Gemeda runs away with 10K’s women’s race

Out of sight, out of mind.

So overpowering was Amane Gemeda's performance in the women's portion of the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K that the other competitors seemed almost to forget she was there. And indeed, she wasn't there for long.

Gemeda, a 26-year-old Ethiopian, won yesterday's race in 32:37 13 seconds off the course record and nearly a minute faster than the 33:33 delivered by runner-up former Virginia Commonwealth University All-American Maria-Elena Calle.

Calle said Gemeda, a seasoned international competitor, "was running by herself almost from the beginning. She started fast and stayed in front. I remember thinking at one point, 'OK -- maybe I can do this. Maybe I can catch her.' But by then there was so much distance to make up."

By the time the women's field turned for home at Monument and Chantilly, Calle said, "the rest of us were pretty much racing for second place."

Gemeda, who placed eighth at last year's World 10K in Bangalore, India, encountered the same gremlin that pestered her countryman, Tilahun Regassa, in the men's race. So large was her cushion on the inward-bound leg that she was unable to maintain an urgent pace. Thus, she failed in her attempt to break Magdalene Makunzi's two-year-old record of 32:24.

"I was trying to break the record; I thought it was possible," said Gemeda, speaking through interpreter Abiyat Endale. "I needed somebody to run with me; I needed somebody to push me."

This development was as expensive for Gemeda as for Regassa. Each collected a $2,000 winner's check. But each could have earned an additional $1,000 by establishing a course record. Regassa missed the men's mark by 14 seconds.

Calle, a native of Ecuador who now regards Richmond as "my second home," had no such difficulties. She and Hirut Mandefro, a 28-year-old Ethiopian, waged a zesty one-on-one competition over the final mile and a half. Calle created a slight bit of separation as she and Mandefro churned down Franklin Street toward the finish line. She won by two seconds.

"No one ever wants to finish second," said Calle, a 33-year-old who hadn't raced in nearly a year while recuperating from a troublesome hip injury. "But being back out there for the first time in a long time -- yes, this was nice. This was exciting."

Long layoff notwithstanding, Calle and her coach, Julian Spooner, chose an aggressive tactic for yesterday's race. Said Calle: "He said, 'I want you to go for it. I want you to try to run with the leaders and see what happens.'"

She said her duel with Mandefro became, in essence, a test of will. "At that point, sure, you're hurting," she said. "But you know the other person is hurting, too."

Frashiah Waithaka, a 31-year-old Kenyan, finished fourth in 33:49. Divina Jepkogei, a 24-year-old from Kenya, placed fifth in 34:00. Each of the top five female finishers produced a time that would have won last year's race.