BOULDER, Colo. - A very pregnant Sara Vaughn nearly gave birth to her second child when she jumped up in excitement, cheering along with the other 50,000 fans packing the University of Colorado football stadium when she saw husband Brent Vaughn sprint in for fourth place at the 32nd Dick's Sporting Goods BolderBOULDER 10K at Monday's Memorial Day tradition.
With Vaughn, a Colorado prep and college star who clocked 29 minutes, 56 seconds for 6.2 miles at altitude, and Team Colorado teammates James Carney (7th, 30:12) and Aaron Braun (10th, 30:32) all placing in the top 10, the in-state runners placed second in the 13th International Team Challenge. Teams they beat included Kenya and Team USA (2008 Olympian Jorge Torres, 11th; Jason Hartmann, 12th and Andrew Carlson, 16th).
Up front it was a near perfect day for Ethiopia. In the men's race, defending Bolder champion Tilahun Regassa, along with Lelisa Desisa and Tadese Tola, looked like they were out for a training run. Running three abreast, they held hands as they ran into a roaring stadium, finishing together. Desisa and Regassa clocked 29:17, with the former getting the nod as the winner and Ethiopia earning a perfect team score of 6 with its 1-2-3 finish to defend the ITC title.
The Ethiopian women were nearly perfect, with defending champion Mamitu Daska (32:28, the second fastest woman's time at BolderBOULDER) and Amane Gobena (33:11) placing 1-2. With teammate Belianesh Zemedkun, who trains in Flagstaff, Ariz. in 6th, Ethiopia also defended the women's team title with 9 points. Kenya, paced by 2010 World Cross Country champion Emily Chebet in third, finished second, with Team USA third.
The U.S. women - Renee Metivier-Baillie (9th), Amy Hastings (11th) and 2008 Olympian Magdalena Lewy Boulet (14th) - also comprised part of the U.S. bronze-medal winning squad at the recent World Cross in Poland.
"It was so hard," Metivier-Baillie recounted. "Next year, we want to have a training camp before the race, to get ready for the course. The hills were harder than I thought they would be."
Metivier-Baillie admitted going out too fast, passing the mile in 5:07. The six runners from Teams Kenya and Ethiopia all went through the mile in 4:53. Hastings caught Metivier-Baillie in the second mile, and the two were able to work together.
Teamwork was also the strategy that Vaughn and Carney used in the men's race, the two hanging back when Regassa, Desisa and Tola, along with Kenyans John Korir and Simon Cheprot, went through the mile in a very fast 4:16.
"James gave me a lot of confidence," said Vaughn. "He knows this course better than anybody. I let them (the leaders go) and figured I would pick up the scraps."
That he did, along the way also picking up $2500 for his individual finish, to go along with his share of Team Colorado's $27,500.
"I kept my head up and the Kenyans in sight," continued Vaughn, who passed Korir at the statue of Olympic gold medalist Frank Shorter, at the bottom of the final hill just before the 6-mile mark. "I got a jolt of adrenaline from the crowd in the stadium. Representing Team Colorado was special. We are all friends and do a little training together (the Team Colorado and Team USA runners). We definitely have bragging rights now."
As he relaxed with his family afterwards, Vaughn received some praise from daughter Ciara. "That was fun watching you race," the 3-year-old said. Ciara will soon have a little sister. The due date? June 26, same day as the 5000 meters at U.S. track nationals in Des Moines, Iowa
"I don't what is going to happen. We will just have to wait and see how it plays out," said Vaughn, who will run either the 5000 or 10,000 meters at the USA Outdoors.
At press time, there were more than 48,400 finishers at the 32nd BolderBOULDER 10K.
