RunTex Race Report on Uptown Classic 10K in Austin
(Paul) Morrison Just Misses 10-K Record in 29:05 at IBM
Christine Kimbrough Wins
Sunday, October 02, 2005
by RunTex
In Australia, they say anyone who starts a race too fast “goes out like free beer.”
Well there wasn’t any free beer at the finish line of Sunday’s IBM Uptown Classic 10K (plenty of free Mangia’s pizza though), but many of the record field of 2,200 runners went out way too fast in the first couple of miles and paid for it dearly in the thick, stifling, oppressive humidity.
Pre-race favorite Paul Morrison certainly paid.
The 25-year-old Canadian came to IBM with his sights set firmly on Eric Chirchir’s city record of 29:03 (set last year at IBM on a diffrerent course) and the $1000 bonus that went along with it.
He was fit enough to have a run at the record and right from the starting line at the Northcross Mall, Morrison took command of the race with an opening mile of 4:26.
Cap 10 champ Bernard Manirakiza was in tow, but after two miles (reached in nine minutes), Morrison was all alone. He cruised through 5K in 13:54 and it looked the record (and the bonus money) was in the bag.
Not quite. “At that point, I told myself to just stay relaxed and I would get the record,” said Morrison, a UT grad student. “The first couple of miles felt so easy that I knew all I had to do was keep rolling.”
But the wheels began to come off on the fourth mile where there was a slight uphill and Morrison struggled with a 5:09. “That definitely put me in the hurt locker,” he said. “It wasn’t a hard hill, but I felt it.”
Also in the hurt locker was Manirakiza who admitted he was tired and didn’t feel well. He looked it and was never really in the hunt, dropping 200 and 300 meters off the pace Morrison was setting.
Morrison hung on gamely though and in the final mile back to Northcross he picked it up again as he fought to get under the record. But he crossed the finish line in 29:05 and just missed Chirchir’s record by a scant two seconds.
“I’m disappointed I didn’t get it,” said Morrison who trains with the UT distance crew under Jason Vigilante. “It would have helped me if I had someone to work with, but nobody went with me. That was tough. From about 4 ½ miles to the finish, I was hurting.”
So was everybody else. Triathlon goddess Desiree Ficker sure was. Prepping for the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii in a couple of weeks, Ficker led the women’s field for the first four miles but she was closely tracked by 35-year-old Christine Kimbrough who had held back in the first 5-K.
Then on the short uphill on the fourth mile, Kimbrough passed Ficker and was never threatened. Kimbrough, a stay at home mother of three young daughters and an 18-month-old son, went on to win in a personal best of 37:05 (5:57 pace) with Ficker second in 37:57. Liz Shelton was third in 38:23.
“When I passed Desiree, she just didn’t look like herself,” said Kimbrough who was third in the Cap 10 in April. “Actually I felt pretty good. The heat didn’t bother me at all. I’m really pleased with my effort. I was thinking I might be over the hill because I don’t have much time to train, but this race gave me confidence that I can still run.”
Evidently.
Notable efforts in back of Manirakiza, who was second in 30:34, and Gilbert Tuhabonye, in third in 32:28, were recorded by masters stud extraordinare Keith Dowland who was sixth overall. The 50-year-old New Zealand native turned in a sparkling 34:33 and led other masters marvels Richard Mendez, 43, in 36:09 and John Paladino, 40, in 36:09. The first really old guy (Dowland doesn’t count; he’s way too good) was 51-year-old Bill Patience in 39:37. Leading the really, really old pack was 61-year-old Dick Wilkowski, but he may soon be threatened by Greg Evans, 60, who ran 45:02 in his first race in a year after a long bout with plantar fasciitis.
The top masters woman was 41-year-old Ute Jamrozy of Germany who ran 39:28. She was followed by Cindy Salazar who just missed breaking 40 minutes, but still had a major PR.
The First Runner—Texas Governor Rick Perry—looked in good form too. In his first race since the July 4th Silicon Labs Marathon Relay, the Guv ran 52 minutes and seemed pleased with effort after spending the past month 24/7 dealing with relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina and Rita.
Finally, a shout out to race director John Patterson who engineered a much improved course with better race logistics and easier parking and traffic flow. The post-race music was great and was so was the pizza from Mangia’s.
Now if Patterson can just do something about the weather.
Next race up in the Austin Distance Challenge Series is the Pervasive Power Charge 10-Miler on October 16.
WalkSports.com Notes: The RunTex.com writer above made it seem that Kimbrough was a complete unknown. She won the King of Jester 5K on February 27th in 22:26.7 (and was 7th overall). (The King of Jester includes an initial grade of about 12-13%.) On April 9th, Kimbrough won the Dripping Springs' Tiger 5K in 17:38 beating her closest challenger by 1:17 ..... Calvin and Joyce Stout of Brenham participated in the Uptown Classic 10K on Sunday. Calvin did the 10K in 50:34.6 while Joyce was not too far behind in a time of 52:43.4.
