On a Roll, Flanagan Wins Women’s Invitational in Central Park
USA Cross Country champ trounces field of 30 top runners from around the world
New York, March 15, 2008—It’s an Olympic year, and everything is falling into place for Shalane Flanagan. She opened her racing season with a 70-second margin of victory at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego on February 16. And today, she led from wire to wire again to triumph in the inaugural Women’s Invitational 8K, part of NYRR’s Central Park Challenge.
Flanagan, 26, of Pittsboro, NC, bolted from the starting line on the park’s East Drive near 100th Street. She was well in front by the time the field of 30 invited professional athletes turned left onto the 102nd Street Transverse, and she never relinquished her lead, finishing in 25:40 for the 4.97-mile distance. Katie McGregor, 30, of St. Louis Park, MN, was the runner-up in 26:56, and Molly Huddle, 23, of Providence, RI, took third in 26:07.
“I like to race pretty aggressively,” said Flanagan, who was a three-time NCAA champion for the University of North Carolina. “I was in a zone and tried to just stay really focused.”
Flanagan had expressed confidence heading into this race, based on the strength she gained during a recent two-month training stint at altitude in Mexico with two-time New York City Marathon champion (1994-95) German Silva. “I’m excited to show off how hard I’ve been working,” she said earlier this week.
To fans of U.S. distance running, Flanagan’s success is heartening. For three years starting in 2004, she experienced severe foot pain that nearly ended her running career. Finally diagnosed as an extra bone in her foot, the problem required surgery, and she began running again in late 2006. Last year she set American records for 5000 meters and for 3000 meters indoors.
Next up for Flanagan is an attempt at the American 10,000-meter record (30:50.53) at the Stanford Cardinal Invitational in May. “It’s a tough mark, but my workouts are showing that I can run that fast or faster,” she says. She will then focus on the 5000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field in early summer, where she is expected to qualify for the Beijing Games.
Like Flanagan, other top competitors here viewed the Women’s Invitational as a stepping stone toward the Olympics. “Right now is a good time for me to be out racing,” said McGregor, 30, who will travel to Edinburgh, Scotland, for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships on March 30, and is a favorite to qualify for the Olympics at 10,000 meters. “We’ve worked hard all winter and now it’s time to start testing ourselves.”
About a dozen local runners toed the line along with the international stars, and they did New York proud. The top local finisher was 18-year-old Firehiwot Tesfaye, a native of Ethiopia and a member of West Side Runners, who finished seventh in 26:32. Aziza Aliyu of the Westchester Track Club (WTC) was ninth in 26:44; she and Tesfaye had finished 1-2 in the Coogan’s Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K on March 2. National-class runners from the Nike Central Park Track Club and the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) were also in the field.
“We gave ourselves a shock to the system today,” said NYAC’s Arianne Field, who finished 29th in 30:07. “It was exciting to stand on the starting line with such an incredible group of runners.”
“It’s important for New York City runners to race against international athletes,” said Field’s teammate Lesley Higgins, who was 25th in 29:06. “It raises the bar for us.”
The NYRR 8000, an open race held before the Women’s Invitational and the accompanying USA Men’s 8K Championship, drew about 2,000 entrants. The winners were Art Gunther in 25:04 and WTC’s Jill Vollweiler in 30:12.
Shalane Flanagan (25:40) bested Katie McGregor (25:56) and Molly Huddle (26:07) to win the Women's Invitational 8K in Central Park on March 15.
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