World Championships Recap
The nature of distance running-- particularly when your Coach is Jerry Schumacher-- is that long blocks of training lead into short periods of racing. Day after day, week after week, month after month, athletes train with their eyes pointed towards one peak event. When that event arrives, success or failure will inevitably color the memory of all that came before. A great and enjoyable block of training is marred by a disappointing result. A difficult period is remembered in the fond afterglow of an unexpected success. Every experienced athlete knows this intuitively. It is a process that can’t help but breed tension and nerves.
It’s doubly so when your running is your career and triply so when the peak event is an October World Championships. That is why, all places and times aside, we are so proud of how our athletes ran at the IAAF World Championships in Doha. Each of them confronted the pressure and delivered in the face of it.
The places and times though, they were pretty great!
In the final tally, across 10 athletes, we had 8 top 10 finishes, 5 personal bests, 2 national records, and one big ol’ Bronze Medal.
Below you’ll find all our Instagram recaps for each event, as well as race video where available.
Women’s Marathon
13. Carrie Dimoff, 2:44.35
Women’s 10,000m
8. Marielle Hall, 31:05.71— #6 U.S. All-Time
Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase
6. Courtney Frerichs: 9:11.27
Women’s 5,000m
9. Karissa Schweizer, 14:45.18— #5 U.S. All-Time
Men’s 1,500m
8. Matthew Centrowitz, 3:32.18
Men’s 10,000m
5. Moh Ahmed, 27:59.35— Canadian Record!
6. Lopez Lomong, 27:04.72— #3 U.S. All-Time
World Championships Schedule and Preview
The World Championships stretch for 10 days from September 27th to October 6th in Doha, Qatar. We have 10 athletes competing across 8 events. See below for the detailed schedule (all times are Pacific).
Note: for “Where to Watch” we have included the channels on which there is scheduled to be live coverage. There will also be tape delays on certain days. You can see the full TV schedule here. In addition to TV, all action can be viewed live or on demand with the NBC Sports Gold track and field package.
Friday, September 27th
9:00am PT: Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase, Prelim
Courtney and Colleen look to qualify for Monday’s final. Courtney is defending her historic Silver medal from 2017, while Colleen would like to avenge a disqualification in the prelims from that year when she just barely stepped on the inside line.
Where to Watch: NBCSN or NBC Sports Gold
9:55am PT: Men’s 5,000m, Prelim
Moh and Marc head up the international contingent for BTC in this prelim. Fresh off a second place at the British Trials, Marc is looking to make his first World Championship final. Moh has made the final at three consecutive World or Olympic Championships.
Where to Watch: NBCSN or NBC Sports Gold
1:59pm PT: Women’s Marathon
Carrie competing in the 2018 Payton Jordan 10,000m where she ran under 32 minutes for the first time.
At 36, Carrie makes her first ever appearance at the World Championships. The BTC Elite athlete, Nike shoe designer, and mother of two has been taking more time off than usual from work and family duties to prepare for this opportunity. The marathon is the one event that can’t take place in the air conditioned stadium in Doha. The race will be at night, but it still projects to be 90 degrees. In a marathon, tough conditions mean anything could happen!
Where to Watch: Olympic Channel or NBC Sports Gold
Saturday, September 28th
11:10am PT: Women’s 10,000m, Final
Marielle competes at her second World Championships in a stacked field. Earlier this year she set a personal best at the 5,000m, but was disappointed with her lone 10,000m race at the US Championships. We think she’s primed to put it together at the longer distance.
Where to Watch: Olympic Channel coverage lasts until 11:30 and then the action switches over to NBC. You can always stream online at NBC Sports Gold.
Monday, September 30th
11:20am PT: Men’s 5,000m, Final
We know Moh is in great shape, but one question remains: will the headband make an appearance in Doha?
Moh has finished 12th, 4th, and 6th in his previous three global championships in the 5,000m. This year he became the first Canadian under 13 minutes. Can he make the jump to the podium? Marc battled through a spring injury to make his second World Championships team. How high can he finish with a little bit of experience under his belt?
