7-Mile Athlete Bios

Eritrea’s national record holder in the steeplechase, Haileselassie is currently seeking asylum from his war-torn country here in the United States. As a result, he can only compete domestically and he’s found great success doing so. In the span of just four months, he was second at the TC Medtronic 10 Miler in October and BAA Half Marathon in November, won December’s Honolulu Marathon, took runner up at the Houston Marathon less than six weeks. He’s steadily improved over two attempts here in Falmouth and will look to make his way onto the podium in 2025.

FALMOUTH HISTORY
2024: 4th (32:13)
2023: 8th (32:22)

Falmouth marks the road debut of three-time NCAA Champion Dylan Jacobs. Jacobs won titles in the Distance Medley Relay and the 10,000m while at Notre Dame. At Tennessee, he won the 5,000m indoor title. Jacobs represented the United States at the 2025 World Indoor Championships in China where he finished fifth in the 3000m. He was ninth in the 5000m at the U.S. Championships in Eugene earlier this month.

Patrick Kiprop made winning the AJC Peachtree Road Race look easy last month. The former Arkansas Razorback led the 10K from start to finish eventually winning by four seconds. Fresh off his final collegiate season, Kiprop also won the Lilac Bloomsday 12K in May, was third at the Chicago 13.1 and was runner-up at the TD Beach to Beacon 10K earlier this month. He continues to train with his college coach in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Wesley Kiptoo, ASICS Falmouth Road Record co- holder, returns this year after missing 2024. In 2025, the Kenyan will look to take the record, which he currently shares with Gilbert Okari, all for himself. Kiptoo has had a busy 2025. He won the Gate River 15K in March and has since scored top five finishes at the New York City Half Marathon, Pittsburgh Half Marathon, Boston 10K and the Boilermaker 15. He also set a new personal best in the marathon, finishing Boston in 2:08:54.

FALMOUTH HISTORY
2023: 1st (31:08)* course record
2022: 5th (32:51)

Frank Lara became a member of the sub 2:10 marathon club in April when he ran 2:09:53 at the Rotterdam Marathon. Born in Mexico, Lara grew up in Houston and was a standout at Strake Jesuit College Prep. where he was a cross country state champion He went on to run for Furman University in South Carolina. At Furman, Lara won Southern Conference titles in cross country, the 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m.

FALMOUTH HISTORY
2024: 11th (33:28)
2022: 13th (33:38)
2021: 4th (32:22)

Alex Masai will look to build on the success he’s had on the roads so far in 2025. He set his personal best in the marathon (2:08:03) with a fifth place finish in Rotterdam and the half marathon (1:01:04) with a sixth place finish at the New York City Half. Masai represents Kenya. He competed collegiately for Hofstra and lives and trains in Flagstaff, AZ.

FALMOUTH HISTORY
2022: 7th (32:55)

Ahmed Muhumed won two U.S. road titles last year; one at 5K and one at 8K. In 2025, he’s been in the hunt at several championship races including placing fourth at the recent 1o,000m qualifier for the 2025 World Championships. Muhumed represented the United States at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships in Serbia. His 27:03 10,000m personal best places him seventh on the U.S. all-time list.

FALMOUTH HISTORY
2023: 7th (32:19)

Zach Panning will make his Falmouth debut in 2025. Zach caught the attention of distance running fans at last year’s 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon, leading nearly the entire race and setting the pace for the eventual winners. Despite the heartbreak of missing the team in the final miles, Panning went on to set a massive personal best of 2:09:16 with a 10th place finish in the Chicago Marathon that fall.

Biya Simbassa wrapped up 2024 by becoming just the fourth American man to run under 2:07 in the marathon with his 2:06:53 finish in Valencia. Now, he’s looking for his first victory of 2025 after scoring podium finishes at the U.S. 10 Mile Championships, BOLDER Boulder 10K, U.S. 4 Mile Championships and Boilermaker 15k. Simbassa was the Falmouth runner-up in 2021 and 2022, both times behind winner Ben Flanagan. A former Oklahoma Sooner, Simbassa is a two-time NACAC Cross Country champion and the 2021 USATF 10 Mile champion.

FALMOUTH HISTORY
2022: 2nd (32:32)
2021: 2nd (32:19)

Although he still competes for Morocco, Zouhair Talbi became an American citizen this year and hopes to be representing Team USA by the 2028 Olympics. He represented his home country in the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. This summer, Talbi won the Chicago 13.1 and took second in the Boston 10K. Last year, he set a course record winning the Houston Marathon. Talbi is a member of the U.S. Army Reserves.

