shot off the starting line when the airhorn sounded, with Zamek determined to keep pace. By the Mile mark, which Baldwin hit in 5:42, Zamek was over 50 meters back. Twenty-five meters behind Zamek the three other contenders were running in a group, Mora leading the way, with Dragstedt on his heels and then Nier. Baldwin kicked his lead up to 75 meters on the second mile, but Zamek held it there, giving no further ground. Baldwin won in 22:58. Zamek took second with a hundred meters to spare.
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| Mark Zamek strides to the Finish and His M60 Silver Medal at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
By the 180 turn around just before the 2-mile mark, Dragstedt had taken over the main chase duties, hitting the 2-mile mark at 11:48 with more than 50 meters on Nier and Mora. Dragstedt added to that lead, pulling away to claim the bronze medal with a cushion of well over 100 meters. Nier outlasted Mora, finishing fourth in 24:05, with 21 seconds on his teammate.
Douglas Baldwin 22:58 Mark Zamek 23:14 Lester Dragstedt 23:36
65-69 This was Dan King's division. As USATF does not currently track 4 Mile Records, there was no AR for King to break! His goal was to run fast, collect the Grand Prix points that go with a win and not strain anything. King is a master at rehab, but he had a clear Road Mile record to shoot at a week later in Indianapolis. Nothing about this race should jeopardize that effort, at his favorite distance! His closest competitor would likely be Roger Sayre, a terrific runner, but one who has been focusing his training on the longer end of the LDR spectrum. The M65 American 25K Record holder at 1:39:50, Sayre dropped down in distance to take the M65 win at the 10K championships in 38:17. Doug Keller, another TCRC athlete, was fresh off a Memorial Day 18:44 at the Brian Kraft Memorial run. Norm Larson, in his last year in the division, is still dangerous. He finished seventh M65 at the 10K championships in 41:20. If any of the leaders ran into trouble there would be no huge gap for them to take advantage of. As expected, King had no injury flare-ups. The first mile of the course has the only real uphill section. King still hit the 1 Mile marker at 5:59, with over 70 meters on the field. Sayre came next but Keller was within a few strides in third. Larson ran within himself, hitting the first mile in 6:50. King strode too the win, adding to his margin with each passing mile. He claimed the win in 23:39. At the turn around at two miles, Keller was still hanging on tenaciously to Sayre, with just four seconds between them. But the third mile proved tougher; Sayre moved out to a thirty-meter lead on Keller. And that was it. Keller finished strong with a 6:06 last mile but Sayre was stronger, finishing second with a cushion of a hundred meters.
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| Roger Sayre drives for the finish line as he finishes 2nd in M65 and gains a Top Ten Age Grade at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Larson negative split the race, dropping his pace by 9 seconds per mile for the third mile and covering the last mile in 6:15! Apart from possibly Club Cross, this is the first championship I recall that this Larson (differentiating from Nat and Kirk) has not competed at national championships apart from the 10K Championships in New England. If Larson is going to run more races on the circuit, the M70 Grand Prix will be enlivened by his presence! Watch out!
Dan King 23:39 Roger Sayre 24:43 Doug Keller 24:59
70-74 Jim Linn won the 2024 Masters 5 Km Championships for M70 at 19:43 and finished second at the 10K Championships this April in 41:56. Jack Pottle has been going back and forth with Linn at national championships. Pottle, still in 65-69 at the time, came in a minute ahead of Linn at the USATF 5 Km XC Championships in Boulder. That was not surprising; Pottle trains at altitude and Linn does not. At Club Cross in Tacoma, over 8 Km at sea level, Linn reversed the tables, finishing twenty seconds ahead of Pottle. At the 10 Km Championships in April, these two met again at sea level. The result was the same; Linn finished a half minute ahead of Pottle. Peoria is only 509' above sea level. That should favor Linn. But perhaps Pottle is also better with shorter distances. That could be a potential equalizer. Scott Lucking, Reno Stirrat, and Dennis Kurtis were also in the hunt. A minute and a half behind Linn at the 10 Km championships, these two finished within 11 seconds of one another. Stirrat was less than a half minute behind Kurtis. Linn and Pottle took it out hard, Linn hitting the first mile in 6:51 with Pottle right on his shoulder. There was a 50-meter gap back to the chase pack, which was just as tightly packed. Kurtis and Stirrat were leading the way, with Lucking tucked in behind. There was no change among the leaders until the middle of the third mile when Linn had to let Pottle go. Pottle had fifty meters on Linn by the end of the third mile and carried that on through the fourth for the win at 26:38.
