Alaska’s Allie Ostrander lowered her personal-best in the mile by nearly two seconds Sunday on the streets of New York City.
Ostrander, a Kenai Central and Boise State graduate who turned pro earlier this summer, finished 16th in the 5th Avenue Mile with a time of 4 minutes, 33.5 seconds. She was one of 20 runners entered in the women’s professional heat.
Ostrander, 22, entered the race with a personal-best of 4:35.79, registered on an oval track earlier this year while she was still competing for Boise State. Sunday was a road race – 20 blocks of running on 5th Avenue, started at East 80th Street and ending at East 60th Street.
She lost contact with the lead pack early and finished well off the winning pace.
Victories went to Jenny Simpson of the United States, who captured her eighth 5th Avenue Mile title – and her seventh in a row – by outkicking Elinor Purrier in the final stretch. Simpson, a bronze medalist in the 1,500 meters at the 2016 Summer Olympics, clocked 4:16.1; Purrier finished in 4:16.2. Third-place Rebecca Mehra finished in 4:22.0.
In the men’s race, New Zealand’s Nick Willis won his fifth title in a photo finish with Great Britain’s Chris O’Hare. Both men posted times of 3:51.7.
Next up for Ostrander is the World Championships in Qatar later this month. She qualified for the U.S. team in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.