Race Report: Emily Durgin + 2024 USATF Olympic Trials Marathon

Women's Running Stories

Adidas professional runner Emily Durgin shares how it all went down at the 2024 USATF Olympic Trials Marathon, which took place February 3, 2024, in Orlando, FL.

On the line at this race, in addition to a national championship title, cash awards and series points, racers were vying for a spot on Team USA going to the 2024 Paris Olympics. This was the most anticipated US marathon of the last four years, and the competition was deeper and faster than ever. Marathon racing in the US is on fire, and this event was a terrific demonstration of just that.

There were many racers lining up who had a legitimate shot at making the Olympic team, and Emily Durgin was one of them.

The goal was simple: finish in the top 3 because those runners are automatic selections for the team; 4th place is the alternate.

While Durgin is relatively new to the marathon, she's already had some stellar performances: in the one and only marathon she'd completed before the trials, the 2023 Toronto Waterfront Marathon, she'd clocked a 2:26, which ranked her 16th going into the trials (to note: she had lined up to debut at the 2022 NYC Marathon, but the day did not go her way and she did not finish). Durgin also has a blazing half-marathon PR of 1:07. And, she has a lot of experience with championship racing. Durgin's raced against the US's top competition and put herself on the podium several times. And coming into race day, she was ready: mentally, emotionally, and physically.

In fact, an area where Durgin shines is in being able to arrive to the line with rock solid belief herself, which she goes into in this story. Because self-belief, unshakable confidence, it isn't something that just happens. It's the result of years of work.

And of course, Durgin shares all the exciting details about the marathon itself, including her final moments before the finish line, which were not at all what she expected.

Durgin is a consummate professional and it's cool to hear from an athlete who is so on her game.

Just like last year, you can expect a Race Report episode for each race of the USATF Road Circuit series of races. Each episode features one top 10 runner telling the story of how the race went down, from her perspective. And because a race is never just about what happens on race day, you will get to know a little bit more about each one of the runners featured and how this race figures into their larger running story.

The USATF Olympic Trials Marathon is a part of the USATF Running Circuit championship series of races. These are races that happen throughout the United States all year long and each race serves as a national championship for the distance or the type of race that is being run. Also, at each one of these races, in addition to vying for a national title, runners earn cash prizes and they earn points. The points go toward the series overall, which is determined at the end of the year.

The next race on the circuit is the 15k National Championships taking place in Jacksonville, Florida, on March 2nd. A WRS Race Report will publish shortly thereafter. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss it!

You can catch up on last year's Race Reports on our website or on your favorite podcast app.

Keep Up with Emily Durgin

Instagram: @em_durgin

Photo Credit

Felipe Guajardo, @felipe_guajardo

Mentioned in this episode

Race Report: Katie Camarena + 2024 USATF Cross-Country National Championships: https://womensrunningstories.com/race-report-katie-camarena-2024-usatf-cross-country-national-championships

Previous Women's Running Stories Race Report Episodes: https://womensrunningstories.com/podcast/women-running-stories

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