FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HAT TRICK FOR BASWETI AT SUNTRUST RICHMOND MARATHON
PRICE WINS WOMEN'S IN RICHMOND RETURN
Richmond, VA-Jynocel Basweti won the SunTrust Richmond Marathon in 2 hours
22 minutes and claimed the marathoner's hat trick, three marathon victories
in three months.
"This is my first year training like this," said Basweti, who beat last
year's SunTrust Richmond Marathon winner Mohamed Awol (2:24:51) by two and
a half minutes. Basweti, who won the Quad Cities Marathon in September and
the Denver Marathon in October and trains in Albuquerque, had won the Quad
Cities Marathon in 2006.
"I'm tired from New York City," said Awol, a New Yorker who was 14th at the
New York City Marathon this year. "I ran 40 days ago." Lynchburg,
Virginia's David Cheromei, second in a dramatic photo finish with Awol at
last year's SunTrust Richmond Marathon, again finished behind him for third
place at 2:28:04.
Kristin Price, of Raleigh, North Carolina, won the women's division with a
time of 2:45:02. Price, a former Richmond resident, found her familiarity
with the course helpful on a blustery day. "I really like the course," she
said. "Well, I think I like it except for the wind." Price had lived in
Richmond for a few months in 2004 to train with University of Richmond
cross country coaches Steve and Lori Taylor. Hirot Legesse, of the Bronx,
was second in 2:26:24 and Phebe Ko, of Baltimore, was third at 2:46:57.
In the inaugural McDonald's Half Marathon Derese Deniboba, of the New
York's Westchester Track Club won the day's closest race, eking out a 1
second victory over Elijah Kitur with a time of 1:06:50. Tasfaye Girma,
also of the Westchester Track Club, was third at 1:06:54. "Yes, he's a
friend," Deniboba said of Girma, "But that's running."
The women's division was won by New Yorker Alemtsehay Misganaw with a time
of 1:18:34. Maria Busienei, of Charleston, West Virginia, was second at
1:20:51, and Malika Mejdoub, of Baltimore, was third at 1:21:40.
The day's largest event by registration with 5,111 participants was the
NTELOS 8k. Albuquerque's Robert Letting claimed first place in the men's
race with a time of 22:42. Julius Kiptoo was second (22:59) and Nicholas
Kurgat (23:06) was third. Jane Murage, of Boyersford, Pennsylvania, won
the women's division in 25:48. New Yorkers Salome Kosgei (26:04) and
Buzunesh Deba (26:35) were second and third respectively.
Overall the today's three events -- the NTELOS 8k, the McDonald's Half
Marathon and the SunTrust Richmond Marathon - had 14,046 entrants, while
the Richmond Times-Dispatch Kids Run drew 555 registrants to Sports Backers
Stadium last night on a drizzly Friday evening for a one-mile fun run.
Entries for all weekend events totaled 14,601
For more information go to www.sportsbackers.org or call 804-285-9495.
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