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Reta ‘owns’ half

Ethiopian seeks record fourth half marathon win

August 17, 2010
News and Sentinel Half Marathon

PARKERSBURG - After joining Kenyan Godfrey Kiprotich as a three-time winner of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon, Ethiopian Alene Reta will look to re-write the record books when the now-28-year old looks to make it four-in-a-row when the 24th annual race gets under way at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 21.

"To me, it means everything," Race Director Chip Allman explained. "He (Reta) is in a class by himself on this course. He owns it. It's always nice to have the defending champ back."

Reta has become a staple of the 13.1-mile race since back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2005 and 2006. He picked up his first victory with a 12-second win over Kenyan Reuben Chebil in 2007-covering the deceptively tough course in 1 hour, 2 minutes and 39 seconds.

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Ethiopian Alene Reta will look to re-write the record books Aug. 21 when he tries to make it four-in-a-row at The Parkersburg News and?Sentinel Half Marathon.

His next two trips to the Mid-Ohio Valley's toughest race ended in victory as well, but his time on the course went from a 1:02:52 in 2008 to last year's winning time of 1 hour, 4 minutes and 15 seconds. A far cry from his personal best of 1 hour, 1 minute and 46 seconds established in Nagoya, Africa, in 2003, but more than a minute better than runner-up Kennett Kiptoo's 1:05:29.

"He just knows how to run this race," Allman continued. "He knows when he needs to make his move and the other runners either have to react and go with him or settle for second place."

As has been the case since 2005, the winner will be named the Road Runners Club of America National Champion and will receive a $3,000 cash prize.

"You look at the times and you would have to say that he (Reta) is again the runner to beat," Allman said. "I think the field is shaping up, but until someone actually beats him, then he has to be the favorite."

The elite field has grown to 18 world class runners including Kenyans Richard Kandie, James Boitt, Gideon Mutisya and Sammy Rotich.

Mutisya, who has run a personal best of 1 hour and 2 minutes in the half marathon, captured the Grand Masters' title last year with a five-minute victory (1:11:57) over 52-year old Thomas Dever of Terra Haute, IN.

None of the other top five finishers from the 2009 race-Kiptoo (1:05:29), Ethiopians Ketema Nigusse (1:05:38) and Fikadu Lemma (1:05:58) or Kenyan Elijah Nyabuti (1:06:56)-have entered to date.

Boitt, who has a personal best of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds in the marathon, established a new course mark of 1 hour, 6 minutes and 1.64 seconds in winning the Traverse City State Bank Bayshore Half Marathon while Kandie, who captured the Foot Mechanics One-Mile with a time of 3 minutes, 53 seconds, was finished just .14 seconds behind Boitt (1:06:78).

Rotich, who lives in West Des Moines, Iowa, has been on a tear this summer, winning the Lincoln (1:06:30), Drake Relays and Kansas Relays half marathons while finishing fourth in St. Louis and second in Pennsylvania.

Rounding out the list of elites is 29-year old Jason Pyles, head cross country and track coach at the University of Charleston; 33-year old Jared Abuya; 2010 RRCA Roads Scholar Jeffrey Eggleston, Philadelphia's Mark Stallings; 28-year old Josh Ordway; 31-year old Burundian Fidele Baregensabe; Ethiopian Ezkyas Sisay;, Jeffery Weiss from Avella (Pa.); 2008 Masters runner-up John Piggott; 32-year old Khalid El Boumlili; 2009 Grandmasters champion John Brokenbrough; Eric Ashton from Columbia, S.C., and Ethiopian Worku Beyi.

"From what I've heard, Boitt is for real," Allman said. "Boumlili has told me that he is coming, but I have not received his itinerary so I can not confirm him.

"Eggleston has run some good times this year and Sisay was supposed to be here last year, but did not show up."

Allman will continue to accept elite applications for the next couple of weeks or until the number reaches a pre-determined limit.

 
 

 

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