Adriana Fernandez in action (© Don Gosney)
Mexican distance runner Adriana Fernández pulled away from a five-runner lead group with more than three kilometres remaining in the women's 10K and scored an impressive rain-dampened win in Friday night's Cardinal Invitational, held at the Cobb Track and Angell Field facility at Stanford University.
Her 31:13.75 time barely missed the season's best clocking of 31:13.42 by Portugal's Fernanda Ribeiro in the European 10K Challenge three weeks ago in Athens. In addition, she was less than four seconds off her own Central American and Caribbean record of 31:10.12, set three years ago in a midsummer competition in the US state of Maine.
Wisely eschewing all offers to participate in Saturday evening's Banamex meeting in her native Mexico City--with its distance-unfriendly 2000-metre altitude--the 32-year-old Fernández instead headed north to add her name to an international field at the yearly California fixture which has recently produced many of the early-season top 10K marks.
Both of the 10K races at the Cardinal Invitational have been renamed in memory of the late Kim McDonald, the London-based athletes' manager who guided the careers of many who were competing tonight.
Without any perceptable pacemaker, Fernández and four other runners had separated themselves in the early stages of the race, with the Mexican almost always staying just a step ahead of 10K debutantes Elva Dryer of the US and Benita Johnson of Australia, plus 2000 New York Marathon champion Lyudmila Petrova of Russia--who finished fifth in the London Marathon three weeks ago--and reigning Canadian 5K champion Courtney Babcock.
Fernández was at the head of the front-runners as they passed the halfway point in 15:41.0, almost sixteen seconds faster than the winning time in the invitational 5K race held earlier in the evening.
With about eight laps of the race remaining, and with the rains of earlier in the day making a late-evening comeback, Fernández increased her tempo and moved away from the others, hitting the bell just as the clock was reading 30:00. Going into an all-out sprint on the final backstretch, the erstwhile law student and running protegée of marathoner Rodolfo Gómez cruised home to victory more than thirteen seconds ahead of second-place Dryer (31:26.88), who herself was undoubtedly pleased with her own initial attempt in the event.
Also new to the 10K was Johnson, currently the world's fastest 3K runner and already named to Australia's team for the World Championships, who came third in 31:28.41, well-spaced ahead of Petrova's 31:36.76. Babcock (31:44.74) and American Katie McGregor (31:57.98) also dipped under the 32-minute mark.
Unlike the women's race, the men's 10K was equipped with a solid pacemaker, and this likely made the difference in assisting Alan Culpepper to a world-leading 27:41.90 in his splendid win. Having the luxury of the current leading US 5K runner of the season--Stanford University standout Louis Luchini--as a tempo-setter for the first half of the race, Culpepper found himself in the front-running group with Kenyan Boaz Cheboiywo, Mexico's David Galvan, and former US 10K champion Abdi Abdirahman.
Nearing the end of the ninth kilometre, Eastern Michigan University student Cheboiywo made a bold move by sprinting out to a big lead which approached forty metres at times. But the former NCAA cross-country champion and native of distance-running cradle Eldoret saw his advantage wither away over the next four laps, as Galvan and Culpepper pulled even at the bell.
With 250 metres remaining, Culpepper drew upon his old talent as a sub-3:40 runner and charged to the finish for an unchallenged win. Galvan (27:44.85) and Cheboiywo (27:46.47) took the next places in career-first sub-28 times, while Abdirahman (27:52.24) was fourth.
Veteran US 5K runner Bob Kennedy added a second lifetime 10K performance to his long list of achievements, running eighth (28:01.95) behind internationalists Jeff Schiebler of Canada (28:00.54), Britain's Karl Keska (28:00.96) and Michael Aish of New Zealand (28:01.19).
Cheboiywo was accompanied to California by his university teammate Jordan Desilets who moved near the top of this year's steeplechase list with a 8:30.59 victory.
With seasoned performers holding the winners' spotlight in the 10K competitions, it was only proper that youth should be served in the 5K races.
The current NCAA cross-country champion, 22-year-old Jorge Torres, lowered the US best time of the season with a personal-best 13:24.56. The University of Colorado student was in a scrappy battle with Mebrahtom Keflizighi throughout the final lap of the race with neither runner willing to yield anything.
But in the final 100 metres, the Chicago-born Torres pulled away from the current US 10K champion for a significant win. Keflizighi's 13:25.90 was well ahead of America's top steeplechaser of the season, University of Arkansas pre-med student Daniel Lincoln (13:37.31), who nonetheless ran only slightly more than a second off his 5K lifetime best as he prepares for the collegiate season’s most important races in the next few weeks.
The women's 5K event was won by 23-year-old Haley McGregor of Australia in 15:56.72, ahead of Ann McGranahan (16:01.51).
The early part of the twilight programme saw current US indoor 1500 Metres champion Jason Lunn posting a win in his outdoor opener in the "metric mile". The 28-year-old had spent much of the past month doing altitude training at his family home in the Denver area, and his 3:40.42 looked effortless in defeating Charlie Gruber (3:41.23), ironically also a Denver native.
The women's 1500, a close battle between two collegiate runners achieving personal bests, was won by Londa Bevins of the University of Arkansas (4:15.35) over Colorado's Sara Gorton (4:15.48).
Full results of all events may be seen at: http://gostanford.ocsn.com/sports/c track/stats/050303aaa.html
