Welcome to our annual performance of the year tournament, voted on by you–the fans!!
How it works: We picked our top 16 performances of the year and now you get to choose which one is #1!
Round 1: December 19th – December 21st
Quarterfinals: December 22nd – December 24th
Semifinals: December 25th – December 27th
Finals: December 28th – December 31st at 2pm EST.
We hide the votes until the tournament ends. We’ll post updates as each new round begins on social media.
The Finals:
Scott Fauble shocked the running world (but not us) at the 2019 Boston Marathon, pushing the pace through the Newton Hills and whittling down the pack. Still in the lead pack at 22 miles, he would eventually finish 7th in 2:09:09–a personal best by more than three minutes. His time was the seventh-fastest ever by an American at Boston, and makes him the 12th-fastest American of all-time.
Kellyn Taylor was on quite a roll by the time she took to the line at the TCS NYC Marathon. A 4th-place finish at the Prague Marathon in May, had been followed by a 3rd-place finish over 10,000 meters on the track at the USATF Championships. She kept it rolling, running the fifth-fastest time ever by an American on the tough NYC course and finishing just six seconds behind Des Linden for top American honors.
Semifinal Matchups:
Scott Fauble shocked the running world (but not us) at the 2019 Boston Marathon, pushing the pace through the Newton Hills and whittling down the pack. Still in the lead pack at 22 miles, he would eventually finish 7th in 2:09:09–a personal best by more than three minutes.
Steph Bruce won her first National Title in 2018 at the Peachtree 10k. Her second would come less than a year later in Pittsburgh at the USATF Half Marathon Championships. Using a blistering final mile to pull away from runner-up Sara Hall, Steph solidified herself as one of the nation’s top road racers. She’d go on to finish runner-up herself (to Hall) the next month at the 10k Champs / the NYRR Mini 10k.
Aliphine Tuliamuk (aka Ali T) joined our team for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was to improve in the marathon. In Rotterdam, she did just that and a whole lot more. Lopping a whopping six minutes off of her personal best, she not only ran 2:26:50 but she also finished third at one of the top marathons in the world outside of the Majors.
Kellyn Taylor was on quite a roll by the time she took to the line at the TCS NYC Marathon. A 4th-place finish at the Prague Marathon in May, had been followed by a 3rd-place finish over 10,000 meters on the track at the USATF Championships. She kept it rolling, running the fifth-fastest time ever by an American on the tough NYC course and finishing just six seconds behind Des Linden for top American honors.
Quarterfinal Matchups:
Scott Fauble shocked the running world (but not us) at the 2019 Boston Marathon, pushing the pace through the Newton Hills and whittling down the pack. Still in the lead pack at 22 miles, he would eventually finish 7th in 2:09:09–a personal best by more than three minutes.
Kellyn Taylor stepped to the line at the Volkswagen Prague Marathon after a difficult final four weeks of training. Not one to let that stop her, she promptly ran with the lead pack from the gun, coming through halfway in a blistering 1 hour, 11 minutes and change. Though she struggled pace-wise over the second half, she moved up to finish fourth in the second-fastest time of her career.
Steph Bruce went into the Bank of America Chicago Marathon looking to finish as high as possible and come away with a monster personal best. Mission accomplished. She finished sixth place, tied for our team’s highest ever finish at a World Marathon Major, and she ran 2:27:47–her fastest time ever by more than 90 seconds.
Steph Bruce won her first National Title in 2018 at the Peachtree 10k. Her second would come less than a year later in Pittsburgh at the USATF Half Marathon Championships. Using a blistering final mile to pull away from runner-up Sara Hall, Steph solidified herself as one of the nation’s top road racers. She’d go on to finish runner-up herself (to Hall) the next month at the 10k Champs / the NYRR Mini 10k.
Aliphine Tuliamuk (aka Ali T) joined our team for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was to improve in the marathon. In Rotterdam, she did just that and a whole lot more. Lopping a whopping six minutes off of her personal best, she not only ran 2:26:50 but she also finished third at one of the top marathons in the world outside of the Majors.
Steph Bruce won the USATF Half Marathon Championships on May 4th and promptly asked/convinced Coach Ben to let her run a 5,000 on the track 12 days later. The meet was the USATF Distance Classic and Steph ran fearlessly, sticking on the heels of world-class 5,000 meter runners until the very last couple of laps. She came away with a 4th-place finish in 15:17.76–the World Championship A Standard, and a new team record.
Kellyn Taylor was on quite a roll by the time she took to the line at the TCS NYC Marathon. A 4th-place finish at the Prague Marathon in May, had been followed by a 3rd-place finish over 10,000 meters on the track at the USATF Championships. She kept it rolling, running the fifth-fastest time ever by an American on the tough NYC course and finishing just six seconds behind Des Linden for top American honors.
Despite pre-race hype centered around only three individuals, Kellyn and teammate, Steph Bruce, came to play at the USATF Outdoor Championships 10,000. After a slow opening 5,000, Kellyn and Steph broke away from the pack along with Marielle Hall, Molly Huddle, and Emily Sisson, to form a group of five women at the front. Over the final mile it came down to Kellyn, Huddle and Sisson with all three women running a final mile well under 4:50 with Huddle claiming first, Sisson second and Kellyn a close third. Her last four laps: 74.6, 71.6, 70.3, 69.5. her final 5,000: 15:24.
