Why not get out of her comfort zone and try something new? What is there to lose?
She’s clearly setting herself up for more disappointment. It’s obvious to everyone, and someone close to her needs to finally tell her the truth.
Elise’s recent decisions show questionable judgment. Choosing Cornfield as a pro coach doesn’t make sense, and if she’s really considering GB, she may need better guidance. Who’s advising her?
She’s clearly setting herself up for more disappointment. It’s obvious to everyone, and someone close to her needs to finally tell her the truth.
Elise’s recent decisions show questionable judgment. Choosing Cornfield as a pro coach doesn’t make sense, and if she’s really considering GB, she may need better guidance. Who’s advising her?
Agreed. Her agent probably realizes she’s past her prime, but moving across the world isn’t going to fix that. It’s tough to watch and she clearly doesn’t have anyone giving her solid guidance or helping her make smarter career moves.
Really interesting move. A big roll of the dice to move to the UK, not a common trajectory for a distance runner. She won't get a lot of altitude training, only on camps. It'll be fascinating to see what Painter and Meadows do with a distance athlete but what does she have to lose? Cranny has had a very uneven few years and a bold move like this might be what she needs. It could also be with done with an eye to Hunter Bell moving up to the 5000 over the next few years
Too late in my opinion. She will be 30 in the spring. She has made five US teams at 5000m (out of six attempts @ US Champs), two US teams at 10000m (out of three US Champs), and zero US teams at 1500m (out of three US Champs).
US Teams upcoming: World Indoor (2026), World Outdoor (2027), World Indoor (2028), Olympics (2028)
There is simply no room for Cranny at the 1500m. She has a shot at making another US team @ 5000m or 10000m, but trying the 1500m is asking to be watching Worlds from her living room couch.
Nikki Hiltz is not going away anytime soon.
Sinclaire Johnson has made significant progress in the past year and is at her peak.
Heather MacLean is one year older but just ran her lifetime PR this year and set the indoor AR in the mile.
Emily Mackay is two years younger and has run faster at both 800 and 1500.
Addy Wiley did not run any 1500s in 2025 (except Grand Slam) but set another AR in the 1000m and was consistently faster at 800m so who knows what her 1500m capability is right now.
Elle St. Pierre is only one year older and still competing at a high level.
I tend to agree with this, but I think with the incredible trajectory with Georgia Hunter Bell at an even older age, you can understand her rationale in making the move. She clearly doesn’t want to do the normal progression of 5000-10000 star and then to the roads and marathon. She stagnated the last couple of years, and she likes the fast and hard stuff. Trevor Painter is all about the harder and faster paces.
If this works for her, you can imagine a world where the trend-pendulum swings back to Coe-style training for more groups. But if I had to bet, I’d also bet on her being kind of in that 5-7 range among US women. She’s never been an elite 1500 runner, and it would be something to make that transition over the age 30. But if Trevor Painter can make it happen, he will be all the more in demand!
Too late in my opinion. She will be 30 in the spring. She has made five US teams at 5000m (out of six attempts @ US Champs), two US teams at 10000m (out of three US Champs), and zero US teams at 1500m (out of three US Champs).
US Teams upcoming: World Indoor (2026), World Outdoor (2027), World Indoor (2028), Olympics (2028)
There is simply no room for Cranny at the 1500m. She has a shot at making another US team @ 5000m or 10000m, but trying the 1500m is asking to be watching Worlds from her living room couch.
Nikki Hiltz is not going away anytime soon.
Sinclaire Johnson has made significant progress in the past year and is at her peak.
Heather MacLean is one year older but just ran her lifetime PR this year and set the indoor AR in the mile.
Emily Mackay is two years younger and has run faster at both 800 and 1500.
Addy Wiley did not run any 1500s in 2025 (except Grand Slam) but set another AR in the 1000m and was consistently faster at 800m so who knows what her 1500m capability is right now.
Elle St. Pierre is only one year older and still competing at a high level.
I tend to agree with this, but I think with the incredible trajectory with Georgia Hunter Bell at an even older age, you can understand her rationale in making the move. She clearly doesn’t want to do the normal progression of 5000-10000 star and then to the roads and marathon. She stagnated the last couple of years, and she likes the fast and hard stuff. Trevor Painter is all about the harder and faster paces.
