Year: 2024
Award: Distance Running, Masters
Location/Affiliation: Salida, Colorado
- Won age group at the Carlsbad 5K
- First place finish in age group at the Bolder Boulder 10K
Four years ago, Kristine Clark broke a hip – part of her response to that injury was to get competitive about running. In 2024, Kris broke records in masters distance events around the world. Last April, she won her age group at the Carlsbad Five Thousand – known as “The World’s Fastest 5K” – with a time of nineteen minutes, twenty-six seconds. Then in May, Kris finished first in her age group at the Bolder Boulder 10K. Her time, the fastest finish by any woman 59 years or older in the 45-year history of the event, clocked in at 42:10.
At the World Masters Athletics Championships in Sweden, Kris won gold in the 5000 meter, setting an age group championship record…but she didn’t stop there. She went on to claim another gold in the 8K cross-country race and silver in the 10K road race. In her twenties, Kris Clark was an NCAA Nordic skiing athlete. Today, in her sixties, she is celebrated as our Masters Distance Runner of the Year.
