RRW: Sara Hall Repeats As Mini 10-K Champion With 31:33
New York, June 12, 2021 – Sara Hall (31:33) won her second consecutive title at the Mastercard New York Mini 10K on Saturday in Central Park, recording the fastest time by an American in the 49-year event history, while Susannah Scaroni (22:44) won her third straight event title in the wheelchair division.
Sara Hall wins the 2021 Mastercard New York Mini 10-K in 31:33, the fastest time ever by an American at the event (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
In the open division, Hall, a mother of four, ran a 5:05-minute mile pace and broke away on a final solo run after passing 72nd St. Transverse to win the race. The Kenyan duo of Violah Cheptoo (31:39) – the younger sister of five-time Olympian Bernard Lagat – and Monicah Ngige (31:59) finished in second and third place, respectively. They were followed by Lindsay Flanagan (32:09), U.S. Olympic Marathoner Molly Seidel (32:13) and former TCS New York City Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat (32:20).
The race served as a final tune-up for this month’s U.S. Olympic Trials for many of the athletes, including Hall.
“It feels so good to be back out here racing in New York City and have a real road race; I’ve been looking forward to this so much,” said Hall. “This is the momentum I needed for Olympic Trials in two weeks.”
In the wheelchair division, Scaroni sprinted out early from the pack to cruise to her third straight victory ahead of flying to the U.S. Paralympic Trials. Five-time TCS New York City Marathon champion Tatyana McFadden (25:22) came second for the third consecutive time and Yen Hoang (26:11), who is Scaroni and McFadden’s University of Illinois teammate, rounded out the podium for her highest finish ever at an NYRR race.
“It was a great opportunity to celebrate New York Road Runners, New York City and women everywhere,” Scaroni said. “To be able to celebrate women of all abilities running together on a gorgeous day has me so grateful.”
The Mastercard New York Mini 10K, the world’s original women-only road race, hosted approximately 3,000 runners, including the return of professional athletes to New York Road Runners races for the first time since 2019. It was the first regularly scheduled and largest NYRR race to take place since the COVID-19 pandemic began and followed comprehensive health and safety guidelines and procedures.
The event also included the Girls’ Run at the Mastercard New York Mini 10K, a 1-mile race for girls ages 12-18 that followed the adults and was kicked off by Rising New York Road Runners Ambassador and Puerto Rican Olympian Beverly Ramos.
Mastercard served as the title sponsor of the event for the first time after becoming NYRR’s newest foundation partner in 2020.
The Mini 10K began in 1972 as the first women’s only road race, then called the Crazylegs Mini Marathon. A total of 72 women finished the first race, and three weeks later, Title IX was signed into law, guaranteeing women the right to participate in school sports and creating new opportunities for generations of female athletes. Since then, the race has grown leaps and bounds, garnering more than 200,000 total finishers to date.