(October 19, 2003) — GREECE — It could have degenerated into a fistfight, until finish-line coordinator Dave Linne stepped in with authority.
“OK, one at a time! You wait,” he pointed to Kenyan Joseph Mwai.
“You talk,” he pointed to Moroccan Mohammed Amyn.
The heated yelling cooled abruptly, and the two professional runners pleaded their cases with animated finger-pointing moments after the photo finish of the Run For Hospice 5K road race in Greece on Saturday.
“I push forward,” said the 27-year-old Amyn, shoving out his chest to show how his experience in track racing had helped him win over the 3.1 miles on the neighborhood roads in Greece. He was, apparently, a fraction of a second ahead of the 24-year-old Mwai.
Elarbi Khattabi, Amyn’s agent and coach who finished nine seconds back in fourth, nodded his head in agreement.
“No, no” Mwai insisted. “I’m sorry. I’m winner. My leg out like this.” He stretched his left leg to demonstrate.
Linne, the area’s pre-eminent finish-line coordinator who also directs the Lilac 10K and JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge finishes, checked for confirmation.
He found Greece native and Canisius graduate Chad Bader, who had been standing right at the line helping timer/scorer Don Mitchell with a hand-held backup timing tape.
“It looked to both of us,” Bader said, “that Amyn had a slight edge. It’s the chest position that counts, not the foot position, even though the timing chip is on the foot.
“The computer shows them a full second apart, but it could have been just a hundredth of a second.”
So the eighth edition of Rochester’s largest and most popular 5K goes in the books, as expected, as a 1-2-3-4-5 foreign finish. Canisteo’s Mark Andrews was the only American in the top 10.
Foreign runners have dominated this race for the past four years, but the $500 that Amyn earned was less than half of what he could have collected had the lead pack set a faster pace.
His 14-minute, 9-second finish time missed breaking the course record by two seconds, worth $500. A sub-13:45 would have won $250 more.
“It was a slow pace,” Amyn agreed. “They lead, I follow. I didn’t know about the record. I said to Joseph, ‘You about the money. Me, I don’t think about money. No time. Today was to win.’”
Even an hour afterward, while awaiting their paydays — foreign-born runners left with $3,100 of the $8,000 purse — the two who live and train with separate groups in Westchester County were still disgruntled. They questioned the pace (identical 4:35s in both miles 1 and 2), each other’s racing styles, and the close call at the finish.
“We go like this,’’ Amyn said, holding up his first fingers and crossing them back and forth to show how the two had jockeyed for position. Amyn took the lead for the last time just yards from the line.
“I don’t like. In track, you stay in lanes,” he said.
Mwai, on the other hand, complained of getting bumped and clipped throughout the race by Amyn.
“He was on my foot, he bumped my back … Not good.” Told that Amyn said they never touched, Mwai laughed.
“We touched a lot!”
Both said it was the third time they have raced each other, but it sounds like it won’t be the last. Amyn has won all three and each time they say it’s been a battle.
“He will come?” Mwai asked, when told Amyn has promised to return to Hospice in 2004. “I will come! We shall meet!”
In the women’s race, 20-year-old Ethiopian Atalelech Ketema (pronounced ah-TAL-eh-letch keh-TEE-meh) held off Kenyan Naomi Wangui by 25 seconds to win in 16:05, tying Jackline Torori’s race record of 2000.
Olympic marathon hopeful Kevin Collins of Cicero, Onondaga County, cranked out a 49:29 to win the 10-mile race, defeating Kenyans Mohammed Ar-Ar and Wilson Komen in the process.
Notes: World No. 1 master Jackson Kipng’ok crushed John Tuttle’s old masters race record of 14:45 with a 14:14. … Steve Boyd’s 14:42 set a Canadian masters (40 and older) mark for the distance. … Webster native Audra Naujokas-Knapp clinched Rochester Runner of the Year honors for 2003, stretching her lead to 59 points over Heather Webster of Honeoye Falls, with two races remaining. Webster is training for a winter marathon. Scott Bagley’s lead over Andrews drops two points to 122-105. … Race director Pete VanPeursem’s son, P.J., finished 30th in 17:34 in the 5K. The 2000 Churchville-Chili graduate is home after a tour of duty in Kuwait. He is a senior airman in the Air Force reserves.
Run For Hospice 5K
3.1-MILE LOOP COURSE IN GREECE
807 FINISHERS (466 MEN, 341 WOMEN)
Men: 1. Mohammed Amyn, Morocco, 14:09, 2. Joseph Mwai, Kenya, 14:10, 3. Jackson Kipngok, Kenya, 14:14, 4. Elarbi Khattabi, Morocco, 14:18, 5. Paul Mwangi, Kenya, 14:20, 6. Andrew J. Smith, Scarborough, Ontario, 14:28, 7. Mark Andrews, Canisteo, 14:32, 8. Steve Boyd, Kingston, Ontario, 14:42, 9. Kennedy Ondimu, Kenya, 14:53, 10. David Njuguna, Kenya, 15:15, 11. Scott Bagley, Pittsford, 15:21, 12. Dave Bradshaw, Perinton, 15:23, 13. Marcus Gage, Palmyra, 15:47, 14. Jerry Kooymans, Markham, Ontario, 16:08, 15. Shawn Watts, Fay1ettevilla, Ariz., 16:19, 16. Eric Boyce, Bergen, 16:25, 17. Winston Guy, Greece, 16:35, 18. Dan Essler, Nunda, 16:37, 19. Kyle Milks, Brockville, Ontario, 16:40, 20. Jason Knarr, Webster, 16:42, 21. Pete Glavin, Greece, 16:46, 22. Andrew MacMillan, Rochester, 16:58, 23. Scott Rhodes, Rochester, 17:12, 24. Paul Glor, Rochester, 17:17, 25. Dan Rohnke, Irondequoit, 17:18, 26. Tim McMullen, Churchville, 17:21, 27. Greg Lakin, Rochester, 17:25, 28. Allen Dise, Barre, 17:30, 29. Tim Dwyer, Penfield, 17:33, 30. Philip VanPeursem, Greece, 17:34.