32nd Dick's Sporting Goods BolderBOULDER 10K: 13th International Team Challenge
MEN
1) Lelisa Desisa (ETH), 29:17, $3750
2) Tilahun Regassa (ETH), 29:17, $2750
3) Tadese Tola (ETH), 29:18, $2250
4) Brent Vaughn (Team Colorado), 29:56, $2500
5) John Korir (KEN), 30:02, $800
6) Jhon Cusi Huaman (PER), 30:08, $700
7) James Carney (Team Colorado), 30:12, $1200
8) Simon Cheprot (KEN), 30:28, $500
9) Vladimir Guerra (ECU), 30:30, $400
10) Aaron Braun (Team Colorado), 30:32, $600
11) Jorge Torres (USA), 30:33
12) Jason Hartmann (USA), 30:35
13) Miguel Almachi (ECU), 30:39
14) Alejandro Suarez Velazquez (MEX), 30:39
15) Constantino Leon Lopez (PER), 30:40
16) Andrew Carlson (USA), 30:42
17) Paulino Canchanya (PER), 30:55
18) Andrew Letherby (AUS), 31:00
19) Erick Israel Perez (MEX), 31:04
20) Tomohiro Shiiya (JPN), 31:04
21) Lee Troop (AUS), 31:21
22) Franklin Tenorio (ECU), 31:25
23) Nielson Hall (United Kingdom), 31:54
24) Philemon Terer Kiplangat (KEN), 32:02
25) Shigeki Tsuji (JPN), 32:10
26) Greg Bennett (AUS), 32:15
27) Keishi Hashimoto (JPN), 32:22
28) Kevin Sklinner (United Kingdom), 32:30
29) Matt Janes (United Kingdom), 32:44
30) Noe Cueuvas (MEX), 38:15
TEAM
1) Ethiopia, 6 points, $15,000
2) Team Colorado, 21, $27,500 (includes Olympic development funds)
3) Kenya, 37, $7000
4) Peru, 38, $6000
5) USA, 39, $8000 (includes Olympic development funds)
6) Ecuador, 44
7) Mexico, 63
8) Australia, 65
9) Japan, 72
10) United Kingdom, 80
WOMEN
1) Mamitu Daska (ETH), 32:28, $4750
2) Amane Gobena (ETH), 33:11, $3000
3) Emily Chebet (KEN), 33:40, $2000
4) Jelliah Tenega (KEN), 33:57, $1000
5) Dulce Maria Rodriguez (MEX), 34:03, $800
6) Belianesh Zemedkun (ETH), 34:10, $700
7) Caroline Rotich (KEN), 34:25, $600
8) Marisol Romero Rosales (MEX), 34:38, $500
9) Renee Metivier-Baillie (USA), 34:51, $800
10) Yuri Kano (JPN), 34:53, $300
11) Amy Hastings (USA), 34:55
12) Jemena Misayauri Camargo (PER), 35:00
13) Rebecca Robinson (United Kingdom), 35:07
14) Magdalena Lewy Boulet (USA), 35:12
15) Julia Rivera Lopez (PER), 35:24
16) Bertha Sanchez (COL), 35:29
17) Yolanda Fernandez (COL), 35:33
18) Claire Hallissey (United Kingdom), 35:50
19) Alisha Williams (Team Colorado), 35:53
20) Hortencia Arzapalo Ramos (PER), 36:03
21) Kiyoko Shimahara (JPN), 36:04
22) Laura Bennett (Team Colorado), 36:24
23) Martha Ronceria (COL), 36:24
24) Kristen Fryburg-Zaitz (Team Colorado), 36:26
25) Karina Perez Delgado (MEX), 36:31
26) Yuki Saito (JPN), 36:46
27) Chrissie Wellington (United Kingdom), 37:12
TEAM
1) Ethiopia, 9 points, $15,000
2) Kenya, 14, $10,000
3) USA, 34, $17,500 (includes Olympic development funds)
4) Mexico, 38, $6000
5) Peru, 47, $4000
6) Columbia, 56
7) Japan, 57
8) United Kingdom, 58
9) Team Colorado, 65
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