INDIANAPOLIS -- Tim Tollefson (Mammoth Lakes, California) won the USATF men’s 50 Mile Trail Championships to earn USATF Athlete of the Week. Tollefson, who won the 2014 and 2019 USATF 50K trail championships, won the Pioneer Spirit 50 Miles at Auburn, California, in a course-record 6:22:31 on March 14, beating runner-up Max King by almost 25 minutes in wet, cold and windy conditions. He led much of the first half of the race before dropping back, then regained the lead at 38 miles and opened a gap after the 45-mile mark. Full results are here. Other notable performances from the past week:
Rebecca Mehra — Mehra, a finalist in the 800m last year at Des Moines, went viral for an act of kindness. You can read the details in a tweet here that had more than 11 million views and counting. Mehra appeared by phone on Portland’s KOIN-TV, which you can see here.
Ashley Hawks -- Hawks was the women’s winner at the USATF 50 Mile Trail Run Championships
Now in its 19th year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week. 2020 Winners: January 9, Miranda Melville; January 16, Paul Perry; January 23, Natosha Rogers; January 30, Tyler Day, February 6, Devin Dixon; February 13, Elle Purrier; February 20, Tori Franklin; February 27, Sandi Morris; March 4, Abdi Abdirahman; March 12 Marielle Hall; March 19, Tim Tollefson. We welcome your nominations! To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to communications@usatf.org. Fans can follow along with #USATF on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.