Antonio Vega Wins USA Half Marathon Championships; Patrick Smyth Finishes Second in Houston
Press Release
January 18, 2010
Minneapolis/St. Paul - Jan. 18, 2010 - Team USA
Minnesota's Antonio Vega won his first national championship at
the USA Half Marathon Championships in a race hosted by the Aramco Houston
Half Marathon on Jan. 17. His time of 1:01:54 was a personal best by more
than a minute as well as the fourth fastest time by an American on the Houston
half marathon course.
Vega was followed across the finish line by teammate
Patrick Smyth, who was making his debut at the distance and ran
1:02:01. Two other Team USA Minnesota men also were in the top nine in the
championship race including Josh Moen, who was sixth in 1:02:52
(previous best was 1:04:37), and Matt Gabrielson, who finished
ninth in a personal best time of 1:03:43 (previous was 1:04:06).
The four Team USA Minnesota runners were in the lead pack
from the gun. After a relatively slow first mile of 4:53, the four pushed
the pace to 4:38 for the second mile to break up a pack of 20 men. By the
fourth mile, Gabrielson had dropped back and then Moen lost contact with the
lead runners by the 10k mark. At eight miles, Vega and Smyth were running
side-by-side with one other runner trailing by about five meters. Vega
made his move at the 180-degree turnaround, which is at the nine mile
mark.
"My plan was to hit the throttle at the turnaround point
and put a gap on the field," said Vega, who was making his second appearance at
Houston, having finished seventh in the championship race last year. "I
was just feeling really good so I tried to separate myself from the guys chasing
me. I'm not the fastest guy in the world and I knew I wasn't going to win
if it came down to a 100 meter dash at the end."
Vega, a Twin Cities native who ran collegiately at
the University of Minnesota, said he has been putting in 120 mile weeks
over the last six or seven weeks. "The training leading up to this race
has been phenomenal because my teammates and I are all in sync which makes it
easier to train," said Vega who the previous weekend ran an 8:06.73 best in the
3000 meters as a tune-up. "This was a breakout race for me. I
thought I had a performance like this in me so it is nice to finally realize
it. I wasn't a Big 10 champion or an NCAA champ in college so this is my
first big win in my running career."
Next up for Vega will be the USA 15k Championships on
March 14 followed by the Boston Marathon in April. "I am gearing up for
Boston," said the 26-year-old from St. Paul. "I am going into my next
marathon with confidence and high expectations."
Also running at the USA Half Marathon Championships were
Meghan Armstrong, who finished in 11th place in a personal best
time of 1:13:56 (previous was 1:14:57), and Michelle Frey, who
was 19th in 1:17:11.
"It is pretty fantastic when our guys can go one-two in a
national championship against good competition," said Team USA Minnesota coach
Dennis Barker. "With the type of winter we've had this year, to have four
PR's and a great debut was a really good day for our team."
There were 11,000 participants registered for the Aramco
Half Marathon which has sponsored the USA Men's Half Marathon Championships the
past six years and the USA Women's Half Marathon Championship for four
years. Conditions at the 7 a.m. start of the race included a clear sky and
45 degrees.
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