Posted: October 3, 2005

Athletics: Hussein Sweeps USA Open, Masters Marathon Titles

Aish, Loken Claim Women's Crowns at Twin Cities

By Charlie Mahler, Running USA wire

ST. PAUL, Minn. - (October 2, 2005) - A marathon veteran and a newcomer to this humbling event won USA titles at the 24th Twin Cities Marathon on a challenging Sunday morning.

Mbarek Hussein, 40, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Kenya, fought unseasonable humidity and windy conditions to win the men's USA Open and Masters titles in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 28 seconds. Nicole Aish, 29, of Gunnison, Colo., a track standout making her marathon debut, survived difficulty in the final miles to claim the USA Open crown in 2:40:21. Both are first-time USA champs.

Susan Loken, 42, of Phoenix, Ariz. won the USA Masters title for women, her first as well, finishing third overall in 2:43:10. Skies were cloudy throughout the race which started in 66 degree temperatures.

Hussein, an Albuquerque, N.M. resident, pulled away from James Carney and Brandon Leslie as the course crossed the Mississippi River in the race's 20th mile. Despite running only 5:39 and 5:40 over the following two miles and looking taxed himself, Hussein built more than a minute's lead over his pursuers by mile 22. Carney would ultimately drop out of the race; Leslie would finish sixth.

"Actually, I don't think I made a move, I only kept the same pace," Hussein, the younger brother of three-time Boston Marathon champion Ibrahim Hussein explained. "I thought I was slowing down, but I looked back and I didn't see anyone coming. It felt kind of hard running alone."

Unlike the race leaders at the 20 mile mark here the past two years, however, Hussein rallied to hang on for the victory. His perseverance paid off to the tune of $38,000 once his overall, USA Open, USA Masters, and overall masters earnings were rung up. His time was the second slowest winning time in Twin Cities history.

In the early going, perhaps sensing the sticky weather would make for tough marathoning, the men's lead pack crept through the first three miles at 5:20 pace, before unwinding, albeit cautiously, as the course passed Minneapolis' picturesque lakes neighborhood. The lead pack, which winnowed itself from some twenty runners at five miles to eight by the half-way mark, passed the half-marathon in 1:08:27.

Admission to the lead pack, though, was ultimately costly to all but Hussein. Runner-up Ben Rosario of St. Louis (2:20:43) and third place finisher Wynston Alberts of Portland, Ore. (2:21:42), succeeded from off the lead pace. David Ernsberger of Little Lake, Mich. did finish fourth in 2:22:05 coming from the lead pack, but fifth placer Brantley Lutz clocked 2:22:34 also from behind.

Lead-packers Carney, Sergio Reyes and Kyle Baker would all drop out.

Defending USA Master's champion Dennis Simonaitis was runner-up in the masters division, running 2:27:33 for 20th overall.

In the women's race, Aish was a lead pack unto herself, finding no one to follow her to what she hoped would be a 2:34 marathon debut. Aish had amassed a three-and-a-half minute lead by the half-way point, and was reportedly clear by more than five minutes at the 18 mile mark. Not unlike Blake Russell's 2003 debut victory here, however, the off-the-front racing in the early miles meant a lot of suffering along St. Paul's Summit Avenue in the late-going for Aish, who stopped twice due to leg cramps in the final five miles.

"I was just throwing my body forward," Aish explained. "I started blacking out at about twenty. I knew I was slowing. I thought someone might catch me, but I just tried to stay positive and keep my legs moving. I knew I had to finish - I had to finish."

"I'd always heard about hitting the wall," the marathon debutante added, "and I think I hit the wall pretty good."

Aish's hard landing was cushioned by the $30,000 she earned for the overall win and USA Open title. Her time was the slowest women's winning time in race history.

Zika Palmer of Blowing Rock, N.C. was national runner-up in 2:41.06. Behind masters champ Loken was Nicole Hunt of Deer Lodge, Montana, fourth in 2:43:10 and Johanna Olson, a Minnesota native now living in Corvallis, Ore., fifth in 2:44:09.

Loken, the master division bridesmaid last year, was ecstatic with her run.

"I came in second here last year, so this is a thrill," she said. "National champion, how cool is that?"

2004 USA Masters champ Janet Robertz of Shorewood, Minn. did not finish today.

In this the first opportunity for athletes to qualify for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, 12 women and only 3 men made the standards of 2:47:00 and 2:22:00, respectively. Most notable among the qualifiers was 48-year-old Joan Benoit Samuelson, the gold medalist at the inaugural Olympic Marathon in 1984 and until 2003, the U.S. record-holder in the event.

"I just said, you're not getting any younger, Twin Cities is the first Olympic Trials qualifier and then the window closes until next year, you have your health, go for it," Benoit Samuelson said of her choice to run here. "I'd had a nagging hamstring and Achilles problems that were compensation injuries - one for the other - but I finally started to feel like I was getting it together this summer."

Samuelson clocked 2:46:27 for 11th overall and runner-up in the master's division.

Despite the weather, both races had a record number of finishers with 7,753 runners completing the marathon and 4,085 finishing the TC 10 Mile "Shortcut to the Capitol."

The Twin Cities Marathon will host the USA Marathon Championships for Open and masters men and women again in 2006.

24th Twin Cities Marathon: USA Men's, Women's & Masters Championships - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, Sunday, October 2, 2005

MEN
1) Mbarak Hussein, 40, NM, 2:18:28, $38,000
2) Ben Rosario, MO, 2:20:43, $17,500
3) Wynston Alberts, OR, 2:21:42, $11,000
4) David Ernsberger, MI, 2:22:05, $9000
5) Brantley Lutz, NM, 2:22:34, $7000
6) Brandon Leslie, NM, 2:22:54, $5000
7) Mark Pilja, CA, 2:22:56, $4000
8) Michael Little, MN, 2:23:00, $3500
9) Chris Lundstrom, MN, 2:24:04, $2400
10) Michael Reneau, WI, 2:24:12, $1000

MASTERS Men (40+)
1) Hussein, see above
2) Dennis Simonaitis, 43, UT, 2:27:33, $6000
3) Paul Aufdemberge, 40, MI, 2:29:49, $4000

WOMEN
1) Nicole Aish, CO, 2:40:21, $30,000
2) Zika Palmer, NC, 2:41:06, $17,500
3) Susan Loken, 42, AZ, 2:43:10, $19,000
4) Nicole Hunt, MT, 2:43:25, $9000
5) Johanna Olson, OR, 2:44:09, $7000
6) Christy Nielsen, IA, 2:45:19, $5000
7) Jennifer DeRego, MI, 2:45:22, $4000
8) Jill Boaz, CA, 2:45:34, $3000
9) Sopagna Eap, OR, 2:45:57, $2000
10) Mary Kate Bailey, VA, 2:46:03, $1000

MASTERS Women (40+)
1) Loken, see above
2) Joan Benoit Samuelson, 48, ME, 2:46:27, $6000
3) Doreen McCoubrie, 43, PA, 2:50:05, $4000

Full results at: TwinCitiesMarathon.org.

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
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