Fast Women, June 10, 2019, Issue 23

Gabe Grunewald (then Anderson) leads the University of Minnesota team at the start of the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
 

Heartbreaking update about Gabe Grunewald

This week opens with heavy news, and if I hadn’t already written the rest of this newsletter, I’d skip it this week, because the rest of it feels trivial by comparison. On Sunday afternoon, Gabe Grunewald’s husband posted another update, indicating that due to her worsening condition, they’d made the decision to move her to comfort care. Justin wrote that this was our last opportunity to send Gabe a message before she goes to heaven.

This is devastating news to the running community, whether we knew her personally or not.

I first became aware of Grunewald’s story (she was then Gabriele Anderson) when she was running at the University of Minnesota. She had two cancer diagnoses, in 2009 and 2010, and then went on to do the best running of her life. She finished fourth in the 1500m at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, won the 2014 USA Indoor 3,000m title (despite Alberto Salazar’s best attempt to thwart that), and ran a 1500m personal best of 4:01.48.

For much of her career, Grunewald, now 32, did not play up the fact that she was a two-time cancer survivor. She mostly focused on her running. But in recent years, with the return of her cancer in 2016, she began to tell her story more. She established the Brave Like Gabe Foundation and worked to raise money for rare cancer research. And after a chance encounter with Chip Gaines in Central Park, she coached him through his first marathon at an event he established in his community to raise money for cancer research, including Grunewald’s foundation.

I’m at a loss for words when I think about what Grunewald, her family, and her friends are going through right now. But I’m also thankful for everything she’s done to raise money and awareness about rare cancers, and I’m in awe of the way she’s conducted herself with such poise and determination.

I hope she wouldn’t mind my saying that Grunewald is a subscriber to this newsletter, and what that tells me is that even as her health was failing and it was becoming increasingly apparent that she wasn’t going to be able to compete at a high level anymore, she still cared about following the pursuits of her friends and former competitors. She has always struck me as that kind of person, both in sickness and in health.

Grunewald had many career highlights, but NCAA weekend has me thinking about this one… Nine years ago this weekend, she swept by Pilar McShine and Jordan Hasay in the final meters to finish second in the NCAA 1500m final, which helped open the door to her pro career. I enjoyed re-watching her post-race interview from that day, which shows what a great outlook she’s had on life throughout everything she’s been through.
 

Hot temps and performances at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships

At the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas, the team title came down to the 4x400m relay, thanks in part to Taylor Werner’s clutch runner-up performance in the 5,000m, the penultimate event. USC and Arkansas went into the final event tied for first place, which is about as dramatic as a track meet can get, but USC dropped the baton on the third leg of the relay, and Arkansas sailed on to a team title.

The distance highlights included University of New Mexico sophomore Weini Kelati winning her first national title in a dramatic manner on Thursday night. Kelati built a five-second, 25-meter lead by the bell lap of the 10,000m, but Oregon’s Carmela Cardama Baez summoned a monster kick to almost run Kelati down in the homestretch. When Cardama Baez pulled even, Kelati didn’t panic, she just found another gear, which she hasn’t always had in the past, and held her off 33:10.84 to 33:11.56. If you don’t know Kelati’s story, it’s fascinating. In her post-race interview, Cardama Baez, who has had three different coaches in the last three years, credited her breakthrough in part to Coach Helen Lehman-Winters’ belief in her.

In Saturday’s finals, Oklahoma State’s Sinclaire Johnson, who had looked great in her recent races, pulled off an upset, outkicking defending champion Jessica Hull of Oregon and winning 4:05.98 to 4:06.27. Johnson’s time was the second-fastest collegiate performance of all time and broke Hannah England’s meet record. One year ago, Johnson finished last in the 1500m semis at the NCAA Championships and watched the final from the stands. This year she’s the national champion. Both Johnson and Hull earned the World Championship standard.

In the steeplechase, Allie Ostrander cruised to victory in a new personal best of 9:37.73 and then did an amusing post-race interview. It was about 98 degrees at the time of the steeplechase final, which is good sprinting weather but tough on the distance runners, especially ones like Ostrander, who grew up in Alaska.

Jazmine Fray of Texas A&M held off Penn’s Nia Akins in the homestretch of the 800m to win her first national title 2:01.31 to 2:01.67. Fray also ran a leg on A&M’s winning 4x400m relay later in the evening. Fray said after the race that she would love to go pro, but she also wants to get a masters degree in international business communications and possibly go into sports broadcasting.

