Huddle wins USA Women's 10 km title
Posted Tuesday, 14 October, 2008
BOSTON - Molly Huddle (Providence, R.I.) unleashed a powerful kick to win the open race and the USA Women's 10 km Championship Monday at the Tufts Health Plan 10 K for Women in Boston. Huddle edged out Aziza Aliyu of Ethiopia by less than one second, running 32:52 to win her first U.S. road crown and the Title as well.
More than 7,000 women took to the streets of Boston for the 32nd edition of the traditional Columbus Day event, which hosted the championship for the 14th time.
Passing the first mile in 5:15, Huddle was positioned in the front of a pack that included her Providence-based training partner Amy Rudolph, 2008 USA 5 km runner-up Renee Metivier-Baille (Flagstaff, Ariz.), Rebecca Donaghue (State College, Pa.), and 2008 Olympic steeplechaser Lindsey Anderson (Ogden, Utah).
Running along Memorial Drive in Cambridge, near the 2-mile mark, Rudolph began to edge to the front of the pack, and just before a turn-around approaching 4 miles, she had opened a 10 meter gap on Huddle, Aliyu and Tebya Naser (ETH).
As Rudolph continued to press the pace, the chase pack began to cut into her lead and at four miles had reeled her back in. After four miles, crossing the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge back into Boston, Huddle had moved to the lead but was followed closely by Aliyu, Naser and Rudolph.
Going into the final mile, the pack stayed in tight formation but Naser and Rudolph began to fall off the pace as Huddle and Aliyu began the race to the finish. Making the final turn onto Charles Street, the pair began to kick to the finish with Huddle finally gaining the advantage in the final 100 meters. Naser eventually pulled away from Rudolph to take third overall in 32:55.
Rudolph's fourth-place finish in 33:05 also earned her second in the championship division as Baillie claimed third over Donaghue in 33:13 to 33:14. Anderson rounded out the top-five Americans in 33:34.
The championship also concluded the 2008 edition of the women's USA Running Circuit (USARC) which saw 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) capture her second consecutive circuit title 45 points. Katie McGregor (St. Louis Park, Minn.) finished second in the standings with 36 points and Huddle's 10 km victory moved her into third with 32 points.
The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from 5 km to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners.
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 USARC visit www.usatf.org.
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