Olympic silver medalist Galen Rupp, whobroke his own American recordfor the 10,000 meters earlier this month, cruised to victory again on day two of thein Sacramento, California.
His time of 28:12.07 was good enough for his sixth consecutive 10,000-meter title. “I was just trying to run it as easy as possible. I didn’t want to make it any harder than it needed to be,” says Rupp, who is trying toconserve energy for upcoming events.The 28-year-old phenom from Portland, Oregon, has his sights on the European circuit, starting with next weekend’s Diamond League meet in Paris, where he will face off against the world’s best runners.
On the women’s side, UK-born distance runner Kim Conley won her first national championship, running the 10,000 meters in 32:02.07. Conley, a Sacramento resident, brought the local crowd of 6,000 to its feet as she outkicked rival Jordan Hasay in the final straight (no mean feat, considering Hasay is known for her furious finishing speed).
“I guess in an ideal world I could have caught her earlier, but I definitely was leaving a little something in the tank knowing that [Hasay is] strong and has a great finish, so I knew I needed a little something extra,” Conley said afterward.
Finally, the night’s most remarkable achievement might well belong to an athlete who finished last in her heat., five-time winner of the 800 meters at the USATF championships, ran her race despite being 34 weeks pregnant.Her time was 2:32.13, nearly 35 seconds slower than her personal best time of 1:57.34.
“I’ve been running throughout my pregnancy, and I felt really, really good during the whole process,”.“I just didn’t want to get lapped and be the first person to get lapped in the 800.”
The championships continue through Sunday.