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19th
Mayor's Cup Cross Country Races
Franklin Park
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Record Fields
and Record Run Highlight 19th Mayor's Cup Cross Country
Races
Mary Cullen, Jacob Korir triumphant in championship
races
(coolrunning.com)
BOSTON, MA - A record field of
more than 1,000 entrants and a course-record run by
Mary Cullen (IRL / Providence, RI) highlighted the 19th
edition of the Mayor's Cup Cross Country Races, presented
by the Boston Athletic Association and adidas, and directed
by USATF-New England and the Boston Centers for Youth
& Families.
Overnight rains didn't discourage
anyone from making the trip to Boston's Franklin Park,
site of the 1992 World Cross Country Championships.
As more than 300 kids, ages 14 and under, took part
in the morning slate of youth races, the rain and clouds
gave way to sunny, blue skies.
Next on the schedule was the
Franklin Park 5K, open to men and women of all ages
and ability levels. The fastest-growing of the Mayor's
Cup events, the Franklin Park 5K boasted 280 finishers
this year, up from 187 a year ago. Leading the charge
was Jordan Hamm, a senior from Canisius High School
in Buffalo, NY. Hamm trailed Omar Aden and Ahmed Ali--high
school teammates from Charlestown, MA--through a 5:00
opening mile. By two miles, passed in 10:19, the threesome
had broken away from the rest of the field. Hamm then
used the final mile to pull into the lead, holding on
for a 2-second victory over Aden. Brandeis grad Caitlin
Malloy recorded a comfortable 37-second victory in the
women's division.
In the Women's Championship 5K,
two-time defending champ Aziza Aliyu (ETH / Westchester,
NY) of the Westchester Track Club was looking to become
the first woman to win three straight Mayor's Cup titles.
Yet despite running faster than she had in either of
her victories, Ayilu found herself chasing former Providence
College star Mary Cullen (IRL / Providence, RI) from
the gun. Cullen, the runner-up here in 2005, led the
pack through one mile in a brisk 5:07, and by two miles
she was alone in front. By the time she broke the finish
tape in 16:08, Cullen wasn't just 28 seconds ahead of
runner-up Ayilu, she was also 14 seconds under the meet
and course record set by Kathy Franey in 1997. Cullen
is preparing for the European Cross Country Championships
in Belgium, where she will represent her native Ireland.
In the Men's Championship 8K
a large pack, which included 2006 champ Stephen Chemlany
(KEN / Westchester, NY), passed through one mile in
4:35 and two miles in 9:35. By four miles, reached in
19:35, Jacob Korir (KEN / Richmond, KY) had emerged
at the front, and shortly after that he surged away
from Sean Burris, Ben Rosario, and the rest of the lead
group. Korir, a three-time NCAA All-American during
his recently-completed senior year at Eastern Kentucky
University (sixth in cross country in 2007 and third
at 5,000m and fourth at 10,000m in 2008), was unopposed
over the closing mile of the race, breaking the tape
in 23:54, 10 seconds ahead of runner-up Burris.
The Westchester Track Club and
New Balance Boston captured the men's and women's team
titles, respectively.
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