High Country Trail Shoe
Hello All!
Jordan, The Chase Team Manager here! We are officially 10 months into The Chase program, and what a ride it’s been. The Chase was built to support 11 athletes in their pursuit of the Marathon Trials starting line, each either chasing their first appearance or returning after childbirth. Over the past months, we’ve watched them hit OTQs, come close to the standard, battle through injuries, face tough race days, and everything in between–which feels pretty on par with the marathon experience.
So far, three of our athletes have secured OTQs by running under the women’s standard of 2:37:00. Erin McDonald ran 2:32:52 at the 2025 California International Marathon. Carter Norbo ran 2:36:25 at the 2025 Marathon Project in Chandler, Arizona. Megan Connolly ran 2:36:03 at the 2026 TheMicro Marathon at Rockland State Park in New York.
Outside of OTQs, we’ve had other exciting wins, including Jane Miller’s 2:37:37 performance at the 2025 Indianapolis Marathon, just 38 seconds off the standard in a huge breakthrough race.
Across the rest of the team, the momentum is just as strong. Jared is gearing up for the Indianapolis Marathon after a 1:06:53 performance at the Houston Half. Bryant and Jane both have their eyes set on CIM this December, a key race where many elite runners chase OTQs. Oscar is taking on Berlin, aiming for a PR on a fast, flat course. Kevin is building toward Toronto after a speedy 1:04 half marathon this summer. Billie is steadily returning from a sacral stress fracture and ramping her mileage back up. Morgan and Zaccheus are both focused on recovery after injury, continuing to put in the work behind the scenes.
Our three OTQ athletes have continued to build momentum through a strong summer of training and racing. Last month, Erin took her road chops to the track with a 10th place finish in the 10K at USAs. Megan dropped down in distance (25.2 miles!) and clocked a road mile PR of 4:37 at the Spring Street Mile in Manchester, CT. Carter has stayed consistent in her buildup as she prepares for the Philadelphia Distance Run half marathon and the Chicago Marathon this fall.
Through it all, the group continues to balance training, careers, and life outside the sport, showing up day after day for the long game. After all, this is all about the Chase.
As we get closer to the 2028 Marathon Trials, it’s hard not to feel the excitement building. The Trials will be hosted in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri on March 25, 2028, with part of the course following the 1904 Olympic marathon route.
For a quick bit of history, the 1904 Olympic Marathon might go down as one of the most chaotic in the sport. Held on August 30, the race started at 3:30pm in 90-degree heat. The course was run on unpaved roads with officials driving ahead, leaving athletes to run through clouds of dust. There was only one water station on the entire course because organizers believed it would better test the athletes. The winner, American Thomas Hicks, was even given a mix of brandy and strychnine (rat poison) during the race to keep him going. Somehow, he survived and finished in 3:28:53.
Was that too much history? Maybe. But thankfully, the 2028 Trials will look nothing like that.