Moran, De Reuck top Americans at 38th edition; more than 9,800 finish Cape Cod summer tradition
By Steve Nearman, Running USA wire
FALMOUTH, Mass. - (August 15, 2010) - Ethiopian Olympian Gebre Gebremariam scored his second consecutive major victory and second $10,000 paycheck in a relatively easy effort at the 38th running of the CIGNA Falmouth Road Race on Sunday morning.
Shortly after, Wude Ayalew Yimer completed the Ethiopian sweep, turning the tables on runner-up Lineth Chepkurui of Kenya. Chepkurui, the hottest racer on the 2010 U.S. road circuit, had defeated Yimer by seven seconds at the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K eight days ago a few hours up the coast in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Yimer's four-second triumph here in 35 minutes, 46 seconds was the fifth-fastest women's time in race history.
Gebremariam's time of 32:20, however, didn't even make the all-time Falmouth top 50. In his debut Falmouth, Gebremariam, 25, ran consistently and comfortably throughout the 7.1-mile ocean-side course from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights.
Over the first half of the race, which passes Nobska Light after the first mile, Gebremariam was content to remain in a pack of a couple of dozen elite Kenyan, Ethiopian and U.S. runners. The two previous male victors had been Ethiopians, but Kenya has enjoyed unmatched success by taking this race 15 of the previous 19 years.
The last time an American male won at Falmouth was in 1988 and the runner was Mark Curp. And the notion of that streak ending was dashed when top U.S. road racer and familiar Falmouth runner-up Meb Keflezighi scratched on Saturday with a slight tweak.
American Ed Moran, whose name is synonymous with the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, took his best shot at ending the African domination. In 2008, Moran was ninth here, after sprinting the Falmouth mile in a tantalizing 4:00.01 the day before.
Again this weekend, he attempted the double, placing fourth in the Saturday evening mile in 4:02.03. So the early miles of 4:39, 4:37 and 4:40 today must have seemed slow for him. Moran maintained a 15- to 20-meter gap on the field until the pack swallowed him up after 3½ miles along Surf Drive.
Gebremariam began mile 4 with a shakedown surge, splintering the pack to six contenders. He looked back to assess the damage. "I had to push them," he recounted afterwards.
Soon after, it became a two-man race between Gebremariam and Wilson Kwambai Chebet, also a Falmouth rookie who was outkicked by Gebremariam, who has a 12:52 PR at 5000 meters, at Beach to Beacon last weekend.
"I was thinking that today I would beat him," said Chebet, third last weekend in 27:45 to Gebremariam's 27:41. "But I couldn't today. I was trying to surge on him at five miles but he stayed up with me."
Down the final hill into the finish, Gebremariam used his superior kick to a one-second triumph and third major win - Falmouth, Beach to Beacon and Peachtree. Asked if he was going at 80-90% effort throughout the race, he nodded yes.
Behind Chebet were two more Kenyans, 2008 Olympian Martin Lel (32:37) and Edward Muge (32:40), who were seventh and fifth respectively last weekend.
And closing hard on Muge in fifth - also in 32:40 - was the American, Ed Moran.
"I was really surprised [they let me lead] because I knew I wasn't running that fast," said the 29-year-old Moran, a volunteer coach at William & Mary as he completes his second graduate degree there, this one an MBA. He said he would come to Falmouth to keep doubling until he runs a sub-4 minute mile here.
The women's race also came down to a kick - this time it was Yimer on the victory stand. "I prepared for this race really well," said the 23-year-old Yimer in her first major career victory. "We were coming from the track season and it was good weather."
Yimer said she was surprised to overtake Chepkurui, who noted after the race that she had been suffering all week from a cold. Chepkurui did do an admirable job running stride-for-stride with Yimer until the Ethiopian unleashed her kick in the final 500 meters.
Said Chepkurui, "I didn't know if I could perform today but I tried my best. I was not as strong as last week."
As with the men, Kenya went 2-3-4 before evergreen American Colleen De Reuck, 46, finished in 38:10, four seconds behind another legendary runner, two-time Olympic silver medalist Catherine Ndereba of Kenya.
