Although she was an All American and eight-time school record holder at American University, Samia Akbar brought her performance to a new level in 2006, and now stands as one of the U.S.’s brightest distance prospects. Akbar’s coach is Scott Raczko who she first met while at Oakton High School in Virginia. She established personal bests in six different events in 2006, including knocking four minutes off her previous half marathon best, lowering it to 1:13:12 at the Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run. She then lowered her 10,000m best by nearly 90 seconds to 32:41.84 with a surprise third-place at the U.S. nationals. Her marathon debut of 2:34:14 at the 2006 ING New York City Marathon made her the eighth fastest American woman for the year.
Akbar lives in Herndon, VA, and works as a part-time teacher. She was named a Road Runners Club of America Roads Scholar in 2006.