Posted: October 3, 2005

Athletics: Kravtsova, Arciniaga Set Course Records at the Orange County Race for the Cure 5K

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - On Sunday, September 25, at the 14th Orange County Race for the Cure 5K®, Olga Kravtsova of Belarus was the class of the field as she ran 16 minutes, 14 seconds to win the race and shattered the 3.1 mile course record.

Kravtsova, 24, was a little tired after running the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile in 4:35 - good for 11th - on Saturday morning in New York City and flying coast-to-coast, but she nonetheless blazed the first mile in 5:00 to open a significant lead.

In her runaway victory on the challenging course, 9,000 women heartily cheered Kravtsova as defeated previous course record holder Sylvia Mosqueda of Los Angeles and Ethiopians Aster Demissie and Alemtsehay Misganaw. Runner-up Demissie, with her 16:24, also bettered Mosqueda's 2003 course record of 16:28.

At the post-race press conference, Kravtsova - who earned $1500 from the Orange County Register prize purse - praised the event's organization and said how much she enjoyed running in Newport Beach as its climate reminded her of home in Belarus.

The co-ed race of over 11,000 participants was treated to a record breaking performance in the men's race as well. Nick Arciniaga of Saucony Racing was part of a lead pack thru most of the first mile then he started to pull away on the Avocado Hills. Arciniaga ran the last 2 miles unchallenged to finish in 15:16, two seconds faster than the previous course record of 15:18 set in 2000 by Wilhelm Gidabuday.

Over 23,000 runners and walkers raised over $1.8 million for the Orange County Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation and breast cancer research.

14th Orange County Race for the Cure 5K - Newport Beach, CA, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005

WOMEN
1) Olga Kravtsova, Belarus, 16:14*, $1500
2) Aster Demissie, Ethiopia, 16:24, $1000
3) Alemtsehay Misganaw, Ethiopia, 16:29, $800
4) Sylvia Mosqueda, Los Angeles, CA, 16:35, $600
5) Erin Nehus, Indianapolis, IN, 17:09, $400
6) Genevieve Graff-Ermeling, Tustin, CA, 17:34, $200
7) Cassandra Henkiel, Austin, TX, 17:38, $150
8) Julie Swail, Irvine, CA, 17:52, $150
9) Carmen Troncoso, 46, Austin, TX, 17:54, $600
10) Cosette Smith, Palos Verdes, CA, 17:57, $100
*course record (previous record, 16:28, Sylvia Mosqueda, 2003)

MASTERS Women (40+)
1) Troncoso, see above
2) Carol Montgomery (CAN), 40, San Diego, CA, 18:04, $300
3) Kelley Taylor, 42, Santa Monica, CA, 18:51, $100

MEN
1) Nick Arciniaga, Fountain Valley, CA, 15:16* 
2) Marcos Campos, CA, 15:23
3) Ricky Barnes, Newport Beach, CA 15:37
*course record (previous record, 15:18, Wilhelm Gidabuday 2000)

For more results, go to: KinaneEvents.com.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.