Bor breaks 10 mile record at USATF Championships in Washington D.C.

Results 

The 2023 USATF 10 Mile Championships were held on Sunday (2-April) in Washington D.C. The championships were held in conjunction with the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run.  Six athletes from Colorado were among the 28 competitors in the USATF championships.

The storyline of the day for the Colorado athletes was the American record turned in by Hillary Bor (Colorado Springs) in the men's race.

In the men’s race, despite the chilly temperature and wind, the start of the race saw the field get off to a quick start. After the first mile, the Bor brothers - Hillary and Emmanuel - and Abbabiya Simbassa grabbed the lead, as the rest of the top runners packed up together and managed their own pace.

The lead trio came through the 5 km mark in 14:38, ten seconds ahead of the chase pack. Things would remain the same for the next two miles, until Hillary Bor put in a move that pushed Emmanuel Bor off the back, with only Simbassa now hanging on. Bor would continue to drive the pace, eventually separating himself from Simbassa just before the 10 km split. Bor passed through 10 km in 28:36, 13 seconds up on Simbassa.

Bor would maintain form over the next 5 km of the race hitting the 15 km mark in 42:59 and a 49 second lead over Simbassa.

As Bor kicked home in the final mile, the World Championship finalist in the 3000m steeplechase continued to show big things lay ahead in 2023. Bor pushed all the way to the finish line, repeating as USATF 10 Mile champion in 46:11. While the performance must still be ratified, Bor’s time eclipsed the American 10 Mile record of 46:13, set by Greg Meyer in 1983. Bor's norther Emmanuel finished sixth stopping the clock at 48:14.

With his win, Bor jumped to the top of the USATF Running Circuit standings with 33 total points with Leonard Korir (Colorado Springs) second with 31 total points.

While the men's race was a runaway by Bor the women's race was much more competitive with the top four women finishing within five seconds of each other. Two of those four were Coloradans.

A pack of nine women passed through the first 5 km split in 16:28, with all of the top contenders intact. In the lead pack were Nell Rojas (Boulder), Molly Grabill (Superior), Carrie Verdon (Boulder), defending champion Sara Hall of California, Susanna Sullivan, Emma Hurley, Amber Zimmerman, Jesse Hanson, and Jeralyn Poe.

At 10 km, passed in 32:47, the pack was reduced to seven athletes as Hanson and Poe had been dropped as the leaders covered the previous 5 km in 16:19.. At this point in the race, Sullivan and Hurley, along with Hall, Nell Rojas, and Molly Grabill started to separate themselves from the rest of the field as they covered the next 5 km in 16:28 to pass through 15 km in 49:15. Verdon followed 34 seconds later (49:49).

The four runners remained together until the final 200 meters of the race, when Hall shot past her competitors, arms churning, focused on the finish line. Only Rojas matched Hall’s pace and the duo battled to the finish. Hall was able to create separation in the final strides of the race, earning her fourth USATF 10 Mile Championship title in 52:37 with Rojas crossing the finish second in 52:38 (25 seconds off her career best of 52:13)

Hurley and Grabill battled each other for third, with Hurley narrowly edging Grabill to the finish, crossing the line in 52:41, with Grabill finishing one second back in fourth in 52:42; a new career best and #20 U.S. performer all-time. Verdon finished seventh in 53:35 while Bria Wetsch (Centennial) finished 11th running 56:01.

Rojas and Hurley are now tied atop the USATF Running Circuit standings; each with 22 points.

The next stop on the 2023 USATF Running Circuit takes place on the evening of April 25, as some of the top middle-distance runners in the United States square off at the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, hosted by the Grand Blue Mile.