COROS Athletes Watch, # 6: Emma Bates runs PB in World Champs Marathon!

This is our sixth COROS Athletes Watch, and the focus is on US athlete Emma Bates. Emma Bates took seventh in the exciting US women’s marathon finish (Sara Hall in 5th, Emma Bates in 7th and PB and Keira D’Amato in 8th), the best US women’s team finish EVER! 

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Emma Bates finishes seventh at the world championships marathon, clocks a new Personal Best of 2:23:18 PB.

Updated August 23, 2022 

When Emma Bates became the NCAA champion over the women’s 10000m title in a rather modest 32:32.35 in 2014, there were few indications she would go on and be a force to be reckoned with. The promise was there, but it will later be in the marathon in which she would etch her name for the USA as she continues to grow in leaps and bounds. 

Eight years afterward, she is celebrating a new Personal Best in the marathon as she finished seventh in the women’s marathon at the world championships in Eugene as she, running a time of 2:23:18.

Her rise has been meteoric, especially in the last year, and this achievement will surely spur her on to greater heights. The time ensured she moves into the top 10 of the all-time lists of the fastest marathoners in the United States, four seconds behind the leader, Keira D’Amato.

Won her debut marathon, the California International Marathon, in 2018 (2:28:19), making her the 2018 USATF Marathon Champion. Bates also finished 4th place (top American) at the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Bate’s achievement at the world championships this year is an indicator of how much she has improved in terms of her training, considering she didn’t make the Olympic team in Tokyo. She was expectedly disappointed.

“It was definitely devastating not making that team. That was a really hard one to swallow. But I love running so much, and I found such a new sense of enjoyment in that, so it wasn’t the end of the world is not making that team. I have found so much support from everybody. That has made all the difference in the past year and my running career in general”. 

“It doesn’t matter how well I do in a race or it doesn’t matter what race I do, people are still going to be excited for me and proud of me. That’s something that’s really special, and I don’t want to diminish that by wanting to make teams. It’s not the next four years or 2024”. 

After the disappointment of not making the team to Tokyo, Bates picked up the pieces as she finished on her first World Marathon Major podium at the Chicago marathon in October, in a then Personal Best of 2:24:20.

The moment proved watershed for Bates as she pointed to numerous differences she made in her training ahead of Chicago, like switching to a 10-day training cycle and training at altitude for the first time, but also that enmeshed herself in a more positive community has really helped her run better.

 “I don’t thrive off of being angry or stressed or sad. Some people can turn that into working hard and use running as a stress reliever or a way to get frustrations out. But for me to run my best, I have to be happy and positive and have fun,” she told Women’s Running at the time.

It was a breakthrough for the Bates after going through a difficult pandemic year, starting off with one of the earliest cases of COVID-19, then parting ways with her training group and home in Boise, Idaho, to join Team Boss, coached by Joe Bosshard, in Boulder, Colorado.

Bates has laid down the gauntlet with this performance in Eugene, one that would surely build her up towards the rest of the season and potentially go on to Paris 2024 to deliver a big result for the United States. 

Update: After her spectacular performance at the #WCHOregon22, Emma Bates announced on her Instagram account that she will be running her first NYC Marathon on November 6, 2022! 

Emma Bates is one of the fine American athletes sponsored by COROS.

COROS is a performance sports technology company that helps athletes train to be their best when it matters most. We combine high-grade hardware with innovative technology to provide athletes with the gear they rely on to EXPLORE PERFECTION in their training. COROS products are designed, tested, and perfected for the athlete, by the athlete. At COROS, creation and innovation are never-ending. Join our community @COROSGlobal on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more about COROS, please click here.