Following the Paris Olympic Games, the USATF Running Circuit resumes action on Monday, with the USATF 20 km Championships set to be contested once again from New Haven, Connecticut.

The USATF 20 km Championships, hosted by the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race, are the ninth stop on the 2024 USATF Running Circuit. On-demand viewing of the USATF 20 km Championships will be available following the conclusion of both races on USATF.TV.

The women’s field features impressive depth, including headliner Kiera D’Amato returning to the streets of New Haven for the first time since winning the USATF 20 km Championship race in 2022 in a course record 1 hour, 4 minutes and 29 seconds.

The three-time USATF national champion D’Amato won’t be the only athlete racing on Monday looking for a fourth national title, with Rachel Smith also entered in the field.

Smith will be logging her fourth USATF Running Circuit race of the year and second against D’Amato. The two met each other at the USATF 15 km Championships back in March, where Smith beat D’Amato by four seconds. 

Smith is also the only athlete on the USATF Running Circuit who has won multiple national titles this season, claiming the USATF 8 km Championship back in July.

One athlete looking to capture her first national title of the year in her sixth race on the USATF Running Circuit season is Emma Grace Hurley. A competitor at this year’s World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, Hurley has finished as high as second place in two USATF Running Circuit races this season, including her most recent effort at the USATF 8 km Championships.

Annie Frisbie is the top returner from last year’s USATF 20 km Championships with a fifth-place finish in 1:07:27. This will be her seventh race on the USATF Running Circuit, with her best finish coming at the USATF 25 km Championships in second place.

Jess McClain returns to racing after a fourth-place effort at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field in the women’s 10,000. McClain last raced at the USATF 20 km Championships in 2019 when she finished fourth overall and will use Monday’s contest as a tune-up for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October.

2023 USATF Cross Country Championship runner-up Makena Morley adds to the loaded field of competitors, along with Savannah Berry, Aubrey Frentheway and Rachel Kennedy.

On the men’s side, a new champion will be crowned, as Clayton Young won’t be back to defend his title.

Going after a seventh USATF national title and fourth on the USATF Running Circuit will be Hillary Bor.

Bor added another national title to his belt back in April when he won the men’s USATF 10 Mile Championship race in Washington, D.C. Bor has earned a second-place finish at the USATF 15 km Championship and a third-place finish at the USATF 8 km Championship, too.

Challenging Bor will be top returners from last year’s USATF 20 km Championships in Sam Chelanga, Biya Simbassa and Jacob Thomson.

Chelanga, who is seeking his first USATF national title since 2016, earned third overall at last year’s USATF 20 km Championships, with Simbassa securing eighth and Thomson rounding out the top 10. Thomson is also eyeing his first USATF national title since winning the 2023 USATF Half Marathon Championship.

The talent expands outside those four runners with a pair of World Athletics Cross Country Championship teammates Anthony Rotich and Reid Buchanan joining the field, as well as a pair of top 10 finishers from the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon in Nathan Martin and Reed Fischer.

Nico Montanez will be racing in his second USATF Running Circuit race of the season, following a second-place finish at the USATF 25 km Championship in May.

Paxton Smith, 2nd at the 2023 USATF 25 km Championship, and Tai Dinger, 3rd at the 2023 USATF 5 km Championship, round out the order of top contenders in the men’s race.

About the USATF Running Circuit

The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $19,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 20 km Championships.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 20 km Championships, scoring is set as 15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series.

The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners.

Contributed by Keenan Gray