2011 Lilac Bloomsday Run Recap and Results
By Bloomsday Run
May 1, 2011
Spokane, WashingtonWithdrawal from the field of last year's winners Peter Kirui and Lineth Chepkurui opened up both men's and women's races
in the final days before the race, but it would take until the final
downhill slope for two runners to seize the opportunity and surge to
victory in the 35th running of the Lilac Bloomsday Run. Misiker Mekonnin of Ethiopia and Simon Ndirangu of Kenya were both new to the Bloomsday
course, but both had a clear enough notion of where the finish line was
to outsprint and outlean all contenders in two hotly contested races.
A field of 56,460 signed up for this year's Bloomsday,
and as an early morning fog quickly burned off it left the throng to
gather under clear, sunny, chilly skies. Temperature at the start was
near 40 degrees, and there was little wind to bother the racers,
starting with the elite women's contest. Misiker Mekonnin had plenty of
company throughout most of the women's race, as a tactical pace kept a
large pack together through early miles of 5:17, 5:13, and, on the
mostly uphill third mile, 5:39. Kenya's Jelliah Tinega and Wude Ayalew
Yimer of Ethiopia moved into the lead briefly toward the top of Cemetery
Hill near the three-mile point, but neither move was decisive enough to
break up a pack of 10.
That group was still together at the base of Doomsday Hill, just shy of
five miles, but the normally challenging ascent left only two runners
struggling, with eight still together at the top. A half-mile later one
runner faded, but a modest 33:56 10K time proved to everyone's liking,
and even at the seven-mile point there were seven runners still in the
hunt. The pace finally heated up as the pack rounded the final turn and
began the 250-meter downhill homestretch. As they neared the tape,
Ethiopians Mekonnin and Ayalew Yimer accelerated and swung around the
rest of the pack. Those two waged their duel in the final 20 meters,
with Mekonnin dipping at the end to outlean her countrywoman for the
win, 40:25 to 40:26.
"To speed fast to the finish line was my plan," said Mekonnin, who became the first Ethiopian, male or female, to win Bloomsday.
In the men's race, Ethiopian Ezkyas Sisay took the group through a quick
4:25 first mile, and while the women's race had been tactical, the
men's pace continued at a fast clip even as the leaders climbed the
first two hills on the course. Even so, a pack of 10 reached three miles
in 13:37, with Kenyans Allan Kiprono, Simon Ndirangu and Julius Kogo at
the front. Stephen Muange surged and broke up the pack shortly after,
but eight runners then regrouped and were still together at the base of
Doomsday.
The hill climb to the five-mile point would belong to Belete Assefa, as
the Ethiopian reached the top with a five-meter lead. But that margin
would not hold. Kiprono was the first to close the gap, with Ndirangu
and MacDonard Ondara right behind. A half-mile later Ondara fell back,
leaving three men to battle to the finish.
With less than a mile left Ndirangu and Kiprono were finally able to
drop Assefa, and those two rounded the final turn to see who could
unleash the deadliest finishing kick.
"I knew I could keep going with the fast group," said Ndirangu after the
race. "I've been doing speedwork and I was gauging myself to see where
the others were."
Indeed, as the two raced the final 250 meters, it was Ndirangu, who had
never seemed to strain during the race, who accelerated with the most
conviction, racing to a one-second victory after turning in a split of
1:57 over the final .46 miles of the course. Ndirangu and Kiprono
clocked 33:58 and 33:59, the fifth and sixth fastest times in Bloomsday history.
Champions Ndirangu and Mekonnin each earned $7,000 for their victories,
part of a purse of nearly $100,000 in all divisions of the race. Janet
Cherobon-Bawcom of Rome, Georgia, who finished sixth among the women,
and Josh Moen of Minneapolis, tenth in the men's field, each took home
U.S. prize money of $5,000, plus open money. Mbarak Hussein of
Albuquerque, and Trina Painter of Flagstaff, Arizona, each earned the
top masters prize of $1,500.
In the men's wheelchair race, a pack of 12 at the first mile whittled down to 7 by the bottom of the first hill, with 10-time Bloomsday
champion Saul Mendoza in front. Mendoza and Aaron Gordian began to move
away from the field shortly after. Gordian eventually muscled into the
lead and never relinquished it, finishing a minute ahead of Mendoza in
28:03.
In the women's wheelchair division, perennial adversaries Amanda McGrory
and Shirley Reilly, of the University of Illinois and University of
Arizona respectively, battled start to finish, with McGrory eventually
managing to best her rival by 11 seconds to earn her fifth straight Bloomsday victory.
Five teams competed in Bloomsday's inaugural
Wheelchair Team Competition, with Team St. Luke's eking out the victory
over the University of Illinois. In other wheelchair competition, Eric
Kaiser of Santa Barbara, California, won the masters division in 34:52,
Scott Stokes of Atlanta was the T-1 champion, and Spaniard Santiago
Sanz-Quinto notched his seventh straight T-2 victory.