If this works for her, you can imagine a world where the trend-pendulum swings back to Coe-style training for more groups. But if I had to bet, I’d also bet on her being kind of in that 5-7 range among US women. She’s never been an elite 1500 runner, and it would be something to make that transition over the age 30. But if Trevor Painter can make it happen, he will be all the more in demand!
The comparison to GHB isn’t a good one here. GHB took several years off running and returned to competition in her late 20s early 30. I know she’s was biking but she wasn’t training running in the way she is now. Elise has been training hard, solely focused on running the last 15 years or so. No multi-year breaks. That being said, Elise has mentioned several times her frustration with the 5000 and 10000. She isn’t and likely never will be competitive on the global stage at those distances. She also said that she wants to focus on the 8/15 for this year. Although an unorthodox move, it makes complete sense with where she’s at. Find a middle distance focused group, arguably the best in the world. A completely different stimulus from what she’s experienced the last decade. She’s run 3:58. Maybe a focus on the event for a year can get her into 1:57/3:55 territory. We’ll see.
She’s clearly setting herself up for more disappointment. It’s obvious to everyone, and someone close to her needs to finally tell her the truth.
Elise’s recent decisions show questionable judgment. Choosing Cornfield as a pro coach doesn’t make sense, and if she’s really considering GB, she may need better guidance. Who’s advising her?
If you actually look at her instagram post she clearly lists all her new PR's she set running under Cornfield in the last few years. She clearly has kept improving so its very disingenuous/inaacurate to say her choice to hire him shows questionable judgement.
Her POSt
To the coach and friend that revived my running, helped me find joy in the sport again, taught me more than I could have possibly imagined in the last 18 months, challenged me, pushed me, supported me, encouraged me and was there for all the ups and downs and highs and lows. I am beyond grateful that when I called @jarredcornfield to ask him to coach me in 2024, just a few months before the trials, he said yes. (And a very special shoutout to @megzzc4 for allowing Jarred to take on another job 🤗). It has truly been such a blessing that he agreed to work together. In the last year and a half, we made an Olympic team together, we qualified for the World Champs in two events, and set PRs in the 1500, outdoor 3k, indoor 3k, indoor mile, and outdoor 5k. Jarred taught me how to redefine success, how to work on being less of a perfectionist, how to celebrate successes and not get too down during the low moments, and we experienced the power that comes from a coach athlete relationship built on trust, respect, collaboration and love. • Although I would love to continue to work together, after some reflection this fall, my body and mind are craving a team environment again. I am ready to be working alongside training partners and friends. I am excited about surrounding myself with people that will challenge me and push me in the ways I need to continue to grow. Grateful that Jarred will continue to be a mentor and friend 💙 (and can’t wait to continue to follow his career as Director of NAU XC and Track and Field)!
I tend to agree with this, but I think with the incredible trajectory with Georgia Hunter Bell at an even older age, you can understand her rationale in making the move. She clearly doesn’t want to do the normal progression of 5000-10000 star and then to the roads and marathon. She stagnated the last couple of years, and she likes the fast and hard stuff. Trevor Painter is all about the harder and faster paces.
If this works for her, you can imagine a world where the trend-pendulum swings back to Coe-style training for more groups. But if I had to bet, I’d also bet on her being kind of in that 5-7 range among US women. She’s never been an elite 1500 runner, and it would be something to make that transition over the age 30. But if Trevor Painter can make it happen, he will be all the more in demand!
The comparison to GHB isn’t a good one here. GHB took several years off running and returned to competition in her late 20s early 30. I know she’s was biking but she wasn’t training running in the way she is now. Elise has been training hard, solely focused on running the last 15 years or so. No multi-year breaks. That being said, Elise has mentioned several times her frustration with the 5000 and 10000. She isn’t and likely never will be competitive on the global stage at those distances. She also said that she wants to focus on the 8/15 for this year. Although an unorthodox move, it makes complete sense with where she’s at. Find a middle distance focused group, arguably the best in the world. A completely different stimulus from what she’s experienced the last decade. She’s run 3:58. Maybe a focus on the event for a year can get her into 1:57/3:55 territory. We’ll see.