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| Jack Pottle Gets the 'W' in the 70-74 Division at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
The chase pack pulled somewhat closer to Linn over the last mile, but Linn was never threatened. He took second with a cushion of over forty meters. Stirrat pushed the pace in the second mile, taking them through that split in 6:48. That gave hi a 20-meter gap on the others. But it was short-lived. Stirrat pulled even by the end of the third mile. Kurtis had to hope those two would slow in the last mile as he was now a long (as far as M70 was concerned) fifty meters back. Lucking had more in the tank for the final mile, finishing third with a six second margin on Stirrat! Kurtis was fifth another 14 seconds back. It is always a battle in this division! It was a great day for Pottle, his first M70 national road championship!
Jack Pottle 26:38 James Linn 27:12 Scott Lucking 27:24
75-79 Gary Ostwald was the heavy favorite. At the 10K championships in 2024, he finished second to Gene Dykes who is out these days with a severe knee injury. His 45:32 last year left him a minute ahead of Jerry Learned, likely his toughest competition on this day. Since that race, Ostwald has won every M75 championship he has competed in, with the wins becoming more and more dominant. At Club Cross this past December, Ostwald won in 38:27, a good three minutes ahead of Learned. The other two competitors would fight it out for third and fourth, most likely. Paul Carlin That's me, folks! runs for Ann Arbor Track Club. In 2024, I finished 45 seconds ahead of Atlanta Track Club's Allen Joyce at the 10 Km Championships. Even though I finished on the M75 podium at the 10 Mile, 12Km and Half Marathon championships in the late summer and fall, those were tough races for me. With a food poisoning episode sabotaging my effort at the Masters 5 Km XC Championships in Boulder, I felt spent by the end of the year. For the first time in recent years, I skipped Club Cross. I intended to compete at Lubbock but, like many others, had a cancelled flight that kept me in Michigan. Joyce, as it turns out, had a good winter of training in South Carolina. We had a back-and-forth competition over the first half of the 10 Km Road Race at the WMA Championships in February. But Joyce was able to pass and pull away to beat me by a minute in 55:00. That gave him the honor as third US finisher to mount the team podium with Terry McCluskey and Victor Vasquez; they collected team gold. This would be our first meeting since then. As anticipated, Ostwald had a solid victory, taking the lead early and never relinquishing. Up by 200 meters at the halfway mark, he finished first at 27:48. Learned ran a good race, keeping Ostwald's winning margin under two minutes.
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| Jerry Learned Finishing Off His M75 Silver Medal Run at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
The outcome between Joyce and myself was the same as at WMA except that Joyce came in further ahead. Joyce got in front of me heading up the incline in the first half mile and I never recovered. This was his day! Joyce claimed the bronze medal with a cushion of two minutes.
