Olympians Korir, Sisson Headline USATF Half Marathon Road Championships

USATF Release

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – With $40,000 of prize money on the line and course conditions ideal for fast times, Olympians Leonard Korir and Emily Sisson headline the men’s and women’s field for Saturday’s USATF Half Marathon Championships presented by Toyota in downtown Indianapolis, in what promises to be an exciting morning of racing.

The USATF Half Marathon Road Championships hosted by the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon are the fourth stop on the 2022 USATF Running Circuit presented by Toyota. The race will be shown live on USATF.TV, available with a +PLUS subscription beginning at 7:35am ET.

Korir leads a talented men’s field to the start line in Indianapolis. The two-time USATF Half Marathon Road champion is having a strong start to his 2022 season, with a runner-up effort at the USATF 15 km Road Championships and a fourth place finish at the USATF Cross Country Championships, which puts him atop of the USATF Running Circuit overall standings with 19 points, four points ahead of Shadrack Kipchirchir, who is not racing Saturday.

Korir will be joined up front by Futsum Zienasellassie, who finished sixth at the USATF 15 km ROad Championships and ninth at the USATF Cross Country Championships. Zienasellassie beat Korir at the 2021 USATF Half Marathon Road Championships, placing fifth to Korir’s seventh.

At the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run early last month, Zienasellassie placed an impressive fourth against strong competition, finishing four seconds up on fifth place Reid Buchanan, as well as besting sixth place finisher Lawi Lalang. Both Buchanan and Lalang are entered in Saturday’s contest and will vie for top three finishes.

Jacob Thomson, who placed tenth at the USATF 15 km Road Championships, leads the rest of the field, which includes notable road race standouts Noah Droddy, Sid Vaughn, and Caleb Kerr.

Leading the women’s field, Sisson seeks to continue her dominance on the roads. The Providence-based standout has had a quiet start to her 2022, only racing once. That one race though was one to remember, winning the USATF 15 km Road Championships by nearly two minutes. Sisson currently sits tied for third in the USATF Running Circuit standings with 15 points, only behind Emily Infeld and Emily Durgin, who have 20 and 19 points respectively.

Behind Sisson, notable veteran Allie Kieffer resumes her racing in the United States. Kieffer has raced twice in 2022, once in Great Britain and again in Italy. Her performance at the Roma Ostia Half Marathon in early March was impressive, as she finished fourth in 1:09:17 on the fast Italian course. Kieffer placed fourth in the 2021 USATF Half Marathon Road Championships in 1:10:44 and will look to improve on that performance on Saturday.

Another top three contender is Tayler Tuttle. Tuttle placed eighth at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run last month, while finishing tenth at the USATF 15 km Road Championships. A top three performance in Indianapolis would move Tuttle into top five on the USATF Running Circuit.

Other key entries include Jane Bareikis, who has run 1:14 for the half marathon distance twice this year, along with Madison Offstein.

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 $40,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF Half Marathon Championships.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF Half 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