Olympic medalist also secures USA Running Circuit Grand Prix crown

BOSTON - (October 8, 2007) - 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, CA.) cruised to victory at the 2007 USA Women's 10K Championship, running 32:01 at the 31st Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women in Boston on Monday, Columbus Day. For Kastor, who pocketed $10,600, it was her fifth national title of the year and her 23rd crown overall.

At the country's largest women-only 10K road race, Kastor and two-time defending women's 10K champion Katie McGregor (Minneapolis, MN) pulled away from the field during the opening 800 meters and by the first mile mark, which Kastor passed in 5:00 with a five-second lead over McGregor.

A second 5:00 mile propelled Kastor to a 15-second lead. As the Team Running USA athlete continued her tour of Memorial Drive, Kastor, 34, steadily built her lead, reaching the finish 40 seconds ahead of Team USA Minnesota's McGregor, who finished in 32:41.

The race for third saw 2007 USA Half-Marathon champion Elva Dryer (Gunnison, CO) outrun 2007 USA 20K champion Alicia Shay (Flagstaff, AZ) and Rebecca Donaghue (State College, PA). Dryer was timed in 32:53 with Shay and Donaghue finishing in 33:05 and 33:09, respectively.

Kastor, McGregor, Shay and sixth place finisher Desiree Davila (Rochester Hills, MI) will represent Team USA at next week's IAAF World Road Running Championships in Udine, Italy.

The USA Women's 10K Championship also was the final race on the women's 2007 USA Running Circuit (USARC), with Kastor also capturing her first USARC Grand Prix title with 60 points. Dryer took second with 47 points and McGregor and Shay tied for third with 34 points.

The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from 5K to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The thirteenth edition for the men and twelfth for the women, the 2007 circuit has nine events for men and seven for women.

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 ($6000, $4000, and $2500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships are 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 $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

31st Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women: USA Championship
Boston, MA, Monday, October 8, 2007

1) Deena Kastor (CA), 32:01, $10,600*
2) Katie McGregor (MN), 32:41, $6200*
3) Elva Dryer (CO), 32:53, $4800*
4) Alicia Shay (AZ), 33:05, $2500
5) Rebecca Donaghue (PA), 33:09, $2250
6) Desiree Davila (MI), 33:22, $1650
7) Stephanie Rothstein (CA), 33:26, $1200
8) Melissa White (MI), 33:28, $1000
9) Nicole Aish (CO), 33:32, $900
10) Mandi Zemba (MI), 33:44, $800
*includes Open prize money

Complete race results at: TuftsHealthPlan.com/tufts10k/