KELLYN TAYLOR TO BATTLE INTERNATIONAL FIELD AT GRANDMA’S MARATHON
FLAGSTAFF, (AZ) – May 23, 2018 –HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite star Kellyn Taylor heads to Duluth, Minn. this weekend to face a strong contingent of international women at the Grandma’s Marathon. Coming off one of her best blocks of marathon training to date, Taylor will look to challenge for the victory on Saturday morning.
Taylor has been stationed back in her home state of Wisconsin the last two weeks as she prepares for the conditions in Duluth. Her personal best of 2 hours, 28 minutes, 40 seconds makes her one of the co-favorites at Grandma’s, along with the Kenyan trio of Sarah Kiptoo, Emily Samoei and Gladys Kipsoi, all of whom boast personal bests between 2:26:00 and 2:29:00 over the marathon distance.
Her biggest challenge will likely come from two-time champion Kiptoo, who is the Grandma’s course record holder from back in 2013 where she ran 2:26:32. Kipsoi is fresh off a personal best and a third-place finish at the 2018 Chevron Houston Marathon in January where she ran 2:27:32.
The 2017-2018 season has been stellar for Taylor, recording an eighth-place finish at the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon in November and following that with personal bests at the mile in Boston (4:33.40) and road 10K (32:34) in Birmingham, Ala. HOKA NAZ Elite Coach Ben Rosario said that Taylor was in the best shape of her life before April’s Boston Marathon, but that she was forced to drop out of that race due to the historically bad conditions.
“Kellyn trained at a level beyond anything she had ever even attempted in her lead-up to Boston, so the race itself was obviously a huge disappointment,” Rosario said. “But like the pro that she is she recovered, re-focused, and in these last three weeks has looked arguably better than she did before Boston–she’s ready.”
Follow along for coverage of Grandma’s Marathon on Twitter and Instagram and on the HOKA NAZ Elite website.
ABOUT HOKA NAZ ELITE
HOKA Northern Arizona Elite is a professional sports organization whose mission is to recruit, develop and produce distance runners to compete at the very highest level of international athletics and operate as a successful business by building a global fan base for the team and its athletes through comprehensive and ongoing marketing efforts on a local, national and international level.
Kyle Levermore
Brand Management Intern, HOKA NAZ Elite