BOSTON - American record holder Molly Huddle (Providence, R.I.) sprinted home in 32:00 at the Tuft's Health Plan 10K for Women to win her third consecutive USA Women's 10 km title Monday.

A near record field of 6,725 women started the 34th edition of the Columbus Day race, with Huddle, Katie McGregor (Saint Louis Park, Minn.), Jen Rhines (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) and Genoveva Kigen of Kenya leading the field through the first mile in 5:08.

As the field raced along Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Huddle and Kigen controlled the pace with Rhines and McGregor maintaining close contact.

After passing 5 kilometers in 16:14, McGregor began to fall back from the leaders and as the race turned onto the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge after four miles McGregor was 20 meters down from the leaders, and by four and a half miles, Huddle and Kigen pulled away from Rhines as they raced down Commonwealth Avenue.

Over the final mile, Huddle and Kigen were stride for stride and as they made the final turn on to Charles Street, Huddle found one more gear, pulling away from Kigen for a four second win.

Rhines held on for third overall, running 32:16 to claim the runner-up position in the championship. McGregor rounded out the U.S. top- three, taking fourth overall in 32:44.

Video highlights

Highlights of the USA Women's 10 km Championship are available in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at www.USARunningCircuit.com.

About the USARC

The USA Women's 10 km Championship was the ninth stop for women on the 2010 USA Running Circuit (USARC).

McGregor currently leads the women's standings with 55 points, while her Team USA Minnesota teammate Antonio Vega (Minneapolis, Minn.) finished the year on top of the men's standings with 44 points.

The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from one mile to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The circuit features ten events each for men and women.

The 2010 USARC will once again see a record amount of circuit prize money for a non-Olympic year with total prize purse of $623,850 offered by host events. U.S. athletes will also have the opportunity to qualify for various Team USA events, including the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and the Chiba International Ekiden.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.

The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

For more information on the 2010 USA Running Circuit, visit www.USARunningCircuit.com.