Ivanova Cruises to Overall Win; Clifton USA Champion
Fifth Third River Bank Run officials have issued a correction to their race day news release sent on May 10, 2003. Contrary to the previous announcement that 2003 champion Dan Browne from Portland, OR was the first American to win the Fifth Third River Bank Run since Keith Brantley's 1995 first place finish, it was actually 1996 when Alfredo Vigueras took home a first place finish that an American had last won the 25K event. Vigueras became a United States citizen on March 28, 1996, just months before his Fifth Third River Bank Run win.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - (May 10, 2003) - Dan Browne became the first American male since 1996 to win the Fifth Third River Bank 25K Run Saturday, pulling away from Kenyan and former world record-holder Joseph Kariuki at the nine-mile mark to win by a minute, in 1 hour, 16 minutes and 13 seconds.

Browne, 27, a member of the Nike Oregon Project and a captain in the Oregon National Guard, won $4,000 for winning the open division and another $4,000 for winning the national title.

Kenyan men had won the Open division six straight years, with Alfredo Vigueras the last American male victor in 1996. Browne's win came despite steamy conditions of 65 degrees and 100 percent humidity, which took a toll on many would-be contenders, including Kariuki who admitted to wilting over the last six miles.

Photo (left): Albina Ivanova

Albina Ivanova of Russia also pulled away at the nine-mile mark and won the Open title in 1:27:28. Christine Clifton, 30, a Kirkland, Wash., resident living and training in Italy with her boyfriend and coach, Claudio Bellini, finished second overall and won her first national title in 1:29:30.

"That was the loudest finish line crowd I've ever heard," said Browne, who won the U.S. marathon and 20K titles in 2002 and has also won national road titles at 5K, 10K, 15K and half-marathon (now 8 U.S. road crowns overall).

"It was kind of scary. Usually when the crowd is screaming like that, it's because someone is coming up behind you," said Browne, the 2002 USARC Grand Prix champion. "But I peeked back to see who was coming and didn't see anybody."

At six and a half miles, Kariuki had thrown in a surge to try to break the pack of four. Countryman Gabriel Muchiri and Ryan Shay, a Michigan resident and former Notre Dame All-American, slipped off the pace, but Browne went with him. They were stride for stride until the nine-mile mark. Browne gunned it on a downhill and Kariuki let him go.

"This is a testament to what we are trying to do in America, competing at the highest level," added Browne, a West Point grad who was proud to sound like Dan Red White and Blue. "I want to make Americans proud of their runners. That's my goal through the rest of the year. I've had a few mediocre races this year but this is a turnaround."

Photo (left): Christine Clifton.

Ivanova won her first River Bank run, coming off a sixth place finish at the recent Boston Marathon. She ran with Clifton the first nine miles, then put the hammer down and blew the race open. "She just took off," said Clifton. "She had a 30-second lead within a mile."

Clifton had an 84-second margin at the end over third place finisher Deeja Youngquist of Albuquerque, but the U.S. title didn't come easy. Clifton cramped up at 13 miles and had to walk a bit.

"It was scary. This is my first U.S. title and I was saying, `Come on, Christine, you better suffer a little.' I looked over my shoulder and couldn't see anyone and said 'Whew!'"

"I came here to win, but am I surprised? I am," said Clifton who ran an impressive 2:32 at Chicago in 2000, her first competitive marathon, but has done little since then. She dropped out of Twin Cities last fall and late last year, "I'd do a 20-minute run and feel like I was at the two-hour mark on a long run."

Finally, she says she was diagnosed with adrenal problems caused by an inability to metabolize calcium, which left her very weak. She changed her diet, took a couple of months off and resumed training in February. Two weeks ago, she paced a friend to a half-marathon in 1:13 "and I thought 'Finally I'm ready to give them a good race.'"

She came to Grand Rapids and gave them, all except Ivanova, everything they could handle.

Shay, like Browne and Clifton, saw the race as a turnaround, too. After winning the USA Marathon Championship in Birmingham, Ala. (site of the 2004 Olympic Trials) last February, the Team USA California athlete says he resumed racing too soon and has been stale ever since.

"Each race was getting worse and worse," he said. Finally, on May 2, he hit bottom, dropping out of a 10,000 meter track race at the Cardinal Invitational. "I thought, 'This is ridiculous.'"

He backed off his training and made two trips to his chiropractor in the days leading up to the River Bank. "I had a lot of muscles that weren't firing at all," he said.

They fired just fine Saturday. He slipped to fifth midway, regrouped, moved up to fourth overall and was close to Phillimon Hanneck, Browne's teammate at Nike Oregon, at the finish.

Saul Mendoza of Wimberly, Tex., won a thrilling wheelchair race and $1,000, beating Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa by one second, in 52:45, with Krige Schabort of South Africa third, another four seconds back.

The race was also the USA Masters Championship and winning $1,500 as top master's (over-40) runners were Dennis Simonaitis of Draper, Utah, who was 13th overall in 1:20:47 and Janet Robertz of Shorewood, Minn., who was eighth for the women in 1:35:16.

It was a tough day for defending national champions. David Morris of Albuquerque was 10th overall and Jeanne Hennessy of Mahopac, N.Y., fell to fifth after being struck by several bouts of asthma during the race and having to hit her inhaler six different times to try to get oxygen into her lungs.

It was also a rare bad day for the Kenyans, with Gabriel Muchiri fading badly and placing out of the top 20. And Jackline Torori was never a factor for the women and also failed to place in the top 20. Two other Kenyans, both defending champs, Teresa Wanjiku and Ronald Mogaka, were last- minute scratches.

