Before yesterday neither Leah Malot nor Agustus Kavutu, both from Kenya, had seen the mighty hills of the Ogden Newspaper 20K Classic. But less than 24 hours later they had already mastered them, winning the 27th edition of one of the most challenging road races in the world.

For Malot, 30, the victory seemed to come easily. The Kenyan record holder for 5000 meters on the track was only seriously challenged by Olga Kovpotina, 33, of Ukraine and Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova, 42, of Russia for about eight miles of the 12.42 mile race.

"We were together then," said Malot of the mostly downhill 8th mile before she slipped away from her challengers. Quickly building up a comfortable lead, she didn't have to push too hard to the finish. "I relaxed a little bit," said the Eldoret resident. "I knew the last hill is steep, too."

Cresting Wheeling Hill with just a litte more than one mile to go on the course, Malot sailed easily downhill to the downtown finish line to win in 1:11:01, and collect the $5,000 winner's check. She was clearly satified with her effort and concluded, "Maybe this means I will run more on the roads."

Kovpotina finished second in 1:11:49 to collect $3,500 while Sultanova-Zhdanova finished third in 1:12:15, smashing the masters course record to earn a total of $2,500 in prize money.

Kavutu, 26, from Mwingi, demonstrated a keen knowledge of tactics and an extraordinary ability to run downhill to earn a narrow victory in 1:01:19. He was one of 16 athletes who dawdled through the first mile in 5:24, but that big pack quickly scattered during the 1.5 mile climb up 29th Street which begins just before the three mile mark. Kavutu followed the lead of compatriots Simon Wangai, 24, and Evans Rutto, 25, and the threesome quickly left the rest of the pack behind as they came to the top that hill together halfway through the fifth mile.

Wangai did most of the leading for the middle miles, with Rutto sometimes coming up on his shoulder, but Kavutu was nearly always in back. Several times the much shorter Kavutu seemed to be losing contact with the other two, but he may have just been playing possum.

"I was waiting for the last hill," explained Kavutu later of his tactics. "I'm strong on the hills."

In a flat section in the middle of the tenth mile, Kavutu put in a short surge to shake up the pack, but rapidly fell to the rear again. He waited until the 11 mile mark at the botton of the race's final quarter mile climb, Wheeling Hill, to make his move. Rutto, who finished third last year, began to struggle.

"Always, always the last hills," said Rutto who became alarmed when Kavutu began to pull away. "I was not expecting that. Maybe he had some plan on that hill."

Rutto fell back to third leaving Wangai the only chance to catch the new leader. Kavutu shot several glances over his left shoulder as he began the steep descent over the final mile of the course. Wangai tried bravely to catch him.

"No, I didn't know," said Wangai when asked if he thought if he could catch Kavutu. "I was thinking, maybe."

Kavutu, who finished sixth at the City of Los Angeles Marathon last March, was just too fast, covering the last mile in an incredible 4:09. Like Malot, he earned $5,000. Wangai had to settle for second in 1:01:21, just two second back, while Rutto, firmly in control of third place, eased home in 1:01:39.

Prerace favorite Habte Jifar of Ethiopia never arrived in Wheeling due to a travel problem and missed the race.

Patty Fulton, 37, from Silver Spring, Md., placed tenth among women in 1:22:59, and was the second American finisher, after Lee DiPietro.

Simonaitis and DiPietro Win U.S. Masters Titles
Dennis Simonaitis, 40, of Draper, Utah and Lee DiPietro, 45 (photo), of Ruxton, Md. won the U.S. 20K masters titles in 1:05:25 and 1:20:40, respectively. Simonaitis was able to set back the formidible challenge of Eddy Hellebuyck, 42, of Albuquerque, N.M. who opened a big lead on Simonaitis in the fifth mile.

"You never know with Eddy," said Simonaitis of Hellebuyck's tactics. "When we went up 29th Street we were together, then he shot ahead of me."

Simonaitis worked with Andrzej Krzyscin of Poland to catch Hellebuyck and they ran together up Wheeling Hill in the 12th mile. That's when Simonaitis decided to make his move. "I went for it at the top of the hill," he said, and Hellebuyck, perhaps still sore from his tenth place finish at Boston last month, couldn't cover the move. Simonaitis won his second U.S. masters title in 1:05:25, earning $1,000. Hellebuyck, saving himself for his next race, slowed down and cruised home in 1:06:10 to collect $500.

DiPietro was unchallenged in the U.S. masters division, finishing in 1:20:40, some five and one half minutes ahead of Stephanie Agosta, 42, of Granville, Ohio. "I just wanted to run faster than last year," said DiPietro, who ran 1:21:17 last year when she won the all-comers masters title. It was her first U.S. masters title. "That's pretty exciting," she said of the title and the $1,000 paycheck.

In the photo above, Lee DiPietro approaches the finish of the Georgetown Classic 10K in 4th place (36:19) in October 2002. Photo by Bob Mallet.)

More than 1200 Runners Took Part

Spanning two days and seven races for athletes of all ages, more than 1,200 runners took part, including 1,141 scored finishers in the Ogden Mile, Ogden 5K Run/Walk, and Ogden Newspapers 20K Run and separately scored 20K Walk. Six hundred sixty-eight runners finished the 20K run.

Top Finishers

Men


 1. Augustus Kavutu, 26, Kenya             1:01:19   $5,000
 2. Simon Wangai, 24, Kenya                1:01:21    3,500
 3. Evans Rutto, 25, Kenya                 1:01:39    1,500
 4. Simon Rono, 31, Kenya                  1:03:48    1,000
 5. Gabriel Muchiri, 25, Kenya             1:04:03      750
 6. Zablon Mokaya, 30, Kenya               1:04:07      500
 7. Jared Segera, 26, Kenya                1:04:55      250
 8. Amos Gitagama, 24, Kenya               1:05:14      100
 9. Nephat Kinyanjui, 25, Kenya            1:05:19
10. Andrzej Krzyscin, 34, Poland           1:05:21


40+
 1. Dennis Simonaitis, 40, Draper, Utah    1:05:25   $1,000*
 2. Eddy Hellebuyck, 42, Albuquerque, N.M. 1:06:10      500*
 3. Dan Verrington, 40, Bradford, Mass.    1:09:36      250*


Women
 1. Leah Malot, 30, Kenya                  1:11:01   $5,000
 2. Olga Kovpotina, 33, Ukraine            1:11:49    3,500
 3. Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova, 42, Russia  1:12:15    1,500
 4. Emily Samoei, 23, Kenya                1:13:40    1,000
 5. Gladys Asiba, 25, Kenya                1:14:26      750
 6. Jackline Torori, 25, Kenya             1:15:39      500
 7. Anna Pichrtova, 30, Czech Republic     1:17:11      250
 8. Teresa Wanjiku, 29, Kenya              1:20:02      100
 9. Lee Di Pietro, 45, Ruxton, Md.         1:20:40
10. Patty Fulton, 37, Silver Spring, Md.   1:22:59


40+
 1. Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova, 42, Russia  1:12:15 CR 1,000^
 2. Lee Di Pietro, 45, Ruxton, Md.         1:20:40    1,000*
 3. Stephanie Agosta, 42, Granville, Ohio  1:26:13      500*


*Earned U.S. masters championships prize money
^Masters course record; $1,000 bonus

The Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic is made possible by the generous support of its sponsors: Ogden Newspapers Inc., Kroger, United National Bank, Wheeling Downs Racetrack and Gaming Center, and Mason Rehab Center.