Beadlescomb, Rodenfels Win USATF 5K Titles At Abbott Dash To The Finish
NEW YORK (04-Nov) -- Running perfectly executed races, Morgan Beadlescomb and Annie Rodenfels won the USATF 5-kilometer road running titles here this morning at the 11th Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5-K in 13:44.0 and 15:21.7, respectively. For Beadlescomb, 25, and Rodenfels, 27, today's victories represented their first-ever national titles and their largest-ever prize money payouts: $12,000 each."Now I can pay for my wedding," joked Rodenfels, who got married just last month.Today's races, where the men and women ran in separate sections, started in front of the United Nations on First Avenue on a comfortably cold and crisp morning. The men took off first, and only about three minutes into the competition Beadlescomb faced an unexpected obstacle on his way to victory: a bus had strayed into an intersection as the lead back was running west across East 42nd Street."It's New York, I guess; I don't know," Beadlescomb told reporters when asked about the wayward bus which came uncomfortably close to the athletes. "That's the only explanation I have. I didn't see where the people at the light were, who was blocking traffic."At that stage Beadlescomb --who is sponsored by adidas and trains with the Very Nice Track Club-- was at the lead of a pack of perhaps 20 athletes. Also at the front were Ahmed Muhumed (HOKA NAZ Elite), Willy Fink (Under Armour), Tai Dinger, Dan Schaffer (ZAP Endurance), Woody Kincaid (Nike) and Zach Panning (Hansons-Brooks). The pace wasn't particularly fast at that point and Beadlescomb knew he needed to save something for the last two kilometers where Central Park's hills would test his legs and his opponents. He was ready after a training stint in Flagstaff, Ariz., where he said he had been "trying new things.""So, you know, hitting the hills has been good," he told reporters about his high-altitude workouts. He continued: "Coming into New York I knew those hills were going to pay off."The course turns north into Central Park at about the 3-kilometer mark and gradually goes uphill. About a dozen men were still in contention, and after turning left to go back downhill on the parks' famous loop road --used by thousands of joggers every day-- the pace heated up. Once he hit the bottom of the hill at the south end of the park, Beadlescomb still had Schaffer and Muhumed with him, but coming into the final 800 meters only Muhumed --his roommate in Flagstaff-- was still a threat."He's my roommate," Beadlescomb said. "Me and Ahmed have been hanging out the last month. It's been a lot of fun, really good energy."But coming up the final 400-meter uphill section to the finish line, the two athletes had to put their recent friendship aside. Launching their final sprints, Beadlescomb just had better strength today up that hill, slipping away from Muhumed to win by 2.2 seconds.
Nov 4, 2023
