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Live @ the USA XC Champs: Kastor wins; edges Flanagan for her 8th XC Championship!

Posted February 10th, 2007 at 2:42 PM by Sarah Mandell

Section: News & Results, Cross Country, Special Features, Live Race Coverage

Kastor has proved once again why she is the # 1 ranked female runner in the world.

She defeated a very talented field of runners at today’s USA Cross Country Championships in Boulder, CO; finishing in a time of 26:47.

This is Kastor’s 8th U.S.A. Cross Country victory. She came into this race as the owner of USA Cross Country titles, with six coming in the 8 km (1997, 1999-2003) and one in the 4 km (2000). She will running the 2007 Boston Marathon on April 16th.

Flanagan was the runner-up, finishing in 27:48. She is a two-time USA Cross Country 4 km titlist (2004, 2005). Flanagan also recently shattered the indoor 3,000 meter American record at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games on January 27, 2007.

Third place went to Kara Goucher (28:01), the top U.S. performer for 10,000 meters in 2006, and Lauren Fleshman came in fourth. Elva Dryer and Shayne Culpepper had disappointing performances, coming in 6th and 12th respectively.

The top four (Kastor, Flanagan, Goucher and Fleshman retained their positions throughout the entire race. At the beginning, Flanagan was really on Kastor’s tail, but was unable to keep up after the 3km when Kastor really took off.

After the race, Kastor told us:

“Right now my sites are really set on the Boston Marathon and that’s what I am training for … I just enjoy Boulder … it was my first cross country race since 2003 and was more difficult than I thought, but I was really excited to see all of the fans out here.”

In case anyone was still unsure, it’s time to realize that Deena Kastor is the best female distance runner in America.

For more information and complete results, please click here.

Wish you could watch this incredible race? Well you can (at least sort of)! The USA XC Champs will be On during a portion of the tyson invite coverage Sunday 1-3pm EST on ESPN2.