New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
NHRR to include past winners, Olympians and NCAA champs
The Faxon Law New Haven Road Race returns on Sept. 5, once against serving as the host for the USATF 20K National Championships for men and women.
The annual Labor Day event will include some of the top runners in the nation, competing in the 20K, half marathon, 5K and kids fun run. The event, which starts at the New Haven Green and includes $40,000 worth of prize purse, has been home to the 20K National Championships since 1992.
Some of the top runners expect to compete this year include last year’s 20K women’s national champion, Erika Kemp of Massachusetts. She will be challenged by an elite field that includes 2021 U.S. marathon Olympian and 2016 New Haven 20K champion Aliphine Tuliamuk of Flagstaff, Ariz., and Virginia’s Keira D’Amato, who set the U.S. Marathon record this year in Houston. D’Amato finished eighth in last month’s World Championship Marathon in Eugene, Ore. Two-time U.S. Olympian Kim Conley of Flagstaff and 2021 NHRR runner-up Makena Morley of Provo, Utah are also expected to finish near the top. Flagstaff ’s Diego Estrada, past Mexican Olympian and current U.S. citizen, should also contend.
Three-time 20K national champ Leonard Korir (2016, 2018, 2019) of Colorado Springs heads a stellar men’s race field. Korir, a 2016 Olympian, is expected to be challenged by Jared Ward (Provo, Utah), Sam Chelenga (Colorado Springs) and Provo’s Clayton Young and Conner Mantz. Ward won the 2015 Faxon Law New Haven 20K and finished sixth in the Rio Olympic Marathon. Chelenga has two runnerup and a third-place finish in New Haven, while Young and Mantz are both recent BYU graduates, who were NCAA champions. Young won the 10,000 meters in outdoor track and Mantz is a two-time national champion in cross country.
The Ryan Shay Memorial Award will be awarded to the top male and female 20K finishers. Ryan Shay, 2004 New Haven 20K Champion, passed away while running the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City. The award is in recognition of Ryan’s commitment and dedication to the sport, as well as his longtime support of the New Haven Road Race. In addition to his first-place finish, Shay competed in the event from 2004-2007.