Wells Wins Michelob Ultra USA Women's Marathon Championship
ST. LOUIS - (April 5, 2003) - Sara Wells of Minneapolis, Minn. made her marathon debut a smashing success with her first national title at the Michelob Ultra USA Women's Marathon Championship here today.

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Posted Saturday, 5 April, 2003

By Ray Lapinski, Running USA wire

Wells, who recently turned 24, overtook race favorite Colleen De Reuck during the 25th mile to win in 2:35:37. The Team USA Minnesota athlete earned $19,000 and a trip to Paris for the World Championships this August.

With daytime temperatures soaring into the 80s over the past week most of the women arriving in St. Louis for the 30th USA Women's Marathon Championship hoped for cooler weather. They got their wish. Race day broke with the temperature at 38 degrees and winds gusting to 25mph. With a $50,000 prize purse and a spot on the World Championship marathon team to the U.S. champion and an additional spot saved for the national runner-up, provided she broke 2:40, there was incentive for these women to run fast. Add to that a sneak preview of the 2004 Olympic Trials course and the ingredients were there for an interesting race. The 48 women starting the race circled the track at Washington University, the site of the 1904 Olympic Games, before heading out to Forest Park for 3.5 loops of the criterium style course.

Favorites Colleen De Reuck of Boulder, Colo. and Jeanne Hennessy of Team USA California immediately shot to the lead and passed the mile mark at 5:46. Kelly Flathers of Huntington Beach, Calif. and Kelly Keane of Manchester, N.H. were in the lead group as well. At two miles it looked like the top three had been decided as Hennessy and De Reuck were shoulder-to-shoulder, their 5:29 mile had put Keene 30 meters behind.

At 4 miles (22:38) De Reuck, 38, a three-time Olympian for South Africa, made a slight move and opened up a step on Hennessy. By 5 miles, De Reuck's lead had stretched to 9 seconds. At 6.5 miles, Sara Wells and Keane passed Hennessy who appeared to be laboring. The pair held a 35 second lead over the third group made up of Flathers and Stacie Alboucrek of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

De Reuck, the 2002 USA Running Circuit champion, ran easily into the cold wind as she passed the half in 1:14:42 with Wells 51 seconds back. At mile 15 her lead had grown to 56 seconds with Hennessy a further 3 minutes and 25 seconds behind.

The race looked like it would be a "yawner" as 20 miles passed in 1:53:43 with Wells now almost 2 minutes back. But such is the nature of the beast, you never know what to expect in the marathon. De Reuck who swore after her last marathon (New York 2001) "never again", would begin a painful and frigid last 10K that would take her almost 44 minutes. Behind her, runners were dropping out from a combination of injury and cold. First Keane was brought in with suspected hypothermia, then Hennessy with a severe calf injury. Others decided to get a good view of the course and save the hard efforts for another day.

At 24.5 miles, De Reuck held a slim 11 second lead over Wells who was regenerated by the narrowing gap. By the time Wells reached 25 miles (2:27:03) she had a 30 second lead. She crossed the line as the USA Champion with a debut time of 2:35:37, a Missouri state record.

De Reuck struggled across the line in 2:37:41 and was immediately whisked away by ambulance suffering from hypothermia.

Wells who works as a hospital volunteer attributed much of her success to Team USA Minnesota coach Dennis Barker. "I was being conservative. I wanted the "A" standard for the Trials (sub 2:40), that was my main goal."

"I was disappointed in my race last week at World Cross (41st) in Switzerland, but I knew I was a little sick...dehydrated," continued the recent Oklahoma State grad who is a rising star in the sport.

The national marathon championship also is part of the 2003 USA Running Circuit (USARC), and Circuit points were doubled for the top 10 U.S. finishers. Wells now leads the Women's USARC with 37 points thanks to her 30 point victory. De Reuck is second with 34 points and Kelly Flathers is third (20).

The USARC - a USA Track & Field road series featuring USA Championships at distances from 5K to the marathon - offers more than $340,000 in prize money plus a $25,000 grand prix purse. The next Women's USARC race is the Fifth Third River Bank 25K on May 10 in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Michelob Ultra USA Women's Marathon Championship
St. Louis, MO, Saturday, April 5, 2003

WOMEN
1) Sara Wells, MN 2:35:37# $19,000*
2) Colleen De Reuck, CO 2:37:41 $12,000*
3) Kelly Flathers, CA 2:40:55 $9,000*
4) Stacie Alboucrek, FL 2:41:30 $6,500*
5) Beth Old, GA 2:41:54 $4,500*
6) Lisa Vaill, FL 2:43:07 $3,500
7) Katie Blackett, CO 2:44:35 $2,500
8) Susannah Loken, AZ 2:44:50 $1,500
9) Nadia Prasad, CO 2:45:41 $1,200
10) Wendi Ray, WI 2:46:48 $800
#Missouri state record; previous record 2:38:57 by Roxi Erickson at St. Louis
on October 15,1995; *includes USATF prize money

For more results and information, visit the race website at:
http://www.stlouismarathon.com

2003 USA Running Circuit Standings

WOMEN after two races
1) Sara Wells, 24, Minneapolis, MN 37
2) Colleen De Reuck, 38, Boulder, CO 34
3) Kelly Flathers, 31, Huntington Beach, CA 20
4) Deena Drossin, 30, Mammoth Lakes, CA 15
5) Stacie Alboucrek, 35, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 14
6) Marla Runyan, 34, Eugene, OR 12
Beth Old, 28, Douglasville, GA 12
8) Lisa Vaill, 40, Gainesville, FL 10
9) Katie Blackett, 26, Boulder, CO 8
10) Kim Fitchen-Young, 34, Palo Alto, CA 6
Susannah Loken, 39, Phoenix, AZ 6

2003 USARC Champions

WOMEN
Deena Drossin 47:15* Gate River Run 15K, Jacksonville, FL, March 8
Sara Wells 2:35:37 Michelob Ultra USA Marathon Championship, MO, April 5
*U.S. Record

# # #

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services
USATF Road Running Information Center
5522 Camino Cerralvo
Santa Barbara, CA 93111
(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 696-6252
http://www.runningusa.org
http://www.usaldr.org

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