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- April 10, 2004 at 5:39 pm #1389
Wire 23, March 28, 2004
In this edition of the Running USA wire:
1) Keflezighi Repeats as USA 8K Champion; Sets USA Championship Record
2) Ochichi Sets World 5K Record at Carlsbad; Berhanu Defends Men’s Title
Team Running USA sponsored by Nike
Supported by grants from the New York Road Runners and Atlanta Track
Club
Copyright © 2004 Running USA
All Rights Reserved
*********************************************
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Keflezighi Repeats as USA 8K Champion; Sets USA Championship Record
By Jim Gerweck, Running USA wire
NEW YORK – (March 27, 2004) – Just call Meb Keflezighi the master of USA
Road
Championships. The man who won three road titles last year (8, 15 and 20
kilometers) has duplicated two thirds of that success in 2004, defending
his USA
8K title in Central Park in course and national championship record time
under
near-perfect racing conditions on Saturday.
The win comes two weeks after his USA 15K Championship four-peat at the
Gate
River Run in Florida, and less than two months after finishing second at
the
U.S. Men’s Olympic Marathon Trials in Alabama. Keflezighi, 28, ran the
fastest
8K of the year in 22:16 on roads still damp from overnight drizzle but
with
the warmest conditions (temperatures in the low 50s) the race has
enjoyed in its
three year history. That broke Tim Broe’s course record, set at the
inaugural
running in 2002, by 10 seconds and earned Keflezighi a $1000 bonus to go
with
his $5000 first place prize. In addition, the Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
resident
grabbed the $500 prime for being first to the 5K split, reached in 14:04.
“In a USA Championship, you run first to win, and not worry about the
time,”
said Keflezighi who also won three U.S. road titles in 2002. “But about
200
meters from the finish people were yelling that I could get the record,
and I
would have hated to not try and miss it by a second.”
The Team Running USA athlete’s time is the fourth fastest ever run by an
American, and was 12 seconds better than his winning mark here last year.
The fast times were engendered by the weather and Anthony Famiglietti,
who
was third at the first edition of the race but missed last year due to
an injury
incurred in his primary event, the steeplechase. Famiglietti who lives
in
Knoxville, Tenn. often visits his girlfriend who lives in Manhattan and
does
frequent training in the park, and in this case familiarity with the
course
brought success.
“When I saw the first mile split (4:38) I wasn’t worried because I knew
we’d
pick it up, especially with the great field that was running,” said the
2002
USA steeplechase champion.
Famiglietti, along with Keflezighi and road race debutante Bolota
Asmerom,
really began cranking the second mile (9:03). Shortly thereafter, Abdi
Abdirahman, who had chased fellow Olympian Keflezighi right to the line
at Gate River,
dropped out as a back injury suffered at last week’s World Cross Country
Championships flared up.
By three miles (13:35) only the trio of Famiglietti, Asmerom and
Keflezighi
were left, and the latter threw in a short surge to nab the prime. “I
wasn’t
thinking about it until 10 meters before,” he said.
That seemed to settle the overall outcome, as Famiglietti dropped back
(“I
just wanted to settle in and react to the rest of the race,” he
explained) but
Asmerom pulled alongside near 6K, which seemed to give Keflezighi a jolt
of
adrenaline. “I was pretty much going all out, but that gave me a boost,”
continued Keflezighi. “I have to credit both those guys for making the
fast times.”
That surge sealed the deal for Keflezighi, but Famiglietti regrouped and
caught Asmerom in the final 400 to tie the old CR and provide a huge
boost of
confidence in his training. “I thought I was in great shape based on my
workouts,
but your first race back is still your first race, so you never know.”
For Asmerom, his first major road race was an enjoyable experience. “It’s
so
much more fun than track,” he said. “You can kind of look around at the
trees
and the birds, just relax. It feels so natural.”
Rounding out the top five, a hard charging Ryan Kirkpatrick nipped last
year’s runner-up, Chad Johnson, by a second.
“The third time was a charm,” said NYRR CEO Allan Steinfeld. “When you
get
fast people together under good conditions, you get a great race. And I
can tell
you, this definitely isn’t the last time we’ll do this.”
As part of the 2004 USA Running Circuit, a USA Track & Field road racing
series featuring USA Championships from 5K to the marathon, the top 10 U.S.
runners earned valuable Circuit points at this national championship.
