NYRR

Central Park Challenge: Women’s Invitational 8K
March 15, 2008 / Central Park

Erin Donohue United States Age: 24 Donohue was the fastest female American 1500-meter runner (4:05.55) and miler (4:27.35) last year. A 2005 University of North Carolina graduate and four-time NCAA All American, she was also the fastest high school miler in the country (4:42) in 2001, and a national-class javelin thrower both as a prep at Haddonfield (NJ) High School and as a collegian. She had an excellent 2007 campaign in Europe, notching personal bests in the 800 (2:01.12), 1000 (2:39.50), 1500 (4:05.55), and mile (4:27.35).



Carmen Douma-Hussar Canada Age: 31 The three-time NCAA champion for Villanova University won the 2007 Emerald Nuts Midnight Run in an event-record time of 20:54; Douma-Hussar is also the 2007 and 2005 Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile champion and has three times won the mile or its equivalent at the Millrose Games track meet at Madison Square Garden. A resident of the Philadelphia area, she coaches track and field at her alma mater. Douma-Hussar owns Canadian records in the indoor 1500 meters and indoor mile. She fell during a race last July and sustained a deep thigh bruise, but she bounced back quickly and achieved a personal best in the mile (4:26.76) in September.



Shalane Flanagan United States Age: 26 A 2004 Olympian at 5000 meters, Flanagan comes to the Central Park Challenge fresh off a commanding win at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego on February 16. She placed eighth in in 15:03.86 in the 5000 meters at the 2007 IAAF World Outdoor Championships, having qualified for Team USA with a wire-to-wire win at the 5000 at the USA Track & Field Championships in 14:51.75, the fourth-fastest time ever by an American. At the 2007 Mt. SAC Relays, Flanagan set an American record with her victory in the 5000 in 14:44.80; she also set the indoor American record for 3000 meters (8:33.25) at the 2007 Reebok Boston Indoor Games.



Lisa Galaviz United States Age: 28 Galaviz holds the American 3000-meter steeplechase record of 9:28.75, which she set last summer in Heusden, Belgium. In 2005, she qualified for the IAAF World Championships with a stirring come-from-behind performance at the USA Track & Field Championships, where she finished as the runner-up in 9:40.58, a PR by six seconds. One year later, she won her first national title. A star at Centennial High School in Peoria, AZ, Galaviz was an eight-time state champion, including five titles in her senior season; she was also a two-time letter-winner in basketball.



Molly Huddle United States Age: 23 After setting a national high school record of 10:01.08 for two miles, Molly Huddle set an America junior record of 15:36.95 for 5000 meters in her freshman year at the University of Notre Dame. In her sophomore year, Huddle became the most decorated female athlete in Notre Dame history when she earned her seventh All-American title. She built upon her previous honors by competing in the 5000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2004, placing seventh overall and claiming the top collegiate spot. She won the Big East Outdoor Championships in the 5000 and 10,000 meters, and three times earned the NCAA Regional 5000-meter title.



Katie McGregor United States Age: 30 McGregor qualified for her sixth IAAF World Cross Country Championships team this year with a fourth-place finish at the USA Cross Country Championships in February. The University of Michigan graduate and Team USA Minnesota member has developed into one of the best U.S. 10,000-meter runners ever, winning the 2005 title at that distance to go along with back-to-back U.S. 10K titles on the roads. She just missed a 2004 Olympic berth with a fourth-place finish in the 10,000 meters at the Trials; she returned to win the national title in 2005. She made her marathon debut in 2006 at the ING New York City Marathon, finishing ninth.



Amy Rudolph United States Age: 34 Rudolph represented the United States in the 5000 meters at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games and just barely missed making the team in both the 1500 and 5000 in 2004. She has won two USA Indoor Championships 3000-meter titles (1997 and 2002) and two USA Cross Country titles (1998 and 1999). She won the Stanford Cardinal Invitational 10,000 meters in 2005 in her debut at the distance.



Lilia Shobukhova Russia Age: 30 Shobukhova set the world record (8:27.86) in the indoor 3000 meters at the 2006 Russian Indoor Championships, and followed that up with a silver medal at the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships (she is skipping World Indoors this year to compete in the 8K and focus her training for Beijing). Her WR has since been broken (Meseret Defar, 8:23.72, 2007), but it still stands as the #2 time in history. Shobukhova holds a 5000-meter personal best of 14:47.07 (set in 2005) and has broken 15 minutes on four occasions. She has performed well in New York on recent occasions, having won the New Balance Games mile here in January and placed third at the Millrose Games mile in February.



Carrie Tollefson United States Age: 31 A 13-time Minnesota state champion in high school, Tollefson attended college at Villanova University where she won five NCAA titles and was named the 1999 NCAA Athlete of the Year. The 2004 Olympic Trials champion at 1500 meters won the 2006 national 4K cross country title and the national 3000-meter indoor title on successive weekends. Tollefson is returning to competition following major abdominal surgery in 2007 to treat a condition known as athletic pubalgia; she placed sixth in the Tyson Invitational mile on February 15 in her first competition in nearly a year. A member of Team USA Minnesota, she has done television commentary at running events around the country.