GRAND RAPIDS -- On a perfect day in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Carrie Ellwood and Casey Clinger took home USATF 25 km Championships titles as they bettered the existing American records*.
The women started first, followed by the men. The women’s pack was down to four by mile two with Carrie Ellwood, Megan Hasz, Kassie Parker and Savannah Berry. At 10 km the women’s pack was down to three with Savannah Berry falling back. By mile eight, Ellwood and Hasz had taken the lead. Carrie made a move at the 15 km bottle station.
“It was a small surge, but I just kept telling myself to keep the pressure on,” said Ellwood following the race. Ellwood said that her coach told her to commit if she made a move – and commit she did. She progressively got faster in the last 10 kilometers as the course mirrored the uphill tempos Ellwood has been tackling in her Gold Coast Marathon prep. Committing to that surge, Ellwood won the women’s race in 1:22:27 and bettered the American record Betsy Saina set on this course just last year.
“I just wanted to compete and win,” Ellwood said of her goals for the race. “I am marathon training and having this opportunity to practice and execute the bottles in the race is nice. The 25 km Championships is a blast and a fun course.”
Megan Hasz was second in 1:23:52 followed by Kassie Parker in 1:24:26.
“It was great to be out there with some fast women,” Parker said. “I’m excited to keep working on the longer distance, it feels like I’m just getting started.”
In the men’s race, after the first mile, the field was led by newcomers to the distance, Joe Klecker, Casey Clinger, and Hillary Bor. Joe set the early pace in the race as part of his race plan.
“Today my focus was running up front and trying to break my competitors,” Klecker said following the race. “Since the 25 km distance is seldom raced and hard to comprehend there wasn’t much thought about pace or time. I led and surged constantly for about 14.5 miles.”
Clinger was focused on staying relaxed and treating the first 10 miles like a long training run. This was the second road race in his career and the farthest he had raced prior to this was 10,000 meters on the track and cross country. Casey described the 25 km race as uncharted territory and his coach, Ed Eyestone, told him to be confident.
“[My coach] said I train with the best marathoners in the country and my strength would be there in the later miles,” Clinger said in a post-race interview. “I trusted that advice and went for it.”
There were moves made between five kilometers and eight miles on the hills. They went through 10 miles in 46:35.
“Multiple times I thought I had dropped Hillary and Casey, but they held strong,” Klecker said. “I’m proud of how I raced, and even more happy I was able to find a gear in the last 800 to catch Hillary for second.”
Clinger hit 20 km and was feeling good. He knew his coach had told him to make a move in the last 5 km.
“I started thinking how can I make this race, my race and win it?” Clinger said. “My head was telling me to wait but my body felt good. With 1.5 miles to go, I started picking it up. My watch split a 4:29 from mile 14 to15. The last mile, we separated, and I was able to enjoy the last 800 meters. It was hard and a different feeling but soaking in the win the last half mile was a great feeling. I was super happy with the results and proud of the way I finished, tightening the screws and squeeze the last mile and a half.”
That tightening of the screws helped him better the American record by 52 seconds with a 1:12:17. Second and third place, also dipped below the existing American record. Joe Klecker, who created the pace was second in 1:12:30, followed by Hillary Bor in 1:12:52.
“The race was good,” Bor said. “I didn’t know what to expect, and Joe made it easy for us by leading the race from the start. Great atmosphere at the finish.” Clinger also enjoyed the race and recommends it to others due to the energy of the crowds and the music along the course. He says he will be back.
Next in the USATF USARC series is the USATF 4 Mile Championships in Peoria, Illinois on June 14.
*Pending verification by the USATF Records Committee.