Calendar | Results | Fastest In Metroplex | Texas Marathons | Side Trips| Where To Run | Neighbors | 2007 Archives

Amazon Store | Home | Results

Kenyan teammates win DRC Half titles

Two members of the AmeriKenyan Running Club in Santa Fe., N.M., easily won the men and women divisions at the DRC Half on a cool but warming Sunday morning (Nov. 4) over a course that started and finished at Norbuck Park near White Rock Lake in Dallas.

Richard Kimeli Kimboi, 27, who possibly could run his first marathon at the Wellstone's White Rock Marathon on Dec. 9, won the men's title and the $800 first-prize money in about 1 hour, 6 minutes, 15 seconds. Coming in second was Haron Lagat, the winner of the men's Lancaster Mile with a 3:53.65 and running his first half marathon distance. He finished in 1:07:21. Kimboi was second to Lagat in the mile with a 3:56.85.

Rose Kosgei, 26, won the women's title in 1:15:44 and also pocketed $800. Rose, who won the women's Lancaster Avenue Mile run the day before in Fort Worth with a 4:25, is expected to return to Dallas on Dec. 9 to defend her half marathon title.

Richard, who has a 1:03:15 personal best in the 13.1-mile distance also might return to Dallas on Dec. 9 and run in his first marathon. Haron said he probably won't try a long distance again for a while and concentrate on the shorter races. ``I'm a miler,'' he said.

Approximately 3,000 participated in the half and 5K events on the morning that began in the 60-degree range but began quickly warming.

Richard, who ran a 1:07.49 to finish fourth in the America's Finest City Half Marathon in August, said the weather was ``perfect for me.'' He said because he's running a marathon in December, he was using this race as a test of his conditioning.

``I was feeling good....I could have run a 63 (-minute half),'' he said, but because no one was pushing him, he didn't need to go faster. Richard said after the mile and his run Sunday, he's happy with his speed. ``I need to be very careful. Balancing the speed and distance is not easy.''

Scott Robinson, president of AmeriKenyan Running Club, said his team arrived in Fort Worth late Friday night. They were guests of the Michaels, and Joni Michael is not only a former Cowtown Marathon winner but is a massage therapist. Scott said after the Lancaster Avenue Mile on Saturday, Joni gave the runners massages that night to get the ready for Sunday's half.

``They were great. She even had a Kenyan dinner ready for them,'' he said.

Scott and his wife Vanessa house Kenyans in their five-bedroom home in Santa Fe, and are responsible for transporting them to competitions. They are supported by sponsors and Scott said they take a ``small percentage'' of the runners' winnings. As a result, the Kenyans are able to send most of their prize money to their families.

Runners take off in the half.