River City Roars Back to Life
by Brom Hoban, 3/19/2006

Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, the River City 10 Miler roared back to life on Sunday, in what was unquestionably one of the best races of the year. Rescued by Raul Najera of Run-Far Racing Services, the race, which was last run in 1994, was a huge success.

"I have to hand it to Raul," said John Ferguson, who directed the race from 1987 to 1994. "This is one of the best organized, most well-run events I've been to. He really did it right."

A crowd of some 800 or so runners took off out of the Northcross Mall parking lot, led by Kenyans Gilbert Kiptoo and Albert Okemwa, who had been recruited by Austin Marathon director John Conley to help jumpstart the race's comeback. In 65-degree off and on drizzle, the duo ran together through mile one in a blazing 4:39, trailed by new Austinite Lance Parker, but soon pulled away altogether to race the clock.

Conley was hoping one of the Kenyans might break the 46:39 city 10-mile record, set at River City by Kenyan Simon Peter Naali in 1993.

High humidity, slick roads, and the fact that there was no one to push them made the record a moot point. As Kiptoo said later, "I liked the course. But the roads were slippery."

Still, the pair blitzed through five miles in 23:52, a scant one second off of the course record pace. A 10K split of 29:44 looked good, but showed that Kiptoo had backed off the pace somewhat. In fact, he did slow over the second half, averaging a 4:51 pace.

Just after eight miles, Kiptoo jettisoned Okemwa, and opened up a lead of 20 meters. Tearing it up across the South First Street bridge, he brought it home to in 48:05, while Okemwa, who believe it or not is 40, pulled up at Auditorium Shores second in 48:38, a new masters record. Parker posted a speedy 50:56 for third. Since Okemwa took second overall, Keith Dowland, 51, grabbed the top masters spot in 56:58.

"I think I could have taken the record if it was not wet and slippery," said Kiptoo. "But I really loved the course. I will come back next year even if there is still no prize money."

The ageless Jodi Hawkins (actually now 39) proved that she's still a runner to be reckoned with, easily dispensing with local ace Sabine Bildstein. Hawkins, who holds the event record of 51:54 (1993) took off at a 5:30 pace and passed through the 5K mark in 17:20. Backing off slightly, she hit five in 28:23 and went through 10K in 35:20. Hawkins slowed somewhat over the second half, but went on to win in a fine 57:46.

"I probably run about 40-45 miles a week now," she said. "No speedwork, but I do get in some fartlek. "I'm looking forward to competing as a master next year." Bildstein took second in 1:03:23, ahead of Missy Ruthven's 1:04:26. Nancy Dasso was top master in 1:11:33.

The rain held off for the awards and post-race party at RunTex, as runners shared a great assortment of refreshments and enjoyed music from a live band. One thing all agreed on: The River City 10-Miler is back.

River City 10-Miler
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