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Roe and Maier Win USATF Half Marathon in Atlanta

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By Clay Shaw
Photos by Clay Shaw and Karen Mitchell

3.2.25, Atlanta, GA—-Taylor Roe of Durham, NC earned her spot on Team USA in the upcoming World Athletics Road Racing Championships with a solid 1:07:22 on a hilly Atlanta course with chilly conditions. The second ever World Road Racing Championships will be held later this year at a location to be announced soon.  The first ever WA Road Racing Championships was held in Riga, Latvia in September 2023.  The race distances are half-marathon, 5 kilometers, and a mile road race.  Joining Roe, will be local favorite Emma Grace Hurley of Indianapolis who finished second in 1:07:35.  Hurley grew up in Georgia and lived in Atlanta until last year.  Amanda Vestri of Blowing Rock, NC was third in 1:08:17.  The three will wear USA kits at the World Championships.  A fourth will be announced later.

Alex Maier of Chapel Hill, NC was the men’s winner in 1:00:48.  North Carolina-based Puma athletes coached by Amy and Alistar Cragg won both races.  Shadrack Kipchirchir of Colorado Springs was second in 1:00:58. Hillary Bor, also of Colorado Springs, was third in 1:00:59.  It will be Maier’s first USA team.  Kipchirchir and Bor have worn the USA kits in previous championships.

The USATF half marathon started at 7:15 for the men, 7:18 for the women, and 7:20 for the mass participation race that was part of the Publix Atlanta Marathon Weekend.  The 5k was held the previous day and won by Jill Braley-Boyd, 46, of Atlanta in 18:17 and Garret Drogosch, 33, of Atlanta in 15:33.  Covering the 5k gave us knowledge of photography spots for the Sunday events. 

The elite fields for the half-marathon event were extremely deep with fast times on the challenging Atlanta course.  Our 2020 experience of photographing the Olympic Trials, as well as running the general public Publix Atlanta Marathon was also key.  For fellow Northeasterners, Publix is a big supermarket similar to Giant or Wegman’s  The event weekend was organized by the Atlanta Track Club. 

Top Women

  1. 1:07:22 Taylor Roe, 24, Durham, NC
  2. 1:07:35 Emma Grace Hurley, 27, Indianapolis, IN
  3. 1:08:17 Amanda Vestri, 25, Blowing Rock, NC
  4. 1:08:37 Jessica McClain, 33, Phoenix, AZ
  5. 1:09:03 Emily Venters, 25, Salt Lake City, UT
  6. 1:09:07 Weini Kelati, 28, Flagstaff, AZ
  7. 1:09:24 Aubrey Frentheway, 25, Provo, UT
  8. 1:09:36 Carrie Ellwood, 30, Boulder, CO
  9. 1:09:45 Sara Hall, 41, Flagstaff, AZ
  10. 1:09:57 Dakotah Popehn, 29, Hopkins, MN
  11. 1:10:17 Makena Morley, 28, Bozeman, MT
  12. 1:10:43 Amy Davis-Green, 28, Lake Orion, MI
  13. 1:11:11 Maggie Montoya, 29, Boulder, CO
  14. 1:11:22 Molly Bookmyer, 34, Columbus, OH
  15. 1:11:25 Kellyn Taylor, 38, Flagstaff, AZ
  16. 1:11:58 Tristin Colley, 30, Blowing Rock, NC
  17. 1:11:58 Annamaria Kostarellis, 25, Rochester, NY
  18. 1:12:01 Katrina Coogan, 31, Newburyport, MA
  19. 1:12:08 Lauren Hagans, 38, Flagstaff, AZ
  20. 1:12:18 Anne-Marie Blaney, 31, Lake Orion, MI
  21. 1:12:22 Gabrielle Orie, 26, Orchard Park, NY
  22. 1:12:39 Gabi Rooker, 37, Minneapolis, MN
  23. 1:12:30 Steph Bruce, 41, Flagstaff, AZ
  24. 1:13:31 Annie Frisbie, 28, Edina, MN
  25. 1:14:04 Tessa Barrett, 29, Arlington, VA
  26. 1:14:05 Tabor Hemming, 28, Kremmling, CO
  27. 1:14:12 Ashley Heidenrich 23, Chicago, IL
  28. 1:14:29 Taylor Tuttle, 28, Longmont, CO
  29. 1:14:40 Amanda Beach, 26, Littleton, CO
  30. 1:15:04 Samantha Drop, 26, Athens, GA

