KESSLER EXCITED FOR DISTANCE DOUBLE AT USATF INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
By David Monti, @d9monti.bsky.social
(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved – Used with permission.
NEW YORK (20-Feb) — Not yet 22, Hobbs Kessler has already won medals at two world championships, made a top-five finish at an Olympic Games, and recorded the third-fastest indoor mile in history: 3:46.90. But the Ann Arbor, Mich. native, who represents adidas, is far from satisfied with his nascent athletics career. Putting up fast times is great, he said, but he wants to win races, big races, and that means working on all aspects of his craft.
“Basically, I’m just trying to develop into the best athlete I can be,” Kessler told Race Results Weekly during a telephone interview yesterday from Ann Arbor. “Not really focusing on one specific race, but kind of trying to level-up across the board: get my legs to be quicker, and my engine bigger, and everything in between. The racing will take care of itself.”
To that end, Kessler is entered in both the 3000m on Saturday and the 1500m on Sunday at the USATF Indoor Championships presented by Prevagen at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island. It’s a championships double he’s never tried, and he’s only run a handful of 3000m races during his career. His best was the 7:35.06 personal best he ran at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston 18 days ago, a performance he has been surprisingly critical of.
“I got a little humbled,” said Kessler, who finished fourth, and said he made some tactical errors. “I had been aerobically fitter than I had ever been. I felt I could have run, maybe, 7:28 or so, 7:27, if everything lined up. I just kind of felt out of it from the beginning.” He continued: “For a few reasons, it just didn’t turn out to be my day.”
That race was particularly disappointing for Kessler because his fall and winter training in Flagstaff had gone so well. Coached jointly by his father, Mike, and former Georgetown and USC coach Pat Henner, Kessler ran 80 to 90 mile weeks and worked on all aspects of his running and overall fitness.
“I pretty much did the same week over and over again,” Kessler explained. “It’s just sprinting, threshold, hills, and weights. That’s it. Obviously, easy running too.” He continued: “I always like to use the fall to become a better runner. There’s nothing to interrupt it. You can just focus on the things that make you better for three months with no…
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