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Because of that, he figured the best way for him to run was all by himself.
So he did, especially at the end.
Arusei, running in a pack of six or seven for the first four miles of Saturday’s race, pulled away on 29th Street hill and only increased his lead from there on his way to a runaway victory in the 30th running of the Classic.
He broke the tape in 1:03:21, not only improving his time by a minute and a half from last year (1:04.57), but also his positioning. He finished third in last year’s event behind two-time winner Julius Kibet, whose time of 1:03:04 remains a record for the revamped course.
Finishing second was Kenneth Korir at 1:04:30, more than a minute behind Arusei. Reuben Chebi (1:05:48) finished third, followed by Ibrahim Limo (1:07:06) and Wheeling’s own Ricky Moore 1:07:16.
Kibet did not participate in this year’s Classic, opening the door for a fellow Kenyan who was apparently paying a lot of attention to the layout last year — the first time he ran in Wheeling.
He said that experience helped him the most.
“I was here last year so I knew the course,” Arusei said. “I started out very slowly, keeping in mind there was one hill (29th Street) that is very tough.”
Included in that pack early on was Moore.
“We came around Wood Street, we were running together,” Moore said. “We all grabbed a drink of water and were chatting, really. Then as we made that turn near Paul’s Tire, Isaac just took off and he kinda caught everybody by surprise. Three other guys went with him and me and Mohammed Ar-Ar were just kinda in limbo about what to do.
“I really wasn’t expecting to make a big move that early so I just kinda hung back because I thought they were just testing the waters. When we got to the bottom of the hill, we were still all kind of in contact, then Isaac made another move up the hill and you saw him just separate himself from the pack.
“He made another move and that was it. We were all pretty much single file from there, and I don’t think the order changed after that.”
Especially not in front.
“When I reached the top of the hill, I didn’t know what the guys I was running with were going to do so I pulled ahead of them,” Arusei said. “After maybe five miles, I was out in front and led all the way to the end.”
It would seem to have been a lonely run.
“I felt comfortable running out by myself,” Arusei said. “I wasn’t worried about them coming back on me because I’m strong. I’m from Kenya. I’m not used to running away from people like that, but I looked back and saw how they were following me. I knew they weren’t strong enough to stay with me so I pulled out and ran.”
At the 10-mile point, Moore said Arusie was out of sight.
“I know when I was out by Bridge Street Middle School, I think he had just over a minute on me,” Moore said. “You still have those long straightaways so you can still see everybody, but you kinda know when someone’s got a minute on you that unless he falls apart big-time, you’re pretty much just holding on.”
By the time Arusei reached the start/finish line on 14th Street, no other runner had even turned the corner to the final stretch, a rarity in recent years.
Arusei grew up training on the hills in Kenya, so he was well-prepared for the sometimes grueling topography along the Wheeling city streets. But the hills can take something even out of world-class runners.
“I like this course,” he said, “but I’m still pretty tired.” |
Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic