A three-peat for RODENFELS at the ABBOTT DASH 5-K in NEW YORK
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, used by permission.
NEW YORK (01-Nov) — Annie Rodenfels, a nationally-ranked jockey with an exceptional road racing game, won this morning’s Abbott Dash to the finish line for the third time in a row, a 5-K, 10,000-runner warm-up race in the New York City Marathon. The 29-year-old Rodenfels benefited greatly from his knowledge of the course today, not wasting energy and saving his best run for the final 400m where he beat three rivals to win in 15:33, the slowest of his three wins here. He pocketed $6,000 in prize money earned from his two previous victories when the race was the USATF National Championship.
“I just felt like knowing the course was so helpful,” Rodenfels told Race Results Weekly. He added: “I just had to play my cards right.”
Rodenfels, who is sponsored by Salomon, left for the front right after the race started next door to the United Nations on First Avenue. Taking a right turn onto East 42nd Street in the first kilometer, Rodenfels was joined by key rivals Wayne Kelati, El St. Pierre and Parker Valby. That stretch of 42nd Street is downhill, and Rodenfels wasn’t picking up the pace.
“I didn’t want to be the guy who led the whole race and ended up kicking it, to be honest,” Rodenfels said.
Taking a right-hand turn onto the Avenue of the Americas in the second kilometer, Rodenfels was still leading with Kelat right behind him. Both appeared to miss out on the pitch, but by the 3-K point, St. Pierre and Valby caught up and the foursome entered the Central Park service road at West 59th Street together. This is where the athletes face the toughest hill of the race. Kelati, the 2024 national cross country champion, led the field up the hill and no one was dropped.
“I knew it was a big hill,” Rodenfels explained. “Before, I knew I was a bit slow on the hill at times and I expected it to be a bit tough. But I was focused on staying in touch and when I got to the top of the hill and it was like, it wasn’t too bad.”
The four leaders made a sharp left turn onto the Park Ring Road, and as they passed the famous carousel on their right, Rodenfels began to backtrack. Kelati and St-Pierre led the way, with Walby just a step behind in the run between them. Rodenfels was looking down and was a few paces behind. It looked like he was settling for fourth place.
“It was close enough that I was like, I have to make my shot,” Rodenfels recalled. “I can’t settle for fourth here. I feel like I have quite a shot left.”
The race shares the same finish line as Sunday’s marathon, and it’s famously above. Rodenfels was still a few paces behind, but in the last 400 meters he overcame that none of his rivals could match. Kelati, St-Pierre and Valby were already at their aerobic limits, but Rodenfels had something left.
“I played intuitively and went for it,” said Rodenfels, who had just one second on Kelati at the end. St-Pierre, in her first race back from maternity leave, finished third in 15:35, while Valbi, who has spent almost all of 2025 trying to come back from a broken navicular bone in her left foot, was fourth in 15:37.
Rodenfels, who like national 1500m champion Nikki Hiltz is coached by Julie Benson, said she was uncertain about her fitness for today’s race.
“Honestly, I felt I was less sharp than usual,” he admitted. “I feel like I usually come here and I’m raring to go, ready and fit. I took my break longer (after track season). We’ve been trying to slow it down so I can be more fit at the right time. So I was very surprised when I won this game.
For Walby, finishing today’s race was an important step in his comeback. His last race was the indoor 3000m on February 2 and he revealed he had only been running for about two months. He trains in Gainesville, Florida under his college coach Will Palmer.
“I’m happy to be back out there and grateful to be healthy,” he said after being asked to assess his race. He continued. “I injured my leg in February and it took a little while to realize what it was. It was a pretty bad break. I had to take a lot of time off to get healthy again.”
The men’s race also came down to a final sprint. Kenyan Amon Kemboi, who trains with Puma Elite Running in North Carolina, used his unique blend of strength and speed to win today. He rode the first big wave of the East 42nd Street Race, then climbed back up to Central Park, where he was followed by Americans Cole Sprout (in his professional road race debut), Anthony Rotich and Drew Bosley, and Britain’s Adam Fogg. Another Kenyan, Patrick Kiprop, was thrown onto the hill.
“The main thing was to stay comfortable for the first couple of miles,” Camboy told reporters. “I was ready for a fast or tactical race. It was kind of tactical, it was good.”
Running down past the Carousel onto the park’s ring road, Camboy decided to wait to strike. Like Rodenfels, he thought the last 400 meters would be the best place to make his move. He waited for the final climb to the finish line, then climbed one last time. He clocked 13:50, beating Sprout by a second. Rotich was third in 13:52 and Fogg was fourth in 13:53. Bosley, who was with the leaders throughout the race, finished fifth in 13:58.
“The main thing was I know I had a shot to get to the finish line,” said Camboy, who finished third in the New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile here in 2024 (sixth this year). “That was the main thing. Get to the last 800 and see how the body feels, then do the last 400.”
American Abdi Noor, the defending champion, ran near the front of the race early, but he fell back midway through the race to finish seventh in 14:14. He explained that he was not feeling well this morning and that he is also in the early stages of training for 2026.
“I didn’t feel the best when I woke up this morning,” he told Race Results Weekly. “I don’t know if it was something I ate yesterday, but it was hard to get the food down this morning. At mile two… I felt so weak. Right now I’m running, working out and getting back to normal volume. I’m not there yet, but I’m getting there. I’m really proud of myself for finishing.”
PHOTO: Annie Rodenfels wins the 2025 Abbott Dash to the Finish 5-K in New York (photo by Jane Monty for Race Results Weekly)
PHOTO: Amon Kembo wins the 2025 Abbott Dash to the Finish 5-K in New York (photo by Jane Monty for Race Results Weekly)
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