“Little Tefera” Takes Fourth at Healthy Kidney 10K
Westchester Track Club Dominates the Top 10
Central Park, New York, May 17—For the fourth consecutive year, the Healthy Kidney 10K has attracted a world-class field and, after Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein raised the bar at last year’s race with his 28:08 course record, expectations were high for swift performances. Unintimidated by the high caliber of talent among the field, Wegayehu Girma Tefera of Briarcliff Manor, NY, led the locals with a sizzling 29:20 performance, good for fourth place overall.
A freshman on the NYRR racing scene and just 19 years old, this Ethiopian is known among friends as “little Tef,” a moniker that describes his relation to brother Demesse Tefera, this year’s seventh-place finisher (29:25) and last year’s third-place and top local finisher. Wegayehu Tefera has been building his road racing résumé—he was third (18:22) at the Run As One, TGL Classic (4 miles) in April and turned in an impressive 1:09:41 for 17th place at the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half-Marathon last year. Wegayehu Tefera, who finished ahead of Abderrahim Goumri, the sixth-fastest marathoner of all time, is sure to follow in the footsteps of big brother Demesse, one of the most competitive Westchester Track Club (WTC) members, who consistently tops the leader board in NYRR races.
For the second time in a month, Wegayehu Tefera beat his brother’s WTC teammate, Worku Beyi of the Bronx. Beyi, who finished fourth (18:34) at Run As One last month, closed the gap better at today’s race and crossed the finish line two seconds behind Tefera, finishing fifth overall. Dagne Alemu of Ethiopia took sixth place in 29:23.
Overall, it was a good day for WTC. Thanks to performances by the Teferas, Beyi, Abiyot Endale (15th, 29:54), Stephen Chemlany (16th, 30:09), and Deresse Deniboba (17th, 30:13), the men’s team secured the NYRR open team title with 60 points, ahead of the West Side Runners (178) and the Brooks Manhattan Track Club (MTC) (188).
WTC also dominated the podium in the women’s race. Aziza Aliyu of the Bronx stole the show in an event-record 33:32, followed by teammate Atalelech Ketema of the Bronx in 34:37. Meskerem Legesse of the Bronx finished third in 35:19. The top spot has become a comfortable place for Aliyu, who has finished first in the last seven NYRR races she’s started. Ketema is off to a model season as well—she was the runner-up at the New York Junior League Mother’s Day 10-mile and first in the Scotland Run 10K in March. Despite securing the top two spots, WTC ranked only 17th in the women’s open team competition; the top three spots went to the Nike Central Park Track Club (CPTC) with 38 points, the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) with 60, and Moving Comfort New York (MCNY) with 180. Aileen Conlon, who finished fourth (35:33) and was the top CPTC woman, credits her success to a new regimen that includes weight training and one day of complete rest per week. “It’s amazing how much putting on a little muscle mass and taking one day to rest completely—no swimming or other cross training—has changed my performance,” she said.
In the masters (40 and older) competition, Paul Thompson, 42, of the Warren Street Social & Athletic Club, won his third straight title with a stellar 32:27 for 32nd overall, and Deborah Gaebler of the Greater New York Racing Team dominated the 40+ women in 39:08. In the 50-and-over division, Greg Diamond of Taconic Road Runners took the men’s title in 35:23, and L. Susan Branche of MCNY led the women in 43:27.
For other top-seeded local runners, the day’s challenge was not as warmly received. John Henwood of NYAC, a New Zealand Olympian and the winner of the 2008 NYRR Half-Marathon Grand Prix Presented by Continental Airlines: Brooklyn, finished 20th today in 31:20. “It hurt a lot,” he said. “I’m getting over a meniscus tear, so it’s been a slow progression.” Henwood’s sentiments were echoed by 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon runner Karl Dusen of MTC who, despite his 32:09 performance, proclaimed that his race was “like a death march.” The hilly Central Park course was a challenge that weighed on the legs of even the professionals; course record-holder Dathan Ritzenhein has said that the loop is much harder than it looks. Still, some runners set personal records today. At NYRR president and CEO Mary Wittenberg’s invitation, more than 50 participants crowded the stage at the awards ceremony to pose for a photo with the race winners in honor of achieving their PRs.
“You should all be very proud of yourselves today,” Wittenberg said. “You’ve come out to support the awareness of kidney disease and have achieved success in the process.”
