Tera Moody, 29, of Colorado Springs, finished 10th in the women's elite field Sunday at the Chicago Marathon.
Moody crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 30 minutes, and 53 seconds, a PR of nearly two minutes.
Her time also qualifies her for the U.S. Olympic marathon trials, Jan. 14, 2012 in Houston.
Liliya Shobukhova clocked 2:20:25 to win for the second-consecutive year.
Moody was the third U.S. runner to finish. Desiree Davila of the U.S place fourth in 2:26:20. Magdalena Lewy-Boulet was seventh in 2:28:44. Boulder resident Fiona Docherty, a New Zealand citizen, placed 11th, about 84 seconds behind Moody.
Moody, who runs for the Boulder Running Company/adidas team, moved to Colorado Springs from Boulder last year. She regularly trains in Monument Valley Park (right) and the trails on the east side of Colorado Springs near her home.
Moody has high goals. She is attempting to qualify to run the marathon in the 2012 Summer Olympics.
"It was such an amazing experience out there," Moody told Runner's World Magazine. "Everyone was cheering and yelling my name. I had a lot of support."
Moody is an Illinois native with victories in five races in her home state in 2010. She won the Shamrock Shuffle 8K on March 21, topping a field of more than 25,000. She then won the Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon (1:13:36) on Aug. 1.
In the Chicago Marathon, Moody averaged about 5:48 per mile. She covered the first 5K in 17:48. Her other splits were as follows: 10K 35:35, 15K 53:33, 20K 1:11:23,
half 1:15:16, 25K 1:29:12, 30K 1:46:59, 35K 2:04:48, 40K 2:22:48.