Philly Bowden had a big day at the Berlin Marathon last year, running 2:25:47 and shaving nearly four minutes off her previous personal best. After a relatively quiet 2025, that only includes a 10th place finish in the London Marathon, she will attempt to better her 10th place finish here from last year. Bowden, who represents Great Britain and competed collegiately at the University of Oregon, is a prolific content creator with more than 307,000 followers on Instagram.

FALMOUTH HISTORY
2024: 10th 37:53

One of the most decorated distance runners in history, Vivian Cheruiyot’s last two trips to the United States resulted in podium finishes at the TCS New York City Marathon. She was second in 2018 and third last year. But Cheruiyot, 41, is best known for what she has done on the track. She’s represented Kenya in four Olympic Games winning the 5000m gold medal and 10,000m silver medal in 2016 and the 5000m bronze and 10,000m silver medals in 2012. She is also a four-time world champion; twice in the 5000m and twice in the 10,000m. Cheruiyot is a three-time World Cross Country champion and she won the 2018 London Marathon.

Sara Hall returns to Falmouth for the first time in six years. She has twice been runner-up here. The former American record holder in the half marathon, Hall has won U.S. titles in distances from the mile to the marathon over the course of a professional career that spans two decades. In 2022, she was the top American finisher in the World Championship Marathon in Eugene, Oregon when she placed fifth. She lives in Flagstaff with her husband Ryan Hall and their four daughters.

FALMOUTH HISTORY
2019: 2nd (36:34)
2016: 7th (38:12)
2015: 2nd (37:10)
2009: 10th (38:08)
2006: 14th (38:55)

A rising star on the roads, Emma Grace Hurley makes her third consecutive visit to Falmouth. She returns with a new half marathon personal best, set in Atlanta this past March where she was runner-up at the U.S. Half Marathon Championships in 1:07:35. She was also runner-up at the U.S. 10 Mile Championships in Washington, D.C. Last fall, Hurley won her half marathon debut at the Indianapolis Monumental Half.

FALMOUTH HISTORY
2024: 4th (36:25)
2023: 12th (37:53)

Few runners have stood atop more marathon podiums than Edna Kiplagat. Kiplagat is a two-time World Champion, two-time Boston Marathon champion, New York City Marathon champion and London Marathon champion. With her 2021 victory in Boston at age 41, she became the oldest person to ever win an Abbott World Marathon Major. Later that year, she won Falmouth for the first time. She was runner-up here in 2022.

FALMOUTH HISTORY:
2024: 6th (36:25)
2022: 2nd (36:28)
2021: 1st: (36:52)
2010: 3rd (36:31)
2009: 3rd (37:34)
2006: 3rd (36:51)
2003: 22nd: (40:10)

It has been a breakthrough year for Natosha Rogers. The 2012 NCAA 10,000m champion took 8 minutes off her marathon personal best, running 2:23:51 at the Nagoya Women’s Marathon in Japan to place seventh. That followed a fifth place finish at the Houston Half Marathon in new personal best of 1:08:35. Last month, Rogers was seventh at the AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. Rogers won the Medtronic 10 Mile Road Race in Minneapolis in 2024. She represented the United States in the 5000m at the 2024 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

FALMOUTH HISTORY
2024: 8th (37:04)
2017: 8th (38:07)

Susanna Sullivan kicked off 2025 with a big half marathon personal best, running 1:08:59 in Houston. She has gone on to score top 10 finishes in the USATF 10 Mile Championships, United NYC Half Marathon, London Marathon and was fifth in the TD Beach to Beacon 10K earlier this month. A full-time middle school teacher, Sullivan represented the U.S. in the marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Championship in Budapest.

FALMOUTH HISTORY
2024: 7th (36:52)
2022: 12th (38:03)
2021: 9th (38:28)

The third fastest half marathoner in British history, Jessica Warner-Judd made her debut in the distance here in Houston in 2022. It was obvious then that she was cut out to run 13.1. Warner-Judd began her competitive career as an 800m runner and has a personal best of 1:59.77. She eventually moved to middle distance making the 2020 Olympics in both the 5,000 and the 10,000m. In 2024, a scary incident during the 10,000m final at the European Championships led to a diagnosis of epilepsy. She’s returned to competition this year running on the roads in Houston, Berlin and Barcelona. At the end of last year, Warner-Judd, got her PhD in regenerative medicine from England’s Loughborough.

Last year’s runner-up, Wudu returns to Falmouth as the top-returner in 2025. At just 20-years-old, she has already made a name for herself on the global road racing circuit. Wudu won last year’s Boston 10K. Last month, she was fifth at the AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta.

FALMOUTH HISTORY
2024: 2nd (36:11)