Olympian Shalane Flanagan, 33, of Boulder, Colo., was the big story at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half-Marathon, Sun., July 20, as she ran a classy 1:09:44 to win the women’s race by more than four minutes!

Flanagan, bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the fastest American woman ever in the Boston Marathon (with her 2:22:02 clocking this past April), was running competitively in Chicago for the first time.

“I came to run the streets of Chicago and today was the first real long effort I’ve had since the Boston Marathon,” she said after her victory on Sunday. “What I ran today is basically what I want to run in my fall marathon, my marathon pace of 5:19 per mile.”

She led from start to finish in running the second fastest half-marathon by an American woman this year.

Lindsey Scherf, 27, of Chapel Hill, N.C., herself no slouch as a runner (she won this year’s Publix Gasparella Half-Marathon in Tampa, Fla.), finished second in 1:13:47.

Scherf was running in Chicago to help her finalize her decision on which fall marathon to run. She said afterwards, “Today was a lot of fun, it was a good opportunity to see the city of Chicago and preview what the second half of the Chicago Marathon course was like as I prepare to make my decision on which fall marathon to run.”

Danish Olympian Jess Peterssen, 36, rounded out the top three in the women’s race as she ran 1:16:03.

Peterssen, who won the P.F. Chang Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half-Marathon in January, is in the final weeks of training for the European Marathon Championships in Zurich on Aug. 16. She said after her Chicago race, “It was really fun, the weather was so nice and a little overcast. I have two big weeks left of marathon training and than two weeks of tapering before the European Championships.”

The men’s winner in Chicago was Andy Wacker, 25, of Boulder, Colo., who ran 1:06:21 to prevail over Kevin Havel, 24, of Arlington Heights, Ill., and Tyler Pence, 21, of Springfield, Ill., who ran 1:06:40 and 1:07:44 respectively.

Wacker opened a lead just before hitting the 5K in 15:22 and never relinquished it, although Havel and Pence weren’t far behind at the end.

“I pulled away early, and wanted to distance myself from the other guys and make sure I didn’t get caught,” Wacker said afterwards. “Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego (in June) was really my first race back on a national scene after being injured all winter. It was nice to come back today and my fitness has really progressed, so it was a little easier to keep clicking off some five-minute miles. You couldn’t ask for better conditions today, lots of support on the course and finishing right here next to Buckingham fountain and Lake Michigan, you couldn’t ask for anything more.”

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