.US National Road Race Championships 12K Summary

By Sam Rush

It was warm and humid in Alexandria, Virginia, even at 7 AM, for the start of the .US National Road Racing Championships 12K. There was moisture on the streets, making the course slippery in spots, but  pre-race favorites Shalane Flanagan and Molly Huddle shot to the front from the start of the women's race(which started 15 minutes before the men) and never looked back. 

By 5K they had a 30 second lead on the field. The two worked together and when  Flanagan stumbled on a slick spot around the the 180 degree turn between miles four and five, Huddle slowed to allow Shalane to catch up. By five miles the pair had stretched their lead over third place finisher, Laura Thweatt to 71 seconds. They passed the 10K together in 31:38. 

Huddle made her move with about one kilometer to go, opening a gap between her and Flanagan while saving a little for a kick because: "Shalane's strength in the longer distances," Huddle said.  In never came to that as Huddle held onto her lead to cross the finish line in a new world record of 37:50 with Flanagan eight seconds back, followed by Thweatt nearly a minute and a half later.

Team USA Minnesota's Meghan Peyton and Minnesota R.E.D's Kelly Brinkman finished in 40:32 for ninth  and 41:31 for 18th, respectively. Former Team USA Minnesota runner, Anne Bersagel, winner of the 2013 USA Marathon Championships at the Medtronic Twin Cities Mararthon, finished eighth, five seconds ahead of Peyton.

The men's race was a bit more chaotic at the start, as the elites lined up in front of the rest of the men's Masters and  community race participants. Two older men went down within the first 100 meters. The men's elite field started with 24 runners and a  pack of about 13 went through the first mile in 4:44. The group was headed by Aaron Braun and Abdi Abdirahman with Team USA Minnesota's Minnesotan Ben Sathre in ninth place. 

That group remained together through 5K, timed in 14:29. Sathre fell off the back of the lead pack and ran with Twin Cities Track Club's Mike Reneau for a while. The front group had started to separate around a 180 degree turn  near the  4.5 mile mark.  Abdi, Shadrack Biowott, Christopher Landry, Tyler Pennel, and Aaron Braun led a breakaway group of five. 

Around a bridge, approximately 10K into the race, Abdi was trying to pass Landry and hit a slick spot, becoming airborne.  He fell  hard and was unable to continue. He suffered visible cuts on both his face and right leg, but his main complaint was damage to his right wrist.  

Braun, who had been the agressor most of the race, broke away from the remaning three runners in the pack and cruised to victory, missing the American Record, held by Steve Spence, by two seconds. He might have broken it had he not slowed,  waving to the crowd down the finish straight. The Twin Cities Track Club's Joe Moore finished tenth in 35:08, followed by Reneau in 15th (36:23) and  Sathre in 21st (38:30). 

“The record wasn’t on my mind," said Braun. " The win was number one priority. Hindsight is 20/20. I could have kicked a little harder but I’m just so happy to have my first national title. That was what was most important today."

USATF photo album is HERE.  Photos by Shalane Flanagan's mom, Cheryl Treworgy, former member of the Hamline U faculty back in the 1970s)