Colorado’s Dani Jones may have seemed like a shoo-in to win the 5,000m title after winning the NCAA cross country title in the fall, except between now and then, she had to take time off for a stress reaction in her fibula. After months of seeing vague information about what was going on, this LetsRun post-race video interview has many answers. (This article, from the University of Colorado’s sports info team, has some information as well, including Jenny Simpson’s pre-race advice to Jones.)

When Jones was still in the lead pack with a couple laps to go, it became increasingly apparent that everyone else was in trouble. Jones, who is known for her kick, sprinted to victory in 15:50.65 and almost made it look easy in the brutal conditions. Jones said in her post-race interview that she plans to run the 1500m at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships next month, and that she has indoor and outdoor track eligibility for next year, but not cross-country eligibility.

Five of the top seven finishers in the steeplechase tried to double back in the 5,000m final, about 80 minutes after they finished the steeple. The double was no doubt made tougher by the heat, and only three of them finished. Charlotte Prouse was 15th and Ostrander 16th. The athlete who most successfully pulled off this double was Wofford College sophomore Hannah Steelman. Steelman ran a personal best of 9:46.08 to finish third in the steeplechase and then finished eighth in the 5,000m in 16:14.58, which earned her a second All-America honor.

This is consistently the best track meet of the year, in my opinion. Track & field can sometimes be confusing, because it’s a collection of very different events combined into one sport. But at this meet, the team aspect is one of the best parts. It’s so much fun to watch athletes finding unexpected strength and toughness to come through for their teams. It’s also fun to watch all of the athletes feeding off one another’s success. If you’re not already a fan of NCAA track & field, I highly recommend becoming one. (Results)
 

Sara Hall wins the USATF 10K title against a stellar field

One thing I love about running is that everyone lines up at the start with a clean slate and equal opportunity. I don’t know how many people would have picked Sara Hall to win this year’s USATF 10K title, but that doesn’t matter, because she did. Hall told Carrie Tollefson in her post-race interview, “I’m just in shock. This one really surprised me.”

But once it was apparent that it was going to come down to a sprint finish, I absolutely would have picked Hall. I first saw her closing speed at the 2000 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, where unleashed a ferocious kick to beat Anita Siraki for the win.

Side note: When we talk about high school girls burning out and not making it at the collegiate and pro levels, we conveniently forget counter examples like Sara Hall, who has consistently been one of the best at all levels, and across a ridiculous range of events (and that doesn’t even include her steeplechasing).

Hall won in 32:27, defending USATF 10K champion Stephanie Bruce finished second in 32:32 and Sally Kipyego, who has been open about her challenging return to running after having a child (Runner’s World link), was looking more like her herself in third in 32:35. Hall commented after the race that the victory meant a lot to her, especially after recently having the two longest injuries of her career back-to-back. (Results)

This is a potentially unpopular opinion, but I’m a little turned off by the counts of how many children the top three women have, collectively. (The answer is seven.) It’s not that it’s not impressive, it’s just that no one ever counts how many children the top men have. Can you imagine an article reading, “Mo Farah and Galen Rupp, who have seven children between them, go 1-2?”

I can’t say enough about New York Road Runners commitment to the sport. The pro athletes rave about their hospitality, they always attract quality fields, their prize money is fantastic, and I assume they were behind the fact that the live stream of the race was free. (There’s a replay available, but that requires a subscription.)

This has not always been the case. Twenty years ago, the top U.S. runners mostly did not run NYRR races. It’s incredible how far the organization has come, and the difference they’re now making in the sport.
 

U.S. 1500m women are off to a blazing start

At the Diamond League meet in Rome on Thursday, Jenny Simpson opened her season with a 4:01.18 for fourth in the 1500m. No other U.S. woman has consistently run at such a high level in the 1500m year after year.

Behind her, Elle Purrier had a massive breakthrough in finishing seventh in 4:02.34. There was some shoving in the first 150 meters, and it took some skill for Purrier to stay on her feet. But she stayed upright, lowered her personal best by 5.45 seconds, and showed that sometimes it’s just a matter of being fit and getting in the right race.

