SANTO DOMINGO -- Approaching the final lap of the 1500 metres last night, Ashley Couper knew the time of reckoning was approaching.

Not in terms of a medal, that was never in her thoughts. No, for the personal best she had set her heart on achieving.

However, when she passed the trackside clock in the final at the Pan-Am Games and it read three minutes and ten seconds and not 3:07, it was clear only a super-human effort would give her the result she wanted.

Gritting her teeth and digging her feet into the surface of the track at the Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo, she sought the inspiration that would see her cross the line in under 4:18.57. She left those she had passed well behind her and closed down on one in front, gaining with every stride as she made her way down the home stretch.

On crossing the line seventh overall she wasn't sure of the outcome, such was her focus on the job in hand, and for minutes afterwards it was kept tantalisingly out of view. First the jumbo screen flashed to shots of winner Adriana Munoz of Cuba (4:09.57 - a pb) and next to standings from other events being held around the arena.

In hindsight she might have wished for the statistics to have remained out of sight for a while to come, for when they appeared the figures she wanted were not there.

“7 Couper, Ashley BERMUDA 4:20.98” they read, and the head hung low. Forget the fact that she had just held her own in a top class field, this highly competitive Bermudian had failed as far as she was concerned.

“I really have been putting in a lot of solid training since Grenada,” said this year's CAC Games gold medallist. “And I really thought I was ready to go under 4:18. But . . . I don't know.”

Couper, who runs for the Nike Farm team in California, said she began the race just as she had planned.

“I went through the first 300 metres right on 51 (seconds) and then came through the second lap at the finish line, 700 metres, right on 1:59,” she said.

“But I always seem to get a little scared and weak in the third lap and I guess I let that happen today a little bit because I knew when I came through with one lap to go it was 3:10 and it should have been 3:07.

“I knew I had to hammer the last lap and I would have had to have run a 67 (second) last lap and I guess I didn't do it.”

Couper said she had given it a shot but it had been too much to ask.

“I thought if I can just hammer this last lap and close in a 67 I can do it. I tried but there was a wind on the back stretch and if you are by yourself you are getting it straight into your face,” she said with a shrug of the shoulders.

The race itself split into two early on with the lead group of six putting some distance between themselves and Couper and the chasing runners in the first lap. That hadn't helped matters, she said.

“I knew I wasn't going to run 4:10 which was what they were going to run,” she said. “In a way I knew I would have to let them go. I wish there had been one or two people running my pace - it seemed like either I was passing people or they were passing me! I didn't have anyone to stay with.”

Couper said her time was nothing to be ashamed of, it just wasn't what she had aimed for.

“I am disappointed, but all you can do is put in your best effort, which I did,” she said. “4:20 is a solid time but I was looking for something better.

“This was definitely going to be the last race of the year unless I did something like 4:10 and I am not ready for that. I just really wanted to PR (personal record).”

After many hard races in the past few months which have taken their toll on her body, Couper is now going to consign her spikes to the wardrobe for a while.

“I guess the places that I fell short this year were with my foot injury, which I still have and have had for about three months now, and in the midst of that I took a lot of days off and haven't been doing very many maintenance runs. I have been doing a lot of cross training,” she said.

“My workouts have been really good, that's what I don't understand, how my workouts can be so good and then I still run 4:20.

“Next year I just want to try and stay injury-free throughout the entire year and maybe that will do it for me.

“But right now I am going to take some time off and heal my injuries. It's been a long season.”

For the record, Jayne Harrelson of the USA took silver in 4:09.72 and Madrea Hyman of Jamaica the bronze in 4:10.08.

In singles tenpin bowling on Tuesday, Bermuda's Antoine Jones finished 26th with a total pinfall of 2,241 and Steven Riley was 27th with a total of 2,207.