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Browne, Flanagan Win USA 5K Titles at CVS
Caremark Downtown PROVIDENCE, R.I. - (September 16, 2007) - U.S. Olympians Dan Browne (Portland, Ore.) and Shalane Flanagan (Pittsboro, N.C.) took home the respective men's and women's titles at the USA 5K Championship Sunday morning. Browne's time of 13 minutes, 48 seconds was good for third overall in the Open men's race at the 18th CVS Caremark Downtown 5K, while Flanagan ran 15:26 to become the first U.S. woman to win the Open race at this event since USA Track & Field Hall of Fame member Lynn Jennings in 1994. Eventual Open winner Simon Ndirangu of Kenya and countrymen Nelson Kiplagat, Boaz Cheboiywo and Richard Kiplagat led a pack of about 15 men through the first mile in 4:22. Approaching half-way, Pat Tarpy (Providence, R.I.) and Rod Koborsi (Washington, D.C.), moved to the front of the lead pack with Browne and Andrew Carlson (Minneapolis, Minn.) only a few steps behind. Shortly after two miles, Browne, 32, began to make his way to the front of the pack and positioned himself for the win, but as the group made the final turn just before three miles Ndirangu and Richard Kiplagat made their break for the finish. Ndirangu pulled clear of Kiplagat to win by one second in 13:46. Browne's third place finish was good for his second USA 5K road title (also 1998) and his second USA title in two weeks. He won his third USA 20K title in New Haven, Conn. on Labor Day. Following Browne as national runner-up was Koborsi in 13:50. Tarpy took third in 13:54, while Carlson and Jonathon Riley finished fourth and fifth in 13:57 and 13:59 respectively. The women's race saw favorite Flanagan, in control from the start, motor through the first mile in 4:43. Passing two miles in 9:40, only Sara Slattery (Lafayette, Colo.), a 10,000 meter gold medalist at the 2007 Pan American Games, was within striking distance, but over the final mile, Flanagan, 26, continued to press to the finish for a 16 second win over Slattery. 2007 Notre Dame graduate Molly Huddle (Elmira, N.Y.) finished third, running 15:48 in her USA Running Circuit debut. Rounding out the top five were Rebecca Donaghue (State College, Pa.) and Amy Mortimer (Providence, R.I.) in 15:54 and 16:04 respectively. The CVS Caremark Downtown 5K featured $30,000 in national championship prize money with $5000 to each U.S. champion and was the sixth stop on the 2007 USARC. 18th CVS Caremark Downtown
5K: USA Championship MEN WOMEN More results at: CVSdowntown5K.com |
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Return to top / Return to main page Kibet, Chepchumba Claim Victory at Philadelphia
Distance Run PHILADELPHIA - (September 16, 2007) - Kenyan Julius Kibet earned top honors for the second time at Sunday's 30th Philadelphia Distance Run, winning the men's race in 1 hour, 2 minutes, 2 seconds. Pamela Chepchumba, also from Kenya, won the women's race in 1:08:45, one of the world's fastest half-marathon times for women (and the best in the U.S.) this year. It took a few miles for the men's professional field to warm up to the clear and cool morning, recording their first sub-five minute mile at mile three (4:52). The pack of 27 men weaved through Center City, before doubling back onto Benjamin Franklin Parkway, to the cheers of thousands of runners who were taking their initial steps on the course. The pace quickened as the race progressed through miles four and five. Kibet, 25, the 2004 race champion, led the group of athletes as they began the eight-mile stretch along the Schuykill River. Tanzanian John Yuda and Kenyan Tom Nyariki joined Kibet as they pushed through mile seven in a time of 34:04. At Falls Bridge, the athletes crossed the river and began their return towards the finish line. Now, 15 men were jockeying for position as MacDonald Ondara, 23, from Kenya, joined the leaders as they recorded the fastest split time of the day, running mile nine in 4:33. MacDonald and Nyariki led the next mile, but Kibet, who was close behind knew he had to make a move to defend against his toughest competition, Nyariki. "He is very strong in the finish," Kibet said of Nyariki. Like his 2004 win, Kibet had to fight for victory as he ran virtually neck-and-neck with Nyariki and Yuda. Fortunately for Kibet, Nyariki did not answer as Kibet looked back before his final sprint to his two-second win. The women's race was led early by the women's 2004 race champion, 36-year-old Nuta Olaru from Romania. She took the entire women's pack through mile four on a 1:10:30 half-marathon pace. Kenyan Edna Kiplagat, 2006 race runner-up, traded places with Olaru through mile five and was joined by countrywoman Alice Timbilili at mile six. The two women pushed the pace as they passed though the 10K mark in 33:03, dropping Kenyan Angelina Mutuku and Ethiopian Ashu Kasim who finished fourth two weeks ago at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, Va. Shortly after the women's group passed mile eight, Chepchumba began to take control of the race alongside Timbilili. For the next three miles, the two women launched a number of attacks. The pack thinned in response to the quicker pace and Kiplagat eventually dropped away from the leaders. Chepchumba now had to shake her challenger Timbilili. "I tried to run faster, but she (Timbilili) was resisting," Chepchumba said. "I started running at mile 11." At mile 11, they recorded the fastest mile of the race (5:11). Chepchumba began to pull away inside mile 12, breaking the tape 11 seconds ahead of Timbilili. American Brandon Leslie, 31, from Arizona finished 22nd overall in a time of 1:05:01, ahead of the six other men who were tuning up for the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City this November. Bryan Skelly, 25, who will run the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon this October in an attempt to qualify for the Trials was the first Philadelphia finisher in 1:07:09. Claire Duncan, 24, the assistant track coach at Germantown Friends High School was the first female Philadelphia finisher in 1:18:46. Gideon Mutisya from Kenya topped the men's masters division (age 40 and over) with his 1:08:34, while Doreen McCoubrie, from Malver, Pa., was first among the masters women (1:19:19). Both the men's and women's races were led by Saturn SKY roadsters, the official vehicles of the 30th Philadelphia Distance Run, and the event recorded its largest participant field in race history with over 11,500 finishers. 30th Philadelphia Distance
