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HICKS, RUDEL WIN USA 20-K TITLES IN NEW HAVEN
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, used with permission.
NEW HAVEN (07-Sep) — On a gorgeous late-summer day in this port city on the Long Island Sound, Charles Hicks and Rachael Rudel were crowned USA Track & Field 20-kilometer road running champions at the 48th Faxon Law New Haven Road Race, clocking 58:06 and 1:04:58, respectively. Hicks, 25, collected his second national title (he also won the 10-mile title in 2025), and Rudel, 32, won her first. Both athletes won $9000 in prize money.
HICKS BROUGHT A FRIEND
Interestingly, Hicks did not win the race. He traveled to New Haven with one of his Nike Oregon Track Club teammates, Kieran Tuntivate, who entered today’s race on his own. Tuntivate, an Olympian, represents Thailand and was not eligible to compete in today’s national championships. He purchased a regular entry and wore bib 431. Both he and Hicks are competing in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 11, and today’s race offered a good opportunity to test their fitness together under race conditions.
“It’s just better to sync up with your teammates,” Tuntivate told Race Results Weekly moments after crossing the finish line first in 58:03, a personal best and likely a Thai national record. “There aren’t many other options right now if you want to race four weeks out (from Chicago). “I think it’s perfect timing.”
Hicks, Tuntivate and James Mwaura of the Boston Athletic Association High Performance team broke away from a pack of about 20 men just past the 10-K mark as the runners swept past the New Haven Green where both the start and finish lines are located. They hit 10-K in 29:23, but picked up the pace in the second half, which left the rest of the field far behind. Hicks loved having Tuntivate along for the ride.
“It was phenomenal,” said Hicks. “He and I have been working together every single day in Utah (where they train at high altitude). We have a great dynamic where he brings the speed, and I bring the strength. So, we’re both helping each other.”
But in the final 800 meters, it was every man for himself. Tuntivate out-sprinted Hicks to take the overall win by three seconds. He motioned for the event organizers to remove the break-tape, which was intended for the national champion, but Tuntivate ended up running through it anyway.
“It was a great day overall,” said Hicks, who ran 2:04:35 at the Boston Marathon last April and who covered the second half of today’s race in 28:43. “Kieran and I pulled away so strongly that we kind of knew we had it in the bag with like 100 to go. It was kind of a fun one for him, coming out of the open field; fun run for me, winning the American championships.”
Mwaura took third in 58:02 in his debut at the distance, while Emad Bashir-Mohammed (58:51) and Merga Gemeda (59:00) rounded out the top five. Last year’s Los Angeles Marathon champion Matt Richtman had an off-day and finished 27th.
RUDEL BEAT HER ROOMMATE
Rudel, who had not raced since late June, had to beat back a challenge from her New Haven Road Race roommate, Biruktayit Degefa. The former Ethiopian, who won the Chevron Houston Marathon three times, made several surges early and built a 20-meter lead in the ninth kilometer. Rudel, who is unsponsored, kept her eye on her.
“She’s my roommate, and she’s absolutely a stud,” Rudel told reporters. “I was very worried about her the entire race. She’s so strong. She’s in marathon training, and she’s just a beast right now.”
Degefa led by 13 seconds at the halfway mark, but about three kilometers later Rudel left the rest of the women’s lead pack –which included Amanda Vestri, Kassie Parker and Elena Hayday-– and began to close down Degefa, who was visibly slowing. At about the 15-K mark, Rudel caught her roommate, who tried to stay attached but quickly fell back.
“Around the last 5-K I started to realize, like OK, that I had a little too much in my tank,” Rudel explained. Maybe not too much, but the perfect amount. Everybody started slowing a bit, and I really couldn’t draft anymore. When you can’t draft, it’s like, ” Let’s go!”
Rudel ran alone to the finish and was thrilled to win her first national title. Her time of 1:04:58 is equivalent to a 1:08:47 half-marathon and was only 29 seconds slower than Keira D’Amato’s championships and course record.
“I think I’m a weird runner,” said Rudel. “The dream is the title, right?” She continued: “All you can do is race your best race. Going into this, I was like, I don’t know if I can (win). Definitely top three was my goal. It’s a pleasant little surprise when you get the title. You feel good.”
The last quarter of the race wasn’t kind to Degefa, who ended up finishing seventh in 1:07:15. Second place went to Hayday in 1:05:53, Vestri got third in 1:06:05, and Parker was fourth in 1:06:18. Vestri just came off of a high-mileage, high-altitude training block in preparation for November’s TCS New York City Marathon.
“A very good rust-buster,” said Vestri when asked about her race. “To be back here and running a respectable time. I’m very happy with it. I think I competed well.”
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The Faxon Law New Haven Road Race is part of the USATF Running Circuit. Two stops remain on the circuit for this year: the USATF 10-K Championships in Minneapolis on October 3, and the USATF Marathon Championships in Sacramento on December 6. The top-3 men and women in the series will receive $15,000, $ 7,500, and $ 2,500, respectively.
