Sara Hall didn't rush into a decision. As much as she wanted to try for her third consecutive title in the TC 10 Mile, the race was only a week after the Berlin Marathon, and Hall didn't know if she could manage the quick turnaround.
She could laugh about that Sunday, after breezing to another U.S. 10-mile championship. Seven days after a brilliant performance in Berlin, when she ran the fastest marathon by a U.S. woman this year, Hall covered the distance from Minneapolis to St. Paul in 53 minutes, 11 seconds. Makena Morley was second in 53:17, and Katy Jermann of Burnsville was third in 53:44.
A tightly packed men's field was topped by Futsum Zienasellassie, who outsprinted former Minnesotan Abbabiya Simbassa in the final meters to win the U.S. men's 10-mile title in 46:55. The top four men's finishers were separated by only four seconds.
"I had [the 10 Mile] in the back of my mind even before Berlin, but I wanted to see how I came off the race and just make a smart decision," said Hall, of Flagstaff, Ariz. "Fortunately, my legs were coming around really quickly. It was a very expensive flight, but it was worth it.
"I love this race. I love the weather. The course is tough, but it has a fun flow to it, and I really enjoyed coming back."
The cost of Hall's airfare was dwarfed by her winnings of $12,500. She said she "never really hit the wall" in Berlin, when she finished fifth in 2:22:16. Her time — which cut more than four minutes off her personal-best mark — made her the sixth-fastest American woman in marathon history.
Sunday, Hall led for most of the race. Her next goal is to have her best-ever finish in a major marathon when she runs the New York City Marathon on Nov. 3.
"It's definitely unorthodox," Hall said of her willingness to schedule races so close together. "For me, it seems to work. I think it just shows I love my job so much, I never want to take a vacation."