Where to Watch: Olympic Channel or NBC Sports Gold
11:50am PT: Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase, Final
Courtney shocked the world with her finish in 2017, everyone will see her coming this time. Colleen has struggled with injury the past month. She’s as tough as they come and will need to be to face this challenge.
Where to Watch: Olympic Channel or NBC Sports Gold
Courtney even surprised herself at the 2017 World Championships.
Wednesday, October 2nd
7:35am PT: Women’s 1,500m, Heats
The first of hopefully three races for Shelby. The name of the game: survive and advance.
Where to Watch: NBCSN or NBC Sports Gold
8:25am PT: Women’s 5,000m, Prelim
Karissa takes to the track in her first ever World Championships with one goal: make the final.
Where to Watch: NBCSN or NBC Sports Gold
Thursday, October 3rd
12:00pm PT: Men’s 1,500m, Heats
The first of the three rounds for Matt, the master tactician. Coming off a 13:00 5,000m personal best, he’s definitely strong enough to handle the extra rounds at Worlds.
Where to Watch: NBCSN or NBC Sports Gold
1:00pm PT: Women’s 1,500m, Semi-final
The road gets a little rockier for Shelby. The 1,500m semi-finals are always tense and exciting qualifying races. This is her first World Championship appearance in the 1,500m and her tactics and kick will be tested in this round.
Where to Watch: NBCSN or NBC Sports Gold
Friday, October 4th
10:10am PT: Men’s 1,500m, Semi-final
Even the Olympic Champion has to sweat the Semi-final at this level.
Where to Watch: Olympic Channel or NBC Sports Gold
Saturday, October 5th
10:55am PT: Women’s 1,500m, Final
Shelby winning the 2018 Prefontaine Classic her first sub-4 performance.
At the last World Championships Shelby was still a 5,000m. Since then she’s won two Diamond League 1,500m’s and broken 4:00 three times. We can’t wait to see her in what will hopefully be her first 1,500m final. Don’t miss this one!
Where to Watch: Olympic Channel or NBC Sports Gold
11:25am PT: Women’s 5,000m, Final
The pace in Women’s 5,000m finals are often brutal and unforgiving. We saw Karissa handle conditions like that really well at the Prefontaine Classic. We hope to see that again!
Where to Watch: NBC or NBC Sports Gold
Sunday, October 6th
9:40am PT: Men’s 1,500m, Final
The men’s 1,500m is often chaotic and unpredictable. It’s become straightforward in the past two years as Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot has taken to making the pace hard. We know Centro can excel in a sit and kick affair and, as a 13:00 5,000m man, he’s got the strength for the long run for home. No excuse for missing this one: Sunday football doesn’t even start until 10!
Where to Watch: NBC or NBC Sports Gold
10:00am PT: Men’s 10,000m, Final
Lopez dominated the USATF 10,000m in July.
They say good things come to those who wait. We hope that’s true because Lopez is going to have to do a lot of waiting for his chance to shine in these Championships. After winning the 10,000m and the 5,000m at the US Championships and running 13:00 for 5,000m, it’s safe to say he’s in the best shape of his life. The pace in these races is often run close to 27:00, which will be a huge test. Moh already passed that test in London in 2017, when he ran the Canadian Record of 27:01. Hopefully the BTC boys can work together to handle the storm!
Where to Watch: NBC or NBC Sports Gold
Bowerman Women’s Team Throwdown at US XC Championships
What do you get when you take a Marathoner, a Steepler, a “1500m runner”, and two 10k specialists out on some grass? Something special.
Photo by Justin Britton
What do you get when you take a Marathoner, a Steepler, a “1500m runner”, and two 10k specialists out on some grass? Though this sounds like the setup to a comedic punchline, the reality is a dominating expression of Bowerman TC’s belief in finding depth and strength in the team.
BTC fielded a full scoring team of five athletes at the 2019 USATF Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee Florida. Shelby Houlihan, Marielle Hall, Amy Cragg, Courtney Frerichs, and Karissa Schweizer proved to be a formidable quintet of talent against what many called one of the most stacked fields of American distance runners ever assembled at a US XC Championship.
Working together early, the BTC women found strength in numbers.