Gary Ostwald 27:48 Jerry Learned 29:38 Allen Joyce 33:43
80-84 Przemek Nowicki, running for New Jersey's Shore AC, and Richard Kutzner, running for the Boulder Road Runners, entered as the likely favorites. After battling challenges last year, Nowicki has been running well this year. He ran 54:45 for a 10K at New Jersey's Cherry Blossom Run in early April and then finished second at the 10 Km Championships in 55:07. Kutzner had been active on the national Masters circuit in the pre-Covid years but has not competed in recent years. He tends to focus his training on the longer races so a 4-Miler is not his forte. In 2017, he finished second at the Masters Half marathon championships. Kutzner clocked 1:31:24 at the Capital Pursuit Ten Miler in September of last year and then turned in a 1:57:33 at the Rock n Roll HM in San Antonnio in December. Ed Bligh of Atlanta can never be ignored, especially at races under 10 Km long. In February of last year, he finished 2nd M80 at the 2024 Masters 5 Km Championships in 28:31. This spring he clocked 1:02:38 at a 10K in Georgia. Nowicki has always told me he does not like hills. This course has an uphill in the first mile. Perhaps due to that, Kutzner got out to an early lead. In the second half of that first mile, Nowicki regained his equilibrium on the flat and closed the gap to a few strides by the end of the first mile. After that, it was all Nowicki. He had forty meters on Kutzner by the end of the second mile and nearly a hundred by the end of the third. Nowicki won in 35:51.
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| Przemek Nowicki Earned the M80 Gold Medal at the2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Bligh ran conservatively allowing Kutzner to build a half minute lead by the three-mile mark. Bligh cut seventeen seconds out of Kutzner's lead in the last mile but never got closer than fifty meters. Morris Williams finished in fourth place at 45:31. It was a good day for Nowicki, his first M80 win on the circuit this year.
Przemyslaw Nowicki 35:51 Richard Kutzner 37:11 Ed Bligh 37:32
85-89 Roland Cormier, of Shore AC, beat off a challenge from New England's M85 Runner of the Year to win the M85 title at the 2025 Masters 10 Km Championships at the end of April. Here he was unchallenged. Cormier ran well, finishing his four-mile tour of Peoria in 43:23.
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| Roland Cormier right Showing the Young Pups How an 85-year-old can run to a National Title at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Roland Cormier 43:23
WOMEN 40-44 No Entries.
45-49 Hruska, out of the Quad Cities, won the Overall crown. She took this division title by several minutes. California's Vanessa Lordi, Chicago's Alicia Martinez, and Laura Scholz, running for the Atlanta TC, had a much closer contest for the remaining podium spots. Lordi typically runs her 5K's in the low to mid-24-minute range. There are many Martinez's out there and a few Alicia Martinez's. I can find Indoor track results, like the 4th place finish in the W45 3000M at the 2024 Indoor Championships in 12:42; that is surely the Martinez entered here. Martinez also finished 5th at the 2023 Masters 5 Km XC Championships in Boca Raton, running 24:34 on a hot day. I do not find short road race results for Martinez. The 24:34 XC result over 5 Km suggests Martinez is competitive with Lordi. Scholz's 51:06 at the members 10K in Georgia in mid-April suggests that she is not far off the times that Lordi and Martinez have turned in over the shorter distances. Of those three. Martinez took it out the fastest, crossing the 1 Mile marker in7:38. Scholz was forty meters back in third, with Lordi another fifty meters behind Scholz. Whether Martinez had been too exuberant with her first mile or she ran into another problem is unclear. She slowed significantly in the second mile; Scholz not only passed her but built a gap of almost 50 meters on Martinez. Lordi closed to within 25 meters. In the next mile, Lordi passed Martinez, establishing herself in third, but unable to close on Scholz. Scholz enjoyed a lead of fifty meters when she crossed the finish line in second place. Lordi finished third, with Martinez fourth at 32:11.
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| Vanessa Lordi captured the W45 Bronze Medal at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
It was a dominant division win for Hruska to go along with her splendid overall win.
Jessica Hruska 24:48 Laura Scholz 31:30 Vanessa Lordi 31:47
50-54 Usually this is one of the more competitive age groups. Abby Dean had the rare experience of being the only entrant. Dean, out of Wilmington DE now, runs for Greater Philadelphia now. Focused primarily on the Overall race, where she finished third, Dean had no worries about the 50-54 division. She won.
