Deep Fields Ready to Race at the  USATF Marathon Road Championships

USATF Release

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The final race of the 2022 USATF Running Circuit presented by Toyota season gets underway Sunday morning, as the USATF Marathon Road Championships presented by Toyota host an incredible collection of distance running talent with both the men’s and women’s fields having more than a dozen top contenders capable of claiming victory in Sacramento.

The USATF Half Marathon Championships, hosted by the California International Marathon, will be shown live on USATF.TV beginning at 6:50am PT and can be viewed with a +PLUS subscription.

Headlining the men’s field, veteran Noah Droddy tops the start list. Droddy enters Sunday’s contest with the top marathon PR in the field and only sub-2:10 performance, running 2:09:09 at The Marathon Project in December 2020. This season, Droddy has finished sixth at the USATF Half Marathon Championships and seems poised for another big marathon performance.

Brendan Gregg is coming off a victory at the 2021 California International Marathon, the host of this year’s championship race, where he ran 2:11:21. Gregg will no doubt use that experience, along with his recent 1:03:37 half marathon performance at the United Airlines Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose Half Marathon, to make a charge at the win. Gregg has completed six marathons since 2018, never having finished slower than 2:16:46, showing incredible consistency.

Futsum Zeinasellassie could come away with the win during his debut effort over the marathon distance. Zeinasellassie is having a terrific 2022 campaign, currently sitting third in the USATF Running Circuit standings with 56.5 points, only behind leader Leonard Korir (104 points) and Sam Chelanga (60 points). Zeinasellassie has already finished second at both the USATF Half Marathon Championships and USATF 25 km Championships.

Jacob Thomson is another standout capable of earning the victory in Sacramento. Thomson ran a 1:02:25 half marathon effort in Mesa in February, following that up with a 1:02:46 third place performance at the USATF Half Marathon Championships. Layer on top his 28:21.91 10,000m mark and Thomson has the accolades this year to be a top contender. 

Another key name entered in Sunday’s race is Matt Llano. Llano placed second at the 2018 USATF Marathon Championships, while earning a fine performance at the Boston Marathon this year, running 2:16:39.

Will Nation, another USATF Running Circuit veteran, is also entered in Sunday’s contest. Nation placed fifth at last year’s California International Marathon in 2:13:24, and will surely use his familiarity with the course to his advantage. His more recent fifth place performance at the USATF 25 km Road Championships shows he’s in fine form. 

A few runners have had strong performances in 2022 and are worth keeping an eye on in Sacramento. Jonathan Phillips ran 2:14:11 at the Grandma’s Marathon back in June, while John Crain Jr. placed fourth at the USATF 25 km Championships and Jackson Neff placed tenth at the USATF Half Marathon Championships.  

Other notable entries include JJ Santana who placed seventh at the 2021 California International Marathon in 2:14:15, as well as Matthew Piercy, who claimed eleventh in the same race in 2:15:41. Veterans Matthew McClintock, Tyler Pennel, and Louis Serafini.

Four women enter Sunday’s race with personal bests under 2:30. Diane Nukuri (2:27:50), Paige Stoner (2:28:43), Bria Wetsch (2:29:50), and Julia Griffey (2:29:58) are all experienced road race veterans, who also have the credentials to win in Sacramento. 

Nukuri, who turned 38 on Thursday, competed in two Olympic Games running for Burundi. During much of her career, Nukuri was a consistent threat for top ten finishes at World Marathon Majors events. While she’s struggled at times this season, she did place 11th at the 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and is the most established and experienced runner in the field.

Stoner is having the best season of the top time quartet. She ran well in Houston earlier this year with a 1:10:34 half marathon effort. She followed that up with a 31:22.55 10,000m performance on the track. Stoner is in terrific form and should vie for the victory. 

Meanwhile, Wetsch and Griffey are having solid 2022 campaigns. Wetsch placed 16th at the USATF 10 Mile Championships this year, while also finished ninth at the Philadelphia Distance Run running the half marathon in 1:13:22. Griffey has a 1:12:15 half marathon to her name this year at the Mesa Half Marathon.

Finishing just behind Griffey at the Mesa Half Marathon was Katja Goldring, who ran 1:12:18. Goldring has experience in Sacramento, having placed fourth at the 2021 California International Marathon. She’s the top returnee from last year’s contest.

Three others fully capable of earning the victory on Sunday are Elaina Tabb, Molly Bookmyer, and Jane Bareikis. Tabb finished seventh this year at the USATF 20 km Championships, while running 1:12:02 at the NYC Half. 

Bookmyer took home sixth at the USATF 25 km Championships, while having run 2:33:19 at the Chevron Houston Marathon in January and 2:32:53 at Grandma’s Marathon. In addition, she won the Columbus Half Marathon in 1:10:52.

For Bareikis, she placed fifth amongst a strong field at the USATF Half Marathon Championships, while finishing just back of Bookmyer at Grandma’s Marathon with an eighth place effort in 2:33:26. She’s raced eight half marathons this year, finishing all between 1:13-1:16.

Other top contenders in the women’s field include veteran Maegan Krifchin, Julie Kohnen, who took home tenth at the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials, Briana Doehmer, who placed seventh at the 2021 California International Marathon, and Maya Weigel, who ran an impressive 1:10:35 effort at the Aramco Half Marathon in Houston to begin the year.

On demand race videos, results, and post-race interviews will be available shortly after the race in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com. Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #USARC.

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 $90,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF Marathon Championships.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF Marathon Championships, scoring is set as 22.5 for first, 18 for second, 15 for third, 10.5 , 9, 7.5, 6, 4.5, 3 and 1.5, 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 Scott Bush