Larry Comstock smokes elites to win $2,500 Dash for the Cash prize

Kenyan Ernest Meli-Kimeli eased away from two countryman less than a mile to go to win the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K today. His time of 28 minutes, 43 seconds was good enough for a four- second win over Linus Maiyo, who nosed out last year's winner Reuben Chebii at the finish to take second place.

The story of the day, however, was the performance of Larry Comstock of Chesterfield, VA, who was given a head start as the winner of the Clear Channel Dash for the Cash contest. Starting at Mile 2 based on past 10K performances, Comstock's mission was to claim the $2,500 Dash for the Cash prize awarded to the first person to cross the finish line.

Despite a case of pre-race jitters, Comstock was up to the task. He crossed the finish line without an elite athlete in sight, his time of 26:16 (for 4.2 miles) was almost two-and-a- half minutes ahead of Meli-Kimeli's 10K time, denying the Kenyan the bonus he would have been paid in addition to the $2,000 first prize for winning the 10K.

The start of the race
On the women's side the defending champ, 22-year-old Russian Tatyana Petrova took the $2,000 first prize in a time of 32:46, the identical time she ran in 2004. This year it was good for a 22-second victory over countrywoman Tatyana Chulakh. Kenyan Jackline Okemwa was third in a time of 33:14.

A total of 16,511 participants registered for the race, over 2,300 more than last year's record field of 14,163. The morning began with 1,070 children ages 6 through 12 participating in the First Market Mile Kids Race presented by Minute Maid. It is estimated that the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K raised more than $100,000 for the Association for the Support of Children with Cancer (ASK), the event's official beneficiary.

The 2006 Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K will take place on Saturday April 1. Registration is expected to open in late December.

Full Results
Photo Page
Read more about the "Dash for the Cash" event and how Larry Comstock was chosen to run.