PROVIDENCE - In her first race since winning a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, Massachusetts runner Shalane Flanagan successfully defended her 5K national champion title when she won the CVS Caremark Downtown 5K on Sunday. She completed the race in 15 minutes, 28 seconds.

Another American, Anthony Famiglietti, a New York native now living in Tennesee, won the men's division with a last-minute surge to pass Matt Tegenkamp of Concord, Mass. Famiglietti represented the United States in the steeple chase at the Beijing Olympics. He finished Sunday's race in 13 minutes, 41 seconds -- 8.7 seconds ahead of Tegenkamp.

Famiglietti, the 2006 5K champion, came to Providence with a conservative strategy.

"My race strategy was to hang back," he said. "I have some pretty good 5K experience and I have the fastest time on American soil by an American -- 13:11 -- and Matt [Tegencamp] and I have personal records that are very similar. I knew we were the strongest in the field, so it was a matter of running smart. On a day like today, when a lot of guys are good and a lot of guys have fresh legs, it's not going to be a super-fast time, but it's going to be a strategic race."

As the sun rose over Providence, the air was chilly. As the sun climbed over Narragansett Bay, the air became pleasantly warm, then downright hot.

More than 8,400 people, including children, registered for Sunday's morning of racing. In the main event, there were more than 6,000 runners at the start, according to race organizers. The starting field included eight Olympic runners.

The elite runners took off with a jack-rabbit start.

In the men's field, Luke Kipkosgei of Kenya took an early lead followed closely by a group of Americans: Dan Browne of Beaverton, Ore., Tegenkamp, and Famiglietti.

In the women's field, Flanagan was soon by herself. Ireland's Mary Cullen, a resident of Gray, Tenn., said she could always see Flanagan out front, but soon after the start, Cullen knew she couldn't catch her.

The men's pack quickly tightened, and the leaders completed the first mile in 4 minutes, 23 seconds, running in close quarters.

Tegenkamp and Browne moved ahead and stayed ahead with Famiglietti still hanging back for a slightly slower Mile 2.

Suddenly Famiglietti kicked.

"When you're running up front and someone comes up from behind," Famiglietti said, "it does a little something to you mentally, even if you're feeling the same physically. So I hung back, hung back, hung back. When I felt the time was right on one of the final turns, I put the hammer down a little bit."

Tegenkamp came to Sunday's race after finishing the European track season last week. "This is my first time out on the road," he said, "and I made the rookie mistake of trying to take the lead too early, and I became the hunted instead of the hunter."

With about 600 meters to the finish, Famiglietti passed Tegenkamp. "I was able to tuck in behind him," Tegenkamp remembers, "but once we hit the [final] hill, I just didn't have anything left in my legs. He ran a smart, patient race."

Shalane Flanagan shined before a throng of friends and family who drove down from Massachusetts' North Shore to watch her run. "I wanted to show my best to the people who really matter to me," she said after defending her national title.

She took a long lead early, and extended it even more. "I just wanted to seal the deal and put the contenders away," she said. "I know I'm fit, I know I'm healthy, so there was no excuse not to run fast." She beat Cullen by 19 seconds.