Musyoki Beats Field in Buick 10K : Kenyans Turn the Road Race Into a Three-for-All Finish

Some of the best American distance runners were assembled at the Buick 10-kilometer run Sunday morning.

There was Mark Nenow of Kentucky, who holds the world record for the 10K (27 minutes 22 seconds) on the road, Frank Shorter, winner of the 1972 Olympic marathon, Paul Cummings, winner of the 10,000 meters at the 1984 U.S. Olympic track and field trials, and local favorite Thom Hunt of Pacific Beach, a former world-record holder for a 10K road race (27:57).

But it became apparent four miles into the 6.2-mile race that the winner was going to come out of Africa--specifically, out of Kenya.

Michael Musyoki led a Kenyan sweep of the top three places. Musyoki, the world-record holder for the 15K, crossed the finish line on Broadway near Horton Plaza in a time of 28:17, seven seconds faster than Peter Koech, and 10 seconds faster than Yobes Ondiecki. Lynn Williams of Vancouver won the women’s division with a personal best of 32:14.

Nenow, Hunt and Tanzania’s Suleiman Nyambui were among a group of six that led most of the race. Nenow and Hunt were shoulder-to-shoulder with the Kenyans until the long downhill on 5th Avenue. That’s when the Kenyans took off.

“The downhill really made the difference,” said Nenow, who finished fourth in 28:29. “Some people the downhill doesn’t beat up as much as others. I think that’s the way it is with Michael.

“I was dying. I dropped back about 10 yards, and in a field like that, you’re in a lot of trouble. These are all the best Africans. When you’re talking about Michael, you’re talking about the silver medalist (actually bronze) in the 10,000 in L.A., not just another African.”

Musyoki, Koech and Ondiecki held a 75-yard lead over Nenow and appeared to have equal chances of winning the $5,000 first prize with a little less than a mile to go. But Musyoki made his move and opened as much as a 75-yard lead before the finish.

“I could not count on winning until I hit the tape,” Musyoki said. “I knew the others could outkick me if I did not have a lead.”

Nyambui finished fifth at 28:33, and Hunt was sixth at 28:51. Defending champion Rich Brownsberger of El Cajon, who ran a 28:55 on a slightly different course, finished nearly two minutes behind the leaders and was not in the top 10.

While the men said running down 5th Avenue was the key to their race, the women said going uphill made the difference.

Williams, a San Diego State graduate, said the runners ran conservatively up 5th Avenue.

“I think the pace was 5:20 for the first mile, and normally we run about 4:55 or five minutes,” said Williams, who finished third in the Olympic 3,000-meter race in which Mary Slaney tripped on Zola Budd’s heal and failed to finish. “I think everybody was thinking they had to conserve energy. This course cuts maybe 20-25 seconds (off the times).”

Australia’s Lisa Martin, who finished second at 32:24, echoed Williams’ sentiments.

“When I got to the top of that hill, I thought, ‘Good grief!’ I didn’t know if I’d get (to the finish),” said Martin, who was fourth at the top of the hill. “Maybe I could have beaten her if I had run faster up the hill. I lacked confidence and didn’t want to get sick at the end.”

Williams also defeated Wendy Sly Smith of Great Britain, who was second in the Olympic 3,000 behind Romania’s Maricica Puica. Sly was fourth at 32:52. Patti-Sue Plummer, a former Stanford All-American, was third at 32:24.