Photo by Justin Britton
Photo by Justin Britton
With Amy Cragg taking charge, the lead pack broke away and laid down an extremely quick pace over the rolling grass hills in Apalachee Regional Park. Coming down to the final hill however, Shelby Houlihan threw in a dominant move and pulled away with 700m to go, crossing the tape as the National Champion and solidifying her 8th US title in total.
Shelby Houlihan took first in 32:46.8.
What happened next is indicative of the truly special team environment that coach Jerry Schumacher instills at Bowerman Track Club. BTC took five of the top seven spots.
Marielle Hall 3rd in 32:56.5,
Amy Cragg 5th in 33:17.5,
Courtney Frerichs 6th in 33:24.5,
Karissa Schweizer 7th in 33:28.2.
With Molly Huddle (2nd) planning on declining her spot at Worlds, all five are in line to make the team to Aarhus for the World XC Championships. Depending on Jerry’s race plan for the team, BTC has some serious potential to lead the United States to medaling at Worlds.
BTC’s Masters team also had a good showing coming in 4th overall as a team, featuring long-time club talent Mile Blackmore in 8th, Matt Farley in 14th, Michael Gorriaran in 51st, and Steve Kollars in 54th.
High 5’s all around!
Photo by Justin Britton
BTC Pro Summer Racing Schedule
All the info you need to follow BTC Pros this summer!
We know that it can be difficult to follow your favorite track athletes throughout the summer with races in different countries and schedules changing often. We’ve made this Summer Racing Guide to give you some idea of when the big BTC events are. This schedule is incomplete as some races are still be sorting out (and if your favorite athlete is missing that’s probably why). To make sure you stay up to date on all BTC racing, follow @BowermanTC on Twitter and Instagram!
July 4th: Peachtree 10K, Gwen Jorgensen, Lopez Lomong, Chris Derrick
Huge crowds at the AJC Peachtree 10k
Held in Atlanta, GA, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race is the largest 10k in the world with around 60,000 participants every year! The last few years it has doubled as the USATF 10K Road Championships and will do so again this year. Lopez looks to make it a Track/Road double at 10K national championships, while CD will try and add another road title after winning the USATF Half Marathon title earlier this year. Gwen returns to familiar territory: she was dominant in the 10k road races that end Olympic Distance triathlons throughout her career.
How to Watch: Live on NBC Sports Gold (6:50am EDT), Replay on NBCSN (7:00pm EDT)
July 5th: Canadian Championships, Moh Ahmed (5,000m), Matt Hughes (Steeplechase)
Moh winning at the Canadian Championships
Both Matt and Moh look to defend their National titles from 2017 in Ottawa.
How to Watch: There should be a live stream here, along with heat sheets schedule and ticketing information.
July 5th: Lausanne Diamond League, Shelby Houlihan (1500m)
After winning the Pre Classic, Shelby will look to cement her status on the world stage at 1500m in Switzerland. Schedule, start lists, and results (when available) will be here.
How to Watch: All Diamond League meets in the US are on NBC Sports Gold and either NBCSN or the Olympic Channel.
July 9: Lucerne Athletics Meeting, Kate Grace (800m)
Kate will drive down from the mountains of St. Moritz to run some under distance in Lucerne. This meet is on the smaller side, but has a great atmosphere and usually fairly decent conditions.
July 13th: Rabat Diamond League, Matt Hughes (Steeplechase), Ryan Hill (3,000m)
Diamond League points and fast times are the mission for Matt and Ryan in Morocco. Top 8 in each Diamond League race get points to qualify for the Diamond League final held later in the summer. Ryan is particularly well positioned to score points with this race being a 3,000m, the distance at which he is the 3rd fastest American of all time.
Schedule, start lists, and results (when available) will be here.
How to Watch: All Diamond League meets in the US are on NBC Sports Gold and either NBCSN or the Olympic Channel.
July 14th: Kortrijk, Josh Thompson (Steeplechase), Vanessa Fraser (1500m)
Kortrijk is a part of the Flanders Cup, a series of races in Belgium that are popular with US athletes. Josh will spend the summer trying to lower his personal best in the steeplechase and gain valuable experience for the future. Vanessa will look to lower her 4:10 personal best at 1500 and tune up her speed ahead of the Huesden 5,00m (see below).
