INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The final opportunity to secure a spot on Team USATF for the World Athletics Road Running Championships takes place Saturday morning, as athletes compete at the USATF 5 km Championships in downtown Indianapolis. The race is part of the Delta Dental 500 Festival 5K.
The top two finishers in each race will earn eligibility to represent Team USATF in the 5 km at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, this September.
The men’s race begins at 6:45 a.m. ET. While defending champion Olin Hacker will not return in 2026, runner-up Casey Clinger is back and in strong form. Clinger, who ran 13:34 on this course last year, has already recorded two road personal bests in 2026. He clocked 59:34 at the Houston Half Marathon in January, making him the third-fastest American in history at the distance, and followed that with a 2:08:43 marathon personal best in Tokyo in March.
Clinger will face a competitive field that includes Sam Prakel, who represented the United States at the most recent World Athletics Road Running Championships and earned bronze in the mile in Riga in 2023. Prakel owns a 13:39 personal best for 5 km on the roads. Drew Hunter, third at last month’s USATF 1 Mile Championships in Des Moines, will look to improve his standing over the longer distance. Hunter was fourth in the 5,000m at the 2025 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships and has a 13:28 road best.
Additional contenders include 2022 U.S. 5 km champion Abdihamid Nur, 2026 U.S. 10 Mile champion Graydon Morris, and 2024 U.S. Cross Country champion Cooper Teare.
The women’s race will start at 6:47 a.m. ET. Reigning champion Josette Norris will not compete, but the remainder of the 2025 podium returns.
Bailey Hertenstein, who finished second last year in a personal best of 15:16, opens her 2026 road season in Indianapolis. She went on to win silver in the 5,000m at the 2025 NACAC Championships and has not raced since the indoor season in January.
Olympic steeplechase silver medalist Courtney Frerichs also returns after adding road racing to her schedule following her return from injury. The American record holder ran 15:18 in this race last year.
Emma Grace Hurley, another American record holder, enters as a strong contender. The Indianapolis-based athlete has already been preliminarily named to Team USATF in the half marathon and set the American 8 km record in Chicago in March.
Shelby Houlihan, a 14-time U.S. champion on the track, will look to claim her first national road title. While she has yet to contest a road 5 km, she most recently ran 30:50 for 10,000m in March.
Also in the field are two-time Olympian Karissa Schweizer, who placed third at last month’s USATF 10 Mile Championships; Gracie Hyde, runner-up at the USATF 1 Mile Championships; and Molly Born, the 2026 USATF Half Marathon champion.
The USATF 5 km Championships will be streamed live on USATF.TV beginning at 6:30 a.m. ET.