Marine, reporter win NikeTown 5K
By Mike Tymn
Special to The Advertiser
As expected, representatives of the U.S. Marine Corps and The Honolulu Advertiser showed the way in the NikeTown 5K run around Waikiki yesterday morning.
Advertiser library photo
Rich Rogers, a 21-year-old Marine lance corporal stationed at Kane'ohe Marine Corps Air Base, outran his coach, retired Marine Farley Simon, in the men's race, while Katherine Nichols, a 35-year-old Advertiser reporter, topped the women's field.
Rich Rogers overcomes a fall on his first turn.
Rogers covered the 3.1-mile circuit, beginning and ending near the NikeTown shop, in 15 minutes, 31.4 seconds, an average of 4:59 per mile. Simon, 46, recorded 15:40.3 to edge Christian Friis, 28, by two seconds.
Finishing 24th overall, Nichols clocked 18:30.7. Mina Casey, 27, finished second in 19:06.2 and Jeannie Wokasch, 39, took third in 19:17.9.
"It was a little slippery and I fell making the first turn, but otherwise conditions were good and it went pretty much as I had planned," said Rogers, who was second to Friis in April's Ford Island 10K.
Advertiser library photo
Defending champion Jonathan Lyau did not participate as he ran the Chicago Marathon earlier in the day, setting a personal best for the marathon distance with a time of 2 hours, 29 minutes, 25 seconds. Lyau won the inaugural race last year in 15:27. Heather Jorris, the defending women's champion, also did not participate, having moved to the Mainland several months ago.
Katherine Nichols is recovering from a broken toe.
With 3,000 participants, the event limit, the race got under way at 7 a.m. Alan Domingo, 17, set the pace for the first quarter mile before fading and finishing 68th. Rogers took command at that point and reached the mile mark in 4:48 with a four-second lead on Friis. Rogers was never challenged after that.
Simon overtook Friis near the end for second. Considering his age, Simon clearly had the best effort of the day. His time places him among the top two or three runners in the world in the 45-49 age division. Simon stopped long enough to take a drink and then continued running as he is preparing for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., next month, an event he won in 1983.
Nichols had the lead all the way for the women. "I'm still coming back from a broken toe, and just tried to maintain an even pace all the way," she said.
Casey and Wokasch battled for second most of the race, but Casey pulled away over the final 300 meters.
Ed Cadman, the 56-year-old dean of the University of Hawai'i Medical School, finished 15th overall in 17:55.4, outlegging former Olympian Gerry Lindgren, 55, by 32 seconds.