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| Abby Dean Wraps Up Her Outing that resulted in a W50 Win and Top Five in Age Grading overall at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Abby Dean 25:49
55-59 Kara Parker, who finished second overall, enjoyed a dominant division win, although not as dominant as Hruska in 45-49. Amy McMahon is always a tough competitor. The most recent road race Championship result I can find for her is from the 2022 Masters 1 Mile Championships; she finished 4th in 50-54 at 5:42. McMahon competes nationally more regularly on the turf. She finished fourth in this division, over 6 Km, at the Tacoma Club Cross Country Championships this past December in 26:35. GVH teammates, Cassie Crane and Brenda Osovski often finish fairly close to one another although Osovski tends to come in ahead. At the recent Masters 10K championships in late April, Osovski finished seventh in 48:46. Crane crossed the line fourteen seconds later. Parker, focused primarily on the race for the overall win, put plenty of distance between herself and the rest of the field. She won the division with three minutes to spare. Though McMahon could not keep pace with Parker, she enjoyed a strong outing; she hit the one-mile marker in 6:54, with a lead of over 150 meters on the third-place runner, Crane. Osovski was apparently running at less than full fitness; at least that was suggested by the KT Tape on her right leg. Her split at the first mile, 8:17, was a slower pace than her average pace per mile, 7:52, at the 10K Championships. But she showed up for the team! McMahon stretched her lead at each mile, claiming the silver medal, with over 300 meters to spare. Crane ran a solid race to take third.
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| Cassandra Crane powers her way to the Finish Line and the W55 Bronze Medal at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Osovski overcame her apparent injury to take 4th in 33:59.
Kara Parker 25:37 Amy McMahon 28:41 Cassandra Crane 30:45
60-64 Kris Huff, of the Atlanta TC, was the favorite. She finished fourth in this division at the February 2024 Masters 5 Km Championships in Atlanta at 28:33. She finished second in the division at the Masters Half Marathon championships in Indianapolis last October with a 1:39:32. That course is rather challenging; Huff's 3:15:32 outing at the Boston Marathon this spring gives a better picture of Huff's distance strength. Pamela Ricker, Shore AC, ran 48:21 to finish eighth in this division at the Masters 10K Championships in April. Her teammate, Leslie Nowicki, is enjoying an upswing in her racing results, due, no doubt, to steady progress in training. Last fall, Nowicki's 5K's were in the 26:13 to 27:34 range. This April she clocked 52:47 at the Masters 10K Championships. That result suggested she could keep pace with hometown runner, Crystal Kyle. If the Interplanetary 5K that Kyle ran in April is a true 5K, it would be tough for Nowicki to stay with her; her time was 24:39. But Kyle also ran the gate River Run this March, clocking 1:22:25. That course is tough, with its climb up the Hart Bridge ['Green Monster'] in the 8th mile, but Kyle's time would not be out of reach for someone who can break 53 minutes in a 10K. Kyle ran 32:21 on this course last year. Ricker would concede nothing to Huff; she would have to earn it. Huff and Ricker both hit the first mile split in 7:20. Huff pressed the pace in the second mile, crossing the 2-mile mat at 14:20 with a 30-meter lead on Ricker. A third mile in less than 7:10 did the trick for Huff. She had a hundred-meter lead on Ricker heading into the last mile. Huff kicked the lead up to 150 meters as she won in 28:03.
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| Kris Huff finishes off her Gold Medal W60 Run, enjoying a Top Five Overall Finish at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Ricker claimed second with a cushion of over four minutes. In the race for bronze, Kyle had an early 70-meter lead on Nowicki. That did not change substantially through the 180 turn around in the park and the two-mile split. But Nowicki began to make progress on catching the 'F60' back bib she could see in front of her. By the end of the third mile, Nowicki had reduced the gap to just twenty meters. The chaser's worry at that point is whether the runner ahead has conserved enough energy to fight off the catch or allow the catch and then repass closer to the end. In this case, Nowicki made the catch in the final mile and held on. She had the bronze medal with five seconds to spare! Kyle had to settle for fourth in her first outing at a Masters National championships race.
