Amy Cragg finished a terrific third in her comeback race from injury at the US 5K Championships, the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line, in New York City on Saturday morning.

In a race won by Emily Sisson in 15:34, Erika Kemp finished second in 15:50 with Cragg coming home third in 15:54.

“It felt really hard and really fast,” Cragg said. “A shock to the system, but I’m very happy with it.”

The 34-year-old Bowerman Track Club athlete last raced when finishing third in the Tokyo Marathon in February, then bypassed a fall marathon after injury troubles, telling Runner’s World this week: “I hurt my hamstring, and it was pretty bad, but as it healed and I started running again, we figured out that I had some biomechanical issues and other injuries I was probably just running through.

“The main goal right now is to just get back to where I was before all this happened. Once we solidify that I’m completely healthy and ready to move forward, that’s when we’ll start making those decisions.”

Fellow Kimbia athlete Jessica Tonn finished 11th in the same race, the Brooks athlete clocking 16:14.

Watch Cragg’s interview below with Letsrun.com:

Amy Cragg turned in a stunning performance at the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday morning, finishing third in a huge lifetime best of 2:21:42, taking more than five minutes off her previous best of 2:27:03.

That moved her to number five on the all-time US list, and left her just 23 seconds behind runner-up Ruti Aga. The race was won by Ethiopia’s Birhane Dibaba in 2:19:51. Cragg had run with the leading women up until 30K, at which point she was still on 2:20 pace, and though she couldn’t match Dibaba in the closing miles, she showed immense resolve to fight to the finish in third, rewarded with a place among the greats of American marathoning.

US women’s all-time list (via Letsrun.com)
2:19:36 Deena Kastor 2006 London
2:20:57 Jordan Hasay 2017 Chicago
2:21:14 Shalane Flanagan 2014 Berlin
2:21:21 Joan Benoit Samuelson 1985 Chicago
2:21:42 Amy Cragg 2018 Tokyo

Amy Cragg is set to kick off her 2018 campaign at the Tokyo Marathon next month, the 34-year-old looking to carve a chunk off her personal best of 2:27:03.

Cragg, who memorably claimed the bronze medal in the women’s marathon at the IAAF World Championships in London, spoke to Erin Strout at Runner’s World earlier today and explained that she will hope to be competitive in her first Marathon Major of the year.

“You can’t ever go into a [World Marathon Major] and say you’re just going to run for time. It’s just impossible. Even if that’s the plan going into it, when you get in the race you’re going to be competitive. There are these amazing women in there. As much as I’d like to say that it’s just about the PR and running fast, there’s also going to be competition as well. When it comes down to it at the end, I’d pick a higher place finish over a faster time. But as of right now, going into it, it’s going to be about running fast.”

More here:

Amy Cragg claimed a historic bronze medal in the women’s marathon at the IAAF World Championships in London today, becoming the first American woman in 34 years to do so.

The 33-year-old KIMbia athlete unleashed a storming finish to get among the medals, very nearly taking second as she crossed the line in 2:27:18, the same time as silver medallist Edna Kiplagat. Bahrain’s Rose Chelimo took victory in 2:27:11.

“It feels amazing,” said Cragg after. “I can’t even believe it.”

The early pace had been slow, but Cragg began to whittle the leading pack with a move just before the 20-mile mark. She had vocal encouragement along the route from coach Jerry Schumacher and husband Alistair, among others.

“It was really painful, but it was worth every little bit of pain,” she said. “It was just a grind to the finish.”

For a full feature story on her outstanding performance, and video reaction from her, check out this story by Runner’s World.