Olympians Lisa Uhl and Diane Nukuri Johnson were left watching Delilah DiCrescenzo cross the finish line first at the 76-year-old Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving morning.  As reported by Road Results Weekly, Delilah used her previous experience on the course to launch a perfectly-timed kick and earned a five-second margin of victory over Uhl. Runner-up in 2010, DiCrescenzo ran 16-seconds faster than that performance to notch Thursday’s thanks-meriting win.

The New York City-based athlete came to one of the most historic professional races in America after the NYRR Dash to the Finish 5k was washed out by Superstorm Sandy the day before the New York City Marathon. But DiCrescenzo looked none the worse for not racing in her hometown, and added her name to a Manchester winners-list that includes Worlds and Olympic silver medalist Sally Kipyego and Worlds and Olympic bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan, as well as other American superstars such as Deena Kastor and Lynn Jennings.

After using speed to defeat the 10,000m and marathon Olympians in Connecticut, Delilah now plans to spend the next few weeks working on her strength-based fitness.

There’s nothing better than surveying the previous fifty-two weeks of your life and realizing how fun and gratifying they were. Here’s a look back at just a handful of the memories we at KIMbia Athletics will take away from 2011. If you had your own memory from the year that included us or our athletes, please share it below!

10. Tim Nelson Steps Down and Beats Top-Flight 3000m Field in Seattle
Who doesn’t love a good underdog story? Nelly shocked American running fans when he dispatched middle-distance specialists German Fernandez, Alan Webb, and World Championship bronze-medalist-to-be Matt Centrowitz in a 3000m far below his comfort zone distances… and with a blistering kick, to boot. Read the full article

From New York City to Oregon to Holland and Switzerland, 2011 has been a big, whirlwind season for Delilah DiCrescenzo. Qualifying for her first US team on the track, setting a PB, and mixing it up with international fields the world-over, she has her sights set on making an Olympic run next season. Thanks to all you viewers for following along on this journey!

As always, we would love to hear from you. Please drop us a note in the comments with any feedback you might have about this series!

What do you do with the pieces of a broken heart? In this case, you have your boyfriend try to do something really difficult to make you feel better. Delilah DiCrescenzo and her break-through season came to a halt thanks to a stress fracture. Back in New York, she copes with the disappointment the best way she knows how — with a pick-me-up from her friends — and prepares to look ahead to London 2012.

For more on DELILAH, go to PumaRunning.com.

Jet-setting and taking on the world’s best wherever you find them — it’s all part of the life of the professional track athlete. Delilah DiCrescenzo runs her last steeplechase before Worlds in Lucerne, Switzerland, looking to point herself in the right direction for Daegu 2011.

For more from DELILAH, visit PumaRunning.com.