Even before taking her place on the starting line, Megan Fitzpatrick's body was in shambles. Her stomach was doing somersaults. Her legs felt like lead weights. At yesterday's Octoberfest Invitational -- after running in two grueling meets earlier in the week -- Fitzpatrick nearly was depleted and on the verge of giving in.
But on the final hill on the five-kilometer course in The Plains, the O'Connell runner's competitive spirit overrode every notion she had of easing off the throttle. Fitzpatrick mustered one last burst and powered past the race leader. She held off one more challenger down the stretch to earn a split-second victory in 18 minutes 26.85 seconds, a career-best time.