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Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 2008

Johnson Leads Loaded Freihofer’s 5K Field

Posted May 29th, 2008 at 2:30 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

Australian star Benita Johnson leads a loaded field for Saturday’s 30th edition of the Freihofer’s Run for Women in Albany, N.Y., one of America’s oldest and most prestigious all-women’s road races.

Johnson has already won the race twice, splashing to victory in heavy rain in 2006, then coming back to defend her title last year. She’s recorded excellent times both years: 15:27 and 15:22, respectively.

“I’m so excited to be returning for my third year in a row,” Johnson said through a press release. “Let’s hope it is third time lucky for me! I love this event and to run it in an Olympic year means it’s vital for my preparation for Beijing. I can’t wait to hear the crowd as I run towards the finish. It’s truly magic in Albany with those fans screaming!”
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Rematch At 30th Annual Freihofer’s Run For Women

Posted May 28th, 2008 at 6:15 PM by thefinalsprint.com

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

Press Release: With the 30th Freihofer’s Run for Women just days away, all signs indicate it will be another hotly-contested race among the open elites and the masters.

In addition to two-time defending champion Benita Johnson’s bid for a three-peat, a strong Kenyan contingent will be on hand to prove they can dominate the short courses just as well as the long courses. Included in that group will be Monday’s Bolder Boulder 10k champion Millicent Gathoni, whose winning time in Colorado (32 minutes and 49 seconds) was the fourth-fastest women’s elite time in the history of the race.

Joining Gathoni on the start line will be fellow Kenyans Jane Gakunyi, a 2004 Olympian, whose PR in the 5K is faster than the Freihofer’s course record (15:18), Genoveva Kigen, Evelyne Lagat, Florence Jepkosgei, Jane Kibii and Jacqueline Nytipei, who has finished in the top three of almost every race she entered over the last year, including a first-place finish in the Carlsbad half-marathon in April.
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97th ING Bay to Breakers Returns on Sunday in San Francisco

Posted May 14th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Road Racing

Part parade, part fashion show, and part road race, the 97th ING Bay to Breakers returns to the streets of San Francisco on Sunday, and organizers expect some 70,000 runners and walkers (about half of them unregistered) to take part.

Up front, the race is serious business. Elite athlete coordinator Josh Muxen has assembled a strong field to chase a $74,000 prize money purse, including a special $25,000 ING Battle to the Breakers bonus which will be awarded to the first athlete to cross the finish line. That could be a man or it could be a woman; women are given a four minute and 40 second headstart based on the difference between the male (33:42) and female (38:22) course records.

In addition, there is a $5000 bonus for the first man and first woman to reach the top of Hayes Street Hill, a beast of a climb which begins at the two mile mark on Franklin Street, rises 201 feet, and covers a distance of 0.69 miles. Athletes can pocket the bonus as long as they also finish in the top-20.
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29th Annual Bolder Boulder: A Record Setting Day

Posted May 30th, 2007 at 7:00 AM by Courtney Albon

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Women from Kenya and Ethiopia set the pace in Sunday’s 29th annual Bolder Boulder 10K Memorial Day race. The rivals started strong, earning the top two spots in the individual women’s professional race. Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 33:42 and Amane Gobena of Ethiopia finished second with a time of 33:59.

While Ethiopia took hold of the first place slot in the women’s international team challenge, the U.S. managed to follow them in second place with runners Elva Dryer, Kate O’Neill, and Sara Slattery placing third, sixth, and thirteenth respectively. Slattery, an Olympic hopeful who won the race last year, was disappointed with her performance.

“Sometimes it’s just not there,” Slattery said. “Every time someone would come up on me, I’d try to accelerate with them, but I didn’t have the gas today. I think the combination of a fast (first) mile and the heat might have done it.”
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