Highlights From the 2019 USATF Outdoor National Championships – runnersworld.com

With the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo kicking off in less than a year, we’re tuning into the USATF Outdoor National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, to see how the best runners in the country stack up against each other in real time. The meet, which runs from July 25 through July 28, offers athletes the chance to compete for national titles as well as a position on Team USA at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in September.

The first day of competition on Thursday, July 25, featured prelims of several distance events—including the women’s 1500 meters, men’s and women’s 800 meters, and men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase—as well as the men’s and women’s 10,000 meter final. Before the first heat of the 1500, meet officials laid flowers in lane one to remember Gabe Grunewald, the middle distance star who passed away on June 11 of adenoid cystic carcinoma at the age of 32.

On Friday, July 26, event highlights will include prelims of the men’s 1500 meters and women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, as well as the men’s and women’s 100 meters final.

Excitement will continue to build in Des Moines on Saturday, July 27, with finals in the women’s 1500 meters and men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase.

The meet will conclude with an action-packed finale on Sunday, July 28, which features finals in the men’s and women’s 800 meters, women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, men’s and women’s 5,000 meters, women’s 400 meter hurdles, and men’s 1500 meters.

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How to Watch: NBC, NBC Sports, and NBC Sports Gold are all airing the meet. You can find what times NBC is broadcasting the meet here. For more extensive coverage, you can live-stream the meet on NBC Sports Gold, which charges viewers $65 for a track and field pass subscription. Keep checking Runner’s World for the latest updates.

With 10K Victory, Molly Huddle Earns 28th U.S. Title

Molly Huddle continued her reign over the women’s 10,000 meters on Thursday evening with a stunning victory in 31:58, her 28th national title of her career and fifth straight 10K championship.

Huddle secured the win and a spot on the U.S. team headed to the IAAF World Championships by running a tactically sound race that ended with a surge around three laps to go, which she rode all the way into the finish line three seconds ahead of runner-up Emily Sisson and NAZ Elite’s Kellyn Taylor. Taylor’s training partner Stephanie Bruce finished fourth and Bowerman Track Club’s Marielle Hall closed for fifth place overall.

Because Huddle, Sisson, and Hall had the IAAF World Championship standard prior to the meet, they will be on the U.S. team headed to Doha in September.

Lopez Lomong PRs, Breaks Facility Record on Way to Second 10K Title

In just his fourth 10K of his entire career, Lopez Lomong, 34, secured back-to-back national titles in the event with a Drake Stadium facility record and a personal best. The Bowerman Track Club standout defeated fellow Olympian Shadrack Kipchirchir with a brutal last lap that saw the 34-year-old split 55 seconds for a winning time of 27:30.

Behind Lomong, Kipchirchir finished second in 27:47 and Leonard Korir closed for third place in 28:01. BYU’s Connor McMillan finished fourth overall after passing five runners in the last lap.

Unlike many championship races, the men’s 10K didn’t begin at a conservative pace where the winner would be determined by expert tactics alone. Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) training partners Korir and Kipchirchir made sure of that when they took the field through the first 400 meters in 65 seconds and hovered around that pace until Kipchirchir suddenly surged ahead about 4000 meters into the race.

With the quick move to the front–from a 67-second lap to a 64-second split—Kipchirchir started to put distance between himself and the rest of the field early on. Shortly after 4K, Lomong made the decision to surge ahead and catch Kipchirchir, which created a new dynamic to the race. With 6K left to run, it was obvious that the victory would be determined in a duel between Kipchirchir and Lomong.

With 1200 meters left to run, Lomong shot to the front in an effort that Kipchirchir was unable to match. Meanwhile, Lomong continued to gain momentum, and by the bell lap, seemed to be in an effortless sprint. Lomong’s winning time was 51 seconds faster than his previous personal best.

Allyson Felix Advances in First Race Since Motherhood

The most decorated female track and field athlete in U.S. Olympic history, Allyson Felix made her highly anticipated return to the track in the first round of the women’s 400 meters on Thursday night. In the first heat of four, Felix finished fourth in 52.20, a performance which allowed her to advance to the semifinal by virtue of time.

It was Felix’s first time racing on the track since June 2018. She became pregnant with her first child that year.

In November 2018, Felix had an emergency C-section at 32 weeks into her pregnancy, a harrowing experience for the six-time Olympian, who delivered her daughter Camryn on November 28.

In 2019, she returned to training and spoke out against Nike’s maternity policies for professional athletes. In May, she wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times, which detailed her experience with her longtime sponsor and how she was unable to secure maternity protections. In her challenging return to the track, Felix shared her thoughts on the journey.

“I hope that I can show them it’s possible. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s worth it,” she said afterward

After the race on Thursday, Felix revealed that she does not currently have a sponsor.