Fabiano Joseph (bib no. 9) takes the lead in the Bradley Hills. 2004 champ Linus Maiyo (bib no. 2) finished 2nd, Julius Kibet Koskei (bib no. 7) took 3rd, Joseph Koech (bib no. 5) was 6th, and first Michigan finisher, Boaz Cheboiywo (bib no. 11) was 12th.
FLINT (8/27/05) - He was just a teenager.

She stood less than five feet tall.

Both achieved big wins in the marquee 10-miler at the 29th annual Crim Festival of Races.

Fabiano Joseph, 19, became the first Crim champion from Tanzania. Diminutive Russian Alevtina Ivanova, 30, won the women's title by more than a minute. They took home $5,000 each from a $42,550 prize purse.

Overall, 14,207 people took part in the Festival of Races. "We had just under 14,000 last year," first-year Crim CEO Gerry Myers said.

Board chair Mark Yonan was among the 7,232 who tackled the 10- miler. "The humidity made the race tough," Yonan said. "It was probably the most difficult Crim I've run."

Tony Iniguez repeated as wheelchair winner in a time of 40 minutes flat.
Slicing through the thick air four miles into the men's 10-miler, Joseph shared the lead with a 12-runner pack including defending champ Linus Maiyo, 22, of Kenya.

Entering the Bradley Hills Joseph took took the lead, surging through the five-mile mark in 24:12. Maiyo tried to cling to his heels, "It was hard to breath," Maiyo said. "At six miles, he pushed and I didn't keep up with him."

As they raced through eight miles, Joseph expanded his advantage, eventually crossing in 47:46. Then came Maiyo in 47:57.

Kenyan-born Boaz Cheboiywo, 25, who now lives in Ypsilanti, placed 12th overall and was Michigan's first finisher. The seven-time NCAA All American at Eastern Michigan University timed 49:39, a bit slower than the 49:11 he clocked when he led all state runners in 2003.

Todd Snyder, 28, of Ann Arbor, was second among Michiganders (50:19). Paul Aufdemberge, 40, of Redford, finished 26th overall and first among masters in 52:51.

Alevtina Ivanova won the women's title by more than a minute.
"I hoped to run about a minute faster," said Aufdemberge. "This is one of my favorite races. I think I've run it about a dozen times and I plan to keep coming back."

Asmae Leghzaoui of Morocco, who finished second in 2002, bolted to monster lead early in the women's race, but struggled through the Bradley Hills and continued to fade in the sixth mile.

Ivanova, in hot pursuit, hit the Bradleys as if they were speed bumps, storming through five miles mark in 26:27. She streaked by Leghzaoui, who eventually dropped out, around seven miles.

From that point on Ivanova had the race to herself, crossing first in 53:34. Luminita Talpos, 32, of Romania, finished second in 54:41.

Ramilia Burangulova, 44, of Russia (57:51) beat out Tatyana Pozdnyakova, 50, of the Ukraine (58:13) for the masters title.

Kalamazoo Christian cross country coach Betsy Frens, 30, captured first among Michigan women. Frens, who also was the top Michigander in 2002 (59:18) and last year (58:58), improved her time this year to a PR of 58:16.

"I had a hard time finding my rhythm for the first couple miles," Frens said. "Then I felt I found it until mile seven, when my legs started to cramp up." She persevered fine, it seems.

Denisa Costescu, 29, of Wixom, was state runner-up in 1:01:35. Monica Joyce, 47, of Ann Arbor, was the top state master and third overall in 1:02:11.

Tony Iniguez of Bolingbrook, Ill. repeated as wheelchair winner in 40 minutes flat. Next came Chad Johnson of Jeffersonville, Ind. in 41:51. Christy Campbell of Kitchener, Ont. was the top woman finisher in 1:16:33. Ann Arbor's Glen Ashlock won the handcycle race in 36:21.

Vance Decamp, who lost his sight in a 2002 automobile accident, and his guide, Sheila Larsen finished the 10 mile in 1:42:45.
Winning the 8K were Richie Brinker, 29, of Clarkston (24:59) and Sarah Squires, 17, of Sebewaing (32:41).

Squires was blown away by the turnout. "It's awesome," she exclaimed. "I've never seen this many people running in my life.

"The course was hard. It had more hills than I expected," she went on.

Suzanne Larsen, 27, of Fenton, who won the women's 5K in 18:42, found her race tough too.

"It's always exciting to win, especially here," Larsen said. "But I ran a 17:44 in the Tuuri 5K in July, so (18:42) was slower than I wanted to be."

Todd Bowmar, 17, of Wixom, who runs for Walled Lake Western High School, was the first man in 17:21.

Winning the 5K race walk were Leon Jasionowski, 60, of Utica (25:46) and Debbie Topham, 52, of Mayville (29:36).

First-year race director Deb Kiertzner reported her daughter ran the 10- miler and gave thumbs up. "Now we start planning for our 30th year," she said.

For complete results and more information, visit http://crim.org. For an Internet video of the race, visit http://michiganrunner.tv/2005crim/.

MR