Andrew Legare

alegare@stargazette.com | @SGAndrewLegare

Huddle won six United States titles in 2015, including five after world meet

She is settings her sights on competing in 10,000 meters at Olympic Trials

Huddle likely to return to racing in February after training in Arizona

Widespread notoriety came Molly Huddle's way in August when she eased up too soon in Beijing, costing her a bronze medal at the IAAF World Championships.

The cruel reality is that race was perhaps the only time all year the Elmira native slowed down.

Huddle, fueled in part by her mistake, responded with a historic stretch of road races in the fall that capped what was perhaps the strongest year in a career that ranks among the best in American distance-running history. She ended up winning six United States titles in 2015, including five in fall road races following her summer triumph in the 10,000 meters at the USA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

By Huddle's count, she now has 19 U.S. titles, though others have her at 20. Just like opposing runners, it's been a struggle for record keepers to keep up with the former Elmira Notre Dame and Notre Dame University star.

"She's established herself as the top distance runner in the United States and one of the tops in the world with what she does on the road, combined with track," said Providence College coach Ray Treacy, who coaches Huddle and other pro runners.

"The thing is she just keeps getting better. She's getting a little bit older. She's over 30. Her training is getting better, her racing is getting better."

With the titles and her status as the American women's record-holder in the outdoor 5,000 meters since 2010, the missing piece for Huddle is a medal at a major international meet. She would have had that in the 10,000 meters at Beijing were it not for her mistake. Huddle, 31, is hoping to get another shot in August at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Four years ago she competed at the London Olympics and placed 11th in the 5,000, but the 10,000 is her targeted distance for the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene in early July.

"I think at this point in my career I'm kind of hitting my peak performance," she said in a phone interview during a break from training in Phoenix. "(A major medal) is definitely something I do think about. There are probably not a lot of years left for me at this level. Some of the really strong women I was running against have started to slow down a little bit or have families or take breaks."

She has thought about where she ranks in the pantheon of American distance running, but Huddle is too busy competing to concern herself much with that.

"I do start to look at the big picture more as far as where I fit in," she said. "I definitely think some things are missing and there are things I want to do, but I don't know if the picture is really set yet. Hopefully in two or three more years I can have an adequate view."

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Medal slips away

What was likely the biggest disappointment in a pro career that started in 2008 came Aug. 24 at Beijing National Stadium.

The grueling, 25-lap race was about to come to an exhilarating finish for Huddle, who raised her hands in celebration a few meters from the finish line. But she had no idea American teammate Emily Infeld was just behind her. As Huddle's celebration started, Infeld overtook her to finish third.

Huddle buried her hands in her face and used words like "painful" and "tough to swallow" during the post-race interview.

"It was hard to make sense out of it because it was just something I already know," she says now, referring to running through the finish line. "It's not a lesson that I learned. I was just trying to move on from it, really."

Some on social media and in the media weren't kind to Huddle, who did notice those comments and snide jokes. The people around her, though, did their best to help Huddle put the race behind her.

"My coach was really good. He kind of just knew not to yell at me at that point," Huddle said. "He knew what I needed to hear. A lot of runners I look up to really didn't need to say anything, but were pretty positive and encouraging. I felt that was nice. Then of course there were nasty people as well."

Huddle drew praise for the class she showed in the moments afterward, answering every question during the television interview and congratulating Infeld. Treacy described Huddle's response during the television interview as "fantastic."

Somewhat lost in the shuffle was how well Huddle ran at that meet, Treacy said. However, the sting stuck around even after she returned home to Providence, Rhode Island.

"When she came back here it was still on her mind a bit," Treacy said. "Obviously, it would be for anybody. She knew and I knew that she had to get out there as quickly as possible to try to push it into the back of her mind as quickly as possible. The only way to do that was to go race."

Rising in the fall

The biggest lesson Huddle gave young runners after the world meet was how to pick yourself up.

From Sept. 7 until Nov. 15, she won five consecutive races, with each victory good for another U.S. championship. Huddle earned $91,050 during those events, part of $151,700 for the year that Runner's World reported ranked first among all American runners in 2015. No. 2 on a list compiled by Association of Road Racing Statisticians creator Ken Young was $105,000 from Jared Ward.

Some of the races were scheduled, Huddle said, but she also acknowledged she wanted to "get back on the horse pretty quickly" after Beijing.

The streak started Sept. 7 with a win in the New Haven Road Race/USA Track & Field 20K Championships in New Haven, Connecticut. On Sept. 20, Huddle won the Downtown 5K/USATF 5K Championships in Providence. That was followed Oct. 4 by a win at the Twin Cities 10 Mile/USATF 10 Mile Championships in Minneapolis, a victory Oct. 12 at the Tufts 10K For Women/USATF 10K Championships in Boston, and a win Nov. 15 at the .US National 12K in Alexandria, Virginia.

