Sara Slattery of Lafayette, Colo., won today's U.S. Women's 8-K Championship in Akron, Ohio. For the 26 year-old athlete, who won the Pan Am Games 10,000m title in 2007, it was her first ever U.S. open title on any surface.
Slattery went for victory early, sharing the lead with race favorite Katie McGregor. They passed the first mile in 5:05, while a chase pack of eight women, including Amy Rudolph, Molly Huddle, Renee Metivier-Baillie and Lindsey Anderson, kept them in sight. On a gradual uphill in the sixth kilometer, Slattery eased away from McGregor and Metivier-Baillie, who had come up from the chase group, and found herself with a ten meter lead. McGregor chased hard in the final two kilometers, but Slattery was able to hold her off, finishing two seconds up on McGregor in 25:54. Rudolph and Huddle overtook Metivier-Baillie to finish third and fourth in 26:01 and 26:06, respectively. Metivier-Baillie held on for fifth, clocking 26:14.
Slattery earned $7500 for her victory in what was the seventh stop on the 2008 USA Running Circuit (USARC) for women. Two more events remain: the U.S. Women's 10 Mile Champoionship hosted by the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on Oct. 5, and the U.S. Women's 10-K Championship hosted by the Tufts Run for Women on Oct. 13. Deena Kastor leads the series standings with 45 points while Magdalena Lewy Boulet and McGregor are tied for second with 24 points each.
A total of 30 women finished the championship.
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
