June is the month where outdoor Track and Field is heating up: all meets leading up to the US Outdoor Championship in Sacramento on June 26-29th. Learning more about our sport is what we like to do here at Oiselle HQ and highlighting some of the upcoming meets are elites will be in - is another way we can all get our inner #fangirl on! Not only do we have great races to look forward on the track but June also brings some great options to hit the roads in some nice weather with the goal of taking down some personal bests. Here's what's in store:
6/1: San Diego Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon – San Diego, CA
The 2014 San Diego Rock and Roll Half will have an elite field that will showcase the world's top pro marathon runners. Boston marathon champ Rita Jeptoo and reigning London marathon champ, Edna Kiplagat not to mention a handful of super fast Ethiopians: Dibaba, Gobena, and Ejafinii. Joining them in this remarkable field wiil be Oiselle's own Stacy Cail. Stacy set her half marathon PR here last year with a time of 1:19:35.
Stacy Cail @runnerista
6/5: Nike Festival of Miles - St. Louis, MO
After hearing that Lauren was going to be attending this meet, I spent some time on their website and found myself impressed with their mission for the event: “The Festival of Miles Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the sport of track and field and give back to athletes in need. The Festival of Miles is a track meet featuring 2.5 hours of non-stop action with youth and middle school races, high school races showcasing some of the nation’s top talent and pro races featuring Olympic level athletes. Each year all proceeds from ticket sales go to an athlete/athletes in need.” Looking forward to seeing this event continue to prosper and excited to see a bird competing in the Speed Factory Athletics Women's Elite 800 meters.
800m: Lauren Wallace @lmwallace800
6/5: The Adrian Martinez Classic - Concord, MA
The 2014 Adrian Martinez Classic is a festival of mile races for all ages and paces. The elite sections are sponsored this year by Hoka One and will welcome Boston marathon champ Leo Manzano. The US Milers Club High Performance sections will include elite fields in the 800, Mile and 5k. Representing Oiselle in the 800 and the Mile:
Laura Carlyle @laura_carlyle
Amanda Winslow @awin250
6/7: Jim Bush Invite - UCLA - Los Angeles, CA
Britney Henry @hammerlover
6/14: Adidas Grand Prix - Icahn Stadium, NY
Adidas Grand Priz is one of the the top professional track and field events in the world and is a part of the IAAG Diamond League Track Series.
3k: Lauren Penney @lpenney
6/14: NYRR Mini 10k - New York, NY
The original Mini in 1972 was created by Nina Kuscik and Kathrine Switzer. Last year's field of 5,500+ women featured an fabulous lineup with Mamitu Daska winning in a time of 31:47 to 5th place being our fangirl favorite Stephanie Rothstein Bruce in a time of 33:14. Many would say this is the best women's only 10k in the world! Racing this year:
Lauren Fleshman @laurenfleshman
6/14: Portland Track Fest – Portland, OR – Oiselle athletes TBA
The PTF was created in 2008 to bring to Portland some of the nation’s best runners with the objective of being a high quality meet where athletes could qualify for the US Championships and potentially the Olympics!
800 - Kate Grace @fastk8
3k steeple - Megan Rolland @rockinRolland
3k steeple - Jordan Hamric @jhamric12
1500m - Amanda Mergaert @amanda_mergaert
1500m - Laura Carlyle @laura_carlyle
6/21: Grandma’s Marathon – Duluth, MN
Grandma’s began in 1977 and boasts 17,000 participants for the race weekend including the Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon and more. The marathon draws a fantastic field of elites each year. Last year the women’s record was set by Sarah Kiptoo.
Jen Bigham @jenbigham, Kristine Burgess @KEJBurgess and in the Gary Bjorklund Half: Allison Krausen @allisonkrausen, Melissa Gacek @melissagacek, Heidi Greenwood @heidijogreen, and Aubrey Moskal @Aubrey_Moskal
Off to the Races!
Stay tuned to @oiselle_team and @oiselle twitter feed for race updates.
Other great sources for coverage information: Flotrack and Runnerspace and USATF/TV
