On Sunday, November 14, the 2021 USATF 35km National Championships took place in Santee, California (USA).
For a November day the weather was unusually very hot.
Athletes competed with even 90° Fahrenheit which correspond to over 32° Celsius and this certainly did not favor the few athletes at the start.
Certainly there will not have been much satisfaction for the organizers. Organizing a competition of this kind involves a considerable effort from an economic point of view: calling and hosting the World Athletics judges, choosing and having the course certified, preparing the services ... and then being alone with four athletes at the start makes us think whether it was worth the penalty.
35km men
Nick Christie (USA) took the lead from the start.
Then he had an unexpected drop and was joined by Allen James (USA), but he was able to fight back and win.
Nick Christie: 2:52:49
Allen James: 3:19:11
AJ Gruttadauro: 4:37:08
In the 35 km women the only athlete competing was Erin Taylor-Talcott (USA) who finished the test in 3:28:03
20km women
It was perhaps the most interesting and hard-fought race of the day.
Robyn Stevens (USA) took the lead almost immediately and was the leader until halfway through the race.
At that point Miranda Melville (USA) reached her and she detached going to win in 1:42:56
Robyn Stevens finished second in 1:4:.34, but she also had to fight to defend second position from the return of Celina Lepe (USA) who finished in 1:45:41