By David Monti, @d9monti | (c) 2024 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved; used with permission
NEW YORK (02-Nov) — With powerful late-race moves, Ahmed Muhumed and Annie Rodenfels won the USATF-5-K titles at this morning’s Abbott Dash to the Finish Line which runs from the United Nations to Central Park. On a cool and crisp morning, Muhumed, 29, from Flagstaff, Ariz., clocked 13:38, while Rodenfels, 28, from Boston, Mass., ran 15:20. Both athletes earned $12,000 in prize money in what was the final event of the 2024 USATF Running Circuit.
MUHUMED MAKES BIG MOVE
Muhumed, who represents HOKA Northern Arizona Elite, was the runner-up at this race last year to Morgan Beadlescomb, and he was keen to move up to the top step of the podium today. Just before the two-mile point, the former Boise State athlete put in a massive surge, dropping the entire field in just a matter of seconds. He was so far ahead that it was impossible to see any of his challengers behind him on the broadcast coverage.
“I knew those kickers would be coming for me,” Muhumed told Race Results Weekly. “We’ve been building strength and I just wanted to test out what we’ve been building, whether it would stick.”
But the toughest part of this net-uphill race still lay ahead. Muhumed climbed up the Central Park service road to the well-known “loop road,” used by thousands of joggers every day, then turned left for the long downhill to the south end of the park. His lead looked safe, but the main field –including 2023 World Athletics Road Mile Championships bronze medalist Sam Prakel– were coming for him, using the downhill to gain ground.
“The whole race there were a variety of different strengths; there were speedsters, there were milers, good kickers, and then there were hot marathon guys,” Muhumed observed. “I felt like I was right in the middle. I was hybrid. So, if it came down to a kick I didn’t want to play that card.”
The final 400 meters of the race are uphill, and Muhumed leaned forward and tried to maintain his pace. When he hit the relative flat just before the finish line at Tavern on the Green, he shot a glance behind him and saw that Prakel was close.
“I know I gave it all,” Muhumed said. “From a mile out I was pushing it.”
Prakel, who has a mile personal best of 3:50.94, was trying hard to catch Muhumed. He had decided to hold back when Muhumed made his big move a few minutes earlier to be sure he had saved something for the finish.
“I was a little hesitant when he made that move around two miles,” Prakel told Race Results Weekly. He continued: “I just said, save enough for a kick. I went just a little too late.”
Prakel, who represents adidas, got within one second of Muhumed, and his official time was 13:39. Third went to steeplechaser Brian Barraza (Roots Running Project) who clocked 13:42. Beadlescomb (adidas) finished tenth in 13:59 and said that this was a good result given where he was in his training. He explained that, unlike last year when he came from high altitude in Flagstaff, he had yet to start that important training phase.
“We’re in a totally different place,” said Beadlescomb, who lives in Ann Arbor, Mich. “We haven’t even gone to Flag.”
Olympic steeplechaser Hillary Bor finished fifth in 13:45, and that was enough for him to win the USATF Running Circuit points title which came with a $30,000 prize. He had come into these championships with a 7-point lead on Biya Simbassa, who finished ninth.
“It’s too short,” said Simbassa, who is preparing for a marathon.
RODENFELS RETAINS HER TITLE
Rodenfels, who represents adidas and the Boston Athletic Association, won this race last year and was feeling confident.
“I thought, OK, 5-K on the roads, there is no one in this field who is more suited for this than me,” Rodenfels told reporters. She continued: “This is my strength, right here.”
Rodenfels was part of an early lead pack which included USATF Running Circuit points leader Emma Grace Hurley (Asics), Emily Venters (Nike) and rookie Bailey Hertenstein (Nike Union Athletics Club). Venters briefly took the lead early in the third mile, but Rodenfels put in a powerful move and got back in front.
“I feel strongly that in races if you’re going to take the lead… you need to make an actual move, especially on the roads,” Rodenfels explained. She added: “If people went with me, that’s fine, but I wanted to test where they were at.”
The move stuck. Rodenfels had a five-second gap at the finish line over Venters (15:25). Hurley took third (15:31), and Hertenstein fourth (15:32) in her pro racing debut. Holding up two fingers on each hand as she broke the tape, Rodenfels was clearly excited to have retained her title.
“It’s pretty awesome,” she told Race Results Weekly. “It was exciting. You always hope that you’re the one who comes back and wins again. But you just never know. It’s such a weird time of year to know what shape other people will be in.”
Venters, 25, had her best-ever race as a professional. She said it really boosted her confidence, especially after struggling with depression last summer which forced her to step back from high-level training.
“It was just like my old self again,” she said. “It’s taken me a while to get there.”
Hurley’s third place finish allowed her to clinch the 2024 USATF Running Circuit points title and the $30,000 top prize. She did eight of the circuit’s 11 events (seven road races and one cross country) with distances ranging from 5 km to 20 km.
When a reporter suggested to her that she was America’s most versatile distance runner she said, “I’ll take that.”
Nearly 10,000 runners finished today’s race including 18 girls and 12 boys who ran in the separate USATF U20 5-K championships (the winners were Zariel Macchia, 18, 17:27 and Tyler Mogavero, 16, 16:11).
