More than 20 Olympians and national champions are expected to be in the spotlight during the racing schedule Saturday for the annual Sound Running Sunset Tour, presented by Brooks, at Occidental College’s Jack Kemp Stadium.
Highlighting the elite races is the women’s 5,000-meter showcase at 9:35 p.m., with the field featuring 11 athletes who have eclipsed the 15-minute barrier in their careers, led by American record holder Alicia Monson of On Athletics Club at 14:19.45 and Karissa Schweizer from Nike Swoosh Track Club, the No. 3 all-time U.S. competitor, at 14:26.34.
Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany, who boasts a personal-best 14:26.76, is also entered, as well as Australian standout Lauren Ryan from Under Armour Dark Sky Distance and Mexican star Laura Galvan of HOKA.
Stanford’s Sophia Kennedy and North Carolina State’s Grace Hartman, who took third and fifth, respectively, in the NCAA Division 1 final June 14 at Hayward Field in Oregon, are also expected to compete.
A pair of sub-13 athletes are the leading entries in the men’s 5,000 at 9:15 p.m., with Guatemalan national record holder Luis Grijalva, a HOKA competitor, at 12:50.58, and Canadian standout Justyn Knight representing Nike Swoosh Track Club with a personal-best 12:51.93 effort.
Abdihamid Nur, also from Nike Swoosh Track Club with a lifetime-best 13:03.17, has represented the U.S. at back-to-back World Championships in 2022 and 2023, as well as the Olympic Games last year.
Sean McGorty, another Nike Swoosh Track Club competitor, is also pursuing a sub-13 mark with a personal-best 13:02.13.
Brian Musau, a Kenyan athlete who won the NCAA Division 1 indoor and outdoor 5,000 championships for Oklahoma State, is also scheduled to race and looking to improve on his top mark of 13:11.34.
Anthony Camerieri of Saucony also returns after winning the 5,000 last year at the Sunset Tour by clocking 13:32.78.
The women’s 10,000 is scheduled to close out the meet at 9:50 p.m., with Ethiopian athletes Asayech Ayichew and Fantaye Belayneh both looking to produce sub-30 performances.
Ayichew placed fourth in 29:43 and Belayneh finished fifth in 30:00 in January in the Valencia 10-kilometer road race in Spain.
The Final Surge men’s 3,000 steeplechase at 8:25 p.m. is expected to include HOKA Northern Arizona Elite standout Ahmed Jaziri of Tunisia, the 2022 NCAA Division 1 champion for Eastern Kentucky who placed fifth in the Olympic final in Paris in a personal-best 8:08.02.
Geoffrey Kirwa, a Kenyan athlete representing Under Armour Dark Sky Distance, is also entered with a lifetime-best 8:13.89, which helped him elevate to the No. 2 competitor in NCAA history competing for Louisville in April.
Isaac Updike, an American performer also representing Under Armour Dark Sky Distance, won the 3,000 steeplechase at last year’s meet in 8:19.11, but boasts a personal-best effort of 8:13.64.
Allie Ostrander, a three-time NCAA Division 1 champion at Boise State and an Oiselle professional athlete, boasts the top entry mark at 9:21.82 in the Final Surge women’s 3,000 steeplechase race at 8:40 p.m.
Sarah Tait, a West Virginia standout representing Scotland, finished fourth at the NCAA Division 1 final in 9:27.80.
Grace Fetherstonhaugh, a former NCAA All-American at Oregon State competing for Canada, has run 9:31.08.
Henry Wynne and Waleed Suliman of the Brooks Beasts, with entry marks of 3:32.94 and 3:33.82, respectively, lead a competitive men’s 1,500 field at 8:55 p.m.
Drew Hunter of ASICS secured sixth last year in 3:33.78 and is expected to return, with Wynne also looking to improve on his fourth-place effort from last summer’s competition.
Fouad Messaoudi of Oklahoma State, a Moroccan athlete who clocked 3:33.93 on June 15 at the Portland Track Festival, is also scheduled to race in the 1,500.
Although she placed fourth in the women’s 1,500 last year, Josette Andrews of On Athletics Club still boasts the top entry mark in the field at 3:59.72 from 2021.
Canadian athlete Simone Plourde of Nike Swoosh Track Club – second at the Portland Track Festival in 4:03.83 – is also expected to compete, along with Brigham Young’s Riley Chamberlain, who took third in the same race June 15 in 4:03.98.
Lucia Stafford, another Canadian competitor, is entered with a personal-best 4:02.03, with Margot Appleton of Virginia – the NCAA Division 1 runner-up – also scheduled to race.
Katelyn Tuohy, an adidas professional athlete, is competing Saturday in the 1,500 after winning the 5,000 at last year’s meet.
Hobbs Kessler, another adidas competitor, is participating in the Now Sports men’s 800 at 8:15 p.m., looking to rebound from a 10th-place performance July 5 in the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon.
Kessler, who qualified to represent the U.S. at the Olympics in Paris in both the 800 and 1,500, has run a lifetime-best 1:43.64.
Sage Hurta-Klecker of On Athletics Club, with a lifetime-best 1:57.53, is scheduled to compete at 8:20 p.m. in the Now Sports women’s 800.
Samantha Watson of adidas was runner-up at last year’s meet in 1:59.96 and is expected to return.
Meghan Hunter from BYU, who has run 1:58.95, is also entered following a third-place effort at the NCAA Division 1 final.
Josiah Tostenson and Tayvon Kitchen, recent graduates from Crater High in Oregon, are both entered in the second section of the men’s 5,000 at 7:20 p.m.
Both competitors are pursuing the all-time prep mark of 13:25.86 set last year by Daniel Simmons of American Fork High in Utah.
New Zealand athlete Sam Ruthe, 16, is scheduled to compete at 6:20 p.m. in the men’s 1,500, looking to improve on his personal-best 3:40.12 from March.
Sadie Engelhardt, a recent graduate of Ventura High and a North Carolina State signee, is entered in the second section of the women’s 1,500 at 6:50 p.m., attempting to lower her lifetime-best 4:08.86 from last year.
– Erik Boal
