2 min readThe McKirdy Micro Marathon on October 14 was designed to help fast runners get faster.
The course was set up in Rockland Lake State Park, 30 miles northwest of New York City, and 148 entrants (who had to have run qualifying times to be accepted into the race) ran nine times around a flat 2.94-mile loop.
Results from the 2023 McKirdy Micro Marathon
The aim for most was to get a qualifying time for the Olympic Marathon Trials, on February 3, 2024, in Orlando, Florida.
For men, that meant running 2:18 or faster. For women, that meant breaking 2:37.
The race gave personalized bottle service to all the entrants and provided pacers set to run those times. Add in perfect weather—48 degrees at the start, and little wind, according to race founder James McKirdy—and conditions were ripe for qualifiers to hit the time.
Tsegay Tuemay of Eritrea was the overall winner in 2:11:04. Tiidrek Nurme of Estonia was second in 2:13:38, and American Jonas Hampton was third in 2:13:34.
Hampton had already run a qualifying time for the Trials, but in all, 23 American men qualified for the first time.
Among the notables running sub-2:18 were Ben Blankenship, a 2016 Olympic finalist in the 1500 meters, and Martin Hehir, a doctor who has a personal best of 2:08:59. Blankenship wrote on Instagram after the race that he became the fourth American to ever run sub-3:35 in the 1500 meters and sub-2:20 in the marathon.
On the women’s side, Calli Thackery of Great Britain won in 2:22:17, tying her for second-fastest British marathoner ever. Savannah Berry was second in 2:29:13, and Makenna Myler, who had been scheduled to run the Twin Cities Marathon two weeks ago, before it was canceled due to heat, was third in 2:31:59.
Myler became internet famous for the 5:17 mile she ran last March while nine months pregnant. She was one of 10 American women with Trials qualifiers, including twin sisters Monica and Isabel Hebner.
Although USATF’s lists aren’t updated right away, there are now roughly 150 women who have qualified for the Trials and 185 men, more than many observers initially predicted would hit the times. And there are opportunities still to come at the New York City Marathon and the California International Marathon in December, which usually yields several Trials qualifiers and will be the last chance for runners before the qualifying window closes.
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!
