Molly Huddle began her quest for a first medal in international competition today by leading the field for almost the entire way of the women’s 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
She pulled away in the final lap to win in 31:41.62, followed by Emily Infeld in 31:46.09, and Marielle Hall in 31:54.77.
Huddle, 31, who lives in Providence, Rhode Island, nearly won bronze at the world championships in Beijing last summer, but she raised her arms in celebration too early, and Infeld got by her to take third by 0.09 seconds. Today, Huddle had her winning moment, and left nothing to chance in her final lap.
A pack of up to 16 women jostled and bumped each other through the halfway point, causing prerace contender Kim Conley to suffer a spike to the back of her right leg around 3,000 meters.
It was that kind of crowding that Huddle was trying to avoid.
“I wanted to stay out of trouble, so the plan was to go to the front,” Huddle said after the race, adding that she wanted to keep the pace around 76 seconds per lap. “I knew that would be fast enough to whittle it down by halfway. I had to slow down at a few points—I was hoping to maybe just take a breather and somebody else could go to the front in the first three miles.”
That didn’t happen—her new Olympic teammates had similar plans in the 74-degree temperatures in Eugene, Oregon. Hall, 24, said her coach told her to be “patient and invisible in the first half.” This was, after all, only her second stab at the distance.
“The pack was definitely tense—there was lots of movement,” Hall said. “I think that’s kind of to be expected. It’s just a lot of bodies.”
For Infeld, 26, the race also served as her outdoor season opener after she suffered a stress fracture, diagnosed after the indoor world championships in March, in her lesser trochanter that forced five weeks off of running. It is the third stress fracture she’s suffered in the past two years.
“I was kind of an idiot. I ran through a couple of things and caused myself to get that injury,” she said. “My first stress fracture I took six months off, my second stress fracture I took 10 weeks off, and this one I took five weeks off. So I just gotta stop getting them altogether.”
Infeld and Huddle met at the Millrose Games in New York in Feburary, racing 5,000 meters on the indoor oval. Huddle was second overall in that race in 14:57, Infeld was third in 15:00.
The two remain friends, they said, even through the all the competition at the highest levels.
“I feel like we’re friends. I love most everyone in this sport,” Infeld said, laughing during the press conference.
Huddle concurred.
“What happened last year—I was just mad at myself,” she said, referring to the 2015 world championships. “I would have felt worse if it weren’t an American, to be honest. We were never not friends.”
Hall who as a senior at the University of Texas won the 2014 NCAA title in the 5,000 meters, also ran in the world championships last summer for the U.S. in that event.
All three women are entered into the 5,000 meters preliminary round on Thursday. Huddle said she’ll make a decision about whether she will run it tomorrow. Hall and Infeld are planning to race it.
Looking ahead to the Rio Games, Huddle thinks it will take a 30:20 effort to medal.
“That’s a tall order—it’s the American record,” she said. “I’m going to try to get as fit as I can in the next few weeks. I could have a great day and finish eighth. It’s just too hard to say at this point. I don’t think it’ll be as tactical.”
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Below is a preview of the women’s 10,000-meter race, originally published in June. To see all of our event previews, go here.
World Record: Wang Junxia (China), 29:31.78 (1993)
American Record: Shalane Flanagan, 30:22.22 (2008)
Health - Injuries: Deena Kastor, 31:09.65 (2004)
Fastest Marathon Runners: 32:15
The two remain friends, they said, even through the all the competition at the highest levels. : 32:25
U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifying Standard: This should be the Molly Huddle and Emily Infeld RW+ Membership Benefits Half Marathon Training in this event at the Beijing World Championships last summer, when Infeld, 26, nipped Huddle, 31, at the finish line to take the bronze medal. Both women are favored to make the Olympic team and a host of others who already have the Olympic standard are in the mix to join them, which will make it an exciting race to watch. Kara Goucher, 37, who Nutrition - Weight Loss at the marathon trials in February, at first said she’d take one last stab in the 10,000 meters to make her third Olympics, but later indicated she plans to run a fall marathon instead. Marielle Hall, 24, debuted at the distance in May at the Payton Jordan Invitational, finishing in an impressive 31:37. Don’t discount Emily Sisson, Huddle’s training partner in Providence, Rhode Island, who qualified for the trials with a 31:38. Kim Conley, a 2012 Olympian in the 5,000 meters and 2014 national champion in 10,000 meters, announced she will focus on this race. Kellyn Taylor, who finished sixth at the Olympic Marathon Trials in February, will also be in the mix, qualifying with a 31:40.70.
