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Ethiopia, Romania take team titles at International Team Challenge; race record field of more than 54,000
By Michael Sandrock, Running USA wire
BOULDER, Colo. - (May 26, 2008) - As she stood inside Folsom Field on the University of Colorado campus, signing autographs in a slight rain and talking about her seventh-place at the Bolder Boulder 10K International Team Challenge, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor summed up the race this way: "It is not a great day for barbecues, but it is a great day for running."
It was indeed a great day for the 30th Bolder Boulder, which saw a record of 54,250 runners and walker register, two scintillating elite races, and a moving Memorial Day celebration.
"Today was very gratifying," said race director Cliff Bosley, who oversaw a race that once again went off like clockwork. One of the few surprises was the finishes of Team USA, which fell below pre-race expectations on both the men's and women's side.
The cool temperature of 55 degrees on race morning, with a nice cloud cover, was a welcome change from the hot weather of past years. Kastor's "great day for running" produced some fast times, as the professional runners returned to run the same point-to-point course as the citizens runners, foregoing the criterium course used in past years.
Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco repeated as the Bolder men's champion, with the help of a fierce kick over the final 500 meters that carried him past Ethiopians Dmessew Tsega and Gebo Berka. Harroufi, 26, clocked 28 minutes, 32 seconds to win $4500, part of a prize purse of $84,000.
It was the fastest winning time in 12 years and the third-fastest Bolder time ever. Harroufi is the first back-to-back winner since Kenyan Thomas Osano back in 1991-92. Josphat Machuka of Kenya holds the course record of 27:52.
Ethiopia repeated as men's team champion, with a 2-3-6 finish, for 11 points. Kenya (20 points) and British Commonwealth (31) followed, while a star-studded U.S. team, could manage only a 12-14-19 finish - from Jorge Torres, Ryan Hall and Ed Torres - and ended up sixth. The Americans beat only an average squad from Japan and Team Colorado.
"I got my butt kicked," is the way Jorge Torres, an ex-University of Colorado NCAA champion, put it. "It is disappointing not to perform better in front of our hometown fans.
"At two miles, I realized it was not going to be my day," Torres continued. "Ryan (Hall) and I were talking afterwards, and we said 'OK, normally people going out that fast come back to you.' It didn't work out that way today."
Hall said he expecting to run about 30 minutes, just about his final finishing time of 30:07. After going through the mile in 4:26 (the leaders were 4:23) and two miles in 9:13 (with the lead pack at 9:02), Jorge Torres finished in 29:59. His twin brother, Edwardo, was 19th in 30:42.
"This is a good starting point for me," said Hall, a graduate of Stanford who is the U.S. record holder at 20K, 30K and the half-marathon, a 2:06 marathoner and the winner of the recent U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. "I will put in some good, hard work and be ready for Beijing. You have to be realistic when you come to run here."
Hall said he won't run any more races before Beijing.
Added Kastor, "My perspectives and sights are still set on Beijing. Running with these great girls is a good incentive to go back home and get some work under our belts."
The women's race saw the emergence of a new star, Millicent Gathoni of Kenya. The native of Nyahururu is training with Dieter Hogen's group in Boulder, and was a surprise winner in 32:49, worth $4250. Amane Gobena of Ethiopia was just four ticks behind. It was Gathoni's first win ever outside of Kenya.
Romanian Luminita Talpos' third-place finish led Team Romania to the women's title. All three Romanians - Talpos, Lidia Simon and Constantina Tomescu-Dita - are running the 2008 Beijing Olympic Marathon.
"I am very happy that I was able to defeat these Olympian runners," said Gathoni, who is 22 but was mistaken for 16 by at least one fan. "For me, running with Deena Kastor is like running with (Paul) Tergat in Kenya."
That is a nice compliment for the ever-personable, gracious Kastor, who said that when Gathoni and Gobena moved away from her early on, "my legs were still in marathon mode."
It has been just under six weeks since Kastor won the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Boston.
Ethiopians Tsega and Berka also had good reason to be tired. Speaking through a translator, Berka said he and his teammates were delayed for 36 hours in London on their way to Boulder, "with no food, no nothing."
