U.S. Olympian Molly Huddle will make her 26.2-mile debut at the New York City Marathon on Nov. 6.
“It feels like running a marathon is a rite of passage as a distance runner, and with my strength work going better than ever, I finally feel ready to tackle that distance on a course and in a city whose grit and vibrancy inspire me,” Huddle said in a press release.
Huddle, 31, finished 11th in the 2012 Olympic 5000m and is a favorite to make her second Olympic team on the track in the 10,000m (and possibly the 5000m, where she holds the American record) in Eugene, Ore., in July.
Huddle just missed a World Championships 10,000m medal in Beijing on Aug. 24, celebrating too early and being passed by countrywoman Emily Infeld for the bronze medal by .09 of a second.
Huddle follows the trend of Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan in rising to a top U.S. runner in the longest track races and then debuting in the marathon.
Goucher made her marathon debut in New York City in 2008, three months after finishing ninth in the 5000m and 10th in the 10,000m at her first Olympics in Beijing. Goucher, then 30, finished third in New York City as the first U.S. woman to make the podium since 1994.
Flanagan debuted at the 2010 New York City Marathon, finishing second at age 29, two years after taking Olympic 10,000m bronze in Beijing.