July 20th: Monaco Diamond League, Courtney Frerichs, Evan Jager, Matt Hughes (Steeplechase for all three)
Evan on his way to his first Diamond League win in Monaco, 2017.
One of the jewels of the Diamond League circuit, Monaco was the site of Evan’s first American Record in 2012 and his first Diamond League win (2017). The pace will hopefully be set up to offer a chance at a sub-8 minute clocking. Courtney and Matt will be both be hunting personal bests on own of the fastest tracks in the world.
Schedule, start lists, and results (when available) will be here.
How to Watch: All Diamond League meets in the US are on NBC Sports Gold and either NBCSN or the Olympic Channel.
July 21-22: London Diamond League, Moh Ahmed and Ryan Hill (5,000m), Kate Grace (mile)
Track returns to the Olympic Stadium in London, which has become one of the best venues in the sport since 2012. The European track circuit will take a break in early August for the European Championships, so this looks to be Moh, Ryan, and Kate's final race before returning to the US for a month of training. They will return in late August to hopefully compete in the Diamond League Final and the Continental Cup.
Schedule, start lists, and results (when available) will be here.
How to Watch: All Diamond League meets in the US are on NBC Sports Gold and either NBCSN or the Olympic Channel.
July 21st: Huesden KBC Nacht, Marielle Hall, Vanessa Fraser, and Shelby Houlihan (5,000m)
The top meet on the Belgian circuit of races, Huesden is known as the “Stanford of Europe” because conditions are often prime for fast distance racing. A smaller meet compared to the Diamond Leagues, it doesn’t lack for crowds and character. Marielle, Vanessa, and Shelby will all seek fast times at 5,000m and word is they may even have a famous pacemaker…
August 4th: Beach to Beacon 10k, Chris Derrick
Held in Cape Elizabeth, Maine and founded distance running legend, Joan Benoit-Samuelson, Beach to Beacon is one of the classic US road races. It always features a world class field and a world class lobster boil.
August 11st European Championships, Marc Scott (5,000m)
The European Championships will be held in Berlin’s famous stadium, a fantastic setting for the peak of the 2018 season for European athletes. With Mo Farah departed from the track, the door is open for a new Briton to seize the European title.
August 10th-12th NACAC Championships, Lopez Lomong and Marielle Hall (10,000m), Kate Grace (1500m)
The NACAC Championships are a regional championships for the North and Central American countries. This year they will be held in Toronto, Canada.
USATF Championships Viewing Guide
All the info you need to watch BTC at the 2018 USATF Track and Field Championships
The USATF Track and Field Championships are in Des Moines, IA from Thursday June 21st to Sunday June 24th. We will have 10 athletes competing over the 4 days of competitions. This year we are hoping to step up our social media game and provide you with more updates, photos, and video from Des Moines. Follow us at @BowermanTC on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the action. Below you can find event by event viewing information so you don’t miss a single race! All times are in the central time zone.
You can find a complete schedule and list of entries here.
Women’s 10,000m: Marielle Hall, Gwen Jorgensen, Carrie Dimoff
Date/Time/Where To Watch: Thursday, June 21st, 7:00pm CDT (NBC Sports Gold)
Carrie and Gwen at the 2017 Payton Jordan Invite. Photo: Talbot Cox
The Women’s 10k field is deep this year, with 9 women who have broken 32 minutes, including defending champion and American Record holder, Molly Huddle. 3 of those women are BTC athletes. Marielle was an Olympian at this distance in 2016, but opted for the 5,000m last year. Her 31:37 personal best is the third fastest in the field. Gwen and Carrie each had big personal bests at the Payton Jordan Invitational in May, running 31:55 and 31:57 respectively. The two #RunnersWhoMom have both taken unorthodox paths to the starting line in Des Moines. Gwen is the reigning Olympic Champion in the Triathlon who now trains with our professional group and will be appearing at her first USATF Track Championships. Carrie, a shoe designer at Nike, finished top 10 at the Olympic Trials in 2008 and 2012 in the Steeplechase, but has blossomed at the longer distances over the past year. In addition to her 49 second 10,000m personal best this year, she ran a 2:30 marathon and was second at the USATF Championships at that distance in 2017.
