Fall is gone. And still people are running cross country. Not many. But they're the best.

Last weekend, the U.S. cross country championships took place at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston. The athletes didn't have to worry about snow, but they got their fill of mud.

Braving the muck and staking a claim as America's top running couple, the Culpeppers of Boulder, Colo., grabbed both men's and women's national crowns on Sunday. First Alan Culpepper took the 12K ("long course") race for the second time in his career, holding off Meb Keflezighi. Then Shayne Culpepper grabbed her first U.S. title in cross country, capturing the 4K ("short course") crown the day after dropping out of the 8K.

Never before has a married couple won the titles in the same year.

"It's exciting," Alan said. "I'm so proud of her."

Shayne's victory went a long way toward consoling her for Saturday's disaster.

"I panicked," she said of her first race. "It was the conditions, and I wasn't expecting that. I didn't really pay attention to how I was feeling, and I got caught up in the race. Today, I just stayed focused on myself and how I was feeling, and let the race unfold."

Shayne caught leader Colette Liss after the halfway point and pulled away for a nine-second win. "I really saw that my hard work and my strength came through to help me," she said.

For spectators, the outcome of the men's race seemed in doubt until Culpepper left Keflezighi behind on the last loop, comfortably winning by 12 seconds.

This is how he described it: "I felt strong, actually I was doing really well on the downhills, which typically isn't my strength. So I was able to roll up a lot of that just on that last steep downhill and then I caught him on the uphill and we stayed together until about 600 to go or so. Once I caught him again and went around him, I felt pretty confident once I get to that last half-mile go. He's a tough runner -- he's really tough -- so I'm definitely psyched when I get to beat him."

Whether the two will compete together at the Worlds, held in March, is another question.

"We'll see what happens," Shayne said.

Alan also hedged his bets: "I'm not sure yet. We have to figure out some of the details. I'm not completely set whether I'm going or not, honestly. Cross country isn't my favorite thing in the world. Our plate's pretty full, and I've learned I can't do everything. I have to pick and choose the things I think are important for myself. Moving more toward the marathon in the coming years, I want to solidify my 10K and especially my 5K PRs, and make a shot at that American record in the 10K. I just have to weigh all the options."

Saturday's winners
The men's short course race on Saturday went to Robert Gary, the Ohio State alum who ran in the 1996 Olympic steeplechase. Gary ran from the front, yet won the race on the strength of his kick, with six competitors within six seconds at the line. "I am not a very big fan of sitting back in cross country races," Gary said. "I wasn't planning on slowing down and giving anyone a chance to get back into the race."

In the women's 8K race, Deena Drossin dominated en route to her sixth U.S. title, winning by 36 seconds over Colleen De Reuck. Even so, the race did not go according to plan for Drossin, who explained: "My plan going into the race was to stick with the lead pack for a good lap or so until I felt strong enough to go. But after seeing the course, I didn't have the confidence that I could pull away like I wanted to, so I went from the gun and tried to push it from the start."

The Junior women's race went to Clara Horowitz of Duke, who had missed out on qualifying for the World Juniors in track last summer by a half-second. The best of the Junior men was Colorado's Bill Nelson. This year, no high schoolers made the World team.

The World Cross Country Championships will be held March 29-30 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Hearld moves up
For Kentucky's Jimmy Hearld, fame as been as elusive as a correct spelling to his last name. Countless times have editors changed his spelling to "Herald," but with his latest run, the 34-year-old is giving them all another chance. At the Austin Motorola Marathon, Hearld ran to second place in 2:12:50, slicing his old best by more than six minutes.

That put the journeyman road racer only nine seconds behind Poland's Andrzej Krzyscin on a blustery day where the wind played a major factor in the outcome. It also puts Hearld on track to be a realistic contender in the Olympic Trials Marathon a year from now in Birmingham, Alabama.

The future beckons
Maybe the talk about Donovan "King" Kilmartin being the best high school decathlete in the nation isn't in vain. The senior from Eagle, Idaho, went wild at the Simplot Games over the weekend, high jumping 7-feet and pole vaulting 17-1, the leading mark in the nation. Running 8.01 in the 60 hurdles (the No. 2 time in the nation this year) didn't hurt his credentials any.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Kira Costa of Fresno's San Joaquin Memorial High broke the high school indoor record in the vault, soaring 13-4.5.

Jeff Hollobaugh, former managing editor of Track and Field News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached by e-mail at michtrack@aol.com.