HOUGHTON, Mich. -- Anchorage's Kikkan Randall and Lars Flora turned up the intensity of the spotlight shining on the Alaska nordic ski scene Thursday.

Randall and Flora both won national titles at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships -- the seventh for Randall and fourth for Flora overall.

"I was real frustrated with my race earlier in the week, but I knew it would probably kick my body into gear," Randall told the Anchorage Daily News by cell phone Thursday.

"I was hoping when I started the first couple of (kilometers) that I'd have more spark in my stride. I didn't have absolute perfect feeling right off the bat, but a couple of (kilometers) into the race I started to find the spark and I was able to get out there and attack."

Randall finished a disappointing 10th in the 5-kilometer skate on Tuesday, her first race since becoming the first American woman to win a World Cup nordic event, but rebounded with a strong effort Thursday in the 10-K classical, clocking a time of 30 minutes, 24 seconds to beat Swede Kristina Strandberg by 22 seconds.

"I took a pretty big rest week ... over the holidays," Randall said. "I think my body was a little bit asleep from the rest, and I really haven't done a 5-K skate race in two years. It's a pace that I haven't really worked on lately. It was a little bit foreign."

Randall had assumed the lead by the time the field came around for it's second lap on the 5-K course at the Michigan Tech University Nordic Training Center, and the two-time Olympian continued to push herself toward the finish.

"It's a really interesting course," she said. "You never get a chance to rest, there's no long downhill, you're constantly working, the pitch is always changing. I really just tried to ignore all the distractions and focused on technique."

APU's Tazlina Mannix of Talkeetna did not race because of the flu.

Flora actually finished second in the men's 15-K, but because the winner, Ivan Babikov, is from Russia, Flora won the U.S. national championship.

Babikov cruised to his second straight win (40:51), Flora was a distant second and Andrey Golovko of Kazakhstan rounded out the podium. Kris Freeman of the U.S. Ski Team faded to fourth.

"You go 1-2-3 and Kris is in fourth. That's a pretty good day," said Flora, two-time Olympian.

The only disappointment for Flora was the 68-second margin behind Babikov.

"I crossed the line and I thought I was eight seconds to Babikov so I was really excited, but then I was a minute, eight (seconds)," Flora said. "But I'm still happy with a national championship, of course."

Flora is still seeking his first breakthrough on the World Cup circuit and says everything -- fitness, support, fast skis -- has to click for him to land in the top 30.

"My performance today is probably just inside the top 50 on the World Cup, and getting a top 30 you gotta be with Ivan," Flora said.

Randall's win on Thursday didn't carry nearly the same magnitude as her historic victory last month, but it instead displayed a different benefit -- she's helping raise the APU team to greater heights.

The World Cup conquest in Russia on Dec. 16 has changed Randall's life, and she hopes it will have a lasting impression on nordic skiing in the U.S..

"I was very happy to cross the finish line and achieve a goal, but I really had no idea what an impact that success was going to have on skiing on our country," Randall said.

That impact has included greater exposure -- such as articles in the New York Times, USA Today and the Alpine-dominated Ski Racing magazine -- and countless congratulations from acquaintances and strangers alike.

"The funnest part for me probably has been hearing from the younger skiers, because what I want to show them is that we can do this, and that if they get engaged and have fun early on, they can do it too."

Today is a rest/training day before the championships conclude with an individual sprint on Saturday and a team sprint on Sunday.

Randall will be a heavy favorite in the sprint but is taking nothing for granted.

"Sprinting is wild, anything can happen," she said. "It's a very different course here than it was in Russia."

Randall said she is planning on teaming with APU teammate Laura Valaas on Sunday.

2008 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships

At Houghton, Mich.

Thursday's Results

Women's 10-K Classical

Top 10 -- 1) Kikkan Randall 30:42.2; 2) Kristina Strandberg 31:04.1; 3) Morgan Arritola 31:35.1; 4) Kate Arduser 31:43.1; 5) Caitlin Compton 31:43.3; 6) Karin Camenisch 31:44.5; 7) Lindsey Dehlin 31:53.6; 8) Elizabeth Stephen 31:55.3; 9) Sadie Bjornsen 31:55.5; 10) Laura Valaas 31:58.5.

Other Alaskans --15) Becca Rorabaugh 32:41.4; 23) Nicole DeYong 33:01.9; 28) Kasandra Rice 33;24.8; 37) Aurelia Korthauer 33:46; 38) Jaime Bronga 33:47.9; 48) Paige Brady 34:20.8; 51) Kelsey Coolidge 34:21.7; 54) Caitlin Patterson 34:29.2; 60) Anna Coulter 34:42.2; 62) Elisabeth Habermann 34:43; 84) Rachelle Kanady 35:21.4; 89) Amy Glen 35:35.6; 98) Hanna Johnson 35:52.8; 119) Ky Eiben 36:40.1; 132) Christina Gillis 37:06.5; 148) Tamra Kornfield 38:11.4; 151) Krynn Finstad 38:19.9; 161) Kalysta Schmidt 39:00.2.

Men's 15-K Classical

Top 10 -- 1) Ivan Babikov 40:51.3; 2) Lars Flora 41:59; 3) Andrey Golovko 41:59.1; 4) Kris Freeman 42:18.3; 5) Chris Cook 42:20.3; 6) Marius Korthauer 42:22.6; 7) Garrott Kuzzy 42:41.7; 8) Leif-Orin Zimmermann 42:45.1; 9) Michael Sinnott 42:46.7; 10) Ben True 42:51.1.

Other Alaskans --15) Vahur Teppan 43:33; 24) James Southam 43:53.4; 33) Max Treinen 44:17.1; 37) Brent Knight 44:23.1; 40) Andy Liebner 44:31.9; 48) Eric Packer 45:03; 51) David Norris 45;15.5; 59) Tyson Flaharty 45:30.4; 63) Mike Hinckley 45:33.5; 80) Barton Dengel 46:02.7; 82) Lex Treinen 46:07.5; 87) Reese Hanneman 46:10; 92) Einar Often 46:32; 94) John Parry 46:40.9; 97) Paul Schauer 46:44.7; 98) Andreas Schnitzer 46:46.7; 102) Ray Sabo 46:53.4; 106) Patrick Johnson 46:55.6; 111) Andrew Dougherty 47:04.7; 116) Robert Pakk 47:13.1; 120) Tyler Kornfield 47:20; 122) Zachary McGill 47:22.7.