Mercifully it seems like only the pace will be hot in this race, as the current weather forecast is for cooler temps and rain.
Men’s 10,000m: Lopez Lomong
Date/Time/Where to Watch: Thursday, June 21st, 7:40pm CDT (NBC Sports Gold)
Lopez has made Olympic and World teams at 1,500m and 5,000m and will now finally try his hand at the 10,000m. He debuted at the distance earlier this year in 28:21. There are a lot of new names in the field this year, but the most experienced is Shadrack Kipchirchir who ran 27:07 at the World Championships last year.
Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase: Courtney Frerichs
Date/Time/Where To Watch:
Prelim: Thursday, June 21st, 1:50pm CDT (NBC Sports Gold)
Final: Saturday, June 23rd, 3:20pm CDT (NBC)
Courtney and Emma Coburn at the 2017 World Championships where they went 1-2.
An unfortunate foot injury will keep Olympian Colleen Quigley from competing in this event, but BTC will be well represented by 2017 World Championships Silver Medalist, Courtney Frerichs. Courtney has kept a relatively low profile this year, running just two track races in preparation for a long outdoor season. She ran a personal best of 4:14 in the 1500m in April and finished 4th in Oslo Diamond League Steeplechase in 9:20. Reigning World Champion Emma Coburn has dominated this event, winning six national titles in the past seven years. Can Courtney challenge her for supremacy? We hope.
Women’s 1500m: Shelby Houlihan and Kate Grace
Date/Time/Where to Watch:
Prelim: Thursday, June 21st, 3:35pm CDT (NBC Sports Gold)
Final: Saturday, June 23rd, 3:46pm CDT (NBC)
Shelby celebrating her victory at the 2018 Prefontaine Classic.
Kate was second at this distance last year, in the best 1500m season of her career. This will be her first outdoor championships with BTC. Shelby, perhaps better known as 5,000m runner before this year, has been on fire over 1500m in 2018. This indoor season, she won the US title and took 4th at the World Championships. At the Prefontaine Classic she stunned a world class field over the final 150 meters to win in her first sub-4 performance. The star BTC pair will face off against an always deep field headed by Jenny Simpson, whose 4 World/Olympic Medals make her one of the most accomplished US middle distance runners of all time. Expect a lot of buzz around this race!
Women’s 5,000m: Shelby Houlihan and Marielle Hall
Date/Time/Where to Watch: Sunday, June 24th, 3:20pm CDT (NBC)
Marielle at the 2018 Portland Track Festival. Picture: Jordan Beckett
Both BTC athletes will be doubling back in this event, which could prove extra grueling by virtue of being in the middle of the afternoon (temperatures are currently forecast at around 80 degrees for Sunday). Shelby will be attempting to defend her title as US Champion, while Marielle will be looking to improve on her 5th place finish from a year ago. Shelby has not competed at this distance in 2018. Marielle recently won the Portland Track Festival in 15:16 as a final tune up for USA’s. The field is missing usual stars Molly Huddle and Shannon Rowbury, but still features 7 women who have run 15:20 or better.
Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase: Evan Jager and Josh Thompson
Date/Time/Where To Watch:
Prelim: Friday, June 22nd, 3:15pm CDT (NBC Sports Gold)
Final: Sunday, June 24th, 3:55pm CDT (NBC)
Evan on the way to winning his 6th consecutive US title in 2017.
The Master and the young Padawan: Evan has won more steeplechases national titles than Josh has run steeplechases in his life. Twice as many, to be precise. Evan goes for his seventh consecutive title against four other athletes who have gone under 8:15 in their careers. Coming off a narrow third place finish in 8:11 at the Prefontaine Classic, he is well positioned to defend his title, but winning at this level is never easy or guaranteed. Josh struggled with injury in his first year as a pro but opened up his season 10 days ago at the Portland Track Festival by winning the Steeplechase in 8:35. The prelim will be just the 4th Steeple of his career and these championships will be an excellent chance to build his experience in the event.
