Dylan Hassett - Leevale AC - to Run in US The Marathon Project - Dec 2020
Leevale AC's Dylan Hassett Attempts Olympic Marathon Qualification in 'The Marathon Project'
Chandler, Arizona, USA
Sunday December 20th 2020
Leevale AC's Dylan Hassett, who has a Marathon PB of 2:35:29, runs in Sunday's 'The Marathon Project'. She will need to knock at least 6 minutes off her best though. The event will be held on a 4.3-mile loop around the Rawhide Events Center, on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Chandler, Arizona, The event is invitation only and limited to 50 men and 50 women.
Organiser's Profile for Dylan Hassett
Dylan Hassett - Ireland - 2:35:29
Hassett, who has represented Ireland since 2018, set a personal best of 2:35:29 at the 2020 Chevron Houston Marathon. This time was good for a 14th place finish. While competing for the United States, Hassett qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with a half marathon time of 1:14:09. She also placed 15th at the 2016 10k road championships. Before taking her talents to the roads, Dylan had an impressive collegiate career competing for William and Mary, where she was a multi-time NCAA national qualifier.
Word is that Dylan is in great form going in to Sunday's race.
Irish Olympic Women's Marathon Spots
At present, only Fionnuala McCormack has booked her place on the Irish Marathon team for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, secured with her 2:26:47, 5th place, performance in Chicago in October 2019. If Ireland is to send more women to the Marathon, each must breach the 2:29:30 barrier. [They may also quailfy if they secure a Top 5 placing in a Gold Label Marathon, irrespective of the finish time. However, with Marathons in short supply, due to the pandemic, these valued places will be like Gold dust].
Rumours abound over who else is in the running for the remaining two places, but two others stand out; Ann Marie McGlynn and Aoife Cooke, Eagle AC. McGlynn ran 2:35:31 in Valencia's Elite Marathon, just 2 weeks ago, so presumably will make another attempt before the May 31st 2020 deadline. Cooke has apparently deferred her qualification attempt until April, which probably means that she is putting her faith on qualifying from that Marathon. Either way, any further Irish qualifiers, after Fionnuala McCormack, will need to run at least 2:29:30.
The Marathon Project - Arizona Dec 2020
The top-25 men and women from the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon received automatic entries.
The course has been described as "so flat and fast it almost looks boring", on perfect road surfaces. The event will comply with USATF and World Athletics COVID guidelines and spectators will not be allowed. Pacers will be used, with target times of 2:10:00 (Men) and 2:24 (Women), geared towards the top athletes, but, depending on the field, there may be additional pace groups.
The course is dead flat – without camber, on an out-and-back 4.3-mile section, appropriately called, Loop Road, with roundabouts at both turnarounds. On of the organizers said “It’s like Berlin”
Course Map
Dylan Hassett’s European Athletics Athlete Profile
Name: Dylan Hassett
Hometown: Alpharetta, GA
Place of Birth: Memphis, TN
College: College of William & Mary - Major: Kinesiology & Health Sciences
College Coaches: Stephen Walsh & Natalie Hall
Honors & Highlights
• Three-time NCAA qualifier at 10,000 meters
• Qualified for NCAA at 5,000 meters
• Earned All Southeast Region in XC (2014)
• Competed at NCAA XC championships three years (2012, '13, '14)
• Earned All Colonial Athletic Conference honors in XC three years
• CAA Champion at 10,000 meters (2015)
• 15th at 2015 USATF Club XC Championships
• Qualified for 2016 USA Olympic Marathon Trials with 1:14:09 Half Marathon
• Competed in 2016 USA Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles
• 15th at 2016 USA Women's 10K road championships
TV Coverage
The race starts at 10am local time (3pm GMT), with live coverage on USA.TV beginning at 2:45pm Irish time. Unfortunately viewing requires USATF.TV+ Plus membership
