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Kastor, Slattery to face-off at U.S.A. XC Championships

Posted January 25th, 2007 at 2:03 PM by Lisa Cieplechowicz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country

It’s showdown time! Top runners Sara Slattery and Deena Kastor are set to face-off on February 10th at the U.S.A. Cross Country Championships in Boulder, CO.

Kastor vs. Slattery is sure to add even more excitement to the myriad of other, intensely competitive battles at this year’s XC Champs.

Can’t make it to Boulder, but want to stay on top of the action? No problem! The Final Sprint will be there; reporting LIVE from the race course at the Flatirons Gold Course!

Slattery and Kastor both have a history of strong performances and this race may come down to the wire if they both come out in top form. Last year, Slattery won the highly competitive Bolder Boulder 10K, finished second in the U.S. 10,000 meter track championships and ran a personal best 5,000 meters (00:15:08) in Paris.

Deena Kastor, an 8-time NCAA All-American, won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and more recently, the 2006 Flora London Marathon. Kastor is also a three-time Bolder champion.

However, there is no guarantee that the championship will go to either Kastor or Slattery. They will also have to fend off challenges from a very talented field of runners that includes Shayne Culpepper, Carrie Messner, and Elva Dryer.

Slattery, the former University of Colorado NCAA 5,000 meter champion, insists she’s ready to put up a good fight:

“Deena is an incredible runner, a tough competitor, but I am not focusing only on her. There will be so many good runners here that you never know. It is such a deep field that it could be any woman’s race…I never rule out winning. I don’t want to over-think it. I just want to go in, run my own race plan, and see how it goes.”

Kastor also made headlines a few days ago when she announced her intention to run the 111th Boston Marathon on April 16th; a choice that was likely influenced by USA Track & Field’s decision to designate Boston as the 2007 USA Women’s Championship.

Stayed tuned … The Final Sprint will bring you all the action on February 10th as we cover the 2007 XC Championships LIVE from the Flatirons Golf Course!

Research source and for more information: [DailyCamera]