Christine Kimbrough Wins
Sunday, October 02, 2005
by RunTex
In Australia, they say anyone who starts a race too fast “goes out like free beer.”
Well there wasn’t any free beer at the finish line of Sunday’s IBM Uptown Classic 10K (plenty of free Mangia’s pizza though), but many of the record field of 2,200 runners went out way too fast in the first couple of miles and paid for it dearly in the thick, stifling, oppressive humidity.
Pre-race favorite Paul Morrison certainly paid.
The 25-year-old Canadian came to IBM with his sights set firmly on Eric Chirchir’s city record of 29:03 (set last year at IBM on a diffrerent course) and the $1000 bonus that went along with it.
He was fit enough to have a run at the record and right from the starting line at the Northcross Mall, Morrison took command of the race with an opening mile of 4:26.
Cap 10 champ Bernard Manirakiza was in tow, but after two miles (reached in nine minutes), Morrison was all alone. He cruised through 5K in 13:54 and it looked the record (and the bonus money) was in the bag.
Not quite. “At that point, I told myself to just stay relaxed and I would get the record,” said Morrison, a UT grad student. “The first couple of miles felt so easy that I knew all I had to do was keep rolling.”
But the wheels began to come off on the fourth mile where there was a slight uphill and Morrison struggled with a 5:09. “That definitely put me in the hurt locker,” he said. “It wasn’t a hard hill, but I felt it.”
Also in the hurt locker was Manirakiza who admitted he was tired and didn’t feel well. He looked it and was never really in the hunt, dropping 200 and 300 meters off the pace Morrison was setting.
Morrison hung on gamely though and in the final mile back to Northcross he picked it up again as he fought to get under the record. But he crossed the finish line in 29:05 and just missed Chirchir’s record by a scant two seconds.
“I’m disappointed I didn’t get it,” said Morrison who trains with the UT distance crew under Jason Vigilante. “It would have helped me if I had someone to work with, but nobody went with me. That was tough. From about 4 ½ miles to the finish, I was hurting.”
So was everybody else. Triathlon goddess Desiree Ficker sure was. Prepping for the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii in a couple of weeks, Ficker led the women’s field for the first four miles but she was closely tracked by 35-year-old Christine Kimbrough who had held back in the first 5-K.
Then on the short uphill on the fourth mile, Kimbrough passed Ficker and was never threatened. Kimbrough, a stay at home mother of three young daughters and an 18-month-old son, went on to win in a personal best of 37:05 (5:57 pace) with Ficker second in 37:57. Liz Shelton was third in 38:23.
“When I passed Desiree, she just didn’t look like herself,” said Kimbrough who was third in the Cap 10 in April. “Actually I felt pretty good. The heat didn’t bother me at all. I’m really pleased with my effort. I was thinking I might be over the hill because I don’t have much time to train, but this race gave me confidence that I can still run.”
Evidently.
Notable efforts in back of Manirakiza, who was second in 30:34, and Gilbert Tuhabonye, in third in 32:28, were recorded by masters stud extraordinare Keith Dowland who was sixth overall. The 50-year-old New Zealand native turned in a sparkling 34:33 and led other masters marvels Richard Mendez, 43, in 36:09 and John Paladino, 40, in 36:09. The first really old guy (Dowland doesn’t count; he’s way too good) was 51-year-old Bill Patience in 39:37. Leading the really, really old pack was 61-year-old Dick Wilkowski, but he may soon be threatened by Greg Evans, 60, who ran 45:02 in his first race in a year after a long bout with plantar fasciitis.
The top masters woman was 41-year-old Ute Jamrozy of Germany who ran 39:28. She was followed by Cindy Salazar who just missed breaking 40 minutes, but still had a major PR.
The First Runner—Texas Governor Rick Perry—looked in good form too. In his first race since the July 4th Silicon Labs Marathon Relay, the Guv ran 52 minutes and seemed pleased with effort after spending the past month 24/7 dealing with relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina and Rita.
Finally, a shout out to race director John Patterson who engineered a much improved course with better race logistics and easier parking and traffic flow. The post-race music was great and was so was the pizza from Mangia’s.
Now if Patterson can just do something about the weather.
Next race up in the Austin Distance Challenge Series is the Pervasive Power Charge 10-Miler on October 16.
WalkSports.com Notes: The RunTex.com writer above made it seem that Kimbrough was a complete unknown. She won the King of Jester 5K on February 27th in 22:26.7 (and was 7th overall). (The King of Jester includes an initial grade of about 12-13%.) On April 9th, Kimbrough won the Dripping Springs' Tiger 5K in 17:38 beating her closest challenger by 1:17 ..... Calvin and Joyce Stout of Brenham participated in the Uptown Classic 10K on Sunday. Calvin did the 10K in 50:34.6 while Joyce was not too far behind in a time of 52:43.4.
posted by WalkSports.com | 6:53 PM
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