KIPKOSGEI, BEDADA SMASH EVENT RECORDS AT WOODROW WILSON BRIDGE HALF MARATHON

4 Americans Run 1:04:15 Or Faster And Qualify For 2012 US Olympic Trials

Courtesy of race organizers

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD, October 2, 2011 - Moses Kigen Kipkosgei flew to America from his homeland of Kenya for just one reason - to win the second annual Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon presented by WillPower Sport & Wellness.

He triumphed in huge fashion, riding perfect weather conditions of upper 40s with little humidity in between a weekend of chilling rain showers.

After breaking from defending champion Derese Deniboba by three miles, the 28-year-old Eldoret resident training for next month’s New York City Marathon kept Deniboba at bay and crossed the finish line in 1:02:37, knocking 2:07 off Deniboba’s event record time from last year.

Deniboba tried to reel in Kipkosgei throughout the 13.1-mile footrace from Mount Vernon, Va., to National Harbor, Md., ending up second in 1:02:56.

“The first 3K was a little bit slow,” said Kipkosgei, who was third in the New York City Marathon last year. “But from 5K I decided to just go for time. The course was good – I like the ups and downs.”

Bekelech Bedada, a New York City resident from Ethiopia, was not to be outdone by Kipkosgei. The 19-year-old broke away from Kenyan Gladys Asiba by three miles as well and broke Catherine Ndereba’s event record by 33 seconds in 1:12:44. Asiba placed second in 1:15:58.

Both Kipkosgei and Bedada earned $1,000 for the win and $300 for the time bonus.

In fact, the top seven men all earned time bonuses for sub-1:05 while the top four Americans – Jordan Horn and Danny Mercado of Team USA Arizona in Flagstaff, AZ, Bobby Mack of Raleigh, NC, and Ricky Flynn of Lychburg, VA – each ran personal bests and earned an additional $1,000 for qualifying for the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in Houston in January. In an extremely competitive race for the Americans, Horn was third overall in 1:03:53, also earning $1,000 for top American, while Mercado was fifth overall in 1:04:03, banking another $500.

Michelle Miller of Damascus, Md., was top American woman in 1:19:43. Amy McDonaugh from Irmo, SC, a 34-year-old visually-impaired athlete who earlier in the year won the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, led 11 athletes in the NIB Visually-Impaired National Half Marathon Championship in 1:24:00. Defending champion Matthew Rodjom of Alexandria, VA, was next in 1:24:23.

Laura Greeson of Alexandria, VA, and Patrick Kuhlmann of Arlington, VA, took the masters honors in 1:14:14 and 1:30:33, respectively.

Ultramarathoner Michael Wardian of Arlington and Kara Christenson of Alexandria were winners of the Potomac Valley Association /USA Track & Field Half Marathon Championship, earning $300 apiece. Alex Hetherington of Vienna and Joann Johnson of Herndon were top PVA masters.

Just seven hours before the start of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon, 15 U.S. servicemen completed the WWBH Shadow Race at four Iraqi locations- Baghdad, Ramadi, Fallujah, and East Baghdad. The races were organized by Major Shannon Way, who ran the inaugural Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon last year prior to being deployed to Iraq.

“Sometime during the night, 15 runners crossed a self-monitored finish line,” Major Way reported. “Runners in Baghdad calling out to other runners who had GPS's to find out if they had completed the run. They congratulated each other and then shared a moment for photos with their latest addition to their race trophies -the Wilson Bridge Half finishers medal.” 

Second annual Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon, National Harbor, MD

Top Male Finishers

1.      Moses Kigen Kipkosgei, KENYA, 1:02:37 (breaks course record of 1:04:44 set by Derese Deniboba in 2010), $1,300;

2.      Derese Deniboba, ETHIOPIA, 1:02:56, $800;

3.      Jordan Horn, Flagstaff, AZ, 1:03:53, $2,350;

4.      Abiyot Endale, ETHIOPIA, 1:04:01, $500;

5.      Danny Mercado, Flagstaff, AZ, 1:04:03, $1,900;

6.      Bobby Mack, Raleigh, NC, 1:04:13, $1,600;

7.      Ricky Flynn, Lynchburg, VA, 1:04:15, $1,500;

8.      Michael Wardian, Arlington, VA, 1:09:16, $300;

9.      Seife Geletu, Washington, DC, 1:10:08;

10.  David Burnham, Arlington, VA, 1:10:51.

Top Masters

1.      Patrick Kuhlmann, Arlington, VA, 1:14:14, $200;

2.      Alex Hetherington, Vienna, VA, 1:17:11, $150;

3.      Paul Willis, Bronx, NY, 1:19:16, $100.

Top PVA

1.      Wardian, $300;

2.      Hetherington, $200;

3.      Lavar Curley, Washington, DC, $100.

Top PVA Masters

1.      Hetherington, $250;

2.      Robert Britain, Wayzata, MN, $150;

3.      Jack Beach, Nottingham, MD, $100.

Top Female Finishers

1.      Bekelech Bedada, ETHIOPIA, 1:12:44, $1,300 (breaks course record of 1:13:17 set by Catherine Ndereba in 2010);

2.      Gladys Asiba, KENYA, 1:15:57, $500;

3.      Michelle Miller, Damascus, MD, 1:19:43, $1,050;

4.      Mekides Bekele, ETHIOPIA, 1:20:04, $200;

5.      Amy McDonaugh, Irmo, SC, 1:24:01, $600;

6.      Lisa Cron, Herndon, VA, 1:24:03, $300;

7.      Michelle Harburg, Washington, DC, 1:26:55, $200;

8.      Lauren Woodall, Washington, DC, 1:29:37, $100;

9.      Laura Greeson, Alexandria, VA, 1:30:33, $200;

10.  Sarah Brown, Arlington, VA, 1:30:45.

Top Female Masters

1.      Greeson, $200;

2.      Susan Graham Gray, Greencastle, PA, 1:33:47, $150;

3.      Gillian Walker, Springfield, VA, 1:35:17, $100.

Top PVA

1.      Kara Christenson, Alexandria, VA, 1:46:42, $300;

2.      Valerie Bambha, Alexandria, VA, 1:55:01, $200;

3.      Jessica Orozco, Arlington, VA, 1:55:29, $100.

Top PVA Masters

1.      Joann Johnson, Herndon, VA, 2:06:54, $250.

NIB Visually-Impaired National Half Marathon Championships

1.      Amy McDonaugh, Irmo, SC, 1:24:01;

2.      Matthew Rodjom, Alexandria, VA, 1:24:23;

3.      Susan Graham Gray, Greencastle, PA, 1:33:47;

4.      David Kosub, Washington, DC, 1:34:37;

5.      John Morgan, Adelphi, MD, 1:43:16;

6.      Joseph Aukward, Bethesda, MD, 1:45:33;

7.      Thomas Panek, McLean, VA, 1:52:14;

8.      Rodan Hollins, Washington, DC, 2:10:07;

9.      Tim Paul, Chicago, IL, 2:21:34;

10.  Cassandra Dozier, Chicago, IL, 2:29:54;

11.  Doug Powell, Falls Church, VA, 2:33:01.

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