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Women's Results

In the women's 10k, World #2 Shalane Flanagan darted to the front from the gun, establishing herself as the class of this field from very early on. Content to run 25 laps alone, Flanagan settled into her own pace and never looked bothered. She essentially time-trialed at low 31 minute pace the entire race. She actually picked it up over the final K, and looked determined to break 31 in the final lap. She was just able to eclipsed the 31 minute mark, finishing up in 30:59.97.

 

Behind her, veterans Jen Rhines and Kara Goucher gapped the rest of the field early on to try and capture their spots on the team. They were able to do so, as both ran season bests to take the #2 and #3 spots. Desiree Davila lurked about 80 meters back from Rhines and Goucher throughout, but was unable to close the gap and move onto the podium. While she did almost catch Rhines, she made no progress catching Goucher. It continues to amaze all of us just how quickly Goucher has come back from maternity to be almost right back where she was before she left.

 

With about 2 kilometers to go, the bigger question was whether Kara (who it was apparent would place second) would be able to attain an 'A' Standard. Those questions were answered in a big way, as not only Goucher, but also Rhines and Davila all got under the 31:45 Standard. Davila closed incredibly well and gave herself an opportunity to make the Daegu team should one of the top 3 incur injury or choose to race at a different distance. Big congratulations to Jen Rhines as well for her longevity and consistency throughout the years. Big race for her tonight.

 

Top 5

Shalane Flanagan 30:59

Kara Goucher 31:16

Jennifer Rhines 31:30

Desiree Davila 31:37

Magdalena Lewy Boulet 31:48

Men's Results

On the men's side, it was not nearly as scattered. While Flanagan put the women's race away early, nearly the entire men's field was in the race until 800 to go. Galen Rupp, for the first 5 to 6 k sporting the same black face-mask he did for the NYC half marathon, looked in control throughout. As those around him surged and re-settled (none more so than Luke Puskedra), Rupp consistently sat in 2nd or 3rd and bided his time.

 

His time came over the final 800 meters as Rupp took command of the lead at that point and displayed world-class closing speed over the final laps. Galen ran a 54.4 over the last 400 and 1:52 for his last 800 to put away the win. Tegenkamp, in just his second 10k ever, responded well but was unable to match Rupp's fierce kick.

 

A big question going into the race was whether Solinsky and Tegenkamp would choose the 5k or the 10k. The fact that Solinsky chose the 5k opened up a spot for someone else to make this team. That someone might be Scott Bauhs. Bauhs closed huge as well, passing Bobby Curtis and Tim Nelson over the final 800 to place third and give himself a chance to go to Daegu. However, Bauhs now will potentially have 2 chances to earn an 'A' Standard of 27:45 before he punches his ticket to Daegu. Regardless of whether Bauhs gets the standard, this is a huge race for him and it silences some of his critics from the past few years.

 

The fact that Bobby Curtis passed Tim Nelson in the final 20 meters is huge, because both men have already achieved the 'A' Standard. Meaning, if Bauhs fails to get the standard, Curtis goes to Daegu instead of Nelson.

 

Top 5

Galen Rupp 28:38

Matt Tegenkamp 28:39

Scott Bauhs 28:40

Robert Curtis 28:42

Tim Nelson 28:43

Overall, the races could not have been much more different from one another. The women's race was hot from the beginning, thanks to Shalane. The men's was slow and tactical throughout. However, they both were highly entertaining and provide America with a couple of really solid squads for Daegu.