McGregor is doubly good

It was a doubly good day for Katie McGregor of Minneapolis.

Not only did she win yesterday's Tufts Health Plan 10K, but as the first American finisher, she also became the national champion for the distance. That goes quite well with the 10K outdoor track title she won over the summer.

This from a runner who didn't have high expectations for the race.

''I've never done well in this race," said McGregor, 28. ''I was thinking that during the race when there were still about seven of us up front. I thought, 'Man, this race, it gets you every time.' "

McGregor's main competition was last year's winner, Marie Davenport of Ireland, and the two broke from the lead pack as the runners headed down Commonwealth Avenue to the finish line between Boston Common and the Public Garden. But McGregor put it into high gear down the stretch and broke the tape in 32:25, three seconds ahead of Davenport.

McGregor earned $3,400 for the triumph, and another $6,750 as the USATF 10K winner.

She said none of the half-dozen elite runners seemed inclined to break away as the race made its way over the Longfellow Bridge to Memorial Drive, which was fine with her.

''We weren't too sure of the conditions, so we all hung together," McGregor said. ''And it's good, but as the miles keep going and everyone's still there, you're thinking, 'Oh, we've got to pick it up a little bit.'

''There were four of us up until Mile 5, I think, then Marie and I were back and forth. I just wanted to finish hard, but it's longer than you think. I'm thinking, 'If she has another gear, I don't, so . . .'

''But it was great running with her."

And Davenport knew she didn't have more to give.

''My legs felt very heavy coming in, but I'm happy with how I raced overall," she said. ''I'm pretty happy with how my body felt, and I used it as preparation for the New York City Marathon [Nov. 6]."

Aster Demissie of Ethiopia was third with a time of 32:40, and Amy Yoder-Begley of Albuquerque, who was the first American finisher last year, was fourth.

Also in the field was 1984 Olympic marathon gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, who has won this race three times, the last time in 1985. Yesterday she ran with her 18-year-old daughter, Abby. Mom finished 40th overall, in 36:29.

Samuelson, 48, ran the Twin Cities Marathon two weeks ago and qualified for the 2008 Olympic marathon trials.

But the non-elite of the almost 6,000 runners who participated yesterday were reveling in a race that has been geared toward women since 1977. One group of runners wore light green T-shirts that said on the back, ''Follow me. This is my 29th year, and I know the way."

No one seemed to mind the gray skies, cool temperatures, and off-and-on precipitation.

Lyn Licciardello of North Andover was one of the group that has run every Tufts 10K.

''Every year there's so much fun, because it's a celebration of life, really," she said. ''There's so much laughter and camaraderie throughout the whole thing, that's what makes it so special."

Licciardello, 56, has run four marathons, but she doesn't include herself among the serious runners. Yesterday she ran with her daughter, Christina, who beforehand said she probably would walk most of the way since she gave birth via Caesarean section seven months ago.

One serious but older runner was Mary-Louis Mendelsohn, of Stony Brook, N.Y. She turned 64 Saturday and celebrated by setting a national record for her age with a time of 42:50.