Emily Venters and Aidan Troutner won the USATF 10km Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota on Saturday.
Emily Venters
Venters went to the front right away and split the first mile (1609m) in 5:15. Kassie Parker was following a few seconds back.
Venters continued to widen the gap over the next 8 km. At 5km she clocked 15:51 and was leading by 15 seconds. Barring catastrophe, the race was over.
Unchallenged and continuing to push to the end, Venters crossed the line in 31:09. Her time was the fastest ever run at the USATF 10km Championships, breaking the previous record of 31:40 set by Jess McClain in 2024.
She bettered her own previous record of 32:36 set in 2024 at the Beach to Beacon race.
“This is the most nervous I have been in a while, but I think the nerves carried me through,” said Venters. “I just ran with joy like my mom texted me this morning to do.”
Parker finished second, in 31:57. Allie Ostrander took third in 32:02.
Aidan Troutner
The men’s race had a very different look. The three kms were covered in just under nine minutes. A group of 18 runners was together through most of the first half. The pace was steady, with no one making a move through 5 km where the leaders split 14:12.
At nearly 7km, the field began to split as Troutner and company dropped the pace, but it was Minnesotan Joel Reichow who moved into the lead. The lead pack shrunk to just one as the screws began to turn as the kms passed, and over the final stretch it was Dillon Maggard, Creed Thompson, Reid Buchanan, Reichow and Troutner kicking for home.
Troutner won in a personal best of 27:40, also breaking the event record, which was 27:49 by Dirk Lakeman in 1986.
“It was fast. People were pushing the pace throughout,” said Troutner. “I was lucky to come away with the win.”
