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Gelan and Charbor Win 2009 Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach
September 6, 2009
Virginia Beach, VA
For the Washington Running Report
Top three photos Victah, www.photorun.net
Labor Day weekend signals the end of summer but for the participants in this year's Rock ‘n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon it marked the beginning of two new exciting features: International Team Challenge with five teams competing, Ethiopia, Kenya, Japan, United States, and Europe and a two-person relay in the citizen's competition.
The weather conditions were sunny and 75 degrees. Runners who compared the weather to previous years noted it was cooler and it seemed like lower humidity at the race start.
The professional women took off from the Virginia Beach Convention Center 15 minutes ahead of the men and the rest of the citizen field. In photo left, Ethiopian Abebu Gelan, (19) and the half marathon junior world record holder, led her team to victory winning the race in 1:13:43. She was followed by teammates Tiki Gelana (29) in 1:13:45 and Meseret Mengistu (19) in 1:13:46.
In photo below right, Virginia's Veena Reddy (30) finished tenth in the team challenge with a time of 1:20:11. "It was a good race but not a great race for me," said Reddy who is just recovering from some injuries. As for being a part of the team challenge she noted, "It was really cool to hear cheers for ‘Go USA!'"
In the men's team competition Ethiopians Zembaba Yigesu (26) and Feyisa Lilesa (19) went out fast throwing in some 4:30 miles but could not drop Kenyan William Chebor (26) who last ran this race in 2004 and finished 7th overall. Just past the nine-mile mark on General Booth Boulevard, Chabor put in surge that no one could match and cruised on to win the race in 1:01:29. Lilesa finished in second in 1:02:15 followed by countryman Yigezu in 1:03:24.
Cele Rodriguez (28), who ran for Adams State University in Colorado, was the top American finishing in tenth place with a time of 1:05:17.
The Ethiopian team's eight-point total guaranteed them of the inaugural International Team Challenge trophy. Japan and Kenya took the second and third place, respectively.
The Relay
The two-person relay competition made its debut with more than 170 teams finishing. Each member ran approximately a 6-mile leg before exchanging--not a baton, but a drumstick (rock ‘n' roll, get it?) to their teammate by the Camp Pendleton entrance. Top honors went to Team Mooney CC. John Zajac (17) from Youngstown, OH ran 49:23 and Nevin Lesnosky (16) from Poland, OH cranked out a 38:18 leg for a total time of 1:27:40. The first women's relay was Team Lemon with both runners from Silver Spring, MD. Trisha Johnson (32) ran 49:14 for the first leg and Lindsey Norse (23) ran 50:22 for the second leg and an overall team time of 1:39:35.
The Regional Scene
Ryan Carroll (27) from Portsmouth, VA was the top local finisher with his 15th place time of 1:10:19 and earned $500. Carroll was just ten seconds off his best race time said this served as a training run for November's Philadelphia Marathon. "What was nice about this year's race for me was I got to run with a group of guys this time--instead of being out there alone."
In photo, Portsmouth's Ryan Carroll ran 1:10:19 and Natalie Sherbak from Virginia Beach finished in 1:20:44 to earn honors as top local finishers and take home $500 each.
Another hometown favorite, Natalie Sherbak (23) from Virginia Beach, competed on the U.S. Team Challenge and finished in 1:20:44. Sherbak was anticipating a low-key holiday weekend with her family and a chance to meet her new nephew, Elijah, and jumped into the race. "When my coach found I was doing this, he said, ‘If you're going to run, you're gong to race!'" Then she found out she was going to compete on the U.S. Team and realized it was not going to be a low key run after all. "The last three miles were tough but it was great, especially when I saw the Kellam (her alma matter) cheerleaders and one of my former teammates, Kelley Taylor, cheering me on."
Pete Gibson (53) from Murfreesboro, NC posted a time of 1:17:12. Afterward, a younger runner who raced with him came up and shook his hand and pointed down to his shoe which made him laugh. Apparently, he had a little shoelace trouble during the race, when the lace came undone, and he could not cinch it up because there was a knot. He improvised and ran with a long shoelace swinging with each step but that did not hinder im from winning his age group.
Melissa Rittenhouse (33), who recently moved to Harrisonburg, VA, ran 1:20:56. Rittenhouse, who competed in the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials, has been plagued by pelvic and tendon injuries but felt positive after her race. She is looking forward to competing in the Twin Cities Marathon, a 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Marathon qualifier.
And so the morning started with 27 corrals filled with participants and 15,792 runners and walkers completing the largest half marathon in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Women outnumbered men 9,078 to 6,714 in the race that featured more than 20 live bands and 16 cheerleading squads throughout the oceanfront course.
As for next year, Peter Englehart, President and CEO of the Competitor Group that puts on the race series. hinted that they plan to pull out some major surprises for next year's event when the Rock ‘n' Roll Half Marathon will celebrate its tenth anniversary in Virginia Beach on September 5, 2010. For more information, go to: www.rnrvb.com.
Top Five - Gun time
Men
|
1. |
William |
Chebor |
26 |
Kenya |
1:01:29 |
|
2. |
Feyisa |
Lilesa |
19 |
Ethiopia |
1:02:15 |
|
3. |
Zembaba |
Yigezu |
26 |
Ethiopia |
1:03:24 |
|
4. |
Samuel |
Ndereba |
32 |
Kenya |
1:03:50 |
|
5. |
Noritaka |
Fijiyama |
25 |
Japan |
1:03:50 |
Women
|
1. |
Abebu |
Gelan |
19 |
Ethiopia |
1:13:43 |
|
2. |
Tiki |
Gelana |
29 |
Ethiopia |
1:13:45 |
|
3. |
Meseret |
Mengistu |
19 |
Ethiopia |
1:13:46 |
|
4. |
Hiroko |
Miyauchi |
26 |
Japan |
1:13:52 |
|
5. |
Yumi |
Hirata |
28 |
Japan |
1:13:56 |
Masters (40 and over) - Net Time
Men
|
1. |
David |
Meyer |
44 |
Charlottesville |
VA |
1:14:29 |
|
2. |
John |
Piggott |
44 |
Williamsburg |
VA |
1:15:04 |
|
3. |
Jeff |
Niedeck |
44 |
Canaan |
CT |
1:15:43 |
Women
|
1. |
Gina |
McGee |
44 |
Johnstown |
PA |
1:25:53 |
|
2. |
Rebecca |
Browne |
40 |
Virginia Beach |
VA |
1:30:14 |
|
3. |
Claire |
McCrary |
41 |
Norfolk |
VA |
1:30:22 |
Maggie Piermarini (30) and James Billington (32) from Rockville MD ran together and finished in 2:02:04 decked out in their Hasher kilts. They registered for this race at the Rock ‘n' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon. As with the other events in the series, they found this full of spirit and noted while this does have a beachfront finish, it had some shade along the course too.
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