Add another title to her collection.Team USA Minnesota's Katie McGregor has now won national crowns on the track at 10,000 meters and on the roads at 10K (twice), 25K, and, now, 15K, thanks to her runaway win at Saturday's USA 15K Championship.
McGregor (pictured) clocked a PR 49:51 for the distance, bettering runner-up Jen Rhines by 36 seconds at the race in Jacksonville, Florida race held in conjunction with the Gate River Run.
The win redeems a pair of second place finishes by McGregor in the previous two USA 15K Championships. McGregor, however, missed out on the race's $5000 "Equalizer Bonus" for the winner of a handicapped race between the top male and female racers.
McGregor and the rest of the elite women's field started 5 minutes before the elite men and the rest of the event's 13,000 participants, but men's champ Mohamed Trafeh crossed the finish line in 42:58, ahead of McGregor and the rest of the women.
McGregor pocketed $12,000 for her women's victory.
McGregor led a successful day for the Team USA Minnesota crew. In the men's race, Antonio Vega was third in a PR 43:55, Jason Lehmkuhle was 4th in a PR 43:58, and Patrick Smyth was seventh with a 15K debut of 44:42. The men's team, which also included Josh Moen in 20th place at 46:00, won the event's team competition known as the TenBroeck Team Cup.
The Team USA Minnesota women were second in the women's TenBroeck competition with McGregor, Meghan Armstrong and Michelle Frey scoring for the team. Armstrong placed 16th with 53:39 and Frey was 22nd in 54:33.
Emily Brown and Kristen Nicolini did not travel with the team to Jacksonville as previously announced and Matt Gabrielson did not finish.
"Last year the women went out at a lot easier pace than this year," McGregor, part of an eight-member women's lead pack that passed the first mile in 5:12, said. "There were so many people together and I didn't know how long that would last. There was a much deeper field this year with at least 10 women who on any given day could go for the win."
McGregor, who is now being coached by her college mentor Mike McGuire of the University of Michigan, was all alone by 10K, covering that distance in 33:07. By the time McGregor reached the mile long Hart Bridge in the final mile-plus of the race, she had extended her lead by half a minute.
"I never did look back although I was tempted to do so," McGregor said. "I only wanted to run as hard as I could. I wasn't aware of when people dropped back although I was watching for shadows, listening to hear anyone breathing and waiting when the next clapping would start after I passed by the spectators. I never did feel super confident that I had the race won until a spectator yelled on the bridge that I had a 200 meter lead."
"I felt really comfortable the whole time and had one of those days where everything came together," she explained. "I was excited to be able to win today. Even though I had two second place finishes the past two years, I have been happy every time I come here no matter what because I have raced against good people. This is a fun race and it's great to be part of the team challenge as well."
Photo by Victor Sailor/Photo Run.
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