A heavy downpour blew through Lincoln Park Friday morning. Then Jeremy Borling and Monica Hostetler blew through the course at the American Family Insurance All-American 8K run. Both runners popped good races in this soggy Fourth of July race, but with the great family-style picnic afterward, why not run fast?

Borling, 23, of Chicago, found himself locked in a duel with defending champion Chris Wehrman, 27, of Chicago, at about the 1.5-mile mark. They stuck together until just past two miles, and then Borling, feeling fresh and strong, decided to settle the matter early. Wehrman, still recovering from the Green Bay Marathon seven weeks ago and already training for The LaSalle Banks Chicago Marathon, couldn't match strides with Borling, and for all practical purposes, the race was over before the three-mile point. Borling won in 25 minutes, 37 seconds, while Wehrman, cutting back to save for Sunday's Bally's Race to the Taste 5K, settled for 26:45. Gregory Destefano, 26, of Kettering, OH, was third in 27:44.

"For most of the first two miles, we were feeling each other out," Borling said. "I knew Chris has been on top of the Chicago racing scene so I wasn't sure what he had. After the two-mile, I got a step and half on him, and when he let me do that, I realized I was feeling better than he was. Once I got that feeling into my head, I decided to try and make it five or six steps. Shortly after two miles, I started gapping him."

Wehrman might have been showing signs af wear from racing and marathon training at the same time. He made no excuses, however.

"We were together for the first two miles and then I just faded," Wehrman said. "I know I'm not fit yet (from the Green Bay Marathon in May). There's just not a lot of room for error in all these races. By three miles, he had me beat."

Hostetler, 26, a resident of Bloomington, IN, was running her first race since suffering foot and leg injuries last year. With a 2:41:39 marathon PR at New York in 2001, she certainly had the credentials to win. Her only question was if she was in shape. By the mile mark, she knew she was as Megan Levin, 33, and Anette Ronnerman, 35, both of Chicago, dropped off the pace. Hostletler won in 29:12. Levin was second in 29:48 and Ronnerman third in 29:55.

"There was a group of us at the mile, but I was in the lead from the mile point on," Hostetler said.

A total of 752 runners and walkers completed the race.

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