The Ethiopians arrived in Boulder on Thursday, but the delay in London and sleepless night left him with a backache on Monday, Berka said.
While they were loath to make any excuses, Hall, Torres and Kastor put in full weeks of training leading up to the Bolder Boulder.
"If I was going to have a bad race, it was better that it came here than on the fourth," Torres said, referring to the July 4 finals of the U.S. Olympic Trials 10,000 meters in Eugene. "I'll put this race behind me."
Torres said he will run one more track race before the Trials 10,000 meters, perhaps the 2-mile at the Prefontaine Classic. Torres did get one compliment, from his coach, ex-world record holder Steve Jones. "Jonesy said he was happy I didn't give up, and that I kept looking forward."
30th Dick's Sporting Goods BolderBOULDER 10K: International Team Challenge - Boulder, CO, Monday, May 26, 2008
MEN
1) Ridouane Harroufi (MAR), 28:32, $4500
2) Dmessew Tsega (ETH), 28:33, $3500
3) Gebo Berka (ETH), 28:37, $3000
4) John Yuda (TAN)*, 28:48, $3750
5) John Korir (KEN), 28:57, $2050
6) Lishan Yigezu (ETH), 29:02, $1700
7) MacDonald Ondara (KEN), 29:08, $1600
8) Charles Munyeki (KEN), 29:12, $1500
9) Alejandro Suarez (MEX), 29:35, $900
10) Juan Carlos Romero (MEX), 29:43, $800
11) Julius Kibet Koskei (KEN)*, 29:54, $250
12) Jorge Torres (USA), 29:59, $250
13) Julio Cesar Perez (MEX), 30:03
14) Ryan Hall (USA), 30:07
15) Yoshitaka Iwamizu (JPN), 30:20
16) Andrew Letherby (AUS)*, 30:22
17) Karim El Mabchour (MAR), 30:25
18) Cele Rodriguez, Team Colorado, 30:38
19) Ed Torres (USA), 30:42
20) Joshua Eberly, Team Colorado, 30:48
21) Harada Taku (JPN), 31:33
22) Mori Kazuharu (JPN), 31:56
23) Nate Pennington, Team Colorado, 33:51
24) El Arbi Khatabi (MAR), 34:08
*British Commonwealth Composite Team
Team
1) Ethiopia, 11, $15,000
2) Kenya, 20, $10,000
3) British Commonwealth, 31, $7000
4) Mexico, 32, $6000
5) Morocco 42, $4000
6) USA, 45
7) Japan, 58
8) Team Colorado, 61
WOMEN
1) Millicent Gathoni (KEN), 32:49, $4250
2) Amane Gobena (ETH), 32:53, $4000
3) Luminita Talpos (ROM), 33:22, $2250
4) Yuri Kano (JPN), 33:27, $1750
5) Lidia Simon (ROM), 33:31, $1300
6) Dulce Maria Rodriguez (MEX), 33:40, $1200
7) Deena Kastor (USA), 33:44, $1700
8) Ashu Kasim Rabo (ETH), 33:54, $750
9) Hiromi Ominari (JPN), 33:59, $650
10) Constantina Tomescu-Dita (ROM), 34:06, $300
11) Jane Gakunyi (KEN), 34:17
12) Karina Perez (MEX), 34:32
13) Elva Dryer (USA), 34:39
14) Jane Murage (KEN), 34:50
15) Martha Ronseria (COL), 34:54
16) Nora Rocha (MEX), 35:34
17) Bertha Sanchez (COL), 35:52
18) Genet Gebregiorgis (ETH), 35:55
19) Kiyoko Shimahara (JPN), 35:58
20) Kristin Fryburg, Team Colorado, 36:18
21) Laura Bennett, Team Colorado, 36:27
22) Zoila Gomez (USA), 36:44
23) Paige Higgins, Team Colorado, 37:17
24) Maria Eugenia Rodriguez (COL), 39:03
Team
1) Romania, 18, $15,000
2) Kenya, 26, $10,000
3) Ethiopia, 28, $7000
4) Japan, 32, $6000
5) Mexico, 34, $4000
6) USA, 42
7) Columbia, 56
8) Team Colorado, 64
Race results at: .BolderBOULDER.com.
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.RunningUSA.org.
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