Sawicki to leverage cross country fitness at marathon worlds

Pua Sawicki (Ellsworth) didn't have a lot of time to get herself to the marathon world championships this weekend. She raced this weekend at the US ProXCT series finals in Windham, New York, just before heading across the Atlantic to Graz, Austria, where worlds will be held on Sunday, August 23.

"Leading into this last race, Pua has been putting long hours on the bike to prepare for the Marathon World Championships in Austria next week," said husband Ron Sawicki. "While this caused her to not feel as strong and snappy as normal (at Windham), she is now primed and ready for next week's 53-mile race."

Despite crashing out of the US ProXCT race in Mount Snow, Vermont, Sawicki still earned enough points for a top-five finish in the series. She was eighth in Saturday's cross country race.

"This was Pua's first year fully focusing on a top pro cross country finish," said Ron Sawicki. "She was able to endure a mid-season sinus infection, a crash giving her 11 stitches in her shin, another crash that slammed the previous injury and she was still able to stay at the top."

Sawicki, an accomplished endurance racer, finished fifth overall in the US ProXCT.

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