Showing her speed and kick coming off a bridge that race organizers call “The Green Monster,” Flagstaff’s Rachel Smith won her first major race after having her daughter by defeating Kiera D’Amato Satuday morning at Florida’s Gate River Run, the USTFA 15K chapionships.
Her race was perfectly executed, biding her time in the chase pack behind D’Amato and Flagstaff’s Emily Durgin, before pulling away from the pack and picking up the pace in the final 5K. Once they hit the uphill on the bridge, Smith passed Durgin and had set her sights on D’Amato.
On the downhill side of the bridge, Smith showed her 5K and 10K speed and caught D’Amato with about 400 meters left. D’Amato, to be fair, was coming off a DNF late in last month’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, so she was fit but may have been tiring, whereas Smith has been running indoor shorter distances and is building toward the outdoor track season. Smith’s time: 48 minutes, 26 seconds.
Also running well was Flagstaff’s Angie Nickerson, who runs for McKirdyTrained. Nickerson finished eighth in 54:05.
Smith, who finished sixth in this race in 2019, earned $12,000 for the victory. Durgin, who finished ninth in last month’s marathon trials, faded late after challenging D’Amato early but managed to hang on for third in 48:44 — a great run given her recovery from the marathon.
Flagstaff’s Diego Estrada finished third in the men’s race and Biya Simbassa fourth and Jacon Thomson sixth.
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