Run MEN WOMEN Masters MEN Masters WOMEN Top Philadelphia Male Top Philadelphia Female Full results at: RunPhilly.com Return to top / Return to main page Rotich, Doheney Win Maui Marathon Titles KAANAPALI, Maui, Hawaii - (September 16, 2007) - Jacob Rotich may hold a Kenyan passport and drive on a Texas license but the 28-year-old never looked more at home as he ran along Maui's coastal Honoapiilani Highway on his way to his fourth consecutive victory at the Maui Marathon on Sunday morning. Rotich covered the mostly oceanfront, scenic point-to-point course in 2 hours, 29 minutes and 22 seconds, while Julie Doheney of Hawaii won the women's division in 3:18:39. Rotich and countryman Jonah Maiyo led the field for the first nine miles before Rotich decided to pick up the pace and wrap up his four-peat; the first to win the 37-year-old event four consecutive times. Leighton Katsuda of Wailuku, Maui, placed second in 2:33:55. Maiyo, who was competing in his debut marathon, finished third in 2:38:03. "Maui gets nicer and nicer," said Rotich, who lives near Austin, Texas. The Maui Marathon is the only marathon Rotich has ever run. "I am strongly thinking about coming back next year." Light cloud cover, slight trade winds and cooler than expected temperatures were well-received by many of the 2,300 participants who participated in the full and half-marathons. The day's temperatures ranged from 70s at the 5:30am start in Kahului to the low to mid- 80s at the finish in the Kaanaplai Beach Resort. In the women's division, Julie Doheney of Kailua, Hawaii won her first-ever Maui Marathon with Midoori Funabashi of Japan second in 3:21:11 and Fumiko Irokawa of Japan was third in 3:21:55. The fourth annual Maui Half Marathon was won by Blake Boldon, an assistant track coach at Iowa State, in 1:14:38 and Dawn Epperson placed first in the women's division in 1:23:27. The events benefited the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training, the Arthritis Foundation's Joints in Motion program and over 11 local charities. Major sponsors include: the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Maui Visitors Bureau, Kaanapali Beach Resort Association and The Westin Maui Resort & Spa. 37th Maui Marathon MEN 1st Masters (40+): Paul Hopwood, Makawao, HI, 2:58:48 $750 WOMEN 1st Masters (40+): Elizabeth Edmonds, Haiku, HI, 3:28:16, $750 Complete results at: MauiMarathon.com Return to top / Return to main page Past Champions Headline 26th Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon October 7 MINNEAPOLIS - Past Twin Cities Marathon champions Augustus Kavutu, Kim Pawelek, Irina Bogacheva, women's course record holder Zina Semenova and two-time defending USA Masters champion Susan Loken are set to return to compete for more than $300,000 in prize money at the 26th Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday, October 7, 2007. After a two year hiatus, 2004 Twin Cities Marathon champion Kenyan Augustus Kavutu headlines the men's field, which is filled with runners who have won marathons over the past year. Wesley Ngetich, 2007 Grandma's Marathon winner, is scheduled to race, as is Kenyan Fred Mogaka, who won the Los Angeles Marathon in April. Jonathan Ndambuki, another Kenyan, who won the 2006 Cal International Marathon, and 2004 Olympian from St. Lucia, Zepherinus Joseph will also toe the line. The deep men's field will have more than 25 runners with personal bests of 2:20 or better. The women's field will feature three former Twin Cities Marathon champions. Three-time winner and course record holder Zina Semenova of Russia returns to the field as a master; 2004 Athens Olympian Irina Bogacheva of Kyrgyzstan won the 2002 Twin Cities Marathon and Kim Pawelek of Jacksonville, FL, the 1999 Twin Cities Marathon winner and national champion. Rounding out the women's field are 2007 Grandma's Marathon champion and member of the 2007 U.S. World Championship marathon team Mary Akor of Glendale, CA; Russian Svetlana Ponomarenko who won the 2006 Dallas White Rock Marathon last December and another 2004 Athens Olympian Tatiana Borisova of Kyrgyzstan. Making her marathon debut is Caroline Cretti, 22, of Blowing Rock, NC who was 5th at the USA 25K Championship in May. For the 17th consecutive year, the Medtronic Twin Cites Marathon will host the USA Masters Championship. Phoenix resident and reigning USA Masters champion Susan Loken is looking to improve on her personal best of 2:41:33 set at the 2006 P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon. Challenging Loken for the women's masters title will be Michelle Simonaitis, Draper, UT; Doreen McCoubrie, Malvern, PA and Tere Stouffer, Sevierville, TN. The men's masters field includes 1996 Olympian Sean Wade of Houston, TX. Chasing Wade will be 2004 USA Masters Marathon champion Dennis Simonaitis of Draper, UT and Paul Aufdemberge of Redford, MI. Aufdemberge will be joined by Kenyan Gideon Mutisya who beat Aufdemberge at the Crim 10 Mile in Michigan on August 25. Visit MTCMarathon.org for more information. Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director |
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