Andrew Colley and Emma Grace Hurley took the 2026 USATF 25K Championships titles in Grand Rapids on Saturday, with Colley posting 1:13:59 to win the men's race and Hurley clocking 1:22:51 to head the women's field at the 49th Amway River Bank Run. Colley's time fell narrowly short of the American 25K road record that Casey Clinger set on the same course twelve months earlier, and the defending champion himself faded to third behind Sam Chelenga in a complete reshuffle of last year's podium.
Colley, 35, has been one of the most patient long-haul road racers of his generation and finally cashed in a championship win that has been telegraphed by his recent half marathon form. He sat with the lead pack through the first 10 kilometres along the Grand River before taking a definitive turn at the back-end hill that has long defined the River Bank Run course. From there it was a controlled grind to the line that left Sam Chelenga six seconds back and Casey Clinger settling for the bronze medal, half a minute off the winning time and well clear of the rest of the championship field.
On the women's side Hurley, 28, edged Kasandra Parker and Ethiopia-born Biruktayit Degefa in a tactical race that did not break clear until the final 5K. The Heartland Track Club runner has now stitched together a remarkable USATF circuit year across the half marathon and 25K championship distances, and the 1:22:51 winning time slots her into the top tier of American road specialists ahead of the summer track campaign. Both Hurley and Colley collect the headline $10,000 prize cheques attached to the championship titles, with deep prize money flowing through the top ten of each race.
Beyond the elite championship action the broader 25K, 10K and 5K fields produced what local organisers described as the second-largest weekend in the event's history, with more than 14,000 entrants threading the riverside course in cool, near-perfect racing conditions. Hand cyclist Steve Chapman won the wheel division in 47:42, retaining a title he has held more often than not over the past decade. The event's enduring success continues to validate Grand Rapids as the de facto home of US 25K racing despite a continued churn at other USATF road championship venues.
USATF officials confirmed that the 2027 25K Championships will return to Grand Rapids for the 50th edition of the River Bank Run, locking in an anniversary weekend that organisers have been positioning the event towards for several years. Colley and Hurley both indicated post-race that the win would change very little about their summer plans, with each pointing towards short-distance speed work over the next month before pivoting back to longer fall objectives. With the championship distance now on a steady annual cycle, the depth of the championship field is set to keep climbing.