Ahead of them, Genzebe Dibaba (3:56.28) and Laura Muir (3:56.73) were the class of the field. I’ve been considerably less enthusiastic about Dibaba’s accomplishments ever since her coach was busted for being in possession of EPO. She switched coaches after that and has never failed a drug test, but it’s tempered my excitement about her performances ever since. (Results)
 

Pregnancy and pro running, continued

Sarah Lorge Butler, who, full disclosure, edits this newsletter, wrote an interesting follow-up to the New York Times pieces on pregnancy and pro running for Runner’s World last week that included a wide range of perspectives from athletes and agents. Experiences seem to vary greatly, but from everything I’ve seen thus far, and correct me if I’m wrong, I’ve come to a tentative conclusion that while few companies have been absolutely perfect in the handling of athletes and pregnancy, if we were to rank them on a scale, Nike has historically ranked near the bottom in this regard.

And I am struck by the number of athletes who, even though their companies ultimately supported them through their pregnancies, have talked about nervousness and fear when it was time to break the news to their sponsors. This is one of the reasons contractual protections are so important for pregnant athletes.

Oiselle seems to be a model company when it comes to supporting its pregnant athletes, but even they are making a change, the article says, in the form of putting some of these policies in writing, partially to help set an example for others.

I also appreciated this quote from Lauren Fleshman about how her perspective has changed since she stopped running professionally: “We saw so few examples of women coming back from babies successfully. It was a career-ender for a lot of women. I didn’t understand the financial aspect at that time. I thought, ‘Wow, women are having these babies and they never make it back.’ Well, if you shut off all the money, well, yeah, it is going to be really hard to come back.”

I recommend reading the full article, because there are a lot of thoughtful perspectives in there.
 

Other results

• At Sunday’s FBK Games in the Netherlands, Kim Conley ran 15:05.20 for 5,000m, which puts her under the World and Olympic standards. According to the IAAF, she also broke her personal best, set in 2014, by more than three seconds. Kenya’s Margaret Kipkemboi won a close three-way race in 14:37.22. Eilish McColgan broke her own Scottish national record in running 14:47.94. (Results)

• Kasie Enman led the U.S. women with a 24th place finish at the Trail World Championships. This is a good U.S.-focused recap.

• Katelyn Tuohy won the New York State 3,000m title in 9:21.90. She had planned to double back in the 1500m the following day, but didn’t start the race. Her local paper mentioned that she was a little sick when she won the 3,000.

• Sam Lewis won the USATF Trail Half Marathon Championship.

• South Africa’s Gerda Steyn won the Comrades Marathon in record time. (Results)

• The Portland Track Festival is happening too late on Sunday to make it into this edition of the newsletter, but you can check out the results here.

Other news

• This 13-minute video featuring Anne Audain, a three-time Olympian for New Zealand who cleaned up on the roads in the U.S., is one of my favorite links of the week. She has a good (and sad, at times) story, and I love that she’s the one to tell it here. If you don’t know her story or who she is, check it out.

• I loved this article about University of Wisconsin junior Amy Davis, who earned All-America honors in the 10,000m on Thursday night on the same track where her mother won the NCAA 10,000m title 34 years ago. Until I read it, I had no idea that Nan Doak Davis was her mother. The elder Davis was a nine-time All-American for Iowa and later earned four U.S. titles at distances from 5,000m to the marathon.

• Dominique Scott Efurd, a five-time NCAA champion for Arkansas and 2016 Olympian for South Africa, went on The Real Science of Sport Podcast last week. Scott Efurd, who is coached by Joe Bosshard, spoke in a fair amount of detail about her training, which will be of interest to anyone who wants to know more about how Emma Coburn’s group trains. She also talked about how chilling out, having fun with the sport, and being less of a perfectionist has helped her stick with it and be more successful in the long term (27:35 mark).

• Aisha Praught-Leer, Scott Efurd’s teammate, was great on Nick Symmonds’ podcast. She talked about leaving the Oregon Track Club, her decision to run for Jamaica, and how that has allowed her to develop at her own rate, in contrast to the more cutthroat environment of the U.S. They also discussed her conscious transition to using social media more, and the realization that that's part of her job now.

• And in separate Praught-Leer news, she deadlifted 220 pounds and impressed some of her competitors in the process.

• Katie Arnold, author of the book Running Home and the 2018 Leadville Trail 100 champion, was a guest on Lindsey Hein's podcast last week. They had a good chat about grief, anxiety, parenting, creativity, and many other topics.

• The Prefontaine Classic announced a strong women’s 1500m field for the June 30 event, including Shelby Houlihan, who will open her season there for the second year in a row.