Kriss Huff 28:03 Pamela Ricker 29:08 Leslie Nowicki 33:45
65-69 As noted above, Atlanta's Combs won this division and attained the top age grading score. She hit the 1 Mile mark in 7:05 with a forty-meter lead on the field. She added to it each mile, winning in 28:18 with a cushion of over a minute. Suzanne Cordes is known mostly as a turf runner. She finished fourth overall in 60-64 at the highly competitive 2022 Club Cross Country Championships at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. She also has enjoyed wins at the 2022 and 2024 Masters 5K XC Championships at Boulder, along with a W65 win at Cross Country Nationals in Lubbock TX this January. Shore AC's Marie Capdeveille and Lisa Vaughn match up pretty well with each other and with Atlanta's Cindy Williams. Capdeveille and Vaughn have recent 5K's that are only 28 seconds apart. Vaugh ran a 25:41 5K at the Quad Cities Distance Classic while Capdeveille ran 26:07 last October at the Little Silver 5K. If endurance comes into play, Vaughn appears to have the edge. She clocked 52:06 in April 2024 to take 7th in this division at the Masters 10K Championships. That compares favorably with Capdeveille's 53:21 at the Essex County Cherry Blossom 10K this April. Williams was a regular on the circuit in her 60's but less so recently. In 2019 she finished 4th in 60-64 at the Masters 5 km Championships at 24:41. Her 51:05 at the Members 10K in April suggests she is ready to challenge for this 4 Mile bronze medal. Although not able to stay with Combs, Cordes ran strong. At the first mile split she had almost two hundred meters on the rest of the field. Like Combs, she added to that cushion with each passing mile, claiming the silver medal with a margin of almost four minutes. Vaughn and Williams passed the 1 Mile mark in 8:17, neck and neck, with Capdeveille tucked in behind. Vaughn pressed the pace in the second mile, crossing the mat at 16:18. That gave her some breathing room; Williams, with Capdeveille a stride back, was a good thirty meters behind. Vaughn slowed a bit in Mile 3 but so did Williams; the gap remained the same. But Capdeveille was struggling to stay with Williams; thirty meters lay between them at the end of mile three. Vaughn, Williams, and Capdeveille all finished strong. That second mile made the difference between Vaughn and Williams. Vaughn enjoyed the bronze medal.
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| Lisa Vaughn Flies to the Finish as she claims W65 Bronze at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Despite (or because of) her best efforts, Williams was still 30 meters back and Capdeveille was still thirty meters behind Williams! Quite a contest!
Patrice Combs 28:18 Suzanne Cordes 29:21 Lisa Vaughn 33:13
70-74 Nora Cary, who broke the 70-74 American Record at the Masters 10K Championships with a 43:20, was a scratch. As a result, Cindy Lucking became the favorite. She had finished third at the 10K Championships in 56:41. Helene Myers who clocked 1:22:43 at the 10K championships would also compete. Lucking had no issues; her steady effort resulted in a W70 gold medal in 37:23.
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| Cindy Lucking Crosses the Finish Line; She wins the W70 Gold Medal at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Myers keeps showing up. Whenever she shows up, she completes the race and earns points towards the Grand Prix Championships. last year she was the Women's 70-74 Grand Prix Champion. Myers' silver medal gives her 95 points, while Lucking collects 100 points toward the 2025 Masters National Grand Prix title. With another hundred points from this race, Lucking's MNGP points total rises to 470. That means she has pretty much locked up the Grand Prix title. Myers will not be able to catch her. Cary could still catch her but needs to race three more Championships to do so.
75-79 Atlanta teammates, Kathleen Allen and Andrea McCarter were focused on the team championship. Allen was a strong favorite individually. She won the 75-79 title at the Masters 10K Championships in April in 1:03:03:06. McCarter ran 1:16:43 at the Members 10K in Georgia, also this April. Allen won the gold medal in 41:06. Twenty-three minutes later, McCarter collected the silver medal.
