By Nate Mann
The men’s high-performance 5,000 wrapped up a slate of high-performance races at the Portland Track Festival on Sunday. In their last chance to get an autograph, six kids waited at the finish line with Sharpies in hand. The athlete they targeted – the winner of the 5,000 – was Riley Masters.
As Masters stepped off the track, the pack of kids timidly approached him and asked for a signature on jerseys, signs and posters. He graciously signed each piece of memorabilia before heading to an interview, yet another delay to his cool-down.
Masters had plenty of positives to discuss. He finished the men’s 5,000-meter race in 13 minutes, 39.52 seconds, six seconds faster than second-place Mark Parrish. Masters stayed with the pack for 10 laps before exploding ahead with 800 meters remaining to open up a lead of nearly 60 meters.
“You can get a little more out of yourself if you’re pushing and you’re being competitive,” said Masters, who runs for Nike. “I wasn’t really sure how far back anybody was. I thought someone might go.”
Although he cruised to a victory on Sunday night, the last few months haven’t been as smooth. In February, Masters suffered a back injury while doing squats.
“There’s a new up-and-comer on the scene – Sage Hurta. I was trying to keep up with her in squats and I couldn’t do it. So I messed up my back,” said Masters.
He only took two days off following the injury, which ultimately led to another setback. Masters then made the same mistake four weeks later at the end of April, forcing him to take a week off. The Portland Track Festival served as an opportunity, he said, to “get my feet under me and get a good effort in.”
Now back on the track, Masters has shifted his focus to making the world team. The world championships qualifying time is 13:22.50, a time he’s beaten as recently as May 2018. But the field of 5,000-meter runners at the U.S. championships also poses a significant challenge.
“The U.S. is probably as deep as it’s ever been in the 5K,” said Masters. “It’s why we all do this, is to represent the USA. That’s what I’m going to try to do the rest of this year and all of next year.”
With the heightened competition of nationals, Masters hopes to display his new and improved kick.
“I wish I could’ve showed off my kick a little bit too today, but that can wait till USAs,” he said. “I’ve really added some weapons to my quiver. Last year I showed some promise in the ability to compete at USAs, and now this year I really want it.”