Top Men

  1. 1:00:48 Alex Maier, 24, Chapel Hill, NC
  2. 1:00:58 Shadrack Kipchirchir, 36, Colorado Springs, CO
  3. 1:00:59 Hillary Bor, 35, Colorado Springs, CO
  4. 1:01:03 Ahmed Muhamed, 27, Flagstaff, AZ
  5. 1:01:09 Andrew Colley, 33, Blowing Rock, NC
  6. 1:01:14 Matt Richtman, 25, Elburn, IL
  7. 1:01:29 Ryan Ford, 27, Boone, NC
  8. 1:01:34 Joe Klecker, 28, Longmont, CO
  9. 1:01:45 Nathan Martin, 35, Jackson, MI
  10. 1:02:07 Reed Fischer, 29, Longmont, CO
  11. 1:02:15 Tom Brady, 24, Park Ridge, IL
  12. 1:02:05 Teshome Asfaha, 29, New York, NY
  13. 1:02:38 Clayton Young, 31, Springville, UT
  14. 1:02:48 Anthony Raftis, 27, Mammoth Lakes, CA
  15. 1:02:54 Jacob McLeod, 24, Fayetteville, AR
  16. 1:03:13 Sam Chelanga, 40, Fayetteville, NC
  17. 1:03:14 Futsum Zienaselassie, 32, Flagstaff, AZ
  18. 1:03:16 Jason Weitzel, 28, Greenville, SC
  19. 1:03:25 Daniel Mesfun, 37, Flagstaff, AZ
  20. 1:03:25 Colin Bennie, 29, San Francisco, CA
  21. 1:03:40 Andrew Kaye, 24, Golden, CO
  22. 1:03:54 Robert Miranda, 29, Los Angeles, CA
  23. 1:04:05 Tyler Day, 28, Flagstaff, AZ
  24. 1:04:11 Jackson Siddall, 24, Monument, CO
  25. 1:04:22 Ben Olsen, 24, Portage, MI
  26. 1:04:31 Ryan Johnson, 23, Waltham, MA
  27. 1:04:33 Nick Hauger, 28, Flagstaff, AZ
  28. 1:04:53 Joel Reichow, 31, St Paul, MN
  29. 1:04:54 Habtamu Cheney, 25, Provo, UT
  30. 1:05:08 Jack Mastrandrea, 27, Greenville, SC
The elite men start at the USATF Half-Marathon Championships in Atlanta.
Kellyn Taylor, Taylor Roe, Emily Venters, Weini Kelati, and Amanda Vestri and other top USA runners lead during the first mile of the USATF Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta.
USATF Half Marathon, Atlanta, with the men’s pack of favorites in first mile.
Top 3 at USATF Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta: Taylor Roe, Durham, NC 1st Place in 1:07:22 Emma Grace Hurley, Indianapolis, IN, 2nd Place in 1:07:35 Amanda Vestri, Blowing Rock, NC, 3rd Place in 1:08:17.
USATF Half Marathon Championships men’s podium:
Alex Maier, Chapel Hill, NC, 1st Place in 1:00:48
Shadrack Kipchirchir, Colorado Springs, 2nd Place in 1:00:58.
Hillary Bor, Colorado Springs, 3rd Place in 1:00:59.
Alex Maier of Chapel Hill, NC breaks the tape as winner of the USATF Half Marathon Championships in 1:00:48.
Taylor Roe of Durham, NC wins the USATF Half Marathon Championships in 1:07:22.
Emma Grace Hurley of Indianapolis was second with a PB of 1:07:35
Shadrack Kipchirchir of Colorado Springs wins battle with Hillary Bor, also of Colorado Springs. Kipchirchir was second in 1:00:58, Bor was third in 1:00:59.
Heck yes !!! Amanda Vestri of Blowing Rock, NC earns the third spot on team USA with a 1:08:17.
Sheer joy, Amanda Vestri greets fellow podium USA teammates after finishing third.
Jessica McClain of Phoenix, AZ was fourth in 1:08:37.
Jessica McClain of Phoenix, AZ finishes fourth and with a smile. McClain ran 1:08:37.
Ahmed Muhamed of Flagstaff, AZ was fourth in 1:01:03.
Andrew Colley of Blowing Rock, NC and Zap Fitness gets a warm-up on a cold Atlanta morning. He finished fifth in the USATF Half Marathon Championships in 1:01:09.
Emily Venters of Salt Lake City, UT charges toward the finish in fifth place in 1:09:03.
Weini Kelati of Flagstaff, AZ was sixth in 1:09:07. Kelati is the USA record holder at the half marathon distance (1:06:09, Houston 2025).
Matt Richtman of Elburn, IL was sixth in 1:01:14. Elburn is west of Chicago, in case you were wondering.
Carrie Elwood of Boulder, CO was eighth in 1:09:36.
Sara Hall of Flagstaff, AZ was ninth in 1:09:45 and top master.
Nathan Martin of Jackson, MI was ninth in 1:01:45.
Reed Fischer of Longmont, CO was tenth in 1:02:07.
Maggie Montoya of Boulder, CO was thirteenth in 1:11:11.
Molly Bookmyer of Columbus, OH was 14th in 1:11:22.
Kellyn Taylor of Flagstaff, AZ was fifteenth in 1:11:25.
Jacob McLeod of Fayetteville, AR warms up prior to the half-marathon. McLeod was 15th in 1:02:54.
Tristin Colley of Blowing Rock, NC was sixteenth in 1:11:58.
Daniel Mesfun of Flagstaff, AZ was 19th in 1:03:25.
Gabrielle Orie of Orchard Park, NY was 21st in 1:12:22.
Robert Miranda of Los Angeles was 22nd in 1:03:54.
Tyler Day of Flagstaff, AZ was 23rd in 1:04:05.
Tessa Barrett of Arlington, VA races with Tabor Hemming of Kremmling, CO. Barrett was 25th in 1:14:04. Hemming was one second back.
Veronica Eder of Narberth, PA ran 1:15:34 for 31st place.
Smiles and tears for Team USA: Amanda Vestri, Emma Grace Hurley, and Taylor Roe.
Jessica McClain of Phoenix gives teammate Amandra Vestri a big hug at the finish line.
Alex Maier of Chapel Hill, NC with USA flag as winner of the 2025 USATF Half Marathon Championships in 1:00:48.
USA qualifiers Roe, Venters, and Hurley enjoy a victory lap with the flags in Atlanta.
Jill Braley-Boyd, 46, Atlanta, GA wins the Publix Atlanta 5K in 18:17.
Garret Drogosch, 33, Atlanta, GA wins the Publix Atlanta 5K in 15:33.
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