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At the Steamboat Classic 4 Mile in Peoria, Ill. on Saturday, June 14, Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco and Kim Smith of New Zealand won the 35th edition titles in 18 minutes, 17 seconds and 20:00 respectively, but each took different paths to the victory podium.
In the men's race, Harroufi, 26, the 2007-08 Bolder Boulder 10K champion, battled a competitive field including 2004 Steamboat champion Luke Kipkosgei and fellow Kenyans Haron Lagat and Richard Kiplagat as well as Americans Ed Moran and Josh Moen. Just before the finish stretch, Kipkosgei took a wrong turn - left instead of right, and Harroufi, the 2007 Steamboat runner-up, used the miscue to edge Kipkosgei by one second.
Smith, 26, who recently set the New Zealand 10,000 meter record, controlled the women's race and went unchallenged to the tape with Romania's Luminita Talpos runner-up, 16 seconds back. Smith's time (20:00) was the 8th fastest woman's performance at the race and overall, the Beijing bound Smith finished 14th.
Post-race, Smith commented to the Peoria Journal Star: "I'm pleased, with as hard as I'm training. Running 100 mile weeks is tough on the body. It was a good, hard effort today and that's what I was looking for."
The top Americans were Moran and two-time Olympian Elva Dryer in fifth overall (18:23 and 20:44). Three-time Steamboat champion and former marathon world record holder Khalid Khannouchi was 9th in 19:09. Nearly 2,300 finished the Peoria 4 mile tradition under humid conditions.
35th Steamboat Classic 4 Mile - Peoria, IL, Saturday, June 14, 2008
MEN
1) Ridouane Harroufi (MAR), 18:17, $4000
2) Luke Kipkosgei (KEN), 18:18, $2500
3) Haron Lagat (KEN), 18:20, $2000
4) Richard Kiplagat (KEN), 18:20, $1500
5) Ed Moran (USA / VA), 18:23, $1000
6) Josh Moen (USA / IA), 18:36, $200
7) Josh Eberly (USA / CO), 19:00, $200
WOMEN
1) Kim Smith (NZL), 20:00, $4000
2) Luminita Talpos (ROM), 20:16, $2500
3) Silvia Skvortsova (RUS), 20:28, $2000
4) Constantina Tomescu-Dita (ROM), 20:39, $1500
5) Elva Dryer (USA / CO), 20:44, $1000
6) Jane Gakunyi (KEN), 20:46, $400
7) Alina Alekseyeva (RUS), 20:52, $400
Full results at:
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.RunningUSA.org.
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