Was she supposed to hang behind the 16:40+ runner and take her out with a lap to go?
I do not buy that line of yours - she only wins from the front. When she and Flannigan (who used to fall apart at the end of races, but now can finish up real strong) raced at Mt. SAC last year, they traded off the lead and it was a free for all over the last 2 laps. There were only inches between them at the finish line - Flannigan winning, but Smith raced all the way and was only beaten by the narrowest of margins.
Front running is the toughest way to win -- no question about that. Everyone wants to draft off the leader. Because she boldly charges to the front, others will try to leech off of her as best they can. If she's 1% better than the runner, that "trailer" will beat her, due to increased efficiency of running behind someone. If she 2% better than the runner, she'll break them down along the way.