Isaac Updike
Isaac Updike did not enter Saturday morning’s Abbott Dash, which doubled as the USA Track & Field Road 5K Championship, with big expectations.
Steeplechase is his signature event, so he was racing a longer distance in Manhattan. There were no barriers or water pit, the steeple obstacles that the 31-year-old from Ketchikan negotiates with athleticism. Plus, Updike had only recently resumed training at his home base in Flagstaff, Ariz., after a long track season.
Mostly, Saturday morning was about chipping off some road rust and using the race as a hard workout.
Updike finished 15th in the elite men’s field of 26, clocking 14 minutes, 6 seconds, an average of 4:33 per mile. Morgan Beadlescomb won in 13:44.
“Not surprised where I ended up, as I’m only three weeks into training,’’ Updike texted. “But it’s hard not to get into that competitive mindset and wish I had started training a few weeks earlier, or this or that.
“Ran with the pack for roughly (two miles) before the wheels started to come off. Got a few people down the last couple hundred meters, but nothing crazy fast today. Ripped the Band-Aid off, and reminds me I (have) some solid work ahead to get back in peak fitness.’’
Given 2024 is an Olympic year, Updike will be pinpointing the USA national championships, the qualifier for the Paris Games. Updike earlier this year made his first USA national team and competed in the steeple at the World Championships.
Updike next plans to race at indoor 5K at Boston University in early December.
A year ago, after his 2022 season was twice interrupted by COVID, Updike used the fall and winter to frequently race on a variety of surfaces – road, indoor track and cross-country courses – to stack fitness. That plan delivered the best track season of his career. He defended his title at the prestigious Penn Relays and, in finishing third at the USATF national championships, earned his first podium at a national championship.