UH's Smith defends Women's 10K title
By Mike Tymn
Special to The Advertiser
For 13 minutes, it appeared there would be a race in the 25th annual Straub/Kapi'olani Women's 10K Run yesterday morning. But defending champion Cheryl Smith then accelerated and eased away from Lisa Blomme for the victory.
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In winning the 6.2-mile race, Smith, a 21-year-old University of Hawai'i senior, averaged 5 minutes, 46 seconds per mile, crossing the finish line in 35:48.
Cheryl Smith averaged 5:46 per mile over the course.
"My legs were feeling heavy at the start," said Smith, "but I felt better after we got over Diamond Head."
Blomme, a 24-year-old Hawai'i Pacific University senior, finished second at 36:40, while Alethe West, 20, another UH runner, took third, 44 seconds behind Blomme. Blomme was also runner-up to Smith last year.
With more than 1,400 entries, the event got underway at Kapi'olani Park shortly after 7 a.m. The anticipated duel between Smith and Nina Christensen, HPU's top runner, did not materialize as Christensen reportedly developed back problems after winning the Great Aloha Run two weeks ago and was forced to scratch from yesterday's event.
Smith, Blomme, West and Casey McGuire-Turcotte, also a UH runner, immediately formed a lead pack as they left the park and started the climb in front of Diamond Head.
McGuire-Turcotte and West began dropping behind before Smith and Blomme reached the mile mark near the lighthouse in 5:56.
Blomme matched strides with Smith as they passed two miles in 11:36, but a quarter-mile later, on a short climb, Smith began pulling away. "I think she put in a little surge to get rid of me," said Blomme.
Smith passed the halfway point in Kahala in 18:02 with a lead of about 100 yards. It was then just a matter of maintaining rhythm and cruising to the finish back at the park.
Smith was 22 seconds slower than her winning time last year. She explained that her focus is on the upcoming track season and so she was not able to rest and peak for this race. The race record of 34:40 was set by Marty Shue in 1998.
There were several outstanding age-group efforts. Competing in the 45-49 division, Angie Miyashiro finished sixth overall in 39:51. Linda Stragand won the 50-54 division and was 23rd overall in 43:19, while Barbara Miller, 62, took 36th place overall in 45:34. Miller, whose 3:11:57 in the Boston Marathon two years ago smashed the American marathon record for women over 60, was visiting from Modesto, Calif.
