FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ian Frink
Elite Athlete Coordinator
309-269-9941
Rugut, Poltavska Take Titles at Quad Cities Marathon
MOLINE, IL – Paul Rugut (Kenya) and Valentyna Poltavska (Ukraine) pulled
away from their respective fields to capture titles at the 8th Annual Quad
Cities Marathon, presented by THE National Bank. The 26.2-mile race was
run in light rain and humid conditions, the race time temperature was
70-degrees.
Rugut broke free from a pack of four runners at the 18-mile mark and never
looked back en route to his 2:20:27 finish. His effort was the second
fastest time in race history. He averaged 5:22 mile splits throughout the
race. The men’s field, one of the deepest in history, had four runners
drop from the race and two other top-10 finishers receive medical attention
following the race.
Hillary Lelei (Kenya) was able to hold off a late charging Vyacheslav
Rodionov (Russia) for second. Lelei clocked a 2:22:15, while Rodionov was
third in 2:22:48. Sammy Nyamongo (Kenya) at 2:24:39, Gideon Mutisya
(Kenya) at 2:24:57, and Jonathan Ndambuki (Kenya) at 2:25:23 were tightly
bunched and followed closely in fourth, fifth, and sixth.
The remainder of the top-10 in the men’s field included: Joel Limo (Kenya),
7th/2:30:00, James McGown (Sidney, NE), 8th/2:30:05, Randy Bill (Buda, IL),
9th/2:34:23, and Russell Boore (Hampton, IL), 10th/2:38:47.
Poltavska used a mid-race surge to open a significant lead and never looked
back, as she won her first QCM. Poltavska was second at the 2004 QCM. Her
effort, Sunday, resulted in a 2:45:35 and a 6:47 margin of victory: the
largest ever in the history of the QCM women’s field. Poltavska averaged
6:20 per mile pace during the race.
Mary Akor (Gardena, CA) ran through a nagging hamstring injury to capture
second in 2:52:22. Sarah Plaxton (Highland, MI) collected her second
straight third-place finish at Quad Cities with a 3:02:36, while Julie
Ralston (Streator, IL) was close behind in fourth at 3:03:55.
The remainder of the top-10 in the women’s field included: Kelley Timmerman
(Geneseo, IL), 5th/3:14:59, Laura Cleaveland (Davenport, IA), 6th/3:26:55,
Andrea Green (Bettendorf, IA), 7th/3:32:51, Jennifer Furze (Omaha, NE),
8th/3:33:44, Nancy Foxen (Muscatine, IA), 9th/3:40:24, and Monica Holliday
(Milan, IL), 3:42:24.
Boore won his first master’s title at the QCM, after finishing third in
2004 and second in 2003. Phil Kauder (Cascade, IA) was second in 2:39:53,
while Jerry Lack (East Moline, IL) took third in 2:42:49.
Timmerman won the master’s title in the women’s race. Gwenell Hobson
(Albany, IL) placed second in 3:51:15, while Mary Collins (Robins, IA)
placed third in 3:51:49.
Ravi Bhave won the men’s half-marathon race in 1:14:47, while Bethany Lewis
won the women’s half-marathon in a course record 1:23:35. Sean Moeller won
another 5k title at the QCM with a winning effort at 15:31. The women’s 5k
winner was Kristine Kesterson in 19:58.
Complete results, for all events, are available at:
www.onlineraceresults.com.
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