As part of the 2003 USA Running Circuit, the top 10 U.S. athletes earned valuable Circuit points at River Bank. As third U.S. male overall (worth 10 points), Ryan Shay added to his lead over Team USA California teammate Meb Keflezighi, 43 points to 30, while Clifton's national title (worth 15 points) moved her into a tie for fourth place; Team USA Minnesota's Sara Wells leads the Women's USARC with 37 points.

The 2003 USARC, a USA Track & Field road series featuring USA Championships from 5K to the marathon, offers over $340,000 in championship prize money plus a $25,000 grand prix purse. The next women's Circuit race is the Freihofer's 5K on May 31 in Albany, N.Y. and the men return to action at the UMKC Hospital Hill Half-Marathon in Kansas City, Mo. on June 7.

For the 26th River Bank edition, a near record participated as a total of 4,499 entered the 25K with another 3,272 running or walking the 5K and another 1,110 in the Junior run.

Fifth Third River Bank 25K: USA Open and Masters Championship Grand Rapids, MI, Saturday, May 10, 2003

MEN

1. Dan Browne, Portland, Ore., 1:16:13, $8,000#

2. Joseph Kariuki, Kenya, 1:17:13, $2,000

3. Phillimon Hanneck, Clackamas, Ore., 1:17:28, $3,500#

4. Ryan Shay, E Jordan, Mich., 1:17:44, $1,500

5. Scott Larson, Superior, Colo., 1:18:28, $1,000

6. Scott Goff, Boulder, Colo., 1:18:53, $600

7. Kevin Collins, Albuquerque, N.M., 1:19:02, $500

8. Fred Keiser, Cleveland, 1:19:40, $400

9. Patrick Muturi, Lafayette, Colo., 1:20:13, $300

10. David Morris, Albuquerque, 1:20:33, $200

11. Teddy Mitchell, Albuquerque, 1:20:36, $100

MASTERS MEN (40+)

1. Dennis Simonaitis, 40, Draper, UT, 1:20:47, $1500

2. Paul Zimmerman, 42, Cedar Creek, TX, 1:22:21, $750

3. John Mirth, 41, Platteville, Wis., 1:22:47, $500

WOMEN

1. Albina Ivanova, Russia, 1:27:28, $4,000

2. Christine Clifton, Kirkland, Wash., 1:29:30, $6,000#

3. Deeja Youngquist, Albuquerque, 1:30:54, $3,500#

4. Turena Johnson Lane, Statesboro, Ga., 1:31:14, $1,500

5. Jeanne Hennessy, Mahopac, N.Y., 1:33:32, $1,000

6. Lori Stich Zimmerman, Cedar Creek, Tex., 1:33:51, $600

7. Mary Beth Ellis, Denver, 1:34:22, $500

8. Janet Robertz, Shorewood, Minn., 1:35:16, $1,900*

9. Michelle Pomfrey, Lakewood, Ohio, 1:35:35, $300

10. Rosa Gutierrez, Glendale, Ore., 1:35:45, $200

11. Brooke Carney, Golden, Colo., 1:35:47, $100

#Includes Open and USA Championship prize money

*Includes USA Championship prize money (Open and masters)

MASTERS WOMEN (40+)

1. Robertz (see above)

2. Jane Welzel, 48, Ft. Collins, Colo., 1:37:29, $750

3. Laurie Decker, 43, Cadillac, Mich., 1:44:23, $500

Complete results available on May 10 after 4:00pm EST at the race website:

http://www.53riverbankrun.com

2003 USARC Standings

MEN after five races

1) Ryan Shay, 24, East Jordan, MI 43

2) Meb Keflezighi, 27, Mammoth Lks, CA 30

3) Kevin Collins, 31, Syracuse, NY 29

4) Scott Strand, 34, Birmingham, AL 24

5) Chris Graff, 27, Palo Alto, CA 23

6) Abdi Abdirahman, 26, Tucson, AZ 22

7) Chad Johnson, 26, Portland, OR 22 8) Clint Verran, 27, Rochester, MI 20

9) Dan Browne, 27, Portland, OR 19

10) Jeff Campbell, 31, Rochester, MI 14

WOMEN after three races

1) Sara Wells, 24, Edina, MN 37

2) Colleen De Reuck, 38, Boulder, CO 34

3) Kelly Flathers, 31, Htngton Bch, CA 20

4) Deena Drossin, 30, Mammoth Lks, CA 15

5) Christine Clifton, 30, Kirkland, WA 15 6) Stacie Alboucrek, 35, Ft. Ldale, FL 14

7) Marla Runyan, 34, Eugene, OR 12

8) Beth Old, 28, Douglasville, GA 12 9) Deeja Youngquist, 25, Albuquerque, NM 12

10) Lisa Vaill, 40, Gainesville, FL 10

2003 USARC Champions

MEN

Ryan Shay 2:14:29 USA Marathon Championship, Birmingham, AL, Feb 8

Meb Keflezighi 43:31 Gate River Run 15K, Jacksonville, FL, March 8

Chris Graff 47:09+ Papa John's 10 Miler, Louisville, KY, March 29

Meb Keflezighi 22:28 NYRR 8000, New York, NY, April 5

Dan Browne 1:16:13 Fifth Third River Bank 25K, Grand Rapids, MI, May 10

+Championship Record

WOMEN

Deena Drossin 47:15* Gate River Run 15K, Jacksonville, FL, March 8

Sara Wells 2:35:37 Michelob Ultra USA Marathon Championship, MO, April 5

Christine Clifton 1:29:30 Fifth Third River Bank 25K, Grand Rapids, MI, May 10

*U.S. Record