| PROVIDENCE - Shalane Flanagan (Pittsboro, N.C.) cruised to her second consecutive women's title in 15:28 on Sunday at the USA 5 km Championships in Providence, Rhode Island. Flanagan, the Olympic bronze medalist at 10,000 meters, appeared to have a much more relaxed day as she passed the first mile in 4:44, leading Ireland's Mary Cullen by almost five-seconds. After passing two miles in 9:45, Flanagan was comfortably in the lead and looked easy as she approached the finish at the State House. Cullen finished second in 15:46 while Jane Gakunyi of Kenya took third-place overall. Renee Metivier Baille (Flagstaff, Ariz.) took fourth overall in 15:53 to claim second in the championship and local favorite Molly Huddle (Providence, R.I.) finished fifth overall in 15:56 to round out the top-three U.S. finishers. The championship, hosted by the CVS Caremark Downtown 5K was the sixth for the women on the 2008 USA Running Circuit (USARC). Famiglietti and Flanagan took home $8,000 each for their overall and championship victories. The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series that features USA Championships from 5 km to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The thirteenth edition for the men and twelfth for the women, the 2008 circuit has nine events for men and seven events for women. Dan Browne now leads the men's circuit with 44 points and Deena Kastor leads the women with 45. 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 and USA 5 km Championships visit www.usatf.org. |
