From Boston to Beyond: A Historic Start to the Indoor Track Season

Don't let the excitement of the Olympics distract you from the start of the indoor track and field season. This past Saturday, I took a break from watching hours upon hours of curling and headed to Boston University to watch the women's events at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational.

The meet delivered a full day of excitement, with the highlight coming in the afternoon during the elite window. This section of the meet featured an 800-meter invitational race, the mile, a 3,000-meter race, and a final 5,000-meter invitational. The fields included a mix of elite collegiate athletes and professional runners, creating a highly competitive atmosphere.

The Boston University Track and Tennis Center. Courtesy of Sydney Ciardi/BU Athletics

The mile drew the largest crowd as spectators gathered to watch two-time Olympian Elle Purrier St. Pierre. She entered the race chasing Genzebe Dibaba's 4:13.32 indoor mile world record, less than a year after giving birth to her second child. In the end, she fell short, finishing in 4:17.83, which was the second fastest indoor mile time in U.S. history, behind her own American record of 4:16.85.

While she didn't break the world record, St. Pierre's aggressive pace sparked a historic race for the collegiate athletes following behind her. BYU's Riley Chamberlain finished in 4:20.61 to set the fastest indoor mile time in collegiate history, followed closely by Oregon's Wilma Nielsen in 4:21.04, and BYU's Jane Hedengren in 4:22.22. All three performances were faster than the previous collegiate record, making them the three fastest collegiate indoor mile times ever recorded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Q3MA3H6no

Recap of the mile race. Courtesy of FloTrack/YouTube

St. Pierre also set an American record en route to the mile finish, running a 1500 meter split of 3:59.33, to best Heather MacLean's previous record of 3:59.60. This marked St. Pierre's first time racing the 1500 or the mile since competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she finished eighth in the final.

After the race, St. Pierre told Jonathan Gault of LetsRun.com, "All said and done, over the last year I’m really proud of myself and coming back so quickly after my second baby…It felt fast…The mile, it’s just from the gun fast. I’ve always loved the indoor mile, so it’s nice to get back out there. But boy, it does hurt sometimes." Watching St. Pierre compete was a thrill, and the race itself was an inspiring display of both elite performance and rising collegiate talent.

The mile was followed by an exciting 3,000-meter race that saw Oregon's Şilan Ayyıldız taking the win in 8:42.66, just shy of her personal best. In the 5,000-meter, Doris Lemngole gave a sub-15 performance, running a personal best of 14:51.21. She was followed by Karissa Schweizer, who clocked an indoor short track personal best of 14.54.15.

 Doris Lemngole and Karissa Schweizer congratulating each other after finishing the 5k. Courtesy of Lauren Cawley/Instagram

If you haven't been keeping up with the indoor season, here are some other major moments you may have missed:

This past weekend at the ASICS Sound Running Invite, in a meet stacked with elite talent, Cole Hocker set the American indoor mile record, running 3:45.94. Despite already winning gold at the Olympics and at the World Championships, Hocker made it clear that he believes his best performances are still ahead. After the race he said, "I mean, I think the sky's the limit...When we're talking big picture, I've gotta be able to go 3:42 at some point in my career." At the same meet, Cooper Lutkenhaur also impressed, setting a U20 world record in the indoor 800-meter with a time of 1:44.03.

Nikki Hiltz has continued to build on their success this season, taking first place in the 3,000 meter at the Sound Invite in 8:34.98. Earlier this month, Hiltz also won the Wanamaker Mile, coming in at 4:19.64—setting a new personal best and becoming the third American in history to race under 4:20 indoors.

After their win, Hiltz shared an emotional post on Instagram, saying, "On Sunday I won the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games. A historic title that I've personally been chasing since I had the honor of being added to the field as a college senior back in 2018. I've ran this race as a terrified college kid, a rookie, an unsponsored athlete, a seasoned vet and always came up short. Until this weekend. This win is for all the versions of myself who never gave up, continued to show up, and kept believing that someday this moment was going to be possible."

Nikki Hiltz being handed the Wanamaker Mile trophy. Courtesy of Nikki Hiltz/Instagram

Meanwhile, down in Arkansas at the Tyson Invitational, Khaleb Mcrae delivered the run of his life. McRae clocked 44.52 in the 400-meter to claim the world short track record.

Across the Atlantic at the British Indoor Championships, Keely Hodgkinson opened her indoor season with a 1:56.82 performance in the 800-meter race, moving her to third on the all-time indoor list. When asked about closing in on Jolanda Čeplak's long-standing 1:55.82 record, Hodgkinson told reporters, "I have been very vocal in the past about wanting to get it. I feel like it is my record to break. We'll give it a good go."

Keely Hodgkinson's 1:56.33 800m. Courtesy of britishathletics/Instagram

Hodgkinson is set to race the 800 again in just a few hours at a star-studded World Indoor Tour stop in Liévin, France on February 19th, as she continues to chip away at history.

The indoor season is heating up, and with records falling and elite fields taking shape, the next few weeks could be historic. You won't want to miss a moment more.

Edited by: Reese Dlabach