Run The Roads

Despite pouring rain, cold temperatures and heavy wind gusts, the U.S. 25k Championships Satruday morning were simply thrilling.  Dan Browne put in a strong surge at the 12 mile mark to pull ahead of the rest of the U.S. men’s championship field, pulling away to victory in an unofficial time of 1:15:56.  In the women’s race, Arizona-based Sally Meyerhoff outraced Olympian Magdalena Lewy Boulet, taking home her first U.S. championship title in 1:27:28.

Fifth Third River Bank Run 25k (Active.com)

Browne Makes Late Race Surge to Earn Victory

As the gun sounded Saturday morning at the Fifth Third River Bank Run, a strong group of American runners took off running, all having the same goal in mind, that of winning the U.S. 25k Road Championship.  There were many experienced individuals in the field, including Olympian Dan Browne and U.S. 25k record holder Fernando Cabada.  With windy and wet conditions, to go along with the 50 degree temperature at the start, the race was bound to be a bit on the tactical side.

The first four miles were fairly slow for such a strong field, meaning that an attempt at the U.S. 25k record was not going to happen.  Passing through four miles in 20:20, a pack of nearly 15 athletes traded the lead, with Strands’ Jason Hartmann, Fasil Bizuneh and Hansons-Brooks’ Ryan Sheehan doing much of the work early on.

As the race continued, the athletes entered a hilly section of the course, doing a turn-around near the seven mile mark, a change in the course due to flooding on other parts.  The extra hills made the second half more dramatic, as that same pack of around 15 athletes stayed together through the 7 mile mark in 34:45 and the 11 mile mark in 54:15.

However, just past the 11 mile mark, a trio of Kenyans, led by Isaack Kimaiyo, put in an intense surge and gapped the field.  The rest of the pack behind the trio spread quickly, with Hartmann, Sheehan, Browne, Bizuneh, Josh Eberly, Jason Lehmkuhle, Matt Gabrielson and Antonio Vega remaining in contention for the U.S. title.

By the 12 mile mark the pack had spread out substantially, with Browne pushing the pace, and Sheehan, Hartmann and Eberly a few strides behind.  Browne continued to push the pace, keying off of Kimaiyo, Linus Maiyo and Emmanuel Korir, tryinig to close the gap.  At the 13 mile split Browne had made up substantial ground on Maiyo and Korir, seemingly poised to beat both athletes, while Kimaiyo still had a rather large lead.

As the athletes hit the homestretch in downtown Grand Rapids, Kimaiyo looked back and saw he had a comfortable lead, coasting to victory in 1:15:36.  Browne actually closed the gap on Kimaiyo in the final mile, charging home for the U.S. 25k title in 1:15:56.

The next five Americans behind Browne were: Hartmann (4th, 1:16:14), Bizuneh (6th, 1:16:21), Sheehan (7th, 1:16:23), Eberly (8th, 1:16:28) and Antonio Vega (9th, 1:16:29).

Meyerhoff Runs Smart, Upsets Lewy Boulet

Heading into the U.S. 25k Road Championships Saturday, Olympic marathoner Magdalena Lewy-Boulet was considered the heavy favorite, but Lewy Boulet would be in for a surprise, as Tempe, Arizona-based Sally Meyerhoff pushed hard in the second half of the race to win, 1:27:28-1:28.14.

Through much of first eight miles of the race, Meyerhoff, Lewy Boulet and Tera Moody ran close to one another.  However, at the turn around, Meyerhoff started to put space between herself and the other two, pushing hard up and down the hills from mile 8 to mile 12.  The distance she put between herself and Lewy Boulet and Moody, paid off big, as Meyerhoff won her first U.S. road championship.

The overall champion of the day was Genoveva Kigen, who bested Meyerhoff by 12 seconds, finishing in 1:27:16.  Kigen pulled away throughout the first half of the race, but was never out of sight for Meyerhoff.  In the closing miles Meyerhoff made up ground on Kigen, but ran out of time as Kigen crossed the line in victory.

Coming in fourth and fifth respectfully were Moody and Michelle Lilienthal, as Moody placed third in the U.S. Championships with her 1:28:41 finish, and Lilienthal fourth with a 1:31:58 finish.

Dan Browne - U.S. Men’s 25k Champion

Jason Hartmann - U.S. Men’s 25k Runner-Up