Alana Hadley, 17, runs second-fastest marathon ever by an American girl

The last time an American girl ran a marathon in less than two hours, 40 minutes, she went on to qualify for the next two Olympics. Alana Hadley, 17, is hoping to achieve the same. The high school senior from Charlotte, N.C. ran a 2:38:33 on Saturday to beat out the field in the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon and set a new women's course record there. The record was previously held by four-time Olympian Colleen De Reuck.

“It feels amazing!” Hadley told Runner’s World. “You always dream of winning a big race and to finally do it was just incredible. And even better was the fact that I was able to do it in challenging weather conditions and by executing my race plan almost exactly.”

This is the second time this season that Hadley has run a time fast enough to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Trials. She's the youngest to qualify since 1984, when Cathy Schiro did so with a 2:34:24. Schiro later raced in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics as Cathy O'Brien.

The win comes after a trying year for the teen in which she suffered her first serious injuries and had to fight back to the top. Hadley turned pro in March 2013 and does not race for her high school team. She plans to attend college in her home state and continue being coached by her father.

She earned a $1,000 bonus for beating the U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying mark of 2:43:00, and donated $250 of the bonus to the Autism Society of Indiana in honor of her sister, Rose, who has autism.

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Danielle Elliot is the editor of Prep Rally for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at delliot@yahoo-inc.com or follow her on Twitter!

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