09-27-2008
Contact:
Jim Estes
Associate Director of LDR and Marketing
USA Track & Field
317-713-4661
AKRON, Ohio - Sara Slattery (Boulder, Colo.), won her first USA road title, running 25:54 to win the USA Women's 8 km Championship Saturday in Akron, Ohio. The championship race was an invitation-only event that featured 30 of the top U.S. women and was held in conjunction with the Road Runner Akron Marathon.
Slattery, the 2005 NCAA Division I champion at 10,000 meters moved to the front of the lead pack early, sharing the lead with two-time USA 10 km champion Katie McGregor (St. Louis Park, Minn.). Passing the first mile in 5:04, the pair was closely followed by a pack of eight women that included two-time USA 8 km champion Amy Rudolph (Providence, R.I.), Molly Huddle (Providence, R.I.), Renee Metivier-Baillie (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Olympic steeplechaser Lindsey Anderson (Ogden, Utah).
At two miles, the pack had narrowed to six with Slattery and McGregor maintaining their hold on the lead and by three miles the pack was reduced to three as Baillie tried to stay in contact with Slattery and McGregor.
Maintaining her effort on a gradual uphill after three miles, Slattery found herself 10 meters up on McGregor and Baillie and extended her lead slightly at four miles. As the last mile turned back to the finish at Canal Park, McGregor made an effort to close the gap but Slattery was able to hold her off for a two-second victory.
Rounding out the top-five, Rudolph and Huddle overtook Baillie to finish third and fourth in 26:01 and 26:06 respectively while Baillie held on to fifth, running 26:14.
Sponsored by the Akron Community Foundation, the championship featured a total of $23,500 in prize money with Slattery taking home $7,500 for her win.
The USA Women's 8 km Championship was the seventh stop on the 2008 USA Running Circuit (USARC) for women. The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, features USA Championships from 5 km to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The fourteenth edition for the men and thirteenth for the women, the 2008 USARC has seven events for men and nine events for women. Deena Kastor leads the women's standings with 45 points while Magdalena Lewy Boulet and McGregor are tied for second with 24 points each.
The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.
The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $4 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.
For more information on the 2008 USA Women's 8 km Championships visit www.usatf.org.