Huddle finished three seconds ahead of the runner-up in Providence, but she won each of the other races by 26 seconds or more, with an average margin of 45 seconds for the five events.

"I had a few goals as far as records and times," she said. "I thought it would be a good time to chase those because I knew I was in good shape and it felt good to run hard at those races. It was a good outlet for me at that time."

As focused as she was on competing, Huddle said road races can be more of a fun experience because of the chance to run with the masses and because there is less pressure. The hilly layouts of some of the races can also help make her a better runner, she said.

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Training a key

Huddle's focus this year is the Olympics, though she said this may also be the year where she finally competes in a full marathon. She is in sunny Arizona training in January and part of February.

While Huddle is the one racing on the track or road, there are plenty of parts to Team Huddle beyond herself and Treacy.

Huddle's husband, former Canadian middle distance runner Kurt Benninger, is a training partner who helps her career in other ways. She also counts sponsor Saucony, chiropractors in Arizona and Rhode Island, agent Ray Flynn and teammates coached by Treacy among those providing support.

"Any of the athletes that are trying to be tops in the world have a team of people helping them," Huddle said. "I don't have a huge team."

Treacy said Benninger has been a big help and described Huddle as great to work with, in part because she's self-sufficient.

Huddle is scheduled to break away from training for her first race of the year Feb. 20 at the Millrose Games at the Armory in New York City. Her next major event will be the New York City Half in March. She won that half marathon last year, becoming the first American to do so, and said the event helped set her up to run the 10,000.

Huddle's spring also included a win at the Boston Athletic Association 5K for the second year in a row, and her time of 14 minutes, 50 seconds broke Deena Kastor's American women's record for a 5K road race that had stood since 2002.

There were setbacks in 2015 beyond Beijing. She pulled out of the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field at the end of May because of food poisoning and had to miss a Diamond League race in Sweden in late July because of a sore toe suffered during a race in London a week earlier. Treacy said for a time they were worried the toe would prevent Huddle from competing in Beijing.

Huddle is content to follow last year's path, with two or three outdoor 5K races and possibly some other smaller races before the Olympic Trials. Treacy said the demanding nature of the 10,000 makes two a year plenty.

"I feel like overall the races I felt stronger than before," Huddle said of last year. "Some of them had gone better than planned. I feel like my coach and I did a lot right for those races and then obviously at Worlds everything there was a big mistake. But as far as getting fit and in the right spot at the right time, I feel like that wasn't where the mistake was made."

Olympic goals

American women have won only two Olympic medals combined in the 5,000 and 10,000, with the most recent a bronze in the 10K from Shalane Flanagan in 2008 in Beijing.

The first step in Huddle's bid to join them is to qualify for the team. That will take a top-three finish at the Olympic Trials.

"Definitely it's the focus of the year," she said. "It is a little more stressful in an Olympic year because the way the U.S. trial system is set up, and pretty much time standards, if you're in the top three you go and if you're not, you don't. It makes it a lot more high-pressure scenario and gets a lot more media coverage."

The 10,000 at the Olympic Trials is July 2, so it's possible Huddle could use the 5,000 as a backup if things don't go as planned. Preliminaries for the 5,000 aren't until July 7.

If she gets past the Trials, she expects Rio to be a difficult race, adding the field is usually a lot deeper in an Olympic year.

"I hope everything goes well with training, like it has the last couple of years, with no hiccups, and she steps up to the line in Rio knowing she's done everything possible to get a medal," Treacy said.

Said Huddle: "My No. 1 goal is to make the Olympic team and finish well there."

MOLLY HUDDLE

AGE: 31.

HOMETOWN: Elmira.

RESIDENCE: Providence, Rhode Island.

HUSBAND: Former Canadian middle distance runner Kurt Benninger.

2015 HIGHLIGHTS: Won six U.S. titles, including 10,000 meters at USA Track and Field Championships in July and five road-racing titles in the fall. ... Placed fourth in 10,000 at World Championships in Beijing in August. ... Finished first in women's race at New York City Half in March, becoming first American to win the race. ... Broke American women's record for a 5K road race with her victory in the Boston Athletic Association 5K in Boston in April.

OTHER CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Holds American record in women's 5,000 with time of 14 minutes, 42.76 seconds from July of 2014, which broke her own mark of 14:44.76 from August of 2010. ... Captured U.S. outdoor track titles in 5,000 in 2011 and 2014. ... Placed 11th in 5,000 at 2012 London Olympics and sixth in 5,000 at 2013 IAAF World Championships. ... Holds University of Notre Dame record with 10 All-America performances in outdoor track, indoor track and cross country. ... Won 10 overall and class state titles in cross country and track at Elmira Notre Dame and won national championship in 2-mile race as a senior in 2002.

On Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare

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