FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aliso Viejo's Foody Shatters Avia OC Marathon Women's Record;
Kabiso Takes Top Overall Marathon Honors;
Half-Marathon Won at the Wire
Kassahun Kabiso and Cheryl Foody captured men's and women's medalist honors
to highlight the fourth annual Avia OC Marathon presented by Nutrilite on
Sunday.
Kabiso, a native of Ethiopia, ran the 26.2 mile course, which started in
Newport Beach, Calif., and finished in Irvine, Calif. in 2:23.46 as he
participated in his first-ever OC Marathon. Foody clocked a 2:38.38 to set
a new race record, shattering the old mark by nearly eight minutes. Mary
Akor established the previous mark of 2:46:04 last year.
Foody, a local runner from nearby Aliso Viejo who had not competed in a
marathon since 2004, showed no ill effects from the layoff as she wrested
the lead away at the 12-mile mark and went unchallenged the remainder of
the race.
"It's all good right now," said Foody, who began training in earnest in
September. "There are peaks and valleys in every race, but overall I felt
strong."
Alluding to her hiatus from marathon competition, Foody realized she needed
to take action. "Something clicked in my head that if I wanted to achieve
my goals and dreams, I'd better go for it," she said.
Foody outdistanced Romania's Claudia Colita, who finished second in
2:47:10, and third place finisher Rebecca Tallam (2:58:46) of Kenya.
Cristian Hesch, the 2007 OC Marathon men's winner, seemed headed for a
repeat win after holding a two and a half minute lead at the race's
midpoint. But his cushion dwindled to 45 seconds at the 18-mile mark and
he retired shortly thereafter.
Kabiso seized the lead, and held off challengers Deresse Deniboba and
Charles Kiplagat. Kiplagat closed to within 30 meters of Kabiso in between
mile No. 24 and 25. Kabiso took one look over his shoulder and put on a
burst of speed, lengthening his lead out to 80 meters.
"I know you have to be smart and control your pace," said Kabiso. "Our
paces were different, but when I began to pull away I knew I was going to
win."
An injured toe prevented Kiplagat from generating a push in the final
stretch. "That last mile I thought I could catch him (Kabiso), but my toe
was a problem. My toe didn't give me room for a final kick."
Winners of the half marathon included a pair of Kenyans on the men's and
women's sides. Wesley Ochoro (1:04:14.85) nipped fellow countryman Lamech
Mokono (1:04:14.90) by one-half of one-tenth of a second to take the men's
title. Hyvon Ngetich ran a 1:13:57 to win the women's race.
In the men's 5K, Dave Schumacher of Huntington Beach won in 15:17, narrowly
edging Riverside's Spencer Knight (15:19). The women's 5K victor was
Huntington Beach's Kelly Flathers, who had a time of 17:35.
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