Two national records fell in the 10,000 meters on March 4 at the TEN in San Juan Capistrano, California. Eilish McColgan of Great Britain ran 30:00.86 to break Paula Radcliffe’s mark, 30:01.09, set in 2002, and Alicia Monson of the United States ran 30:03.82, taking almost 10 seconds off the record of 30:13.17 set by Molly Huddle in August 2016.
It was Monson’s second American record in three weeks. On February 11, she broke the record in the indoor 3,000 meters, running 8:25.05 at the Millrose Games in New York.
McColgan and Monson were led by two pacers, Eleanor Fulton and Josette Andrews, who is Monson’s teammate with the On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colorado. They were charged with running 72-second laps, or 30:00 for 10,000 meters.
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From the opening moments of the race, only Monson and McColgan stuck with the pacers. Fulton led for eight laps, and Andrews then took over through 5,000 meters, which she passed in 15:08. That left McColgan and Monson some work to do in the second half of the race.
A second pack, with Americans Natosha Rogers, Fiona O’Keeffe, and Elly Henes, and Laura Galvan of Mexico and Dom Scott of South Africa, trailed by 30 seconds at the halfway point.
After Andrews stepped off the track, Monson took over the lead and stepped up the speed. McColgan stuck right behind her, and with 300 meters to go, she sprinted past Monson for the victory and the national record.
Monson was second, and Henes was third in 30:48.26, a personal best by 1:24.
Monson, 24, has been on a tear since graduating from the University of Wisconsin and joining On in 2020. She made the Olympic team in 2021 and the team for the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in 2022.
Her coach, Dathan Ritzenhein, said in a phone call with Runner’s World before race that the team stayed at altitude in Boulder through the winter, instead of chasing nicer weather at sea level as they had in past years.
When the team got on the indoor track at the University of Colorado in January, he could tell Monson had made a leap. She was running repeat kilometers in 2:45 or 2:46 (at 5,000 feet of elevation), with short rest.
Her previous PR for 10,000 meters was 30:51.09, set in May 2022, and she lowered that by more than 47 seconds.
In the men’s 10,000 meters at the TEN, Woody Kincaid won in 27:06.37, Joe Klecker was second in 27:07.57, and Athanas Kioko of Kenya was third in 27:23.84. Kincaid and Klecker set PRs, and both ran qualifying times for the World Championships this summer in Budapest, Hungary.
Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
