Story and photos by Clay Shaw and Karen Mitchell

2.3.2024, Orlando, FL—Amber Zimmerman of Philadelphia led five Pennsylvania finishers in the 2024 USA Olympic Marathon Trials in sunny Orlando, Florida.  She finished in 2:34:58 in 30^th place. Last year she was selected for Team USA for the World Championship Half Marathon in Riga, Latvia in a deep women’s field, where she finished better than she imagined – 32nd in 1:12:26. She is a neurogeneticist at Penn/CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania).

Veronica Eder of Philadelphia and the Liberty Track Club was 34^th in 2:35:46, just seconds off of her qualifying time of 2:35:48 at the 2022 California International Marathon. She and a friend founded the Liberty Track Club, a post-collegiate team for competitive female runners in Philadelphia. She is a Senior Data Analyst at Vanguard.

Elaine Estes of Philadelphia was 94^th in 2:45:42. She has a marathon PB of 2:36:08 from the 2023 California International Marathon. She is a Spanish teacher and got engaged on January 1st of this year. She is the recipient of the 2023 Philadelphia Runner Track Club Performance of the Year and Most Improved awards. 

Katie Florio (unfortunately, not pictured) of Philadelphia was 107^th in 2:49:52. She has a PB of 2:35:07 from the 2022 California International Marathon. She is a private wealth advisor at Goldman Sachs. She and her husband Paul Florio have a son, Nico, who was four-months-old on race day.

Matt Gillette of Allentown was tops among Pennsylvania men in 2:19:42 and 55^th overall.  Matt qualified by winning the 2022 Edinburgh Marathon in Scotland in a PB of 2:17:57. Matt is also a five-time winner of the Berwick Run for the Diamonds and a graduate of Shippensburg University. He and his wife Lindsay have a one-year-old daughter, Emma.

Nick Wolk of McMurray, PA (south of Pittsburgh) was 67^th in 2:20:53.  Nick ran a PB 2:17:20 qualifying time at the Bakline’s McKirdy Marathon in NY State in October 2023. He coaches a local club youth track program with the Pittsburgh Track Club as well as a high school team, Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh.  In 2017 he was the USA U20 5000m National Champion.

Colin Martin of Pittsburgh was 68^th in 2:20:55, just behind Wolk. He runs with the Pittsburgh Track Club. His marathon PB is 2:17:31 from 2023 Grandma’s Marathon.

Will Loevner of Pittsburgh was 82^nd in 2:22:10. Previously he won the Cleveland Marathon and then ran 2:16:52 for 4th at the Philadelphia Marathon to qualify for the Olympic Trials. He is an accomplished mountain biker and rode 3400 miles off road, from Canada to Mexico through the Rockies on the Great Divide Mountain bike route.

An additional shout out to Pennsylvanians living in other states. 

Regan Rome of Providence, RI and Tracksmith was 33^rd in 2:35:31. She is from Dallas, Pennsylvania. Her PB is 2:35:29 from the 2023 Grandma’s Marathon. She is a Data Scientist at CVS Health.

Neely (Spence) Gracey of Lafayette, CO was 42^nd in 2:37:39. She is a native of Shippensburg, PA where she starred at Shippensburg University. Her dad Steve Spence won the 1992 USA Olympic Trials Marathon and ran in the Barcelona Olympics. Her PB is 2:30:29 at the 2022 California International Marathon. Neely is the mom of two boys, Athens and Rome, wife, running coach, and author of “Breakthrough Women’s Running.”

Kayla Lampe of Shelburne Falls, MA is a native of Downingtown, PA and a member of the Philadelphia Runner Track Club.  Kayla was 86^th in 2:43:32. She has a PB of  2:36:58 at the 2023 Philadelphia Marathon. She is an Emergency Room RN.

Josh Izewski of Blowing Rock, NC earned a personal best of 2:11:09 and finished eighth.  Izewski is from Doylestown, PA. He trains with ZAP Endurance and loves running with his dogs.

Josh Kalapos, now 26-years-old, came from Pittsburgh, PA and currently lives in Boston, part of Team BAA.  He went to Mt Lebanon High School and Carnegie Mellon University.  His trials qualifying time was 2:18:00 at the 2022 BMW Berlin Marathon.  This was the minimum qualifying time; 1 more second and he wouldn’t have qualified.  He finished Orlando in 17^th place with a PB of 2:14:26, 3:34 minutes faster than his previous PB!!  Josh is a Software Engineer.

Duriel Hardy of Austin, TX was 100^th in 2:23:43. Hardy is from West Chester, PA, and until recently, was a mainstay at Philadelphia races.  He is a pediatric neurologist, neuro-immunologist, and assistant professor at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. His wife Christine Ramsey Hardy is a three-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier. They have a daughter Laura Elizabeth. 

Tyler McCandless of Fort Collins, CO was 104^th in 2:23:57, is a Northampton, PA native and at graduate of Penn State.  McCandless is four-time Olympic marathon trials qualifier.  McCandless is a three-time Pittsburgh Marathon winner, and a four-time Kauai Marathon winner.

Photos, in no particular order

Categories: Features, Race Coverage

Tags: 2024, featured, Olympic Marathon Trials 2024, USATF