http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/running/article/0,1713,BDC_2413_3544911,00.html
Age no obstacle to Boulder runner, 40
By Michael Sandrock, For the Camera
February 13, 2005
VANCOUVER, Wash. â After winning the 2005 USA Cross Country
Championship 8K Saturday afternoon, Colleen De Reuck stayed to watch
the women's masters race. As she watched Lorraine Green of Boulder and
the other over-40 ladies take off across the grassy field that marked
the start of the masters competition, De Reuck smiled and said, "That
is the race I'm supposed to be in."
Indeed, De Reuck, 40, a long-time Boulder resident, would seem to be
ready to stop racing the nation's best runners and begin slowing down
gracefully. De Reuck, however, is not slowing down. Instead, she
continues to demonstrate why she is one of the most consistent and
durable long-distance runners ever by dominating the senior women's
race here on the way to defending her U.S. cross country title and
punching her ticket to the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
The top six finishers in the junior and senior women's races, as well
as the senior men's 4K, made the U.S. team that will compete in France
at the World Championships next month.
University of Colorado senior Renee Metivier placed seventh, and will
be going to France because one of the runners ahead of her said she
will give up her spot.
In the men's 4K, former Boulder runner and University of Colorado NCAA
champ Adam Goucher placed second, with Jorge Torres, another ex-CU
NCAA champ, fifth.
"This was a great day for Boulder," said Rich Castro, head of the
Boulder Road Runners. "We had the junior women's winner, the senior
women's winner, Jorge, Renee, plus the masters runners doing well. We
all represented Boulder well today."
By all accounts perhaps the best representative was once again De
Reuck, a classy runner who is an inspiration to fun runners and elites
alike. As spectators walked toward the finish after the race, one fan
was heard to say, "Did the woman with the great abs win?"
"Colleen is tremendous," said Jen Rhines, an Olympian who hung with De
Reuck for first two of the four 2K laps on the grassy Fort Vancouver
Historic Site course before getting dropped and finishing 20 seconds
behind. De Reuck, a four-time Olympian, clocked 27:24 for the 8K.
"No, no, no, I was not expecting to win," said De Reuck, who took
seven weeks off after the 2004 Athens Olympic Games to let a nagging
hamstring heal up. "I had a long break and was not planning on leading
today, but I found myself up front and I stayed in front. Jen was on
my tail but on the third lap I got a gap going through some mud. The
course became a bit muddy and that made it more of a strength race,
which made a big difference because under dry conditions this can be a
fast course. So I'm happy it rained. "
Running strong and gracefully, De Reuck cruised through the wet grass
and mud to sprint in unchallenged. At the chute, she was greeted by
husband, Darren, and daughter, Tasmin, who gave her mom a curt peck on
the cheek. "Tasmin doesn't like to kiss us when we are sweaty,"
explained De Reuck.
Despite all her awards and honors, winning another national title is
still satisfying for De Reuck, a past world record holder for 10 miles
and 20K on the roads.
"As my career goes on and begins to slip a little bit, I think to
myself how nice it is to win," she said. "Some of the runners I used
to race are no longer competing, and now there is a whole new group of
girls here. Cross country running is my favorite; I was just looking
for a solid race today, to finish in the top six and make the team for
Worlds. So this was enjoyable."
De Reuck is one of the few Americans to have won a medal in a world
cross country championship, taking the bronze in 2002. The following
year, she placed eighth. De Reuck plans on running some road races
after the world championships and then train for a fall marathon.
Metivier miscounts
Renee Metivier is a math major with a near-4.0 grade point average.
Moving up well during the senior women's 8K, Metivier said she was
focusing so much on competing that she thought the third lap was the
final one, when there was in fact another to go. After moving into
fifth, Metivier fell back to finish seventh.
"I didn't give up and gave it a good shot," said Metivier. "There is
no excuse for it, and I learned a good lesson today."
Metivier said there is a 50-50 chance she will run the senior women's
4K race today. The other two races are the junior men's 6K, with CU's
Bradley Harkrader and Chris Pannone competing, and the senior men's
12K, where Boulder's Dathan Ritzenhein is the favorite.
Goucher back
Adam Goucher showed his move from Boulder to Portland last fall is
paying off. Goucher placed second and was his former upbeat, fiery
self afterwards. He said he is healthy and that he and wife, former CU
NCAA champ Kara (Grgas-Wheeler), are happy in the Northwest.
"We still miss Boulder at times, but we like it here and are going to
buy a home," he said.
Goucher was narrowly outkicked by Tim Broe Saturday after the two
dropped early leader Jorge Torres, mile ace Alan Webb, Jonathon Riley
and Charlie Gruber.
"Last year was my worst year running ever," Goucher said. "I feel like
I am back." ...
Torres was a bit disappointed in his race, but ended up just seven
seconds off the leader ... Fourth-place finisher Josh McDougal is only
19. ... Greeting Goucher in the finishing chute was former Boulder
runner Marc Davis, who is now helping coach runners in Portland ...
Another former local elite, Keith Dowling, said there were so many
Boulder runners at the national meet that "it looks like the Pearl
Street Mall here."
Nationals to New York
The 2006 U.S. cross country championships will be hosted by the New
York Road Runners Club and will be held in venerable Van Courtlandt
Park with its famous "Cemetery Hill." That should bring more media
attention and more club runners to the national championships.
"We are thrilled. This is part of our overall goal of helping develop
and promote American runners," said New York Road Runners vice
president Mary Wittenberg.
In addition to the New York City Marathon, the Road Runners put on the
U.S. men's and women's 8K road championships and the women's
Mini-Marathon 10K.
"What we do we do for the sport," said Wittenberg.
ENDS