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| Andrea McCarter Makes Her Way to the Finish and her W79 Silver Medal at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
At one level, McCarter had no reason to hurry. But her finishing time is a good deal slower than one would expect so she may have run into trouble on the course or come in with fitness issues.
Kathleen Allen 41:06 Andrea McCarter 1:04:10
80-84 Susan Sajdak, of Greater Rochester NY, was the only entrant. Though listed as 'Unattached', I suspect Sajdak may have a connection to GVH. It would seem odd, otherwise, for Sajdak to suddenly show up at her first national championship in Illinois. Knowing that the Sport80 registration platform is not easy for a first-time user to navigate, I can imagine that a team affiliation might not have been registered. As GVH had no 70+ team, there was no reason to correct it. It will be interesting to see if Sajdak shows up at future championships. Her 46:30 took the gold medal.
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| Susan Sajdak left Crosses the Finish Line to Earn the W80 Gold Medal at the 2025 USATF Masters 4 Mile Championship, hosted by the Steamboat Classic in Peoria IL Photo courtesy of Steamboat Classic |
Susan Sajdak 46:30
85-89 Unopposed in this race, Joyce Hodges-Hite is well on her way to her second consecutive Masters National Grand Prix title. Hodges-Hite completed the race and won, despite having to wear a substantial knee brace.
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Joyce Hodges-Hite wins the 85-89 Division at the
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This victory raised her total to 400 points. Unless someone shows up soon to compete against Hodges-Hite she looks almost certain to repeat as W85 Grand Prix Champion.
Joyce Hodges-Hite 1:12:25
TEAMS Note: Teams may declare up to five runners; the top three finishers from each team have their finishing times added up. The lower the score the better. The Atlanta Track Club cleaned up with the Women’s races. Unopposed in the W70+ division, Atlanta needed to compete against the Shore Athletic Club in W60+. Atlanta was up to the task. With Huff and Combs going 1-2 in the team race and building up a time advantage of six minutes on Shore's top two, Ricker and Vaughn, all Atlanta needed was for Williams to finish not too far back. In fact, Williams came in five seconds ahead of Shore's third runner, Capdeveille, closing off Atlanta's scoring at 1:29:46. They enjoyed a six-minute margin on Shore. There were no teams entered in the 40+ nor the 50+ division.
60+ Atlanta Track Club K Huff, P Combs, C Williams 1:29:46 29:56 average; Shore Athletic Club P Ricker, L Vaughn, M Capdeveille 1:35:57 31:59
70+ Atlanta Track Club K Allen, A McCarter, J Hodges-Hite 2:57:41 59:14
On the Men’s side, the M50+ division saw Atlanta TC, Boulder Road Runners, and Shore AC, out of New Jersey, competing for team honors. Shore had a complete 3-runner team entered to pick up Grand Prix points. Their lead runner, Scott Siriano is competitive in the 50+ division. In fact, he won the 55-59 Masters Grand Prix last year. But the other two athletes, John Blaser and Scott Linnell dropped down from the 65-69 division. They are competitive in that division and in Team 60+, but less so in the 50+ Team division. Shore finished third, a good 15 minutes behind the second place finishing team. It was very tight between Boulder and Atlanta. It initially looked as if Boulder had edged Atlanta for first. Zoldak came first for Boulder, 41 seconds faster than Atlanta's first runner, Harris. Atlanta's second runner, Black, came in 27 seconds ahead of Boulder's 2nd runner, Mallon, leaving Boulder ahead by 14 seconds. When Atlanta's third runner, Dragstedt, edged Boulder's third runner, Prineas, by a single second, it appeared that Boulder had the win with 13 seconds to spare. But Atlanta's Team Captain noticed in the overall results posted by the LOC, the Steamboat Classic, that both Mallon and Prineas reside in Iowa. That runs afoul of Rule 341.8 in the USATF Rules of Competition. The team captain protested the result on that basis. The Executive Committee of the Masters LDR Committee did not rule on the protest until after the conclusion of the event. Their decision was to disqualify the team's extra runner from the Team scoring only, that is, the second runner who resides outside of the Colorado association. It does not matter whether Mallon or Prineas is excluded. Either way, their 4th finisher, Roger Sayre, moves into the third scoring position. Like Blaser and Linnell for Shore, Sayre was dropping down from the 65-69 division to help the 50+ team. He had expected to just be insurance. In this case, the insurance policy had to be called into play. Sayre's time of 24:33 meant that Atlanta won the contest, but it kept Boulder ahead of Shore.