With his win
(worth 15 points), Keflezighi increased his USARC lead over Alan
Culpepper and
Dan Browne, 54 points to 30 and 20 points respectively.
The 2004 USARC offers a record $818,700 in guaranteed prize money with a
final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6000, $4000 and $2500) for the top
three men and
women point scorers overall. At each USARC race, the first ten US
runners earn
points (15 points for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3,
2
and 1), and Circuit points will be doubled at the USA Marathon
Championships.
The next Men’s USARC race is the Papa John’s 10 Miler on April 10 in
Louisville,
Ky.
NYRR 8000: USA Men’s Championship
New York, NY, Saturday, March 27, 2004
1) Meb Keflezighi, 28, CA, 22:16*, $6500#
2) Anthony Famiglietti, 25, TN 22:26, $4000
3) Bolota Asmerom, 25, CA, 22:29, $3000
4) Ryan Kirkpatrick, 25, CO, 22:32, $2000
5) Chad Johnson, 27, OR, 22:33, $1250
6) Mike Donnelly, 29 OR, 22:43, $1000
7) Nick Rogers, 28, OR, 22:52, $800
8) Nolan Swanson, 28, OR, 22:59, $700
9) Pete Julian, 32, CO, 23:00, $600
10) Justin Young, 24, CO, 23:04, $500
11) Dave Davis, 25, OR, 23:12, $400
12) Henry Dennis, 29, OH, 23:14, $300
13) Jason Lehmkuhle, 26, MN, 23:16, $200
14) Jason Balkman, 27, CA, 23:19, $150
15) Luke Watson, 23, MN, 23:24, $100
*USA Championship and Central Park Records
#$1000 course record bonus and $500 5K prime
For more results and information, go to the race website at:
http://www.nyrrc.org/nyrr8000/index.php
2004 USA Running Circuit Standings
MEN after three races
1) Meb Keflezighi, 28, Mth Lakes, CA 54
2) Alan Culpepper, 31, Lafayette, CO 30
3) Dan Browne, 28, Portland, OR 20
4) Trent Briney, 25, Rochester Hills, MI 14
5) Clint Verran, 28, Rochester Hills, MI 12
Abdi Abdirahman, 27, Tucson, AZ 12
Mike Donnelly, 29, Portland, OR 12
Anthony Famiglietti, 25, Knoxville, TN 12
9) Scott Larson, 34, Superior, CO 10
Chris Graff, 28, Palo Alto, CA 10
Bolota Asmerom, 25, San Leandro, CA 10
2004 USARC Champions
MEN
Alan Culpepper 2:11:42 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, Birmingham, AL,
Feb
7
Meb Keflezighi 43:18 Gate River Run 15K, Jacksonville, FL, March
13
Meb Keflezighi 22:16+ NYRR 8000/USA Men’s Championship, NY, NY,
March 27
+USA Championship Record
Upcoming USARC Races:
U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Women’s Marathon, St. Louis, MO, $250,000,
April 3
Papa John’s 10 Miler (men), Louisville, KY, $26,500, April 10
# # #
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ochichi Sets World 5K Record at Carlsbad
Berhanu Repeats as Men’s Champion
By Ryan Lamppa and Basil Honikman, Running USA wire
CARLSBAD, Calif. – (March 28, 2004) – The Carlsbad 5000 is synonymous
with
great competition and world records and Sunday’s race, under warm,
breezy
conditions, was no exception as Kenya’s Isabella Ochichi set a world 5K
road record
in 14:53, while Ethiopia’s Dejene Berhanu repeated as men’s champion in
13:23.
With two current world champions and the 10,000 meter gold medalist from
the
1997 World Track Championships, the Women’s invitational promised to be
one of
the most competitive ever. As it turned out 2003 Carlsbad runner-up,
Isabella
Ochichi, 24, threw in an unanswerable surge at 1.5 miles and ran away
from
the field to a U.S. All-Comers and, for the present time, a new world 5
kilometer world road record. Although Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain
has run a 14:51
on a certified course in London last September, said course needs
remeasurement (which is scheduled for this April).
