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Rudel and Hicks Win USA 20K Champs: Tuntivate Wins Mens’ Race Overall

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by Clay Shaw and Karen Mitchell

9.7.26 New Haven, CT—Rachael Rudel of Centennial, CO won the USA 20K championship with a strong second half to win the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race 20K in 1:04:58. Elena Hayday of Minneapolis, MN was second in 1:05:53. Amanda Vestri of St. Augustine, FL was third in 1:06:05. Kasandra Parker of Waverly, IA was fourth in 1:06:18. Lauren Hagens of Flagstaff, AZ, now 40, was fifth overall in 1:06:41 and first master.

Kieran Tuntivate of Thailand won the New Haven 20K Road Race in 58:05. Tuntivate runs with the Nike Oregon Track Club and trains with Charles Hicks of Eugene, OR.  Hicks won the USA 20K title in 58:06 and was second overall. Both men are training at high altitude in Utah in preparation for the Chicago Marathon. The two men are among many of the elite athletes looking for a solid distance race in their preparation for the fall marathon season.

James Mwaura of Boston, MA was third in 58:20. Emad Bashir-Mohammad of Aurora, CO was fourth in 58:51. A nearly disastrous crazy moment occurred where I was photographing on the home stretch, as a fire truck with sirens blaring sped across the race course. Merga Gemeda of Minnetonka had to come to a stop before resuming to finish fifth in 59:00. Joel Reichow of St Paul was sixth in 59:01 and did the sportsman gesture of not passing Gemeda on the home straight.

The Faxon Law New Haven Road Race was founded in 1978 and is a Labor Day tradition. 583 runners finished the 20k, while another 1428 finished the companion half-marathon. We took the train up from Central Pennsylvania for the third straight year. We drove in 2023 and decided the train was less crazy.  New Haven is an interesting city, and we hope to see more in 2027 and perhaps tour the Yale campus. Three US presidents went to Yale, can you guess them without a search?

Top Women

  1. 1:04:58 Rachael Rudel, 32, Centennial, CO
  2. 1:05:53 Elena Hayday, 26, Minneapolis, MN
  3. 1:06:05 Amanda Vestri, 27, St. Augustine, FL
  4. 1:06:18 Kasandra Parker, 27, Waverly, IA
  5. 1:06:41 Lauren Hagens, 40, Flagstaff, AZ
  6. 1:07:01 Jackie Gaughan, 26, Boston, MA
  7. 1:07:15 Biruktayit Degefa, 35, Colorado Springs, CO
  8. 1:07:38 Amanda Mosborg, 27, Minneapolis, MN
  9. 1:10:25 Amanda Theodore, 27, Littleton, CO
  10. 1:10:52 Diane Neubauer, 37, Ambler, PA
  11. 1:11:48 Morgan Nokes, 24, Riverton, UT
  12. 1:11:49 Mira Records, 34, Middletown, CT
  13. 1:12:22 Maeve Pierson, 24, Washington, DC
  14. 1:12:30 Hannah Wilson, 33, Lookout Mountain, GA
  15. 1:12:54 Hayley Collins, 27, Tolland, CT

Top Men

  1. 58:03 Kieran Tuntivate, 29, Thailand
  2. 58:06 Charles Hicks, 25, Eugene, OR
  3. 58:20 James Mwaura, 28, Boston, MA
  4. 58:51 Emad Bashir-Mohammed, 23, Aurora, CO
  5. 59:00 Merga Gemeda, 27, Minnetonka, MN
  6. 59:01 Joel Reichow, 33, St. Paul, MN
  7. 59:03 Alec Basten, 28, St. Louis, MO
  8. 59:09 Robert Miranda, 26, Newtown, MA
  9. 59:13 Owen Smith, 23, Bozeman, MT
  10. 59:27 Ben Rosa, 24, Flagstaff, AZ
  11. 59:29 Murphy Smith, 23, Charlotte, NC
  12. 59:38 Nicholas Bendtsen, 23, Wolcott, CT
  13. 59:43 Camren Todd, 27, Durango, CO
  14. 59:47 Graydon Morris, 24, Chapel Hill, NC
  15. 59:50 Andrew Wacker, 37, Boulder, CO
The Faxon Law New Haven Road Race 20k start among the grand buildings around the Yale University campus. James Mwaura #50, and Robert Miranda #17 both of the Boston AA lead early.
The podium was decided by mid-race, as James Mwaura #50, Charles Hicks #11, and Kieran Tuntivate #431 would place 3-2-1 at the finish.
Rachael Rudel of Centennial, CO sprints to the finish victoriously in 1:04:58 to win the USA 20K title.
Kieran Tuntivate of Thailand won the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race 20K in 58:03.
Charles Hicks #11 and Kieran Tuntivate #431, teammates and training partners, race down the final straight at the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race 20K
Charles Hicks of Eugene, OR was second overall, and won the USA 20K title in 58:06.
Elena Hayday of Minneapolis had a great race finishing second in 1:05:53.
Amanda Vestri of St. Augustine, FL was third in 1:06:05.
Kasandra Parker of Waverly, IA was fourth in 1:06:18.
Emad Bashir-Mohammed of Aurora, CO (4th) midrace with Alec Basten of St Louis, MO.
Lauren Hagens of Flagstaff, AZ was fifth in 1:06:41.
Jackie Gaughan of Boston speeds through Chapel West on her way to a sixth place finish in 1:07:01.
Joel Reichow of St Paul, MN finishes sixth in 59:01, and Merga Gemeda of Minnetonka, MN finishing fifth in 59:00. Both had to slow due to a fire truck going through the course two blocks from the finish line.
Alec Basten of St. Louis, MO was seventh in 59:03.
Amanda Mosorg of Minneapolis, MN was eighth in 1:07:38.
Amanda Theodore of Littleton, CO was ninth in 1:10:25.
Owen Smith of Bozeman, MT was ninth in 59:13.
Diane Neubauer of Ambler, PA was tenth in 1:10:52.
Mira Records of Middletown, CT was twelfth in 1:11:49.
Camren Todd of Durango, CO was thirteenth in 59:43.
Graydon Morris of Chapel Hill, NC was fourteenth in 59:47.
Hannah Wilson of Lookout Mountain, GA was fourteenth in 1:12:30.
Kelsie Vicknair of Boston was seventeenth in 1:13:36.
Josh Izewski of Doylestown, PA was 18th in 59:58.
Linnaea Kavulich of Washington, DC was nineteenth in 1:13:53.
Annika Hildebrandt of Cambridge, MA was 21st in 1:14:53.
Michael McCann of Moscow, PA was 31st in 1:01:59.
Ciaran Fisher of Danbury, CT was 44th in 1:06:36. He’s a PA native and represents the Red Rose TC of Lancaster, PA.
Elena Hayday and Joel Reichow of Minnesota Distance Elite had great races. Hayday was second in 1:05:53 and Reichow was sixth in 59:01. (Photo by Clay Shaw)
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