WORLD BEST AND USA TITLE FOR TAYLOR ROE AT CHERRY BLOSSOM 10-MILEBy David Monti, @d9monti.bsky.social(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, used with permission.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (06-Apr) — It was a very good day for Puma Elite Running’s Taylor Roe at the 52nd Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile here this morning.
Very, very good.
The 24 year-old former Oklahoma State star not only won her second national road running title in 36 days, but also ran a world best for an all-women’s race (49:53; previous best 50:32), smashed the previous USATF record of 51:23, crushed the event record of 51:14, and also set a new national 10-K (30:56) and 15-K (46:24) records en route. She also earned $30,000 in prize and bonus money: $10,000 for the USA title, $6,000 for the overall title, $1,000 for sub-52:00, $5,000 for a world best, $5,000 for a national record, and $3,000 for an event record.
“That is not what we talked about today with my coach,” a stunned Roe told reporters. “Like, what we talked about? That is exactly *not* what was supposed to happen. I think at some point I committed to a pace, and you know, I just had to commit to it, believe in it.”
That pace began at 5:04 for the first mile, but quickly went down to 4:58 for the next. Roe led training partner Fiona O’Keeffe, plus challengers Emma Grace Hurley, and Ethiopia’s Adane Anmaw. Roe held that sub-5:00 pace through 5 miles (24:52), and by that point she was already alone. She had passed her coach, Alistair Cragg, who yelled at her, “just go!” as she went by.
“I knew kind of the pace I was running,” Roe explained. “I knew if somebody’s going to come get me they’re going to have to start running low-4:50’s. And if, you know, they do that? Props to them.”
But nobody did. With just the lead truck, a few spectators, and the beautiful cherry trees in full bloom on Hains Point for company, Roe blasted through 10-K in 30:56, then ran mile-7 in 4:57, mile-8 in 4:58, and mile-9 in 5:02. Her form looked exactly the same as in the first mile.
“I kind of knew if I maintained that pace, stay composed, it was going to be hard to come back on me,” she said.
Roe rolled to the finish alone, and even had time to pose for photos before Anmaw took second (51:00), Hurley got third (51:04), and O’Keeffe got fourth (51:49). Both Anmaw and Hurley achieved personal bests.
“I knew that today was going to be grindy and definitely gritty coming off going out to the West Coast and running a 10,000,” said Roe, who ran a personal best 30:58.66 at The TEN in San Juan Capistrano last Saturday. “Today wasn’t going to be, like, fresh legs.”
The men’s race was full of surprises, not least of which was that a popular British athlete won the USA title.
Charles Hicks, the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships winner for Stanford University who now represents Nike, was part of a four-man break at 15-K along with national road running champions Alex Maier, Hillary Bor and Biya Simbassa. Hicks –who also has USA citizenship and was eligible to run in these national championships because the race did not function as a Team USATF selection race– showed the best speed in the final kilometer and won in a new event record of 45:14. Maier took second in 45:15 (a new USA record; Hicks is not yet eligible to set USA records), Simbassa took third in 45:23, and Bor got fourth in 45:30. Defending champion Wesley Kiptoo of Kenya finished fifth in 45:55.
Hicks, who was running his first road race, entered these championships after his coach, Jerry Schumacher, saw that he was coming into good form and the race would provide an excellent fitness test.
“Talking to Jerry before this he’s like, let’s see how we go, plan the season from here,” Hicks told reporters. “I’m not sure we can really do much better than that, though. So, I’d expect to see me on the roads a little bit more.”
Hicks is in the process of changing his allegiance from Great Britain to the United States (he is still listed as “Great Britain & Northern Ireland” with World Athletics). He spent the first 12 years of his life in England, then moved to Florida where he lived until he went off to Stanford. USATF officials who were on hand at the race verified that Hicks was eligible to compete in these championships, who praised Maier –the reigning USA half-marathon champion– for making the race.
“All credit to Alex Maier,” said Hicks, whose long dark hair was matted with sweat. “Alex Maier just took that race. I mean, I was ready to fall off on that backstretch where he was catching the tail wind. He went straight out, pulling away.”
Maier, Bor, Kiptoo, Hicks and Simbassa were all timed in 28:07/28:08 at 10-K, but a slight headwind on the trip back to the start/finish line helped Hicks who got a second wind.
“Then we came around, went into the wind, and I felt the pace slow-up,” Hicks continued. “Got my legs underneath me. I think I made a great tactical push for most of the time there, and it just paid off.”
Hicks earned a total of $20,000 ($10,000 for the national title, $6,000 for the overall title, $1,000 for sub-46:00, and $3,000 for the event record. Maier earned $13,750 because he got credit for the national record.
“He’s always an animal, seriously,” Maier said of Hicks, an athlete he competed against during his NCAA career. “Going back to college, watching him win it on our home course (in 2022 where Maier finished fifth). I was like, man, that guy’s tough.”
Well behind the leaders, 75 year-old Bennett Beach of Alexandria, Virginia, finished his 52nd consecutive Cherry Blossom, the only runner to achieve that feat. He was clocked in 2:30:54 (net).
A record 19,920 runners finished the race.
