Allie Ostrander, a 2015 graduate of Kenai Central High School, finished 16th in the 20-runner women’s pro division in the 5th Avenue Mile on Sunday in New York City.
Ostrander, who turned pro earlier this summer after picking up her degree from Boise State, finished in 4 minutes, 33.5 seconds, while Jenny Simpson of the United States won her seventh straight title and eighth in the last nine years by running 4:16.1, a new event record. The race follows 5th Avenue from East 80th Street to East 60th Street.
“I felt pretty unprepared straight from the gun,” Ostrander, 22, said in a video posted on runnersworld.com. “Everybody took off and I was like, ‘I don’t even know if I can do 100 meters that fast.’”
Ostrander will compete for Team USA in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar.
“I’m excited,” Ostrander said on runnersworld.com. “It’s a building step toward worlds and I feel like it helped me put a little bit of speed back in my legs.”
