FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kim Smith Runs Fastest Half Marathon on U.S. Soil at Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras
New Zealand Olympian runs 1:07:36 to eclipse Meseret Defar's U.S.
All-Comers mark by 8 seconds
NEW ORLEANS, LA – February, 13, 2010 – Kim Smith of New Zealand set a
pending U.S. All-Comers record in the half marathon today, clocking 1 hour,
7 minutes and 36 seconds at the second Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon &
Half-Marathon benefiting the American Cancer Society. The 29-year-old ran
away from the rest of the women's field in the opening mile and was never
challenged on her way to setting a 19-second personal best and shattering
her national record for the 13.1-mile distance.
"My goal was to run a little bit slower because my coach didn't want me to
push it too hard," said Smith, who finished sixth overall. "But I felt good
out there. I'm training for the Boston Marathon so I'm in pretty heavy
training at the moment so I didn't think I would run this fast. I'm pretty
happy after the heavy training week to run like that."
Smith, who finished runner-up at the New Orleans event in 2010, eclipsed
the previous mark of 1:07:44 set by Ethiopian Meseret Defar at the ING Rock
'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon last September. She said she will take
some time this week to focus on recovery before gearing up to run Boston in
April.
"At this time last year it was only my second half-marathon I'd ever done,
so now I'm a little more experienced having done two marathons. It's
getting easier to do these longer races," she added. "For this spring, the
big goal is to win Boston. It's only 45 minutes from where I live in
Providence (Rhode Island), so it's a home course for me now."
Molly Pritz of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project in Rochester, Michigan
finished second in 1:11:05, taking a minute and nine seconds off her
previous personal best. Woynishet Gima Tafa of Ethiopia was third in
1:12:08. Also qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials was Pritz's
teammate Melissa White, who finished in fourth place with a time of
1:13:53.
The men's race was a much tighter affair as former University of Arkansas
all-American Josphat Boit of Kenya broke the tape in 1:03:57, one second
ahead of the hard-charging Luke Humphries from the Hansons-Brooks Distance
Project. Humphries' teammate, Tim Young, finished third in 1:04:22.
Boit, running his second half-marathon, took off from the sound of the
starter's pistol and was joined by countryman Elkanah Kibet (4th, 1:04:24)
through 10K, splitting 30:26. Humphries, meanwhile, bode his time in the
chase pack for the first half of the race before surging to the lead at
mile 8 (39:16) and turning it into a two-man contest between he and Boit.
The duo battled all the way to the finish at City Park, until the final
straightaway when The duo battled all the way to the finish at City Park,
until the final straightaway when Boit pushed ahead.
"That was a surprise," Boit said of Humphries taking the lead. "The race
started from there. The win was the goal and the time will take care of
itself."
Humphries, whose main objective going into the race was to help teammates
Young and Sage Canaday (5th, 1:04:32) stay on pace for a U.S. Olympic
Marathon Trials qualifying time of under 1 hour and 5 minutes, did a
commendable job fulfilling those duties on his way to a runner-up finish
and a 15-second personal best.
"After 4 miles the gap just stayed the same so I thought 'I'm just gonna go
after it and try to get to them'," said Humphries, who will run the Dodge
Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon in June. "We kept rolling and got to 12
miles and kind of looked at each other like who's going to make the first
move and that was it."
In the accompanying marathon, it was C. Fred Joslyn of Syracuse, NY who
dominated the race, crossing the finish line in 2:18:48 to win easily over
second-place finisher Kevin Castille of Lafayette, Louisiana, who ran
2:26:16. Four-time Mardi Gras Marathon champion Meyer Freidman was third in
2:27:55.
Joslyn was in a pack of three which included Castille and Seamus Nally,
through halfway in 1:09:03. The trio ran together through 18 miles when
Joslyn was able to get some space heading up a slight rise coming out of an
underpass. He ran solo the rest of the way to the finish line.
"It was a great race out there," said Joslyn, who won his first marathon
and qualified for next year's Olympic Trials in Houston, TX. "I had a lot
of fun. The three of us had a great pack and had a strong pace going."
Joasia Zakrzewski won the women's race in 2:47:24, a personal best by over
14 minutes. New Zealand's Karen Lockyer finished second in 2:52:26, with
Louisiana resident Beth Woodward rounding out the top-3 with a time of
3:02:55.
Competing in near ideal conditions, cool temperatures greeted nearly 17,000
entrants at the start line. Participating in his second consecutive Rock
'n' Roll Mardi Gras Half Marathon was New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
"That day was gorgeous, the weather was perfect and the route was really
spectacular," said Landrieu. "We ran though uptown New Orleans, back down
Magazine Street, on St. Charles, through the French Quarter and then we hit
historic Esplanade Avenue, into City Park with the New Orleans Museum of
Art was amazing, but having said all that my favorite sight of the day was
the finish line."
Landrieu was joined by his sister-in-law and special assistant for economic
development, Aimee Quirk; Mary Beth Romig, the city's director of public
relations and special projects; Freddy Kullman, one of the Landrieu's
administrative aides; and Dr. Karen DeSalvo, the city's health
commissioner. On Saturday DeSalvo joined Dr. Andy Baldwin, ABC's "The
Bachelor," at the finish line of the first ever ING KiDS ROCK Mardi Gras,
where more than 1,000 kids participated in a one-mile run. Baldwin also
competed in the half-marathon on behalf of ING Run For Something Better.
More than 400 charity runners raised approximately $700,000 through the
event, which benefited the American Cancer Society. For additional
information, results and more visit Competitor.com.
Results – 2011 Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras
New Orleans, LA – February 13, 2011
Half Marathon – Men
Pl, Name, Age, Country, Time
1. Josphat Boit, 26, Kenya, 1:03:57
2. Luke Humphrey, 29, USA, 1:03:58
3. Tim Young, 23, USA, 1:04:22
Half Marathon-Women
Pl, Name, Age, Country, Time
1. Kim Smith, 29, New Zealand, 1:07:36**
2. Molly Pritz, 22, USA, 1:11:05
3. Woynishet Gima Tafa, 25, Ethiopia, 1:12:08
**Set pending U.S. all-comers record (fastest women's half-marathon on U.S.
soil)
Full Marathon - Men
Pl, Name, Age, Hometown, Time
1. C. Fred Joslyn, 27, E. Syracuse, NY, 2:18:49
2. Kevin Castille, 38, Lafayette, LA, 2:26:17
3. Meyer Freidman, 31, San Diego, CA, 2:27:56
Full Marathon – Women
Pl, Name, Age, Hometown, Time
1. Joasia Zakrzewski, 35, United Kingdom, 2:47:25
2. Karen Lockyer, 33, Lafayette, LA, 2:52:27
3. Beth Woodward, 35, Orrville, OH, 3:02:56
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