MUSCAT, Oman — Heather Durrant (Elgin, Illinois/USATF Illinois) and Robyn Stevens (Vacaville, California/USATF Pacific) were the top Team USATF finishers on day one of the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in muggy conditions where the temperature at the beginning of the women’s 20 km event hovered around the 80-degree mark with 60 percent humidity, 10 degrees warmer than at the start of the U20 10 km race.
Starting out tucked into the front third of the pack only a second behind the leader, Angelica Harris (Bartlett, Illinois/USATF Illinois) was 14th at 1 km, with Durrant two seconds back of her. Durrant increased her tempo over the next kilometer to move one place ahead of Harris, but then fell back over the next 2 km. At the halfway mark, Harris held a one-second gap on Durrant, going past 5 km in 26:33. Durrant erased that lead quickly over the next kilometer with a 5:29 split that was among the fastest in the field, compared to a 5:52 for Harris. Over the final 4 km, Durrant picked up two more places to end up 27th in 54:03, and Harris took 34th in 57:37.
Robyn Stevens was in the middle of the pack through the first 5 km of the women’s 20 km race, passing that point in 24:30. She held her position through 10 km in 50:54 and hit the 15 km mark in 1:18:59 before slowing over the final portion to finish 37th in 1:49:14. Katie Burnett finished 40th in 1:56:02. Day two competition includes the 35 km men and women and the 20 km men. A schedule of events, start lists, and results are available here. Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF. Photo credit: RunnerSpace/Chuck Utash