SIMON RONO WINS THE CRIM 10 MILE CATHERINE NDEREBA WINS HER SIXTH CRIM

August 24, 2002

FLINT, MICHIGAN - Kenyans Simon Rono and Catherine Ndereba are the top male and female finishers in the 26th Annual Crim 10-Mile Race. Ndereba won her sixth Crim ('96, '98, '99, '00, and "01) defending her title with her fifth Crim win in a row. Rono and Ndereba each won a $5,000 share of the Crim's $42,750 purse. At the 8:00 a.m. start, the weather was cloudy with a temperature of 68 degrees and near 100% humidity.

Rono, 30, won his first Crim with a time of 47:13. He pulled away from the lead group of runners at the six-mile mark and by the seven-mile mark had a nine second lead. He maintained his lead through the last half mile and turned onto the red bricks in downtown Flint finishing eight seconds ahead of second place finisher, fellow Kenyan, Benjamin Kosgei (47:21). Kenyan William Kiptum finished third (47:29). Rono, who had been training in Kenya after recovering from an injury said, "This is my first race this year. It was a very nice race. I knew I was in good shape." A group of 25 runners began to move ahead of the pack at the two-mile mark. By the three-mile mark the lead group was down to 15 runners who carried the pace through the four-mile mark. Entering the Bradley Street hills near the five-mile mark, Rono and Gabriel Muchiri (forth place 47:32) lead a group of twelve runners. By the six-mile mark Rono pulled away from the lead group and went on to win.

Catherine Ndereba, 30, finished strong to post her personal best Crim time of 52:09 (second best time in Crim history). Moroccan Asmae Leghzaoui (second, 52:21) lead the race through the eight mile mark. Ndereba said, "It was a wonderful race. She had a 100 meter lead, but I maintained my pace and told my body to go how it feels. I caught her at the eight-mile mark." Kenyan Agnes Ngunjiri (55:41) finished third.

Among the Masters runners, Andrew Masai, 42, of Kenya, won his third Crim in a row with a time of 49:33 finishing 14th overall. Americans Eddy Hellebuyck, 41, (51:12, 19th overall) and Phil Bedford, 40, (51:35, 22nd overall) finished second and third.

With a time of 58:10, Masters runner Tatyana Pozdynyakova, 47, from Ukraine was the top female Masters runner. Pozdynyakov came in ninth overall wining her sixth Crim Masters. Cindy Keeler, 44, from Clearmont, Florida finished second (1:03:07), 18th overall. Laurie Decker, 42, finished third (1:06:43).

For the second year in a row, Kyle Baker, 26, Mason, was the top Michigan finisher (47:55) finishing 7th overall. Richard Brinker, 26, Rochester Hills, (49:21) and Justin Young, 23, Rochester Hills, (49:34) finish second and third among Michigan male runners. They placed 12th and 15th overall, respectively.

Top Michigan female runners were Betsy Frens, 27, Grand Rapids, with a time of 59:18, 10th overall. Mari Chandler, 26, East Tawas, came in second with a time of 59:33, placing 11th overall, and Tere Stouffer Drenth, 36, of Charlevoix (1:01:07) finished third, 12th overall.

Krige Schabort, 38, of Cedartown, Georgia won his second Crim in row finishing with a time of (39:05) to win the wheelchair event. Tony Iniguez of Aurora, Illinois came in second (39:28) and Brad Whitacre of Lacrosse, Wisconsin finished third (45:16). Bert Burns of Alpharetta, Georgia, was the top quad finisher with a time of 1:09:33. Tricia Downing of Dexter, Colorado won the female wheeler race with a time of 1:04:49.

The premier 10-mile race drew 6,275 entrants (second highest amount in Crim history). The family of races, which also includes a 8K run and walk, a 5K run and walk, a one-mile run and walk, the Lois Craig Invitational for Special Olympics, and the Teddy Bear Trot; drew 13, 580 participants. This year over 3,500 volunteers came together to make this event a success. Complete results will be posted on the Crim's web site at www.crim.org after 8:00 p.m., EST, Saturday, August 24, 2002.

Top Ten Male
Simon Rono 47:13
Benjamin Kosgei 47:21
William Kiptum 47:29
Gabriel Machiri 47:32
Gilbert Koech 47:34
Christopher Cheboiboch 47:34
Kyle Baker 47:55
John Kariuki 47:59
Lazarus Niakeraka 48:12
Zablon Mokaya 49:06

Top Ten Female
Catherine Ndereba 52:09
Asmae Leghzaoui 52:21
Agnes Ngunjiri 55:41
Tatyana Khmeleve 55:49
Zivile Balciunaite 55:52
Nicole Stevenson 56:02
Cori Monney 56:33
Tania Jones 57:39
Tatyana Pozdnyakova 58:10
Betsy Frens 59:18

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