Centro de medios de NYRR

Emma Bates won her first national title in 2018 with a first-place finish at the USATF Marathon Championships in Sacramento, Calif., where she wore a singlet with the words “Run for Camp Fire Relief” to raise awareness and funds for the victims of the recent California wildfires. Her victory was a turning point in her career.

Since then, she has recorded runner-up and fourth-place finishes at the Chicago Marathon, won a U.S. national title over 25K, and most recently placed seventh at the World Athletics Championships Marathon with a new personal best. 

In New York, at the 2019 United Airlines NYC Half, she was the top American, taking fourth place in 1:11:13, and followed that up with another fourth-place finish at the New York Mini 10K that June, which served as the U.S. 10K national championships that year.

Bates grew up in Minnesota and was a 12-time All-American and the 2014 NCAA 10,000-meter champion at Boise State University. After college, she moved to Boston to train, but two years later decided to move back to Idaho, preferring the outdoor trails to the city life. Then in 2021, she moved to Boulder, Colo. to train at altitude alongside Olympians Emma Coburn and Cory McGee.