Teyba Erkesso triumphs over adversity to win the Freihofers Run for Women. © www.photorun.net
It’s hard enough to win a race when you’re healthy—especially when you’ve got to run against the best the world has to offer. But it’s even harder to win one when you have to fight your own body.
This was the case for Teyba Erkesso this past weekend. The morning of the Freihofer’s Run for Women in Albany, New York, Erkesso woke up with a massive headache and backache. This year has been a great year for the Ethiopian. She won the Ottawa 10-kilometer race and Bay to Breakers 12K earlier this month and the Houston Marathon earlier this year (where she set a course record). Despite her pains, she decided to toe the line and gave it her best at Freihofer’s.
It paid off.
On Saturday, she won the 5K race in 15:27 minutes which is an average pace of 4:58 per mile! Second place, 15:30, went to Mamitu Daska—last weekend’s winner of the Bolder Boulder 10K. Rose Kosgei of Kenya finished third in 15:39 and Genoveva Kigen was fourth in 15:41.
A record total of 4,028 women were on the start line for the Freihofer’s Run, but it was Erkesso who dictated tactics right from the start. After 3K, the race had developed into a four-person pack composed of Erkesso, Kosgei, Daska, and Kigen—an even match of rival Kenyans and Ethiopians. But then the Kenyans fell back and it turned into a duel between the two Ethiopians. Would Daska claim another North American victory? Who was stronger that day? Could Erkesso win while in pain?
Erkesso did it. She made the decisive move with 1 kilometer to go—surging ahead of Daska. Reminiscing about that key moment afterwards, Erkesso recalled, “I didn’t think I was going to win. I thought I was going to be tough, but I wasn’t sure I was going to win. This is a sport, and when you win, you shouldn’t be too happy, and when you lose, you shouldn’t be too sad.”
Gebrselassie Goes for Hour Record in Hengelo
Haile Gebrselassie, arguably the best distance runner in history, someone who has set 19 official world records, gave it his best to set a new one in Hengelo on Whit in the Netherlands on Monday. The 36-year-old Ethiopian had planned to try and break his own world record for the one-hour run. He ended up covering a total of 20,822.36 meters which was 460 meters short the record that he set in Ostrava in the Czech Republic two years ago. Hard on his heels, were the Kenyans Kiplimo Kimutai (20,797.10m) and Wilson Kiprop (20,756.40).
Gebrselassie’s run was the sixth-best performance on the world all-time list. It was an excellent achievement despite the fact that he didn’t break the record.
Gebrselassie had already set four world records in Hengelo in his career: the first one came in 1994 when he ran 12:56.96 minutes for 5,000 meters, a year later he improved the world 10,000m record to 26:43.53. In 1997, he ran 8:01.08 for two miles and 26:22.75 for 10,000m in 1998.
The best performance on the track in Hengelo came in the 800-meter event: Abubaker Kaki of Sudan won with an impressive 1:43.10 ahead of Amine Laalou (Morocco/1:43.36), and David Rudisha (Kenya/1:43.53).
Ethiopia versus Kenya at the Reebok Grand Prix
The double Olympic champion, Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia took on the 19-year-old world junior record holder in the 10,000m, Linet Masai of Kenya, in the 5,000m at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York City over the weekend. Masai ended up winning with a 14:35.39—nearly five seconds ahead of Dibaba, who is the fastest woman ever in the 5,000m. Masai began to build a lead three laps from the finish and Dibaba could not produce her usual trademark blistering finish. “I thought she would still catch me on the last lap despite my lead, but she didn’t,” said a surprised Linet Masai afterwards.
In other races around the world, Dibaba’s Ethiopian rival, Meseret Defar ran a fantastic debut 10,000m. The former 5,000m world record holder ran 31:07.34 in Stockholm—the fastest in the world this year.
A Fantastic Month of May for KIMbia’s John Yuda
This year’s winner and course record holder of the Lilac Bloomsday Run, KIMbia’s John Yuda (Tanzania), continued his impressive streak of top-three placings. At the Abraham Rosa 10K in San Juan last Sunday, Yuda ran 29:01, good for third place behind the winner, Sammy Kitwara (Kenya) and second-place finisher, Tilahun Regassa (Ethiopia). This makes the fourth consecutive race that Yuda has finished in the top three during the month of May!