Agreed. Her agent probably realizes she’s past her prime, but moving across the world isn’t going to fix that. It’s tough to watch and she clearly doesn’t have anyone giving her solid guidance or helping her make smarter career moves.
Lets face it, all the current 5K runners are past their prime and won't be in the Olympics, including Houlihan, Cranny, Andrews, ESP and Rodenfels. But they still have contracts and another year or so of being competitive so why not take the money and "run".
Too late in my opinion. She will be 30 in the spring. She has made five US teams at 5000m (out of six attempts @ US Champs), two US teams at 10000m (out of three US Champs), and zero US teams at 1500m (out of three US Champs).
US Teams upcoming: World Indoor (2026), World Outdoor (2027), World Indoor (2028), Olympics (2028)
There is simply no room for Cranny at the 1500m. She has a shot at making another US team @ 5000m or 10000m, but trying the 1500m is asking to be watching Worlds from her living room couch.
Nikki Hiltz is not going away anytime soon.
Sinclaire Johnson has made significant progress in the past year and is at her peak.
Heather MacLean is one year older but just ran her lifetime PR this year and set the indoor AR in the mile.
Emily Mackay is two years younger and has run faster at both 800 and 1500.
Addy Wiley did not run any 1500s in 2025 (except Grand Slam) but set another AR in the 1000m and was consistently faster at 800m so who knows what her 1500m capability is right now.
Elle St. Pierre is only one year older and still competing at a high level.
I tend to agree with this, but I think with the incredible trajectory with Georgia Hunter Bell at an even older age, you can understand her rationale in making the move. She clearly doesn’t want to do the normal progression of 5000-10000 star and then to the roads and marathon. She stagnated the last couple of years, and she likes the fast and hard stuff. Trevor Painter is all about the harder and faster paces.
If this works for her, you can imagine a world where the trend-pendulum swings back to Coe-style training for more groups. But if I had to bet, I’d also bet on her being kind of in that 5-7 range among US women. She’s never been an elite 1500 runner, and it would be something to make that transition over the age 30. But if Trevor Painter can make it happen, he will be all the more in demand!
M11 is quite famously not a high mileage group, but you'd think that would be adapted now they have a longer distance runner.
Also, Coe did a lot more mileage than people originally thought. A lot of his easy running and warm-ups and cooldowns weren't properly recorded in his logs. This had a real impact on mid and long-d training in the UK for a long time. You'd constantly hear the "quality over quantity" mantra and then people would wonder why they under-performed. I really don't see any way that any athlete can be a world class long distance runner with hopes of a medal if they don't do decent volume. They'll hit a ceiling quite quickly.
Mara Salvatrucha (Salvadoran Gang'[a]), commonly known as MS-13
M11 gang members are far less violent and their tats tend to be somewhat milder (things like butterflies, dolphins, a phoenix, etc.) instead of the Santa Muerte stuff. They tend to avoid trafficking in hard drugs in favor of food trucks.
Really interesting move. A big roll of the dice to move to the UK, not a common trajectory for a distance runner. She won't get a lot of altitude training, only on camps. It'll be fascinating to see what Painter and Meadows do with a distance athlete but what does she have to lose? Cranny has had a very uneven few years and a bold move like this might be what she needs. It could also be with done with an eye to Hunter Bell moving up to the 5000 over the next few years
In a video interview after Worlds, she said she was dropping down to the 1500; I guess that's what this move is about.
Really interesting move. A big roll of the dice to move to the UK, not a common trajectory for a distance runner. She won't get a lot of altitude training, only on camps. It'll be fascinating to see what Painter and Meadows do with a distance athlete but what does she have to lose? Cranny has had a very uneven few years and a bold move like this might be what she needs. It could also be with done with an eye to Hunter Bell moving up to the 5000 over the next few years
In a video interview after Worlds, she said she was dropping down to the 1500; I guess that's what this move is about.
She had NO shot at the US 1500m team. She’s a great athlete, but again getting terrible advise