Simply 5 months after setting the American file for the half-marathon in Indianapolis, Emily Sisson repeated that honor on a fair greater scale: On October 9, Sisson set the American file within the marathon together with her second-place end on the Chicago Marathon.
Sisson ran 2:18:29, shaving 43 seconds off the earlier file, which was set by Keira D’Amato earlier this yr. She completed simply over 4 minutes behind Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich, who gained the 26.2-mile race for the second yr straight and missed setting a brand new world file by 14 seconds, in line with NBC Sports activities. Kenya’s Vivian Jerono Kiplagat earned third.
Whereas Sisson’s 2022 has been record-breaking, she hasn’t had a clean course main as much as it. Sisson, now 30, entered the Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta in 2020 as one of many favorites, however ended up dropping out of the hilly course by mile 22. It was the final mass marathon she raced till Chicago this weekend.
“The Olympic marathon trials, that broke my coronary heart,” Sisson advised NBC Sports activities. “Normally I’m good at shifting on from unhealthy races, however I actually struggled with that one. There was nothing to maneuver on to, and my physique wasn’t feeling good, even when there was.”
Quickly after the marathon trials, the Olympics introduced its postponement to 2021, and the observe trials have been pushed again to 2021 as nicely. Sisson—who races each shorter observe distances and longer street distances—had an additional yr to prep for the ten,000 meter trials, and ended up successful the race. She headed to Tokyo for her Olympic debut in 2021, and completed tenth within the 10,000-meter occasion (10,000 meters is 6.2 miles).
Following her Olympic expertise, Sisson advised Runner’s World that she deliberate to focus solely on the roads for 2022. Her physique wants a break by the tip of observe season, she stated, which makes it exhausting to get into marathon buildup.
“I really feel very assured in that call [not to run track],” she stated to Runner’s World. “I do love the observe. However I actually need to see what I can do on the roads.”
That call paid off massive: In Indianapolis in Could, she set the American file within the half-marathon by operating 1:07:11, after making an attempt to interrupt it twice earlier than and lacking it by a handful of seconds every time.
“Third time is a appeal,” Sisson wrote on Instagram after clinching the 13.1-mile American file.
Her concentrate on long-distance coaching has continued to reap dividends in Chicago. In response to The New York Occasions, Sisson was assured going into the race, and stated she would go for the American file if she was “having a very good day.” She ended up negative-splitting the race—which means she completed the second half (the final 13 miles) faster than the primary.
Following the race, Sisson met up with D’Amato and American distance operating legends Deena Kastor—who held the American marathon file till 2006—and Joan Benoit Samuelson, the primary girls’s Olympic Marathon champion.
“It is superb,” Sisson stated to NBC Chicago. “I imply, the ladies standing right here right this moment, they’ve all achieved a lot, so simply to be amongst them is an unbelievable honor.”
D’Amato, who served as a race analyst for NBC Chicago throughout the occasion, stated it was “fairly emotional” to be there when Sisson broke her American file. D’Amato had solely set the earlier file in January 2022 on the Houston Marathon, as SELF reported earlier this yr.
“I’m simply actually pleased with Emily right this moment, feeling a part of the legacy to maintain shifting the bar ahead for American girls,” D’Amato stated within the broadcast.
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