“They’re tough”: Vancouver Sun Run winner Luke Puskedra was worried about Kenyan runners
VANCOUVER — He really only had to worry about a handful of lithe Kenyans, but Luke Puskedra said the mass of humanity at the start of Sunday’s Vancouver Sun Run 10K was certainly a motivating factor.
“I mean, when you’re running against 45,000 people chasing you, you’ve got to run fast out there, right,” he said with a wry grin.
Puskedra was off by about 5,000 on the runner count. But the multiple-time track All-American at the University of Oregon proved fast enough on a sun-splashed day to stay in front of them all, including the talented Kenyans.
Two-time Vancouver Sun Run winner Natasha Wodak happy with “personal best” after clocking in second
VANCOUVER — Plagued by injury in 2014, two-time Vancouver Sun Run winner Natasha Wodak was delighted to run a personal best time for the 10K on Sunday. It still wasn’t good enough, however, to catch Kenyan Risper Gesabwa, who made her Sun Run debut a winning one.
Gesbawa, who has raced 10Ks all over the U.S. the last few years and was coming off a third-place finish in New Orleans two weeks ago, was also making her first visit to Canada. And she’ll leave $3,000 Cdn richer after winning in a time of 32 minutes, 28 seconds.
Wodak, who won in 2012 and 2013 but didn’t race last year while battling plantar fasciitis in a foot, was seven seconds back, while Kenyan Jane Murage was third in 33:17.