De Reuck, running for South Africa at the time, won her debut here in 1993, placed second in 1995 and 1996, won again in 1997 and was second again in 1998-99. Husband Darren counted 16 trips to Falmouth for De Reuck, many of those including tough battles with Ndereba, who was first here in 1996, 1998-99 and 2007.
"I was running with Catherine and saying 'It's like the old days when we were running 1-2 [in 1998 and 1999]'," said De Reuck, currently in marathon preparation.
Ndereba, too, is prepping for a fall marathon, probably New York City she said. She said she was quite satisfied with her race as she recovers from piriformis in her left leg sustained in March.
Olympic Marathon champion Joan Benoit Samuelson, a champion here in 1976, 1978, 1981-1983 and 1985, also was smiling at the finish. "It went well," said the 53-year-old whose focus turns to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon for another sub-2:50 attempt. "I feel strong, but I don't run fast."
Benoit Samuelson is responsible for the 13-year-old Beach to Beacon race, modeled, she said, after Falmouth.
Olympian Bill Rodgers (champ here in 1974, 1977 and 1978) ran 54:28 at age 62 and Olympic Marathon gold and silver medalist Frank Shorter (champ here in 1975 and 1976) ran 1:10:08 at age 62 and a new left hip. They were part of the more than 9,800 finishers on a day made for racing, with temperatures at race time in the high 60s with a partial cloud cover.
38th CIGNA Falmouth Road Race
Falmouth, MA, Sunday, August 15, 2010
MEN
1) Gebre Gebremariam (ETH), 32:20, $10,000
2) Wilson Kwambai Chebet (KEN), 32:21, $5000
3) Martin Lel (KEN), 32:37, $2000
4) Edward Muge (KEN), 32:40, $1500
5) Ed Moran (USA / VA), 32:40, $6000
6) Stephen Kosgei Kibet (KEN), 32:50, $800
7) Peter Kirui (KEN), 32:50, $650
8) Antonio Vega (USA / MN), 32:53, $3600
9) Sean Quigley (USA / PA), 32:58, $2450
10) Allan Kiprono (KEN), 33:05, $350
Other U.S.
13) Ben True (ME), 33:23, $1500
17) Mbarak Hussein, 45, NM, 34:38, $3500
19) Scott Bauhs (CA), 35:12, $800
21) Russell Brown (OR), 35:30, $600
22) Eric Ashe (MA), 35:33, $400
23) Seamus Nally (OR), 35:45, $300
24) Michael Wardian (VA), 35:50, $200
MASTERS Men (40+)
1) Hussein, see above
2) James Koskei, 41, KEN, 34:49, $1000
3) Joseph Koech, 41, KEN, 36:10, $750
4) Joseph Ekuom, 40, NY, 36:59, $500
5) Gideon Mutisya, 43, KEN, 37:31, $250
WOMEN
1) Wude Ayalew Yimer (ETH), 35:46, $10,000
2) Lineth Chepkurui (KEN), 35:50, $5000
3) Edna Kiplagat (KEN), 36:31, $2000
4) Catherine Ndereba (KEN), 38:06, $1500
5) Colleen De Reuck, 46, USA / CO, 38:10, $8500
6) Fiona Docherty (NZL), 38:26, $800
7) Amy Hastings (USA / CA), 38:33, $3650
8) Irene Limika (KEN), 38:59, $600
9) Jeannette Seckinger (USA / MA), 39:01, $2450
10) Kathy Newberry (USA / VA), 39:10, $1850
Other U.S.
11) Jennifer Donovan (MA), 39:13, $1000
12) Heidi Westerling (MA), 39:59, $800
13) Lauren Johnson (OR), 40:08, $600
14) Lindsey Scherf (AZ), 40:24, $400
15) Tanya Zeferjahn (NC), 40:30, $300
18) Joan Benoit Samuelson, 53, ME, 41:36, $1450
MASTERS Women (40+)
1) De Reuck, see above
2) Ramilia Burangulova, 49, RUS, 40:36, $1000
3) Benoit Samuelson, see above
4) Marisa Hanson, 47, NY, 43:46, $500
5) Christine Kennedy, 55, CA, 44:12, $250
Full results and more at: www.falmouthroadrace.com.
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