50+ Atlanta Track Club C Harris, D Black, L Dragstedt (B Slavens, T Brooks) 1:08:24 22:55 avg.; Boulder Road Runners F Zoldak, M Mallon, R Sayre 1:09:26 23:09; Shore Athletic Club S Siriano, J Blaser, S Linnell 1:24:03 28:01
The Twin Cities Running Club and the Genesee Valley Harriers, out of Rochester NY, contested the M60+ division. TCRC was a heavy favorite due to the presence of both Baldwin and Zamek, a duo likely to finish 1-2 in the division. But GVH is a strong team and gave it their best effort. As anticipated, Baldwin and Zamek did finish 1-2 but GVH's Nier and Mora finished 3-4. After the first two runners on both teams had scored, TCRC was two minutes ahead, a large lead but not insurmountable. Luckily for TCRC, Keller made the trip and finished next, only a half minute behind Mora and a half minute ahead of GVH's third scoring runner, Dale Flanders. That gave TCRC the win with a margin of almost three minutes.
60+ Twin Cities Running Club D Baldwin, M Zamek, D Keller (P Kessler, J Mirth) 1:11:11 23:44; Genesee Valley Harriers M Nier, J Mora, D Flanders (M Mertens) 1:14:06 24:42
The M70+ division featured a four-team race between the Boulder Road Runners, the Shore AC, the Atlanta TC and the Ann Arbor TC. Pottle scored first for Boulder, followed 34 seconds later by Shore's Linn. Twelve seconds later, Lucking gave Atlanta its first score. Shore's 2nd runner, Stirrat, crossed the line fifteen seconds ahead of Ann Arbor's first runner, Denny Kurtis. Boulder's Ostwald finished just four seconds astern of Kurtis. That gave Boulder a slim lead over Shore at that point, 54:28 to 54:43. A minute and 19 seconds after Ostwald came Bell, Boulder's third runner. That gave Boulder the win. Shore, as it turns out, was relying on Nowicki, 80, as their third runner. Nowicki could not give them a fast enough time for a win, but he was close enough to the #3 runners on the other teams that he gave Shore the 2nd place finish. Had he run 19 seconds slower, Atlanta would have claimed team silver. Learned added to Atlanta's edge over Ann Arbor by coming in a half minute ahead of Ann Arbor's Pratt. Joyce completed the third-place scoring for Atlanta by finishing two minutes ahead of Ann Arbor's Carlin. Carlin finished one second ahead of Shore's Nowicki, but it did not matter; Shore had a large enough lead from their first two runners. Boulder had the win, with Shore 2nd and Atlanta a close third. Ann Arbor finished fourth, two minutes and 56 seconds behind Atlanta.
70+: Boulder Road Runners J Pottle, G Ostwald, D Bell 1:23:37 27:53; Shore AC J Linn, R Stirrat, P Nowicki (R Cormier) 1:30:34 30:12; Atlanta TC S Lucking, J Learned, A Joyce (E Bligh, M Williams) 1:30:52 30:18
That winds up the coverage of the 2025 Masters Four Mile Championships.
The next stop for the Masters Grand Prix was the USATF Masters 1 Mile Championships, one week later, on June 21st in Indianapolis, IN. Look for the recap soon.
