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Local school teacher upsets pros at Cherry Blossom 10-miler in Washington, D.C.

On her seventh try, the elementary school teacher from the D.C. area won the race

Washington D.C.’s famous Cherry Blossom 10-mile run tends to attract a field of elite women from East Africa and some of the top professional distance runners in the U.S. On  April 3 a local school teacher, Susanna Sullivan, who was an unlikely favourite, finished first in the 10-miler (16.09km) in 52:32. This marked the first time a local resident has won the race in 40 years.

The race conditions were near perfect for Sullivan and the field, as the weather hovered around 10 C with no wind. The 31-year-old fifth-grade teacher from Reston, Va., who is currently unsponsored, relied on her vast knowledge of the course to lead her to victory. Sullivan runs a portion of the course every weekend at D.C.’s  East Potomac Park and Hains Point and knows every twist and turn.

Sullivan became the second runner from Washington to win the prestigious race since Eleanor Simonsick in 1983. This also marks the second straight year that an American woman has won the race against a tough international field. (Nell Rojas won last year’s edition.)

This year marked Sullivan’s seventh year entering the race, and she had never finished higher than eighth. “Breaking the tape meant a lot for me,” Sullivan said to local news. Sullivan will be the talk of the classroom when she returns to her job at Haycock Elementary School this week.

The Cherry Blossom 10-miler wasn’t only a successful field trip for Sullivan; Carrie Verdon, who’s also a grade-school teacher in Colorado, placed second. Paige Stoner of Reebok Track Club in Charlottesville, Va., was the first pro runner to cross the line in third.

Almost 15,000 runners finished in the first normal spring slot for the race since 2019.

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