A group of four including 2004 World Cross Country 4K champion Benita
Johnson
of Australia, Ochichi, 2004 World Indoor 3000 meter champion Meseret
Defar
and Sentayehu Ejigu of Ethiopia, established themselves at the front of
the
race. The lead women passed the first mile in 4:42 and then exchanged
the lead for
the next 800 meters. Then Ochichi, who ran 14:56 here last year, began
to
pull away. She reached the second mile in 9:25. Neither the uphill nor
the
headwinds had any effect on her pace. At that point she was about 9
seconds ahead of
Johnson who had about a 30 meter lead on Ejigu and Defar. About 400
meters
before turning onto the finish stretch on Carlsbad Village Drive,
Ochichi seemed
to be struggling but this proved to be an illusion as she gathered
herself
for a stretch drive to the victory. Johnson finished strongly, 14
seconds behind
in 15:07.
Gracious in defeat, Johnson said, “I went out hard, but Isabella opened
a gap
on me at one and a half miles. I tried my hardest to catch her but she
was
too speedy for me today. All credit to her – I’ll be back next year.”
“I didn’t know if a world record was possible today. I thought it would
be
too hot, but during the race I felt comfortable and knew that I had to
run a
fantastic race against Benita to win,” said Ochichi who won $15,000
which
includes a $10,000 world record bonus.
In the men’s race, nobody wanted to take the pace so the entire men’s
field
of 11 hit the first mile in 4:17 and at the uphill second mile (4:26),
nine men
were still in the hunt including men’s defending champion Berhanu and
Kenyans
Raymond Yator, Boniface Songok and Boaz Cheboiywo. Around the 2.5 mile
mark
on Carlsbad Boulevard just before Beech Street, Berhanu surged, looked
back at
his competition and pulled away for good as he ran unchallenged to the
tape in
13:23 with Songok second 7 seconds back.
“Today was about winning not about running fast, and I was happy when I
broke
away that nobody went with me,” said the soft-spoken Ethiopian.
In the master’s races, Peter Magill of South Pasadena outkicked Brian
Pope of
Oxford, Miss., 14:51 to 14:52, while Monica Joyce of Pinckney, Mich. set
a
U.S. 45-49 age group record of 17:08 to handily win the women’s race
over Dolly
Ginter of nearby Irvine (17:54).
19th Carlsbad 5000
Carlsbad, CA, Sunday, March 28, 2004
MEN
1) Dejene Berhanu (ETH) 13:23 $5,000
2) Boniface Songok (KEN)13:30 $3,500
3) Raymond Yator (KEN) 13:31 $2,000
4) Boaz Cheboiywo (KEN) 13:32 $1,000
5) Barnabas Kosgei (KEN)13:32 $800
6) Eliud Kirui (KEN) 13:40 $700
7) Alejandro Suarez (MEX) 13:46 $500
8) Cathal Lombard (IRL) 13:49 $400
9) Alastair Stevenson (AUS) 14:01 $300
10) Adrian Blincoe (NZL) 14:11 $200
WOMEN
1) Isabella Ochichi (KEN) 14:53* $15,000#
2) Benita Johnson (AUS) 15:07 $3,500
3) Meseret Defar (ETH) 15:23 $2,000
4) Sentayehu Ejigu (ETH) 15:25 $1,000
5) Eyerusalem Kuma (ETH) 15:37 $800
6) Hayley McGregor (AUS) 15:38 $700
7) Sally Barsosio (KEN) 15:58 $500
8) Lucy Smith (CAN) 16:08 $400
9) Natalie Harvey (GBR) 16:11 $300
10) Sally Hauser (USA/CA) 16:22 $200
11) Georgie Clarke (AUS) 16:34
*world and U.S. all-comers record; previous record 14:54 by Deena
Drossin
(Carlsbad 2002) and Berhane Adere (Carlsbad 2003); Paula Radcliffe’s 14:51
from
Flora Light Women’s 5K is pending course validation (i.e., remeasurement)
#includes $10,000 world record bonus
MASTERS MEN (40+)
1) Peter Magill (CA) 14:51 $1,000
2) Brian Pope (MS) 14:52 $500
3) Danny Martinez (CA) 14:54 $200
MASTERS WOMEN (40+)
1) Monica Joyce (MI) 17:08 $1,000
2) Dolly Ginter (CA) 17:54 $500
3) Ceci St. Geme (CA) 18:04 $200
For complete results, go to:
# # #
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