This weekend, New York City is becoming the running mecca of the world, with the final Abbott World Major Marathon taking place tomorrow morning.
Many of the elite runners who won’t be at the start of the New York City Marathon tomorrow took on the Abbott Dash to the Finish 5k, which acted as the 2023 USATF 5k Road Race Championships.
Along the same route, the USATF 5k Youth Road Race Championships also took place in New York this morning.
With USATF Running Circuit points and a national title on the line, the race was sure to be a thrilling prequel to what we will see in the marathon tomorrow.
The men’s race was the first to start at 8:30 a.m. local time.
25-year-old Morgan Beadlescomb crossed the line in Central Park ahead of the competition, clocking a time of 13:44. His final acceleration at the end of the race, which his opponents could not match, secured him the win.
Beadlescomb ran for six years at Michigan State University and graduated from the program last year in 2022 after completing both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Last summer, Beadlescomb began training with the Michigan-based team Very Nice Track Club under Ron Warhurst. A few months later, he announced his signing with Adidas.
Since then, Beadlescomb has been on the rise. Earlier this year, in April, he also won the B.A.A. Road 5k in a personal best time of 13:25.
Behind Beadlescomb was a fight between three runners for the final two spots on the podium.
Taking second place after a tight final sprint was HOKA One One runner Ahmed Muhumed in a time of 13:46.16.
Closing out the podium was Tai Dinger with a time of 13:46.57. Just missing out on the podium after the three-man sprint was Daniel Schaffer of ZAP Endurance, who recorded a time of 13:46.92.
In the women’s race, Boston Athletics Association runner Annie Rodenfels took home the national title after running 15:22, just ten seconds off her personal best.
Rodenfels, lik Beadlescomb, also won the B.A.A. Road 5k earlier this year. She also ran a personal best at the event, clocking 15:12.
Rodenfels, who was known primarily as a 3k runner in college, ran her debut 10k just a few weeks ago at the Boston 10k. She won the race in her first-ever road 10k after stopping the clock at 32:08.
Coming in four seconds after Rodenfels was Rachel Smith of Hoka One One, running 15:26.
Rounding out the women’s podium was Bethany Hasz of the Boston Athletics Association, in a time of 15:27.
Following a short and exciting 5k, it can only elude to what we will see in the New York City Marathon tomorrow. With a stacked field and perfect weather conditions in the forecast, it would not be a surprise to see a course record fall.
What are your predictions for the final Major Marathon tomorrow?
