When Jesse Williams started Sound Running, a training plan service and event company based in Los Angeles, California, he set out to create more competition opportunities in the U.S. for professional and developing track athletes.
In the company’s second year, that goal almost didn’t come to fruition amid the upheaval and race cancellations caused by the coronavirus pandemic. But with collaboration and innovation, Sound Running persevered to host the Sunset Tour, two elite track meets in August, setting the stage for 31 personal bests in the face of unprecedented challenges this year.
“2020 is a rough year for everybody in this business and in the world,” Williams told Runner’s World. “It’s not what we had planned, but I do think a lot of creativity—which our sport really needs—is going to come from this. I’m thinking it will end up being a positive thing for our sport. It forces us to look at the sport a different way and to look at how you package the sport. I’m optimistic that this was a great learning year, and I take a lot away from that.”
Several pro running events adopted virtual competition Running U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying standard Inspiration Games—a meet in which athletes competed simultaneously from six different countries using a new virtual timing system. Sound Running and event organizer Don Franken arranged the southern California venue at Mt. San Antonio College for the Inspiration Games.
Williams tried to remain optimistic for the 2020 Sunset Tour, but Los Angeles county officials upheld strict COVID-19 regulations during the summer, which meant most track facilities were closed to the public. By the end of July, Williams assumed the series couldn’t happen this year, so he drove to Seattle to visit with friends.
“I wanted to follow the rules and if it was safe to put on, we were going to put it on, but if nobody was going to let us, then we weren’t going to,” Williams said.
On July 31, he got an unexpected call from Scott King, the track coach at Birmingham Community Charter School (BCCS) in Van Nuys, California, who offered the school’s track facilities for the tour. BCCS facilities are often leased to production companies to film commercials, shows, and music videos, including Missy Elliot’s song “Gossip Folks,” Gwen Stefani’s song “Hollaback Girl,” and Eminem’s song “No Love,” according to the school’s website.
“We just so happened to get lucky because they were looking at it from a different point of view,” Williams said.
With a COVID-19 event safety policy in place—requiring two negative tests from athletes within seven days of competition, smaller event sizes, no spectators, face-mask requirements, and sanitation stations, among other restrictions—the Sunset Tour was planned, with the first meet on August 22 and the second on August 29. To prevent fans from gathering at the track, Williams and the Sound Running team kept the venue a secret, even from the athletes competing, until the morning of the meet.
Ultimately, Williams said organizing the competition was made possible through a collaborative effort from event sponsors, coaches, athletes, agents, USA Track & Field, health officials, and facility managers amid a shifting COVID-19 landscape.
“We all stuck together through that whole thing and were optimistic,” Williams said. “Even though it was a very small version of what we really wanted to do, the mission was the same, which is to provide professional opportunities for athletes in our sport.”
The athletes made those opportunities count. The first Sunset Tour meet on August 22 saw 16 personal bests from runners in events ranging from the 800 meters to the 5,000 meters, including a PR of 2:00 from Cory McGee in the 800 meters and a successful Northern Arizona Elite team effort from Lauren Paquette and Kellyn Taylor who ran well under the women’s 5,000-meter Olympic Trials qualifying standard.
Records Fall at Diamond League Impossible Games Sunset Tour competition saw 15 personal bests and brace athletes run under the qualifying standard to compete in the Olympic Trials in 2021.
Maggie Montoya took advantage of the few racing opportunities in 2020 to achieve an enormous improvement in the 10,000 meters. A consistent presence in the top pack for the entire competition, the Roots Running Project standout ran past race-leader Sharon Lokedi in the final 400 meters to win in 32:11, almost a 90-second personal best.
Lokedi followed in 32:14, Atsede Baysa finished third in 32:15, and Natosha Rogers followed in fourth, nine seconds behind Baysa. All four runners ran under the U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying standard Several pro running events adopted.
“I’m very happy with it,” Montoya told FloTrack. “I was very shocked but my goal was getting the Trials standard, and I got that so I’m really happy about that. Haven’t hit that [under 32:25] on the track before.”
Montoya’s performance is her latest racing breakthrough to happen despite the uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. While working 40-plus-hour weeks as a pharmacy technician in Boulder, Colorado, Montoya ran 15:51 at 5,000 feet of elevation to win the Run the Boulderthon Half With Runners World Health - Injuries KT Tape St. George 5,000m Showdown.
The men’s 10,000 meters was won by Edward Cheserek who put forth a mostly solo effort to run a personal best of 27:42. A 12-time NCAA champion while competing for the University of Oregon, Cheserek’s previous personal best of 28:30 was from the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Saturday night’s performance was his first 10,000-meter race as a professional. Cheserek also won the 5,000 meters at the first Sunset Tour competition.
Rebecca Mehra, wearing the letters “BLM” for Black Lives Matter on the shoulder of her singlet, sprinted past Dani Jones and Kaela Edwards on the homestretch to win the women’s 1500 meters on Saturday, August 29. Her time of 4:08.45 was less than a second slower than her personal best from last summer.
“Put the BLM on my chest because it matters much more than the race last night,” Mehra wrote on Instagram. “Getting the win (in a great field!) was fun, and so was the near PR, but it felt especially good to run for something bigger than myself.”
A week prior, the Stanford University graduate achieved a personal best in the 800 meters when she finished second in 2:01.09 at the first Sunset Tour meet.
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While reflecting on the performances of the series, Williams expressed a renewed appreciation for competitive opportunity as well as the track community’s resilience, which he hopes will carry over into 2021.
“Even people that didn't have the race they wanted, they walked away saying, ‘I didn't think I was going to get to race all year. At least I got a race in,’” Williams said. “To walk away with a PR is mind-blowing to me because that shows serious perseverance. You pushed through it, you trained, you had one opportunity and then you came in and PRed. To me, that’s exceptional, and it’s making the best of an unusual situation.”
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
