In less than a month, some of the top distance runners in the country will flock to Hardeeville for the Mortgage Network Road Races, highlighted by the 2021 USATF Half Marathon National Championships presented by Toyota.
Many of the nation’s best half marathoners will be among the field competing on Dec. 5 for a $40,000 purse and spots for the top two male and female finishers on Team USA at the World Half Marathon Championships to be run in China in March.
The championship race will be the final leg of the USATF Running Circuit and will feature past Olympic medalists and U.S. team members. Headlining the women’s field will be the second, third, and fourth place leaders in the current standings. Makena Morley of Colorado sits in second place, just a point out of the series lead. Morley won the USATF 25K Championship race less than a month ago.
Right behind her is Erika Kemp from the Boston Athletic Association. Kemp also has a national championship under her belt, as she won the USATF 20K Championship on Labor Day weekend. In fourth place is Lindsey Flanagan from Boulder, Colorado. A former All-American at the University of Washington, Flanagan recorded a top-10 finish at the Chicago Marathon just three weeks ago.
Also among the early entrants are Gwen Jorgensen, the 2016 gold medalist in the triathlon at the Rio Olympic Games; Kiera D’Amato from Richmond, Virginia, who has one of the top five marathon times in U.S. history and was a fourth-place finisher at the 2021 Chicago Marathon in early October; Marielle Hall of Providence, Rhode Island, who was a 2016 Olympian at 10000 meters; and Dakotah Lindwurm from Minnesota Elite, who recently won the Grandmas Marathon in June.
The men’s race will also feature a large number of talented entries. Heading the men’s field will be Sam Chelanga from the U.S. Army team. Chelanga was a 14-time All-American runner while at Liberty University and holds the NCAA record for the 10K. Not to be outdone will be his teammates from the Army team, Leonard Korir and Haron Lagat. Both have run the half marathon distance in under 61 minutes. Fred Huxham from Norwich, Vermont, will look to move up from his current spot in third place in the circuit standings.
Others to keep an eye will be Coloradans Frank Lara and Morgan Pearson. Just a week ago, Lara ran a huge half marathon personal best of 1:01 in Valencia, Spain, while Pearson won the silver medal in the mixed triathlon relay at the Tokyo Olympic Games this past summer.
While the championship race is limited to runners who have posted a half-marathon or equivalent time of 1:08 for men or 1:18 for women, the Mortgage Network Road Races also will include a sub-elite race (1:25 for men, 1:35 for women), as well as an open 5K.
The raceday schedule begins with the open 5K at 7:45 a.m., followed by the women’s championship race going off at 8:50 a.m. and the men’s championship and sub-elite divisions starting at 9:05 a.m.
For more information or to register, visit https://mortgagenetworkroadraces.com/
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