True 13:26 at BAA 5K, Masters 13:39.47 at Mt Sac
True ran with the leaders throughout was edged at the line by Olympic Silver Medalist Dejen Gebremeskel, both were timed kn 13:26. On the track last night at Mt Sac Relays, Riley Masters smashed his 5k personal best by almost 45 seconds as he clocked the 6th fastest 5k in Maine history, 13:39.47
BAA 5K
Ben True returned to the roads on Saturday morning to compete in the BAA 5k, the Saucony sponsored True was returning to the race he won in 2011 & 2012, before missing the race in 2013. True's last race was a success as he won the US Road 15k championship at the Gate River Run with a 43:38.
It was quite a race as he matched strides with 2012 Olympic 5k silver Medalist Dejen Gebremeskel of Ethopia & Stephen Sambu of Kenya. In the end it came down to a kick at the line where Gebremeskel held on for a narrow victory over True, both were timed in 13:26, with Sambu one second back in third. A year ago Gebremeskel set the race record with a 13:37 clocking, the top 5 today were all under that mark.
The good news for True, who said earlier this week at the BAA press conference that his winter of training wasn't good. A nagging hamstring injury was to blame that has made True change the way he has been training. I'd say it's going very well.
Putting Ben's performance into persceptive, remember 3 weeks about Dejen Gebremeskel won the Carlsbad 5k road race in 13:13, the same race that US runner Bernard Lagat broke the American 5k road record with his 13:18 clocking.
Next up for Ben will be the 5k at the Payton Jordan Invitational 5k on May 4th. His current personal best is 13:11.59, a mark surely he would like to lower by a significant mark.
Gary Allen of Cranberry Isles, Maine was on hand for the race today, check out his coverage
Men’s Results 1. Dejen Gebremeskel (ETH) 13:26 2. Ben True (USA) 13:26 3. Stephen Sambu (KEN)13:27 4. Lani Rutto (KEN) 13:30 5. Daniel Salel (KEN) 13:31 6. Tyler Pennel (USA) 13:42 7. Leonard Korir (KEN) 13:44 8. Nick McCormick (GBR) 13:45 9. Haron Lagat (KEN) 13:46 10. Bobby Curtis (USA) 13:47
Mt Sac 5k
Riley Masters of Brooks entered the 5k at Mt Sac with a modest personal best of 14:23. Masters who is known more for his 1500/Mile talent, steped up in distance last night, and was very succesfully. Riley didn't go with the fast early pace, but was content to run his race in the second pack, about half way through he decided to take a chance, and by the the final 400m had worked his way up to the chase pack. In the end it was a 44 second personal best and 13:39.47 finish, which placed him 13th in a strong field.
The 13:39.47 moves Riley up on the all-time Maine native 5k list to #6 overall. Check out the list below courtesy of http://mainerunning.weebly.com
13:11.59 Ben True, North Yarmouth, Dartmouth 2013
13:13.49 Bruce Bickford, Benton, Northeastern 1985
13:25.19 Louie Luchini, Ellsworth, Stanford 2004
13:25.38 Matt Lane, Yarmouth, William & Mary 2001
13:38.89 Pat Tarpy, Yarmouth, Brown 2008
13:39.47 Riley Masters, Bangor, Umaine/Oklahoma - 2014
Want to watch the race click here
Results (Top 20)
1 Kennedy Kithuka Texas Tech 13:26.98
2 Trevor Dunbar Oregon 13:32.38
3 Luke Caldwell New Mexico 13:33.28
4 Liam Adams Adidas Australia 13:33.53
5 Jared Ward BYU 13:34.74
6 Aron Rono WCAP 13:35.83
7 Maverick Darling Kimberly Creations 13:36.10
8 Tony Okello Santa Monica TC 13:36.48
9 Diego Alberto Borrego Mo UAZ 13:36.98
10 Shadrack Kipchirchir Oklahoma State 13:37.68
11 Sean Quigley Saucony/ Boulder TC 13:38.81
12 Reed Connor Wisconsin 13:39.34
13 Riley Masters Brooks 13:39.47
14 Christo Landry Mizuno 13:39.71
15 Micah Chelimo Alaska Anchorage 13:41.99
16 Malcolm Hicks Nike 13:43.38
17 James Leakos Harvard 13:44.57
18 Ryan Herson Arizona State 13:44.81
19 Soufiane Bouchikhi Eastern Kentucky 13:45.92
20 Iván Darío González Gonz Colombia 13:48.06