QUIGLEY, LEWY BOULET CAPTURE FIRST USA 20-K TITLES
By David Monti
(c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission
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NEW
HAVEN, CONN. (06-Sep) -- Under clear blue skies with hardly a hint of
wind, Sean Quigley and Magdalena Lewy Boulet both captured their first
USA 20-K road running titles here today at the 33rd Stratton Faxon New
Haven Road Race, part of the USA Road Circuit.
Lewy Boulet, 37,
of Oakland, Calif., dominated the women's race in 1:07:41 despite being
fatigued from a high-mileage week, part of her build-up for the Bank of
America Chicago Marathon on October 10. She had finished a distant
third here last year to masters ace, Colleen De Reuck.
"I'm
still in training, about five weeks out from the big race, from
Chicago," Lewy Boulet said after the race. "I decided not to taper for
it, but train through it, use it as a training run. I still have an
hour of cool down." She added: "I tried to make it as comfortable as I
could; the last four miles I pushed it a bit."
Lewy Boulet, who
said she ran 115 miles in the week immediately before the race,
improved on her time from last year by 30 seconds. She said that she
ran too aggressively last year, and took it easier in the early miles.
Her strategy paid off.
"Last year I just went out too fast," she
said. "Literally, the difference between the first mile this year and
last year was 30 seconds."
Stephanie Rothstein, 26, of
Flagstaff, Ariz., was the surprise runner-up in 1:08:26 in her debut at
the distance. She was on crutches last year with a back injury, and
also discovered she was suffering from Celiac Disease, an autoimmune
disorder of the small intestine. She moved to Flagstaff this year to
be coached by Greg McMillan.
"It's been a very long road back,"
said Rothstein who choked back tears of joy before receiving a
congratulatory hug from McMillan. "I broke my sacrum a year ago, but
I've kind of been battling injuries for the last two years, and we
didn't know why. Then I figured out this April that I have Celiac
Disease, like Amy Yoder, and that's the reason why I'd been injured so
long. We had no idea. Right when I figured it out in April, my life
changed."
Unheralded Nan Kennard, 29, of Broomfield, Colo.,
finished third in 1:08:38, also making her 20-K debut. She is a
some-time training partner of Colleen De Reuck, and is coached by De
Reuck's husband, Darren. As for the 46 year-old De Reuck, who like
Lewy Boulet is running the marathon in Chicago next month, she had an
off-day and finished ninth.
While Lewy Boulet was able to relax
in the final meters to the line, Quigley had to push just to make sure
he had clinched the race. In the final flat mile on Whitney Avenue,
Quigley remained calm while his only remaining rivals, Mo Trafeh and
James Carney, both put in surges which they hoped would bring them
victory. Trafeh had already tried to break the race open at the 10
mile mark and was getting tired.
"I might have looked good, but
I didn't feel good," said Trafeh, 24, of Duarte Calif. "I just forced
myself to it. I thought that would be the best place to make the move."
With
the finish line adjacent to the New Haven Green on the horizon, Carney
surged first and Quigley and Trafeh followed single file. His lead was
short-lived, and Carney came back. Quigley waited just a little longer
to make his bid for victory. He wanted to make just one move and make
it stick.
"My longest race up to this point was a 15-K,"
Quigley, 25, explained later. "I was a little worried about adding
another 5-K to it. So, I made sure I was real patient and didn't do
anything stupid during the race. And then, if I felt like I could take
it, just go for it."
Fifty-six minutes into the race, Quigley
pushed to the front, and left his two chasers behind for good. Not
only did he make a successful 20-K debut with his 59:21 finish time,
but the victory today for the Philadelphian was his first ever national
title on any surface.
"It feels great," said Quigley. "Up to
this point I've felt that my post-collegiate career has been a
disappointment. To get this win is huge."
Trafeh, the 2010
national 15-K champion, finished second, the same position as last year
in 59:29. Carney, who won this race in 2008, finished third in 59:33.
Defending champion Brett Gotcher fell back from the lead pack around
15-K, and finished seventh.
Both Lewy Boulet and Quigley earned $8,000 in prize money, part of the total prize purse of $40,000.
The
USA Road Circuit moves to Providence, R.I., next for the men's and
women's 5 km championship hosted by the CVS/pharmacy Downtown 5-K on
Sept. 19.
PHOTO: Magdalena Lewy Boulet wins the 2010 USA 20-K title at the Stratton Faxon New Haven Road Race (photo by Jane Monti).
ENDS