"Molly’s marathon debut is one of the most anticipated debuts of an American ever; the course, the competition, the crowds-this is the perfect scenario for Molly, a native New Yorker, to further make her mark as one of the world’s greatest distance runners."
LEXINGTON, MA (June 9, 2016) - Establishing herself as arguably America’s top distance runner over the past few years, Saucony athlete and 2012 Olympian Molly Huddle, the American record holder for 5,000 meters, will make her long-awaited marathon debut at the 2016 New York City Marathon on November 6. Huddle, a two-time NYC Half Marathon champion and last year’s U.S. champion on the roads at 5K, 10K, 12K, 10-mile and 20K, is currently preparing for the U.S. Olympic Trials on the track, with hopes of making her second Olympic team this summer.
Molly Huddle winning the NYRR New York City Half-Marathon - Photo: NYRR
"Molly’s marathon debut is one of the most anticipated debuts of an American ever,"said Mark Bossardet, vice president of sports marketing for Saucony. "Many have been waiting for this day for a long time, including all of us here at Saucony. She’s one of the most gifted runners in the world and she’s already had great success on the streets of New York. The course, the competition, the crowds-the New York City Marathon is the perfect scenario for Molly, a native New Yorker herself, to further make her mark as one of the world’s greatest distance runners, while continuing to inspire runners everywhere with her tenacity and fortitude.”
Huddle has already taken a couple of bites out of the Big Apple: the two-time defending champion in the NYC Half Marathon, she won the 2016 edition of the event by eight hundredths of a second, breaking her own event record and American record for an all-women’s race in the process, clocking in at 1:07:41.
"It feels that running a marathon is a rite of passage for a distance runner,"Huddle said. "New York has been calling me for many seasons, so it's with excitement that I am going to run my first marathon this fall, and I am honored and delighted to do so at the TCS New York City Marathon. As a native New Yorker I feel ready to tackle that distance on a course and in a city whose grit and vibrancy really inspire me. I always love running New York Road Runners’ races from one mile up to 13.1, and by now the city feels like a home course.”
Huddle, 31, who resides in Providence, RI, is a 21-time national champion who competed over 5,000 meters at the 2012 London Olympics and will try to earn a ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics when she competes at July’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, OR. Last year, she won six national titles–5K, 10K, 12K, 10-mile, and 20K on the road and 10,000 meters on the track. She also finished fourth in the 10,000 meters at the IAAF World Championships.
"Molly joins an amazing group of women who have made their marathon debuts in New York City,"said Peter Ciaccia, president of events for New York Road Runners and race director of the TCS New York City Marathon. "We are thrilled to have Molly take the next step in her running career in New York this November."
About Saucony: Saucony, a division of Wolverine Worldwide, is a leading global running lifestyle brand that fuses performance, innovation and style to create compelling footwear and apparel with its widely recognized brands Saucony and Saucony Originals. Founded in 1898, Saucony continues to inspire runners everywhere with its award winning innovations, including EVERUN(TM), ISOFIT(TM), Geometry of Strong(TM), PWRGRID+(TM), and the Total Run System(TM) apparel line. At Saucony, a good day is when we get to run. A great day is when we inspire someone else to run. For more information, go to Saucony.com.
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