Men’s 5,000m: Ryan Hill
Date/Time/Where To Watch: Sunday, June 24th, 4:30pm CDT (NBC)
This race figures to come down to the 4 men who have run under 13:10 in their careers. Ryan is one of them. The favorite is defending champ and Olympic Silver medalist Paul Chelimo who ran very aggressively at the front last year. Will he adopt similar tactics this year or will it be a slow race like the last time the championships were held in Des Moines in 2013? That race favored Ryan’s 3,000m prowess, as he closed in under 4 minutes for his final mile and surprisingly made the World Championship team while still representing North Carolina State University. In either scenario, expect Ryan to be hanging out near the front, waiting to use his big finishing kick.
Super Saturday Recap
BTC had a huge weekend of racing on the dirt and track led by victories from the Women's Squad in Tallahassee, New York and Boston. Read more for the full recap of all the BTC results from this weekend.
USATF Cross Country Championships -- Tallahassee, FL
The USATF XC Championships in Tallahassee kicked off a Super Saturday of performances for BTC. Emily Infeld, Courtney Frerichs, and Evan Jager all finished in the top 4, with Emily taking home her first USATF national title.
Emily and Courtney entertained pre-race dreams of holding hands across the line, but those were foiled by the stiff competition in Tallahassee. Emily would need both hands to break the tape. The early pace was controlled by our two BTC athletes and former NCAA XC champion, Molly Siedel. The pack was slowly whittled down to 5 by 7k, when Courtney and Emily Durgin started to come under pressure and lost contact. Those two settled into their own private battle, which Courtney would go on to win, duplicating her 4th place finish from last year’s event.
Meanwhile, Emily pressed on at the front, trading surges with Siedel as the pair broke away from the field. With a kilometer to go Emily threw in another big move. At first Siedel appeared able to respond, but up a steep hill with 500 meters to go she eked out a 10 meter advantage. As she crested the hill and sprinted towards the finish line her margin widened. Five years after running her last cross country race, she claimed the national title. She has been on a bit of a different training cycle while at altitude camp, “focusing more on speed but keeping my miles at the highest they have ever been.” Clearly the new training plan worked.
On the men’s side, Evan proved that some Ferrari’s are able to drive on grass. In his first cross country race since high school (more than 10 years ago), Evan was in contention for the win nearly the whole race. He was in the lead pack through about 9k. Even with 1000 meters to go he was still only three seconds back of the two leaders. Although unable to close the gap, Evan closed hard, relying on his strength he has built up through years of steeplechasing, to finish fourth in 29:31.
For more coverage on the USATF XC Championships follow these links:
NYRR Millrose Games -- New York, NY
It may have been freezing outside in New York, but a heat wave swept through the Armory on Saturday. Ryan and Woody got the meet started for BTC by running in the Dr. Sanders 3k. The early pace was fast but settled into a tactical affair once the rabbit dropped off. Ryan ran aggressively for the win, coming up a couple of gears short in the sprint and finished third place in 7:46.65. Woody, in his first race in nearly a year, ran conservatively near the back until one lap to go. Always confident in his finish (some teammates have dared to call him a Sandbagger), he swung way wide to move around nearly the whole field and finish fourth in 7:47.19. Both men are excited to get back to training after hitting the World Indoor Qualifying mark.
The best was still to come at Millrose in the form of the Women’s Wanamaker Mile. It was a day of firsts. It was Colleen’s first time running in the Armory and Kate’s first time wearing a BTC kit. The race was well bunched and tactical until 400 meters to go. With a lap remaining Colleen, perfectly positioned, took the lead and did not look back, although perhaps she should have. Having never broken tape before Colleen said she “just got so excited that I did the one thing I know I’m not supposed to do,” which is to celebrate early. Colleen threw up her arms in celebration which nearly allowed Kate to claim victory. In the end Colleen broke the tape in 4:30.05 with Kate finishing second in 4:30.08.
Colleen, Kate, Ryan, and Woody will all be at the USATF Indoor Championships in two weeks time looking for spots on the World Indoor team.