Round 1 Matchups:
Scott Fauble shocked the running world (but not us) at the 2019 Boston Marathon, pushing the pace through the Newton Hills and whittling down the pack. Still in the lead pack at 22 miles, he would eventually finish 7th in 2:09:09–a personal best by more than three minutes.
Rory Linkletter joined our team in July and a month later went to the Pan Am Games to represent his native Canada. There he ran a valiant race that produced a 6th-place finish, his highest yet at an International competition.
Kellyn Taylor stepped to the line at the Volkswagen Prague Marathon after a difficult final four weeks of training. Not one to let that stop her, she promptly ran with the lead pack from the gun, coming through halfway in a blistering 1 hour, 11 minutes and change. Though she struggled pace-wise over the second half, she moved up to finish fourth in the second-fastest time of her career.
Matt Baxter joined our team in January and ran his first race as a pro in March at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships. There he won his first senior National Title–a dominating win over 5,000 meters. Three weeks later he’d go one to represent New Zealand at the World Cross Country Championships where he was 46th.
Steph Bruce went into the Bank of America Chicago Marathon looking to finish as high as possible and come away with a monster personal best. Mission accomplished. She finished sixth place, tied for our team’s highest ever finish at a World Marathon Major, and she ran 2:27:47–her fastest time ever by more than 90 seconds.
Aliphine Tuliamuk had the shortest build-up for a marathon she’s ever had going into the TCS NYC Marathon. After suffering a femoral stress fracture in the summer, she had just eight weeks of workouts to prepare for one of the world’s most prestigious marathons. What did she do? She went out and ran nearly dead even splits on the difficult NYC course and ran 2:28:12, her second-fastest marathon ever, and finished 12th in a deep and talented field.
Steph Bruce won her first National Title in 2018 at the Peachtree 10k. Her second would come less than a year later in Pittsburgh at the USATF Half Marathon Championships. Using a blistering final mile to pull away from runner-up Sara Hall, Steph solidified herself as one of the nation’s top road racers. She’d go on to finish runner-up herself (to Hall) the next month at the 10k Champs / the NYRR Mini 10k.
Dani Shanahan stepped to the line at the Stanford Invitational with a personal best of 32:55.04. Twenty-five laps later she owned a best of 32:22.59–a PR of more than 30 seconds. The race launched a big year for her that eventually included bests at the 5k on the road (16:03), the track (15:26.91) and a fifth-place finish at the USATF Club Cross Country Championships.
Aliphine Tuliamuk (aka Ali T) joined our team for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was to improve in the marathon. In Rotterdam, she did just that and a whole lot more. Lopping a whopping six minutes off of her personal best, she not only ran 2:26:50 but she also finished third at one of the top marathons in the world outside of the Majors.
Scott Fauble did something in Gasparilla he hadn’t done since his first season as a pro–he won a race. And he did it in fine fashion, winning a stretch duel with the very accomplished Elkanah Kibet. The win was a precursor for what was to come as it launched a training block that would conclude with a 7th-place finish at the Boston Marathon two months later.
After running 2:12 in the marathon in 2017 Scott Smith was due for another jump and he got it at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. In a giant group of American athletes, paced early on by our own Sid Vaughn and Matt Baxter, Scott played off the group’s energy and got through halfway faster than he ever had before (1:05:25). In the end, he came oh so close to that 2:10 marathon, finishing in 2:11:14–a personal best by more than a minute.
Steph Bruce won the USATF Half Marathon Championships on May 4th and promptly asked/convinced Coach Ben to let her run a 5,000 on the track 12 days later. The meet was the USATF Distance Classic and Steph ran fearlessly, sticking on the heels of world-class 5,000 meter runners until the very last couple of laps. She came away with a 4th-place finish in 15:17.76–the World Championship A Standard, and a new team record.
Kellyn Taylor was on quite a roll by the time she took to the line at the TCS NYC Marathon. A 4th-place finish at the Prague Marathon in May, had been followed by a 3rd-place finish over 10,000 meters on the track at the USATF Championships. She kept it rolling, running the fifth-fastest time ever by an American on the tough NYC course and finishing just six seconds behind Des Linden for top American honors.
Matt Baxter lined up for his first professional go at the half marathon distance in October at the San Jose Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon. Running a fairly conservative race in which he stuck with the pack until a mile to go, Matt showed his talent and will over the final few minutes, powering home to an eight-second victory and a solid time of 1:02:57.
Despite pre-race hype centered around only three individuals, Kellyn Taylor and teammate, Steph Bruce, came to play at the USATF Outdoor Championships 10,000. After a slow opening 5,000, Kellyn and Steph broke away from the pack along with Marielle Hall, Molly Huddle, and Emily Sisson, to form a group of five women at the front. Over the final mile it came down to Kellyn, Huddle and Sisson with all three women running a final mile well under 4:50 with Huddle claiming first, Sisson second and Kellyn a close third. Her last four laps: 74.6, 71.6, 70.3, 69.5. her final 5,000: 15:24.
Alice Wright had an amazing collegiate career at the University of New Mexico where she became the only NCAA Division I athlete to ever finish in the top 8 four times at the NCAA Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships at 10,000 meters. Her collegiate best time was 32:15.73, a mark she was looking to lower at the Payton Jordan Invitational. She lowered it alright–all the way down to 31:56.52, the second-fastest HOKA NAZ Elite time at the distance.