Two-time Olympian Hillary Bor fell in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the steeplechase and did not make it to Paris.Neither did Keira D’Amato, who dropped out of the Olympic Marathon Trials after running with the lead pack for the first 16 miles of the race in February.Both were looking for a bit of redemption at Monday’s Faxon Law New Haven 20K Road Race, the national championship. That, and to prove at the respective ages of 39 (D’Amato) and 35 (Bor), they still had it.Turns out they did. The usual humidity that weighs down runners at New Haven was absent and Bor broke the national 20K championship record set in 2012, winning in his first trip to New Haven in 58 minutes, 9 seconds on Monday. The record (58:30) was set by Matt Tegenkamp in 2012. The course record (57:37) is still held by Khalid Khannouchi (1998).And D’Amato, who will be 40 in a few weeks, won the women’s race in 1:06:25.“There were a lot of ‘old’ jokes today at the tech meeting on the starting line,” said D’Amato, who broke the course record in 2022 (1:04:29). “They were saying I was one of the oldest runners here.“That was on my shoulder (during the race) like, ‘I’ll show them, I’m doing it for the older runners.’”Bor has gradually moved from the track to the roads over the last few years and broke his own national 10-mile record (45:56) at Cherry Blossom Road Race in Washington last spring.
Hilary Bor wins the New Haven Road Race @NHVRoadRace pic.twitter.com/wQKQ8aIcyx
— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) September 2, 2024He took the lead from the start and kept glancing at his watch, even after he pulled away from the rest of the pack.“I just wanted to maintain around 4:35 (per mile pace) but there’s a lot of hills,” said Bor, who lives in Colorado Springs. “I was a little bit tired at the end. I need to work on my strength a little bit more.”Bor is training for a half marathon in Valencia, Spain in late October. He’s enjoying racing on the roads now.“The last two years, the road has been really good for me,” Bor said. “I’ve been doing it the last two years but not fully (until this summer). I love it. It’s less intense than the track.”Nathan Martin of Jackson, Mich. finished second in 58:26 and Biya Simbassa of Flagstaff, Ariz. third (58:29).Women’s winner Keira D’Amato reaches the finish line with arms in the air in the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race 20K, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (Jessica Hill/Special to the Courant)While Bor ran alone, D’Amato was surrounded by a pack of a half-dozen women for much of the race until she broke away after Mile 10. Jessica McClain of Phoenix finished second (1:06:50) and Savannah Berry of Orem, Utah third (1:07:03).“I tried to stay relaxed through the half,” D’Amato said. “I felt fortunate to have a strong group of ladies to pull through. I was feeling really strong when I got to the top of the hill, I figured I’d pick up some speed and put a little gap and hold strong for the rest.“This was such a strong field. I remember looking around thinking, ‘Man, American women’s distance running’s got it going on now.’”The leading women runners stick together in a group down Chapel Street at the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (Jessica Hill/Special to the Courant)After D’Amato dropped out of the Olympic Marathon Trials, she decided to change up her training. She and her husband and two children moved to Utah so she could train at altitude with her new coach Ed Eyestone.“This has been a year for me,” D’Amato said. “I’ve had a lot of lows, made some changes and I’m so pumped to have a really strong hard effort today.“I feel like I’m moving in the right direction. I hope we’re unlocking a whole new ‘Keira 2.0.’”McClain tried to stay with D’Amato but couldn’t.“I tried but it was like gosh, I feel like she was just waiting for a moment in her head, it was like, ‘Go here,’” said McClain, 32, of Phoenix. “I wish I could have made it a race at the end.“I hope I’m still looking that good and feeling that good (at age 39). It’s amazing.”
