Saturday was a perfect day for running in Flint, Mich., and a perfect place for two hot road racers to get even hotter.

Forget the unusual 62-degree temperatures, forget the low humidity. When you're hot, you're hot and no one is hotter than John Korir of Kenya and Lyudmila Biktasheva of Russia.

John Korir, 27, ran shoulder to shoulder with three of his countryman and Ethiopian Tekeste Kebede from just after the five mile mark, where a series of steep hills dropped nine runners from what had been a pack of 14.

And they were shoulder to shoulder coming around the last turn onto the bricks of Saginaw Street downtown.

It was long, gradual downhill to the finish. "I was ready to kick," said Korir, who won here in 1998 and 1999 but hadn't been back since. Boy, was he ever. He inched bit by bit away from his rivals, thrust both arms into the air and crossed the finish line in 46:22, two seconds up on James Koskei, 34, three up on Wilson Kigen-Kipkemboi, 23 and 10 up Laban Kipkemboi.

Kebede, 24, seemed to have finished fourth but moments later, he and countryman Abraham Assesfa, 31, were disqualified. They had got stuck in the crowd at their downtown hotel and weren't at the starting line, yet, when the gun sounded. They jumped into the lead pack as it went by them and missed out on the first 30 yards of the race.

Korir's kick gave him first-place prize money of $5,000 and continued a streak that has seen him win at the Cherry Blossom 10-miler, the Crescent City Classic 10K, the Lilac Bloomsday 12K, the Utica Boilermaker 5K and, two weeks early, at Falmouth.

Biktasheva, 29, of Russia, didn't need a kick to win, but she if she had utilized one, she might have had Cathy O'Brien's 14-year-old course record of 51:47. Biktasheva ran with Leah Malot, 31, of Kenya over the first five miles, throwing in surges along the way to soften her up. The Russian then took off from her on the three tough, steep hills on Bradley Street and was all alone from there.

Biktasheva backed off a gear down the finish, waving and smiling to the large crowd as she approached the tape. Her time of 51:52 beat Malot by 65 seconds.

Catherine Ndereba had won five straight Crims and six overall but was in Paris this year for the world track and field championships.

Biktasheva, in her first Crim, ran faster than Ndereba ever has here. When asked she would have liked to race Ndereba, Biktasheva, an Olympic 10,000-meter finalist in 2000, said: "I'm not concerned about names. The race goes to the strongest."

She was the strongest Saturday, just as she was the strongest at Lilac Bloomsday, Bay to Breaker and the CVS Cleveland 10K.

Jackson Kipngo'k, 42, of Kenya, crushed the master's course record of New Zealand's John Campbell by 30 seconds, finishing fifth overall in 47:25, good for $1,000 in open-division prize money and $1,200 as top master.

He beat master rival and fellow Kenyan Andrew Masai by nearly two minutes. "I'm improving each week. Masai beat me at Peachtree and I said, `Fine,' and I went back and trained very hard, concentrating on speed."

Ramilia Burangulova, 42, of Russia was top woman's master in 57:27, beating six-time master's winner Tatyana Pozdnyakova, 48, of the Ukraine by 28 seconds. American, Cindy James, 43, was third master in 1:00:03.

The top two American men were from Michigan -- Kevin Doyle, 23, of Rochester Hills, who was 18th overall in 49:19, and Kyle Baker, 27, of Mason and a coach at Michigan State, 19th in 49:41. Two of Doyle's teammates with Team Hansons, an Olympic development team, made the top 25 - Mike Fox, 24, 22nd in 50:04 and Trent Briney, 25, 24th in 50:16.

Oddly, the top state runner beat the top American. Boaz Cheboiywo, 25, of Kenya, an All-American at Eastern Michigan and former NCAA cross- country and 10,000-meter champ who is seeking American citizenship, qualified under the rules as a state resident and won $800, finishing 11th overall in 48:17.

Nicole Jefferson, 27, of Maine, was the top American woman, 13th overall in 57:25, with local star Seana Larson, 33, of Dexter, the second U.S. woman and top state runner, 17th overall in 58:53.

Krige Schabort of South Africa won $1,000 as top male paraplegic wheelchair racer for the third year in a row; Miriam Nibley of Champaign, Ill., won $1,000 as top woman para; and John Brewer of Kaysville, Utah, won $1,000 as top quadriplegic.

More than 6,500 ran the 10-miler, with about 14,000 running or walking in the one of the Festival of Races' events, which included a 1-miler, 5K, 8K and Teddy Bear trots for kids.

RESULTS - CRIM 10-MILE RUN

MEN

1. John Korir, 27, Kenya, 46:22, $5,000.

2. James Koskei, 34, Kenya, 46:24, $2,500.

3. Wilson Kigen-Kipkemboi, 23, Kenya, 46:25, $2,000.

4. Laban Kipkemboi, 25, 46:32, Kenya, $1,500.

5. Jackson Kipngo'k, 42, 47:25, Kenya, $2,200.

6. David Njunga, 25, Kenya, 47:32, $800.

7. Julius Kimtai, 28, Kenya, 47:46, $600.

8. Hillary Lelei, 25, Kenya, 47:47, $400.

9. Benjamin Kimutai, 32, Kenya, 47:58, $250.

10. Augustus Kavutu, 26, Kenya, 48:14, $150.

WOMEN

1. Lyudmila Biktasheva, 29, Russia, 51:52, $5,000.

2. Leah Malot, 31, Kenya, 52:57, $2,500.

3. Jane Kiptoo, 21, Kenya, 53:07, $2,000.

4. Kathy Butler, 32, G. Britain, 53:16, $1,500.

5. Olga Romanova, 23, Russia, 53:22, $1,000.

6. Ludmila Petrova, 34, Russia, 53:58, $800.

7. Emily Sandei, 22, Kenya, 54:06, $600.

8. Alevtina Ivanova, 28, Russia, 54:13, $400.

9. Anastasia Ndereba, 28, Kenya, 55:06, $250.

10. Nicole Stevenson, 29, Canada, 55:20, $150.