Courtesy: Hank Brown/Running USA

Last year's Freihofer's Run For Women was full of surprises. This year, all went according to script for the 24th edition.

On a clear, sunny, chamber of commerce kind of day, pre-race favorites Marla Runyan of Eugene, Ore. and Colleen De Reuck of Boulder, Colo. played out the scenario on cue, battling stride for stride for over two miles. Runyan used her track speed to gradually pull away from De Reuck over the final mile to win the USA 5K National Championship in 15:27. De Reuck crossed nine ticks back in 15:36. All bets were on Joan Nesbit Mabe to take the USA Masters Championship and she did not disappoint, crossing the line in 16:54, four seconds earlier than Gordon Bakoulis of New York City.

Last year, on an unseasonably cool, rainy day, little known Collette Liss shocked the crowds lining the streets of Albany by beating pre- race favorites Blake Russell and Sylvia Mosqueda. Judi St. Hilaire surprised herself with a come-from-behind victory over a loaded masters field.

The suspense ended early this year. Though the race starts uphill, the first kilometer was a rather quick 3:13. The lead pack through Washington Park was studded with a "who's who" of American distance stars - Runyan, De Reuck, Mosqueda, Cheri Kenah, Amy Rudolph, Carrie Tollefson, Nicole Jefferson, Sarah Hann and Sarah Toland. 2000 USA 5K champion Libbie Hickman headed up a group a few strides back that included Jeanne Hennessy, Priscilla Hein and others.

Just past the first mile, passed in 5:03, De Reuck took control of the pace and the lead pack strung out in arrears. Only Kenah maintained contact with the two leaders, but that relationship quickly expired just past the halfway point. It was now down to two and the only mystery was whether De Reuck could run the kick out of Runyan. She couldn't.

"I tried to push it after mile 1," said De Reuck, a three-time Olympian from South Africa who is now a naturalized U.S. citizen. "My strategy was to work hard between 1 and 2 because I knew there were some faster girls here. But I was a little tight after running Bolder Boulder last week."

"Colleen was really pulling me," recounted Runyan, herself an Olympian at 1500 meters at the 2000 Summer Games. "I can't believe I won. Colleen's such a great runner."

Runyan's story has been well documented. She is legally blind and can only see objects very close. For obvious reasons, the track is her normal domain with Freihofer's only her second ever venture to the roads. She appeared to have trouble with curves and turns on the course, sometimes running several strides away from De Reuck, who was running the tangents.

"I didn't run the course well today," conceded Runyan who won her first U.S. road title. "You have to see in the distance to run the shortest route."

Nonetheless, the pair were inseparable as they breezed past mile 2 in 10:05, one of the quickest two mile split ever recorded on the course. With a very fast, mostly downhill finale, it appeared the course record of 15:24, set by Lynn Jennings in 1995, was in serious peril. Runyan, 33, made a move just past the second mile and opened up the first hint of daylight between the two runners. As they re-entered Washington Park to the cheers of the slower runners on the course, Runyan decisively closed the door on any comeback effort by De Reuck.

The lead was about 10 meters when Runyan made the final turn onto Madison Avenue. The final half mile stretch is a drag race - straight, downhill, fast and sometimes furious. Runyan appeared to have the race under control at that point, but she wasn't counting on it just yet.

"I kind of ran out of legs at the end. I kept thinking, where's that downhill?"

She eventually found the hill and stormed down to the welcoming cheers of thousands at the finish. The U.S. 5000m indoor record holder missed the course record by a mere three seconds (15:27 vs. 15:24), which could possibly have been erased with a little more direct route along the course. She made no excuses.

"I don't know if I could have gotten the record or not. Maybe it cost me 3-5 seconds, but I don't know. I ran the course yesterday so I just need to do a better job memorizing it."

The battle for third turned out to be a thriller. Mosqueda took the bronze for the third year in a row, holding off a furious kick by Hickman. Both were timed in 15:58. This was Hickman's first race since giving birth to daughter, Lindy a mere 6 months ago.

"Third again, can you believe it?" said Mosqueda a Los Angeles native. "I was hesitant to feel pain at the end, but then I said what the heck, it's just another 100 meters. I decided to really focus on the second half of the race this year and it really paid off. I figured with all the newcomers that they might come back late in the race."

Defending champ Liss ran a strong race for 5th. "I'm still trying to master the 5K. I'm not quite there yet. I ran well for about the first half, then I hit a lull. I know the field wasn't as strong last year, so yeah, I felt like I had something to prove. I'm happy to finish 5th against this field. Running against people like this teaches me how to compete at this level."

Freihofer's was also the third stop on the 2002 Women's USA Running Circuit (USARC), a USA Track & Field road series featuring USA Championships from 5K to the marathon. With her second place performance (worth 12 Circuit points), De Reuck moved into first place from seventh in the standings.

The 2002 USARC, the eighth edition for the men and seventh for the women, offers over $340,000 in championship prize money plus a $25,000 grand prix purse. Per USARC race, the first ten U.S. runners earn points (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1) with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6000, $4000 and $2500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall.

Nesbit Mabe, a Chapel Hill, NC resident, had two goals - win the U.S. masters crown and break 17 minutes. She did both, but just barely. Bakoulis was able to come even with her mid-race but couldn't quite hang on to the end. Nesbit Mabe, who recently turned 40, was philosophical about her victory.

"You know it's a little bittersweet," said the 1996 Olympian at 10,000 meters, who has also finished in the top 5 twice and the top 10 five times in Albany. "I look at these young, fast ladies and I think if I could only be one of those young fillies again. But I've moved on with the sport and I don't long for the glory days. And I get to go home to my children!"

The glory belonged to Runyan on this day. At the awards ceremony she thanked the crowd for their support. "This race is awesome. I could hear everyone cheering in the park and as I ran down the hill. It was so loud. Now let's go eat some Freihofer's cookies!" Her $7000 winnings will buy a lot of sweet treats.

The race drew a record crowd of 3,564 women. Race director George Regan was thrilled with the race. "I have the greatest job in the world. Every year I get to have a date with over 3500 women!"

24th Freihofer's Run for Women 5K: USA Championship
Albany, NY, Saturday, June 1, 2002

OPEN
1) Marla Runyan, OR 15:27 $7000
2) Colleen De Reuck, CO 15:36 $4500
3) Sylvia Mosqueda, CA 15:58 $3500
4) Libbie Hickman, CO 15:58 $2500
5) Collette Liss, IN 16:02 $1500
6) Amy Rudolph, RI 16:02 $1000
7) Carrie Tollefson, MN 16:08 $950
8) Cheri Kenah, VA 16:10 $850
9) Nicole Jefferson, NM 16:15 $750
10) Priscilla Hein, IN 16:17 $650
11) Sarah Hann, NH 16:36 $550
12) Sarah Toland, CO 16:37 $450
13) Jeanne Hennessy, NY 16:39 $350
14) Amy Lyman, MA 16:48 $250
15) Rachel Sauder, AL 16:49 $200

MASTERS
1) Joan Nesbit Mabe, NC 16:54 $750
2) Gordon Bakoulis, NY 16:58 $600
3) Kim Griffin, NY 17:08 $350
4) Janet Robertz, MN 17:30 $200
5) Carmen Troncoso, TX 17:35 $100