Hall Tops the Field in Dramatic Fashion at the USATF Women’s 10 km Championships

USATF Release

NEW YORK CITY, New York – It was a battle to the finish between Sara Hall and defending champion Stephanie Bruce, but a final surge in Central Park gave Hall the victory Saturday morning at the NYRR New York Mini 10K featuring the USATF Women’s 10 km Championships, the sixth stop on the 2019 USATF Running Circuit. 

Under clear skies and with a temperature approaching 70 degrees, the warm June weather kept the pace relatively conservative early on, as Emma Bates jumped to the lead with the rest of the pack firmly committed to simply follow her lead.

Through the first two miles Bates set the pace, as Jordan Hasay ran off her shoulder, followed by teammates Bruce and Aliphine Tuliamuk, as well as Hall. While a large contingent remained together at this point, it was clear the field would soon start to string itself out.

As the field approached the half way mark, a group of six established themselves up front, as Bates continued to lead, with Hall, Bruce, Tuliamuk, Laura Thweatt, and Sally Kipyego in a tightly formed pack just behind her. The leaders hit the 5 km mark in 16:12.

Over the next mile and a half little would change, but with just over a mile to go, Bates and Thweatt started to fade back, as Kipyego and Bruce took over the lead and really challenged the hilly terrain. A quarter mile later, Tuliamuk would fall off the pace, leaving Hall, Bruce and Kipyego as the clear trio, one of them sure to win Saturday’s contest.

With less than a mile to go, the pace started to quicken, as Hall and Bruce moved to the front, side by side, as Kipyego struggled to hold on. With 800 meters to go, Bruce pushed slightly into the lead, with Hall just off her shoulder, while Kipyego simply couldn’t maintain form and dropped into third position off the back.

Bruce and Hall battled for the next quarter mile, but with just over 200 meters to go, Hall shot to the lead, putting a move on Bruce that the Flagstaff-based athlete simply couldn’t cover.

Over the final 100 meters, Hall charged forward, driving her arms and grimacing with her eyes fixed on the finish. It wasn’t until she hit the finish line tape that she raised her arms in victory and flashed an enormous grin, winning her eighth U.S. title and first of 2019.

In the final push to the finish, Hall was able to put five seconds on Bruce, winning in 32:27. Bruce fought all the way to the end, earning a runner-up finish and her second top two finish of the 2019 Running Circuit season in 32:32.

Behind the lead duo, Kipyego hung on nicely over the final half mile to claim third in 32:35. Bates and Thweatt also finished well, earning fourth and fifth place in 32:41 and 32:43 respectively.

Rachel Schneider, who ran 15:06 in the 5000m on the track last month, showed her range, picking up a sixth place finish in 32:47. 

Tuliamuk faded hard over the final mile, but still earned a seventh place finish in 32:52, while Jessica Tonn finished four seconds back in eighth in 32:56. Team USA Minnesota’s Katy Jermann secured a ninth place finish in 33:05, just ahead of Carrie Dimoff’s tenth place effort of 33:09.

With her victory, Hall moves into sole possession of first place in the USATF Running Circuit standings. Her 15 points from Saturday’s win give her a 57 point total, moving ahead of Bates, whose fourth place finish earned her 7 points and moved her total to 52 points. Bruce now sits alone in third, as her 12 additional points give her 37.5 points total.

The next stop on the USATF Running Circuit is the USATF 20 km Championships, which take place on September 2 in New Haven, Connecticut, hosted by the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race.

About the USATF Running Circuit

The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $75,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF Women’s 10 km Championship.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 10 km Championships, scoring is set as 15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series.

The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners.

Contributed by Scott Bush