Eye on the contenders: 12 runners to watch at Jacksonville's 2023 Gate River Run
If Emily Sisson gets her wish, 2023 may enter Gate River Run lore as the year of the three-peat.
The returning star in an elite field hitting the streets of downtown Jacksonville, San Marco and St. Nicholas, Sisson has her eyes on history at Saturday's Gate River Run, the national 15-kilometer championship for USA Track & Field.
She dominated the 2021 and 2022 races, and with victory Saturday, she can join Deena Drossin (now Kastor) as the only women to win in Jacksonville three consecutive years. Within the last five months, she's set American records in the marathon, running 2:18:29 in Chicago, and the half marathon, going 1:06:52 over 13.1 miles in Houston.
"Right now, she's definitely the top female runner in the sport in the United States," Gate River Run elite athlete coordinator Jim Van Cleave said.
Race director Doug Alred acknowledged that the field's depth has suffered from calendar conflicts with other prominent races. Those include Saturday's The TEN in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., as well as the New York City Half Marathon on March 19. But with Sisson and former champions Leonard Korir and Erika Kemp all back, prospects are bright.
"We lost some of the top runners," he said, "but we still have a pretty good field."
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6 MEN TO WATCH
Leonard Korir
The Gate River Run champion in 2017 and 2018 chases a third title, joining the likes of Todd Williams and Meb Keflezighi. He's now 36, but placed a close second to Nico Montanez's finishing kick last March. After second in last week's USATF Half Marathon Championship, does he have enough gas in the tank?
Hillary Bor
Born in Kenya like Korir, he obtained American citizenship through the U.S. Army's World Class Athlete Program. Bor ran the 10,000 at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and came third here in 2022 at 43:14.
Reid Buchanan
Buchanan led the pack for part of the 2020 race, finishing fourth in 44:52. He also earned silver representing the United States in the 10,000 at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru.
Diego Estrada
An Olympian, Estrada raced for Mexico in the 10,000 at the 2012 Games in London. The former Northern Arizona runner came in 17th in Jacksonville last year.
Matt McClintock
A Maine native who competed in college at Purdue, the 29-year-old McClintock held on to stay with last year's lead pack despite surges by Olympian Galen Rupp, and was rewarded with a ninth-place finish.
Jacob Thomson
The Kentuckian won the USATF half marathon last week and could contend if he's not too fatigued. In Jacksonville, Thomson finished sixth in 2020 and 10th in 2022.
6 WOMEN TO WATCH
Emily Sisson
National record-holder in the marathon and the half-marathon, and two-time defending champion in Jacksonville, the 2021 Olympian in the 10,000-meter run is the woman to beat until somebody proves otherwise.
Annie Frisbie
The second-highest returning finisher, sixth last year in 50:14. She's excelled on the big stages, leading the New York City Marathon at the halfway stage and placing third in the national 10K finals.
Erika Kemp
The 2019 champion in 50:54 knows this course well. She also came in fifth here in 2020 and 2021, and earned a national title at 20 kilometers two years ago.
Dakotah Lindwurm
The Minnesota resident and former high school hockey goalie excels at longer distances, including marathon titles and a third place last year at the national 25K championship.
Allie Ostrander
The 26-year-old went back-to-back-to-back in the NCAA steeplechase for Boise State, and represented the United States in the steeplechase at the 2019 world championships in Qatar.
Bethany Sachtleben
The runner-up in 2019, she's also won silver at the Pan American Games and a team bronze with the United States at the World Mountain Running Championships.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Gate River Run 2023: Leading men's, women's contenders to watch in Jacksonville