For more coverage on the Millrose Games follow these links:
Bruce Lehane Scarlet & White Invite -- Boston, MA
Not too far away from the Armory in New York City, Shelby and Marielle had a record day…literally. Both women ran a 3k with the goal of getting the World Indoor qualifying standard. They ran the majority of the race behind a pacer at 8:45 pace, well below the 8:50 Worlds standard. After the pacer stepped off, Shelby put the pressed on with the pace and pulled away from the field to claim victory in 8:36.01, setting a 15 second personal best and becoming the second fastest American 3k runner in history (only behind teammate Shalane Flanagan). Marielle, dawning the BTC kit for the first time, finished second in 8:40.20, and also set a massive second personal best by 14 seconds.
After making the World Indoor time standard look like a walk in the park, both women will head back up to altitude to prepare for USA Indoor Nationals in two weeks. While Shelby claims “defending my Indoor National titles from last year and make the Indoor World Championship team” are the main goals for the remainder of the season, she admits that “seeing my name at the top of the American [3k] record board would be amazing; and I hope to get another chance to possibly go for that this season.”
With most athletes competing for the first time in 2018, this weekend was hopefully only a sneak peek of what is to come from BTC the remainder of the year. The athletes will do their best to catch their breath before heading back into thin air and altitude camp in preparation for USA Indoor Championships, February 16-18 in Albuquerque.
Rubber to Pavement: BTC Transitions With The Seasons.
Bowerman Track Club finishes up its summer racing series, while others prepare for marathons and a Fall filled with mileage, base training, and Pumpkin Spice lattes.
Fifth Ave Fights and City Nights
Focusing on getting some speed back into their legs after the long grind of a World Championship year, Bowerman women Shelby Houlihan, Courtney Frerichs, Colleen Quigley, and Emily Infeld headed east this past weekend to close out their summer racing series at the Fifth Avenue Mile held in New York City. All moving down in distance, the event was a challenging but fun opportunity to end their seasons in style, flying past Central Park's trees in quick succession. Colleen led the way for Bowerman, taking 9th in a time of 4:20.6, followed by Shelby for 13th in 4:26.3, Emily for 17th in 4:30.3, and Courtney for 20th in 4:31.3. The crew was all smiles after the race, happy to have braved the challenge of a new event. Laughing Courtney said, "I set PB's at every split."
#MarathonManCamp
While the New York Squad finished up in the city, Chris Derrick and Andrew Bumbalough were off in the woods and mountains of Mammoth California (dubbed #MammothonMarathonManCamp on social media), getting themselves ready for the Chicago Marathon coming up on Oct. 8th. Hitting high mileage for several months and drinking in the natural setting of Mammoth, CD and Bumby are excited to finally be in the month out moments of the marathon. Having focused their training mainly on mileage and progressive long runs, Chris and Bumby have begun honing in their pace work now that September has arrived.
Now back in Portland, Bumby and Chris have rejoined the Bowerman boys still in the city to finish up their training and drink some finely brewed Portland Coffee that they have missed for so long. Andrew Bumbalough is excited to have another shot at the Marathon after his impressive debut in Tokyo of 2:13:58. Chris Derrick is looking forward to his own debut in Chicago where he said in confidence, "I just hope to not have a terrible last 10k." With his 10k prowess, I don't think anyone is worried.
Weekend Recap
Racing season is officially underway and we have you covered. Chris and Courtney both finish in the top five at the USATF Cross Country Championships, while Amy crushes her half marathon PR by over a minute. Read about each race here.
Racing season is officially underway! From Bend, Oregon to Marugame, Japan, we had three professional athletes and many more elite athletes in action this past weekend. Chris Derrick, Courtney Frerichs and the Bowerman Elite teams raced on an incredibly sloppy 10 kilometer cross country course, while Amy Cragg battled her way to a new PR in the half marathon. Race recaps are below.
USATF Cross Country Championships – Bend, OR
Photo: Paul Merca
On a sloppy, what some called “a true cross country course,” Courtney Frerichs made her first cross country appearance since finishing 4th at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in 2015. Saturday also marked the first time Courtney had ever raced longer than 6 kilometers.
