Story and pictures courtesy of NYRR - thanks!
New York, June 7, 2009—A trio of rising stars shone at the 38th running of the original women-only road race, the NYRR New York Mini 10K. Kenyan Rose Kosgei (first, 32:43), American Serena Burla (second, 33:04), and Ethiopian Hirut Mandefro (third, 33:13) debuted in the Mini; their speedy finishes upset two-time Olympic marathon silver medalist Catherine “the Great” Ndereba (fourth, 33:21) and USA Half-Marathon champion Magdalena Lewy Boulet (sixth, 33:32).
Under sparkling, sunny skies, Kosgei seized the shaded, flat first mile on Central Park West in an aggressive 5:04; Ethiopian Ashu Kasim stayed at her shoulder. Shortly after entering Central Park, Kosgei charged up the steepest hill of the course, creating a gap that dropped Kasim. The chase pack, led by Burla and Mandefro, included Ndereba and 2008 Olympian René Kalmer (fifth, 33:29). Kosgei maintained a 31-second lead through 5K (15:52), but the undulating hills took their toll and the pack trimmed Kosgei’s lead by 10 seconds by mile 4. Burla managed to break away from Mandefro in the fifth mile, but the determined Kosgei would not let up; her mean kick with 400 meters to go sealed her victory.
“I’m very excited to win—I did not expect it,” said Kosgei, 27. “My goal was to run my best—I had no problems in the race, and right now I’m feeling good! This is my biggest win.”
Kosgei, winner of the 2009 Hervis Prague Half-Marathon (1:09:03), helped pace 10,000-meter Olympic bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan to an American 10K record last year after competing in a 5K earlier that same day.
The most surprising personal victory of the day was earned by Burla, the third-place finisher at the 2008 USA Half-Marathon Championships. The 26-year-old mother of a five-month-old son achieved her road PR and proclaimed surprise at her achievement: “If you told me I was going to come in second a few days ago, I would have laughed,” the Ellisville, MO, resident said. “I just felt really good—it was one of those days when everything went right.”
Mandefro, 23, was the top NYRR-member finisher. Although she lives in Silver Spring, MD, Mandefro belongs to the West Side Runners, and has trekked up to New York three times this year to compete. She placed second this year at the Coogan’s Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K (16:31) and the Healthy Kidney 10K (33:41).
Although the top three local women—Buzunesh Deba (33:32), Aziza Aliyu (33:50), and Ilsa Paulson (34:01)—are Westchester Track Club members, their fast finishes earned the club the runner-up spot in the team points competition. Thanks to the fast times of non-local New York Athletic Club (NYAC) runners Kelly Jaske (33:39) and Stephanie Rothstein (33:48), combined with local greats Abbi Antablin (35:22) and Caroline Bierbaum (35:59), the NYAC women took top honors. The Nike Central Park Track Club, led by Kate Irvin (37:16), Emily Dusen (37:39), and Felice Kelly (38:43) took third.
Started in 1972 to promote women’s running, the NYRR New York Mini 10K continues to celebrate females’ participation in distance running events—a cause that pioneers such as Kathrine Switzer, the first women to officially run the Boston Marathon, Nina Kuscsik, the first woman to run the New York City Marathon and first winner of the Boston Marathon, and Tegla Loroupe, the first African woman to win the New York City Marathon, boldly fought for. Kuscsik greeted runners before the start, speaking words of inspiration. Loroupe, who was unaware that the Mini was held this year on Sunday instead of the usual Saturday, happened to be training in Central Park and congratulated the nearly 4,300 finishers at the awards ceremony.
In another first, NYRR president and CEO Mary Wittenberg ran her first Mini since becoming the organization’s leader in 2005. Exemplifying the spirit of the race, Wittenberg ran alongside Olympian Deena Kastor, who decided to run the race at a relaxed pace due to a foot injury. “We line up each year to run because we can,” said Wittenberg before the start. “We’re following in the footsteps of the women who ran before us and paved the way.”
1 KOSGEI ROSE F27 3 BRKS Santa Fe NM Kenya 1 32:43
2 BURLA SERENA F26 12 RIA Ellisville MO 2 33:04
3 MANDEFRO HIRUT F23 410 WSX SILVERSPRING MD 3 33:13
4 NDEREBA CATHERINE F36 2 NIKE Nairobi Kenya 4 33:21
5 KALMER RENE F28 8 MRP Johannesburg South Africa 5 33:29
6 LEWY BOULET MAGDALENA F35 6 SAUC Oakland CA 6 33:32
7 DEBA BUZUNESH F21 14 WTC Bronx NY Kenya 7 33:32
8 JASKE KELLY F32 18 NYAC Portland OR 8 33:39
9 KANO YURI F30 5 SECW Tokyo . Japan 9 33:43
10 ROTHSTEIN STEPHANIE F25 15 NYAC Eugene OR 10 33:48
11 ALIYU AZIZA F23 7 WTC Bronx NY Ethiopia 11 33:50
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26 IRVIN KATE F30 26 CPTC New York NY 26 37:16
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29 DUSEN EMILY F25 193 CPTC NEW YORK NY 29 37:39
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34 KELLY FELICE F28 697 CPTC NEW YORK NY 34 38:43
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35 BAUMGARTNER JACKIE F25 766 CPTC NEW YORK NY 35 38:48
FULL RESULTS
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