Commonwealth Games athlete Ashley Couper won her final race as a single woman, running a 17 minute 22 second 5K in the Fidelity Couples Road Race yesterday morning.

With Victoria Fiddick still recovering from injury, Couper ? back for a July wedding to one of America?s top 1500 metre runners, Chris Estwanik ? stepped in to run the shorter distance while partner Kavin Smith ran the five-mile event.

Couper, who broke two national records on her way to the 1500m final in Melbourne, finished two minutes ahead of second-placed Karen Bordage, and with Smith, who placed second in his race, lifted the overall title.

?It was a fun race, it was unexpected but when Victoria said I could have her place I thought it would be good to run,? said Couper, whose father Colin had collected three awards the night before at the Newport-Bermuda Race prizegiving.

?I have run a couple of competitive 800 metres but that is all since the Commonwealth Games. It was fun to run here, it always is.?

It has been quite a year for Couper who met President Bush at the White House after the women?s team she coaches won the NCAA crown, also met Prince Andrew here in November, ran impressively in Melbourne, ran as a pacemaker in an ESPN-televised race ? ?I was even more nervous about that than when I run, they wanted me to go at a pretty quick pace? ? and now she is getting married.

She had planned with her husband to take a European honeymoon to compete in the ongoing season on the other side of the Atlantic but chose not to ?because it is not very romantic is it??

Once she returns to the States following her honeymoon she will reconsider her options due to her coach leaving the area but is still, at this stage, planning to continue running.

Yesterday?s five-mile race was won by a new name in local running circles Blair Paul, apparently a distant cousin of Couper?s, in 27.17.