Along with spirited elite competition in all Bloomsday
divisions, 51,260 finishers enjoyed performances from 35 bands,
vocalists and performing troupes along the course, eventually reaching
the finish and claiming this years finisher T-shirt. Next years Lilac Bloomsday Run, the 36th, will be on Sunday, May 6th, 2012.
Top Results (Note: There was $5000 for the first American finishers), Full Results on race website
TOP
FINISHERS
MALE |
||||
Place |
Name |
Home |
Time |
Award |
1. |
Simon Ndirangu |
Kenya |
33:58 |
$7,000 |
2. |
Allan Kiprono |
Kenya |
33:59 |
4,500 |
3. |
Belete Assefa |
Ethiopia |
34:09 |
3,000 |
4. |
MacDonard Ondara |
Kenya |
34:39 |
2,500 |
5. |
Stephen Muange |
Kenya |
34:45 |
1,800 |
6. |
Lani Kiplagat |
Kenya |
34:46 |
1,350 |
7. |
Julius Kogo |
Kenya |
34:47 |
1,000 |
8. |
Tesfaye Sendeku |
Ethiopia |
35:05 |
900 |
9. |
Bado Worku |
Ethiopia |
35:20 |
700 |
10. |
Josh Moen |
Minneapolis, MN |
35:21 |
5,600* |
11. |
Fernando Cabada |
Boulder, CO |
36:24 |
3,000* |
12. |
Josphat Boit |
Kenya |
36:27 |
400 |
13. |
Ian Burrell |
Tucson, AZ |
35:31 |
1,550* |
14. |
Boaz Cheboiywo |
Kenya |
35:35 |
250 |
15. |
Worku Beyi |
Ethiopia |
35:37 |
200 |
16. |
James Carney |
Concord, MA |
35:50 |
750* |
17. |
Andrew Ledwith |
Salt Lake City, UT |
36:14 |
500* |
18. |
Chris Erichsen |
St. Paul, MN |
36:57 |
500* |
-- |
Joe Gray |
Newcastle, WA |
36:25 |
1,000-w |
-- |
Uli Steidl |
Seattle, WA |
37:27 |
750-w |
-- |
Steven Crane |
Olympia, WA |
37:28 |
500-w |
-- |
Kyle King |
Cheney, WA |
37:29 |
250-w |
-- |
Mbarak Hussein |
Albuquerque, NM |
37:38 |
1,500-m |
-- |
Dennis Simonaitis |
Draper, UT |
38:38 |
1,000-m |
-- |
Kevin Sheehy |
Boise, ID |
38:42 |
500-m |
*Includes U.S. citizen prize
money |
||||
w-Washington state resident |
||||
m-Masters runner |
||||
FEMALE |
||||
Place |
Name |
Home |
Time |
Award |
1. |
Misiker Mekonnin |
Ethiopia |
40:25 |
$7,000 |
2. |
Wude Ayalew Yimer |
Ethiopia |
40:26 |
4,500 |
3. |
Jelliah Tinega |
Kenya |
40:28 |
3,000 |
4. |
Buzunesh Deba |
Ethiopia |
40:29 |
2,500 |
5. |
Shewarge Amare |
Ethiopia |
40:31 |
1,800 |
6. |
Janet Cherobon-Bawcom |
Rome, GA |
40:35 |
6,350* |
7. |
Everlyne Lagat |
Kenya |
40:47 |
1,000 |
8. |
Risper Gesabwa |
Kenya |
40:49 |
900 |
9. |
Jane Kibii |
Kenya |
40:52 |
700 |
10. |
Amy Hastings |
Mammoth Lakes, CA |
40:54 |
3,100* |
11. |
Hyvon Ngetich |
Kenya |
41:04 |
500 |
12. |
Emily Brown |
Minnetonka, MN |
41:11 |
1,650* |
13. |
Aziza Aliyu |
Ethiopia |
41:17 |
300 |
14. |
Allison Grace-Morgan |
Lexington, KY |
41:59 |
1,000* |
15. |
Hirut Mandefro |
Ethiopia |
43:03 |
200 |
16. |
Kelly Jaske |
Portland, OR |
43:22 |
500* |
-- |
Claudia Copeland |
Olympia, WA |
43:07 |
1,000-w |
-- |
Trina Painter |
Flagstaff, AZ |
44:03 |
1,500-m |
-- |
Rose Wetzel |
Seattle, WA |
44:07 |
750-w |
-- |
Christine Lundy |
Sausalito, CA |
44:11 |
1,000-m |
-- |
Janet Collar |
Spokane, WA |
44:15 |
500-w |
-- |
Ruth Perkins |
Puyallup, WA |
44:16 |
250-w |
-- |
Christine Julien |
Grangeville, ID |
47:52 |
500-m |
*Includes U.S. citizen prize money |
||||
w-Washington state resident |
||||
m-Masters runner |
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