Photo: Samuel Kosgei won the Crim 10 Mile, his first US race.

FLINT, MICHIGAN (8/26/06) - Kenyan Samuel Kosgei and Russian Alevtina Ivanova are the top male and female finishers in the 30th Annual Crim 10-Mile Race. Kosgei and Ivanova each won a $5,000 share of the Crim's $42,550 purse. At the 8:00 start the skies were overcast with a temperature of 66 degrees and 88% humidity.

Running in his first Crim and first U.S. race, Kosgei, 20, won with a time of 46:49. After the three-mile mark he began to pull away from a group of 20 runners. By the four-mile mark he had a nine second lead over a group of seven runners. Kosgei said, "The first three miles were fairly easy (13:55). I looked around and everyone looked strong. I felt real strong so I just took off." Kosgei said he felt strong at the end of the race, but was a little tired before the race from his trip from Kenya on Thursday. At the five mile mark he had five second lead over second place finisher Wilson Chebet (47:11) of Kenya.

Chebet stayed five seconds behind Kosgei through seven miles. At eight miles Kosgei was nine seconds ahead. He finished strong expanding his lead to 11 seconds at nine miles and was alone as he came around the corner and onto the red bricks and sprinted under the arches in downtown Flint to the finish line. A group of 25 runners led the race for the first two miles. By the three-mile mark the lead group was down to eight runners. Five runners carried the pace into the Bradley Street hills. Kenyan Ernest Meli was third at 47:31.

Photo: Alevtina Ivanova leads Lineth Chepkuru (bib number 45) and Asmae Leghzaoui (bib number 40).

Russian Alevtina Ivanova, 31, running in her third Crim, won for the second year in a row with a time of 53:06, 28 seconds better than last year's winning time. Moraccan Asumae Leghzaoui, 29, finished second with a time of 53:25, and Kenyan Lineth Chepkuru, 29, finished third at 54:00.

Photo: Paul Aufdemberge won the Masters title for the second straight year.

Among the Masters runners, Paul Aufdemberg, 41, of Redford, MI, won with a time of 50:34.

Sean Wade, 40, of Houston finished second with a time of 52:00.

Albert Okemwa, 40, of Kenya finished third at 52:16. With a time of 59:00,

Tatyana Pozdynyakova, 51, from Ukraine won her eighth Crim.

Russian, Tatiana Titova, 41, finished second at 1:01:52.

Krys Brish, 42, of Milford, MI finished third at 1:05:20.

Photo: Jeffrey Gaudette of the Hansons Brooks Distance Project was the top Michigan Runner.

Jeffrey Gaudette, 23, of Rochester Hills, was the top Michigan runner (49:46) finishing 14th overall.

Martin Rosendahl, 28, of Rochester Hills finished second (49:54), 15th overall.

Richie Brinker, 30, of Clarkston, finished third (50:21), 18th overall.

Top Michigan female runners were Dot McMahon, 29, Rochester Hills, with a time of 59:20, ninth overall.

Denisa Costescu, 30, Novi, finished second at 59:58, tenth overall.

Jackie Rzepecki, 27, Rochester Hills, came in third with a time of 1:01:09, placing 11th overall.

Photo: Dot McMahon of the Hansons Brooks Distance Project was the top Michigan female runner.

Krige Schabort, of Cedartown, Georgia won the wheelchair event with a time of 38:34. Travis Peruski of Ubly, Michigan finished second at 42:03. Ian Rice of Pittsburgh, PA was the top quad finisher with a time of 51:45. Christy Campbell of Kitchener, Ontario won the female wheeler race with a time of 1:29:27.

Hand cycle racer Glen Ashlock, of Ann Arbor, MI, was the top finisher for the third year in a row with a time of 35:33. Jimmy Green of Saginaw, MI finished second at 43:26, and Bradley Gomoluch of Saginaw, MI finished third with a time of 44:07.

The 24 runners who have run all 30 Crim 10 Mile races started 10- minutes before the 10 Mile field.

The premier 10-mile race, which continues to grow as one of the most popular races in the nation, had a record of over 8,290 participants. 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; set a record with over 15,279 participants. Once again, 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., EDT, Saturday, August 26, 2006. ###

Top Ten Male

Samuel Kosgei, Kenya, 46:49

Wilson Chebet, Kenya, 47:11

Ernest Meli, Kenya, 47:31

Julius Kibet, Kenya, 47:42

James Koskei, Kenya, 48:12

Joseph Chirlee, Kenya, 48:19

Jacob Yator, Kenya, 48:30

Samuel Ndereba, Kenya, 48:44

David Lagat, Kenya, 48:55

Wilson Komen, Kenya, 48:58

Top Ten Female

Alevtina Ivanova, Russia, 53:06

Asmae Leghzaoui, Morocco, 53:25

Lineth Chepkuru, Kenya, 54:00

Tatiana Chulakh, Kenya, 55:40

Lyudmila Biktasheva, Russia, 55:41

Olga Romanova, Russia, 56:31

Teraza Yohannes, Ethopia, 57:35

Tatyana Pozdnyakova, Ukraine, 59:00

Dot McMahon, Rochester Hills, MI, 59:20

Denisa Costescu, Novi, MI 59:58