The race separated early as Aliphine Tuliamuk broke away from the rest of the field almost from the start. Courtney settled in with the chase pack, completing the first of five 2 kilometer loops in 7th place. Using the strength she has built up as a steeplechaser to trudge through the mud, Courtney found herself moving up through the field each loop.
Entering the final loop 1:24 back of the leader and in fifth place, Courtney was determined to finish strong and move up at least one spot. She closed extremely fast, running the second fastest final 2 kilometer lap time of all athletes. In the process she also picked up a spot, finishing in 4th place in a 10k time of 35:40.
Courtney has had tremendous success in championship races and this success continued on Saturday. Her fourth place finish qualified her for the World Cross Country Championships in Uganda, however she will forego the race to focus on the upcoming track season.
Courtney's top five finish was only the start to incredible day for the Bowerman Track Club. Our Women's Elite team, led by 9th place finisher and World Cross Country Championship qualifier from Emily Pritt, won the overall women's team competition. Carrie Dimoff and Julia Webb finished 19th and 23rd overall to clinch the victory and a 10 point perfect team score. Congrats ladies and we we cannot wait to see Emily represent the red, white, and blue on the world stage!
Unlike the women’s race where there was a lone leader from the gun, the men demonstrated the art of pack running. Seeking his fourth USA Cross Country title, Chris did much of the work at the front of the pack, along with four runners from the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program.
Chris Derrick was one of about 10 runners in the lead pack. The pace was conservative, as is typical in championship races. Chris said he “felt really good everywhere except when we would hit a really sharp uphill.” Despite lacking some power through the muddy, hilly sections of the course, Chris kept fighting his way to the front of the pack.
Photo: Ciarán O'Lionaird
Heading into the fourth loop the lead pack had dwindled to just seven runners, including Chris. All seven athletes looked relaxed and capable of winning.
The final loop proved to be the difference, as the four U.S. Army athletes threw in a surge and separated from the rest of the field. Despite not having the legs to cover the strong move, Chris’s final loop time was still the fastest of his previous four. Chris ended up finishing in fifth place in a 10k time of 30:28.
Like Courtney, Chris qualified for the World Cross Country Championships in Uganda, but chose to forego the race to prepare for the upcoming track season.
Our Men's Elite team finished in second, eight points behind the Hoka One One Northern Arizona Elite team. Behind Chris Derrick the team had solid performances from Jeremy Freed, Jeramy Alkaim, and Brady Beagley.
Marugame Half Marathon – Marugame, Japan
While Chris and Courtney were crushing it at the USA Cross Country Championships, Amy Cragg was across the Pacific Ocean in Japan preparing for the Marugame Half Marathon. It would be her first race of the year, and one for the personal record books.
The race featured the defending Rio Olympic marathon silver medalist and defending Marugame half marathon champion, Eunice Kirwa. Kirwa was on a mission to break the course record of 1:07:26, as she passed by the 10 kilometer mark at 31:37. Despite being 44 seconds behind Kirwa at the 10 kilometer mark, Amy was still on pace to run 1:08:15 (personal record pace).
As Kirwa slowed throughout the race, Amy started to chip away at the lead. By the 20 kilometer mark, Amy had cut Kirwa’s lead nearly in half. Amy continued to shave seconds off of the lead until the finish.
Amy ran to a comfortable second place finish in a half marathon time of 1:08:27, a whopping 1:23 faster than her previous PR. Congrats Amy!
Upcoming
We will have athletes in action this weekend from coast to coast. Colleen Quigley and Shelby Houlihan race the mile on Friday in Boston, Ryan Hill and Mo Ahmed travel to New York to race the 2 mile in one of the most competitive and exciting indoor track meets of the year at the Millrose Games, and Evan Jager and Matt Hughes will be in Seattle racing the mile at the Husky Invite. Check the calendar for more information and links to stream the races.
Courtney Frerichs confident heading into USATF XC Championships
Courtney Frerichs talks race strategy ahead of USATF Cross Country Championships in Bend, OR.