• Caster Semenya is temporarily cleared to compete in any event after a ruling from Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court, but as far as I know, she’s not scheduled to run any 800s or 1500s in the immediate future. This article had some good quotes from Ajee’ Wilson about how she’s handling the uncertainty of the situation.

• Two Russian coaches and a doctor who were banned for their involvement in doping are still active in track and field. And in related news, the IAAF has extended its ban on the Russian athletics federation. And in even more related news, the IAAF, track & field’s international governing body, is changing its name to World Athletics, but we have until October to adjust to the change.

• Shockingly few high level athletes are subject to out-of-competition drug testing programs, so the IAAF and AIU are doing something about it. Both organizations will fund the testing, along with races, athlete managers, and the athletes themselves, through a percentage of their earnings. The World Marathon Majors have been a leader in this area, and Shalane Flanagan recently commented (Runner’s World link) that when she runs WMM races, she feels protected, whereas she has not felt that at the Olympic level.

• Alexi Pappas wrote about her experience supporting young runners through a marathon at a correctional facility.

• Amanda Loudin writes about why sleep is a “magic pill’ for athletic performance, with some quotes from Becky Wade, who has struggled with insomnia.

• The USOC said that it’s working to prevent pregnant athletes from losing their health insurance.

• Therese Haiss of the Mission Athletics Club ran a 4:19 downhill mile to win the State Street Mile June 2 and did this Q&A with Bring Back the Mile after. She also won the Yakima Mile, in 4:29, on Saturday.

• Olympic sprinter and long jumper Tianna Bartoletta writes a message to athletes who want to go pro but aren’t being courted by shoe companies.

• Stephanie Bruce wrote about being a professional runner and mother for SELF.

• You can learn more about Syracuse’s Paige Stoner in this NCAA preview article, in which her coach, Brien Bell, talks about her love of competition. Stoner finished seventh in the 10,000m in 33:32.80 and said in her post-race interview that she doesn’t know what’s next, but she’d like to continue running professionally.

• Penn junior Nia Akins, who is studying nursing, had to structure her training around 8- to 12-hour blocks of classes this year, but she still managed to be the NCAA runner-up in the 800m both indoors and outdoors.

• Susannah Scaroni, who won the wheelchair division of the NYRR New York Mini 10K on Saturday, was the guest on Carrie Tollefson’s podcast last week. She told her touching story of being the first person in her town in a wheelchair, and how her entire community and family came together, adapted, and helped her believe she could accomplish anything.

• The trailer for Brittany Runs a Marathon, due out in August, suggests that the filmmakers understand running.

• Run Washington has more on 48-year-old Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Perry Shoemaker.

• I’m a few weeks late here, but Aliphine Tuliamuk recently went on the HOKA NAZ Elite podcast and talked about her 2:26:50 marathon in Rotterdam, her preparation for that, and how her teammates inspire her.

• Ten-time NAIA champion Anna Shields is exploring her professional running options.
   

Things that made me laugh, smile, or cry

• A friend posted the following on Facebook: “We enjoyed watching the Man's World Cup, but the regular World Cup will have the U.S. and the Netherlands in it! Can't wait!” I laughed (and cried inwardly), because the use of the male as the default in sports is one of my biggest pet peeves. And don’t get me started on Lady Cougars, Lady Panthers, Lady Plainsmen, or Lady Spartans.

• I think many of us are laughing, smiling, and crying when we think of Gabe Grunewald and everything that she has contributed to the running community and the world over the past 32+ years.

Upcoming

• Diamond League events will take place in Oslo (Thursday the 13th) and Rabat (Sunday the 16th) this week, and both will be televised on NBC Sports Gold. Emma Coburn and Mel Lawrence are scheduled to run the steeplechase at the Bislett Games in Oslo. The Rabat entries aren’t up as of this writing, but Jenny Simpson is among the 1500m entrants.

• The Adrian Martinez Classic takes place on Thursday in Concord, Massachusetts, and has attracted some good fields, but I don’t have any viewing and/or results information yet. (There might be a webcast here?) I’ll tweet it if I see it.

• It’s a big weekend for high school running as both New Balance Nationals Outdoor and the Brooks PR Invitational are happening. NBNO will be webcast live (free) Thursday through Sunday, and it looks like the PR Invitational will be webcast live here on Saturday.

Thanks for reading. If you're interested in donating to the Brave Like Gabe Foundation, you can do so here.

Alison