(October 17, 2008) Still riding what she calls "the highlight of my summer" after winning a national title on Columbus Day, Elmira native Molly Huddle is choosing Rochester to wrap up her professional running season this weekend.

Huddle, the 24-year-old Notre Dame nine-time All-American and almost-Olympian, is driving from her home in Providence, R.I., this afternoon to compete in Saturday's 13th Run For Hospice 5K in Greece.

Monday she won more than $10,000 at the Tufts 10K in Boston, USA Track and Field's national road championship for women, at the 6.2-mile distance.

"It's been an exciting week," she said by telephone. "I'm looking forward to coming to Rochester and ending my season with a good effort, and being with my family."

Six years ago it was a family reunion of sorts that brought Huddle to town to race another 5K. As a graduating senior from Elmira Notre Dame, she won the race (over 182 other men and women) and broke USATF's American age-group record for 17-year-olds by running a 16-minute, 23-second time on State Road in Webster, at the Heritage Christian Home 5K.

No one has broken it since.

Twelve of her family, including her older sister, Kate Rothstein of Penfield, and her uncle and aunt, Bill and Janet Huddle of Penfield, ran in the race. They all wore blue T-shirts designed by Molly's mom, Kathy, with the inscription "the Huddles Run in a Pack." They celebrated Molly at a post-race party rocking to Little Richard's golden oldie Good Golly Miss Molly.

"That was fun," Huddle recalled. "I remember feeling good that day. It seems like so long ago."

Her Uncle Bill is controller for Visiting Nurse Hospice, the race beneficiary, and when he asked her if she'd come visit and race, she quickly agreed.

"I wanted to race this last year but it didn't fit my schedule, being the Olympic year," she said. "This time, it works. But I hope Mom isn't doing shirts again. I don't think so. I just want to run well."

That's pretty much a given for one of the country's top middle distance specialists. With a personal-best road time of 15:17 from a year ago in Belgium, and a track 31:27 10K the same summer, Huddle was solidly in the mix in both events at the Olympic Track and Field Trials in July in Eugene, Ore.

Her disappointment, at feeling sub-par while finishing 10th in the 5K (15:42.19) and then 9th in the 10K (33:17.73), was pretty intense, according to her fiance, Canadian Kurt Benninger, who shares a training residence with her in Providence and is a sub 4-minute miler.

"She took it hard," he said, "but within a week, she was determined to find an answer and get better."

Huddle's not sure why her times were off. She didn't have that extra spring in her step. A pulled calf muscle in the spring was supposedly healed, so she couldn't blame that.

"I could see she didn't have it," Benninger said. "She's such a tough runner ... tough to pull away from and tough to beat at the finish."

Adjusting her training — including reducing 100-mile weeks to around 50 — and changing her diet may be making a difference.

"It was mostly a disappointing summer until this week," she said. "If I can run a sub-16 and break the race record (15:59) Saturday I'll be happy."

JCASTOR@DemocratandChronicle.comm

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