Age groups: 9 and younger Eric Wynands, Lyn, Ontario, 23:57; 10-14 Milks; 15-19 Jeffrey Palumbo, Rochester, 18:36; 20-24 Boyce; 25-29 Watts; 30-34 Dahl Angus, Rochester, 19:23; 35-39 Guy; masters (40 and older) Kipngok; 40-44 Glavin; 45-49 Frans De Waal, the Netherlands, 18:48; 50-54 McMullen; 55-59 David Young, Rochester, 18:59; 60-64 Joe Abernethy, Bloomfield, 20:18; 65-69 Jerry Looker, Rochester 21:23; 70-74 Othmar Freyler, Henrietta 22:21; 75-79 John Burke, Geneseo 30:49; 80 and older Roger Brownlow, Rochester 35:56.
Women: 1. Atalelech Ketema, Ethiopia, 16:05.*, 2. Naomi Wangui, Kenya, 16:30, 3. Hannah Njeri, Kenya,16:45, 4. Allison Carr, West Seneca, 16:46, 5. Tara Quinn, Waterdown, Ontario, 16:53, 6. Sarah Schwald, Madison, Wis., 17:28, 7. Rebecca Heuer, Orchard Park, 17:33, 8. Kathryn Wirth, Buffalo, 17:49, 9. Karen Elliot, Rochester, 17:52, 10. Susan Munson, Orchard Park, 17:58, 11. Renee Rombaut, Greece, 18:03, 12. Audra Naujokas-Knapp, Rochester, 18:15, 13. April Messenger, Hilton, 19:05, 14. Maureen Minavio, Henrietta, 19:22, 15. Kathryn ONeill, Pittsford, 19:35, 16. Josie Cancilla, Irondequoit, 19:48, 17. Coreen Steinbach, Pompey, 20:12, 18. Laura Feller, Syracuse, 20:23, 19. Jennifer Rouke, Henrietta, 20:24, 20. Elizabeth Conway, Rochester, 20:30, 21. Emily Easttey, Waterloo, 20:32, 22. Lauree Kenyon, Farmington, 20:35, 23. Maggie Whelehan, Chili, 20:44.
Age groups: 9 and younger Payton Ondeck, Henrietta, 27:15; 10-14 Easttey; 15-19 Wynands; 20-24 Feller; 25-29 Messenger; 30-34 Naujokas-Knapp; 35-39 Kenyon; masters Munson; 40-44 Patricia Flanigan, Rochester, 21:10; 45-49 Ann Porter, Rochester, 21:01; 50-54 Jeanne Herrick, Rochester, 22:59; 55-59 Lynda McGuire, Scottsville, 24:02; 60-64 Mary Shaver, Geneva, 22:29; 65-69 Pat Scheiber, Rochester, 28:35; 80 and older Marsha Tillson, Shortsville, 46:21.
Wheelchair: Male Ryan Chalmers, Churchville, 15:29. Female Claire Coombs, Perinton, 22:57.
*.Course record.
Ten-miler
LOOP COURSE, 288 FINISHERS (180 MEN, 108 WOMEN)
Men: 1. Kevin Collins, Cicero, 49:29. 2. Mohammed Ar-Ar, Morocco, 49:32. 3. Wilson Komen, Kenya, 50:22. 4. Duncan Douglas, Honeoye Falls, 52:51. 5. Ryan Pauling, Rochester, 52:54. 6. Derrick Jones, Henrietta, 53:03. 7. Rick Stewart, West Seneca, 53:10. 8. Craig Lefort, Rochester, 54:17. 9. Joe Kelly, Rochester, 55:14, 10. Todd Halbig, Fayetteville, 55:14.
11. Charlie Andrews, Irondequoit, 56:12, 12. Allen Pettee, Rochester 57:25.
Women: 1. Susan Fegley, Waterloo, 56:05. 2. Laura Bloedorn, Rochester, 59:22. 3. Shannon McHale, Marietta, 1:01:25. 4. Adela Flista, Hamilton, Ontario, 1:03:31. 5. Beth DeCiantis, Rochester, 1:06:57. 6. Jennifer Wagner, Walworth, 1:07:41. 7. Brigitte Soltiz, Alden, 1:08:08. 8. Susan Rowley, Rochester, 1:11:12.
Full results on Don Mitchells Runtime Services Web site at www.run-time.com
JCASTOR@DemocratandChronicle.com
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