USA National Cross Country Championships - Boulder, Colorado

An estimated 10,000 spectators showed up today at Flatirons Golf Course in Boulder, Colorado to watch the USA National Cross Country Championships, essentially the annual USA "Super Bowl" of distance running. Also at stake were spots on Team USA that will compete at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, to be held in Mombasa, Kenya in March.
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The weather was warm and sunny, which when mixed with a large amount of snow on the ground from a very snowy winter so far, turned a nice golf course into a muddy mess. In other words, great conditions for cross country running! The runners ran on a spectator-friendly, flat course consisting of 2K loops that included two creek jumps.





A sign of the times.



Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor took an early lead in the women's open 8K race and never looked back.



Dathan Ritzenhein takes the early lead in the men's open 12K race, near the 2K mark, with Adam Goucher in second.


Eventual winner Alan Culpepper is sitting comfortably at third, also around 2K.



The stage for the top ten men's open finishers



The top three men's open National Champs for 2007. Left to right: #2 Adam Goucher, #1 Alan Culpepper, and #3 Dathan Ritzenhein.



Check the full results for details.

Posted at 06:25PM Feb 10, 2007 by Peter Schow in Sport  |