Iowa Distance Runners Shine at Falmouth, European Championships, and Beyond

Three former Iowa State greats took on the 54th annual ASICS Falmouth Road Race on Sunday, Aug. 16, hoping for a win and a possible course record. They were denied by Eritrean star Habtom Samuel, who broke the record and held off 2019 Cyclone NCAA champion Edwin Kurgat of Kenya.

Samuel ran 30:53, becoming the first runner ever to break 31 minutes for the 7-mile distance. Kurgat, 30, finished second in 31:04, also eclipsing the previous record of 31:08 set by Wesley Kiptoo in 2023. Kiptoo, a HOKA NAZ Elite athlete based in Flagstaff, settled for fifth in 32:00. Two-time U.S. Olympian Hillary Bor, another former Iowa State All-American, took sixth in 32:01.

Iowa Connections at Falmouth

Phil Young, 40, of Davenport, a Runablaze Iowa member and Fleet Feet store owner, ran 37:28 for 48th among the men. The strong Iowa presence at the Massachusetts race highlighted the state's continued impact on distance running.

Adva Cohen Competes at European Championships

Six-time NJCAA champion Adva Cohen finished 10th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, on Thursday, Aug. 13. The ex-Iowa Central Community College athlete, now competing for the Under Armour Dark Sky team, was timed in 9:38.21. Gesa Felicitas Krause of Germany won the title in 9:12.69.

Cohen qualified for the final by taking eighth in her heat on Aug. 10, just 5.06 seconds behind the heat winner. She earned her spot at the championships by winning the Israel national title, her ninth, in Tel Aviv on July 9.

Matt Hanson Rallies at Ironman Kalmar

Former Buena Vista University athlete and professor Matt Hanson competed at Ironman Kalmar in Sweden on Aug. 15. The five-time Ironman winner rallied from 27 minutes down at the start of his run, posting a race-best 2:30:59 marathon to move up to seventh overall in 7:42:26.

Hanson, a resident of Castle Rock, Colorado, covered the 2.4-mile swim in 50:22 and the 112-mile bike in 4:17:58. Jonas Schomburg of Germany won in 7:22:57, while Matthew Marquardt set a new American record of 7:28:28 for second place. Hanson had already secured his Kona slot after a strong early season, including a podium finish at Ironman New Zealand.

Iowa Road Racing Results

At the 49th annual Watermelon Stampede in Muscatine on Aug. 15, Running Wild Elite's Dalton Rice, 27, won the 10K in 34:56. Rice, from Davenport, competed for Clinton High before running at Clinton Community College. He won by 2:20.

Anthony Armstrong, a senior-to-be at Lisbon, won the Kraut Route 5K in Lisbon on Aug. 15, running 16:54 to edge teammate Kyler Happel. RWE's Ean Caskey, a former Cornell College standout, took third in 17:01 and was the best masters runner. Caskey owns the Iowa all-time record for men 40 and over of 15:20, set in Lisbon in 2022.

West Point held its Sweet Corn Festival Run 5K, where Waukee sophomore-to-be Colton Kokjohn won in 17:03.97. Runablaze's Amanda Edwards, a Wartburg grad living in Grundy Center, was the women's winner and fourth overall in 18:58.47.

At the News and Sentinel Half Marathon in Parkersburg, West Virginia, on Aug. 15, Chase Bulten, a new member of the Runablaze Iowa team, took eighth in 1:17:09. Bulten, 29, is a Manson Northwest Webster and Northwestern College grad who started at Iowa Central.

More Iowa Race Highlights

The difficult Mines of Spain Trail races were held Aug. 8 in Dubuque. Gabby Skopec, a Fitness Sports Distance Project athlete from Coralville, posted the second-best time in women's half marathon history with a 1:41:22 win. Sasha Gallagher, 31, of Ames was second in 1:46:26.

RWE's Dan Froeschle of Davenport took the men's half marathon win in 1:24:30. Brooke Ferguson, 43, of Dubuque won the women's 7-mile in 58:56.

Emerson Vokes, a Grundy Center standout now a freshman at Augustana University, won the Adel Sweet Corn Festival 5K on Aug. 8 in 15:57. Grant Gayther, a Forest City senior, won the Kristi Hovenga Memorial Run/Walk in Forest City in 16:57.

David Alexander, 37, of Coralville took the win at the YMCA of Washington County Triathlon on Aug. 8 in 1:07:34.

Iowa's Distance Running Tradition Continues

These results show that Iowa continues to produce and attract top distance runners and triathletes who compete at the highest levels. From NCAA champions to Olympians, the state's running community remains strong and vibrant.

For more coverage of Iowa distance running, listen to the Mile Posts podcast.