Virginia 10 Miler Announces Men’s Elite Field for 2026

The 2026 Elite Field for the Moore & Giles Virginia 10 Miler is comprised of twenty-six men and fifteen women representing Kenya, Ethiopia, Bahrain, Ukraine, and the United States. 

For the men, Kenyan Athanas Kioko will look to win a second title in a row, having run 48:14 last year. He will have some fast company with:

Fellow Kenyans Peter Njeru who was second last year and Sosten Kipchirchir who makes his debut here.  Sosten ran an impressive 62:06 for 13.1 miles in Philadelphia last week.

Top Americans include Andrew Colley and Elkanah Kibet who have represented the United States in multiple World Championships.  Andrew took first at this year’s USA Track and Field’s 25 kilometer championships and Elkanah placed 4th at the 2024 US Olympic Trials for the marathon.  Stan Linton, who was seventh last year is looking to move up in the overall standings.

Two other Americans to keep an eye on are Princeton alum and All American Nick Bendsten and former NC State All American Graham Crawford.  Earlier this month, they competed in the USA Track and Field 20 kilometer road race championships finishing 11th and 18th with both finishing under one hour for that 12.4 mile race.