http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2015/nov/09/1109_stockadesidebar/
Yonas Mebrahtu of Flagstaff,Ariz.,was the overall winner at
the 40th annual Stockade-athon Sunday in Schenectady
By Mike MacAdam
Monday, November 9, 2015
Stockade-athon: Mebrahtu's next goal is citizenship
SCHENECTADY — Yonas Mebrahtu couldn’t precisely explain the lineage, other than to say that he’s not a first cousin to Eritrean countryman Meb Keflezighi.
Mebrahtu calls Keflezighi a cousin, but no matter how closely they’re related by blood, the winner of Sunday’s MVP Health Care Stockade-athon is trying to follow in the footsteps of the international marathon star, who ran a 2:13:32 at the New York City Marathon last Sunday to break the U.S. masters record.
And not just as an elite runner.
Like Keflezighi, the 27-year-old Mebrahtu wants to become a U.S. citizen, and he is on the verge of doing so, perhaps as soon as next week. Timing is crucial to the 27-year-old Iowa State graduate, because he would like to be naturalized soon enough to be in position to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February.
He certainly has raced fast enough to make the trials, running several half marathons under the 1:05 standard in the last
two years, including a 1:03:59 in New York in March, where he last spoke with Keflezighi in person.
“I’m going to be a citizen soon,” Mebrahtu said. “I’m just waiting to take the exam. This race is 15k and will help me for
the American trials in February.
“When I get to be a citizen, the next day, I have to race. I don’t care which one, any race I can qualify. That’s my dream, to do that. I ran 2:15 [in a marathon] when I was 18, I’m OK with long distance, I train with good runners, I know my body, so I’m not really worried.”
Mebrahtu has lived in Flagstaff, Ariz., for the last two years, since he graduated from Iowa State, where he ran distances
from a mile to 5,000 meters in indoor and outdoor track.
He said he and Keflezighi sometimes text back and forth after races, like last weekend, when Mebrahtu was racing in
New Jersey while Keflezighi, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist for the U.S., was in New York.
“I told him, ‘Good job,’ ” Mebrahtu said.
Like Keflezighi, Mebrahtu sees America as a land of opportunity.
It has already provided him with an education; now he would like to explore the possibility of running for the Stars and Stripes.
“I lead a good life, so I’d like to become a citizen so I can make good money, too, and change my life,” he said. “Eritrea is a small country, 4-5 million people. It’s kind of difficult. You don’t get these opportunities. It’s my country, I love it, but there’s a good life here.”
MINDEL hits 40
Mark Mindel, who helped design the original Stockade-athon course when the race was inaugurated in 1976, finished in
1:53:18 to keep his streak alive of never having missed running a Stockade-athon.
He said afterward that No. 40 may have been the last one. We’ll see.
The Stockade-athon drew a total of 1,568 finishers, the first time in five years that that number has dipped below 1,600.
Of those, 825 were female, with an average age of 39.6, and 743 were male, with an average age of 43.6.
http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2015/nov/08/davidson-mebrahtu-win-stockade-athon/
UPDATED (with results link): Davidson, Mebrahtu win Stockade-athon
By Mike MacAdam November 8, 2015 | Updated 9:52 a.m.
SCHENECTADY — Former Saratoga Springs High star Hannah Davidson won her second Stockade-athon 15k in three years this morning, posting a sharp 51:19 to beat women's runner-up Salome Kosgei by 58 seconds.
Davidson finished 15th overall behind men's winner Yonas Mebrahtu of Flagstaff, Ariz., who broke away from the lead pack at 5k and covered the 9.3-mile course in 46:10 on a bright but windy day for the 40th anniversary of the race.
A 2007 cross country state champion for Saratoga, Davidson said the Stockade-athon should be a good steppingstone to the Philadelphia Half Marathon in two weeks. She won the Stockade-athon in 2013 with a time of 54:12 before finishing second to Megan Hogan on the faster, newly configured course last year.
"It’s awesome. I love coming back," Davidson said. "It’s a perfect set-up for Philly. This got me excited for the half."
The 27-year-old Mebrahtu is a native of Eritrea, a small country in the Horn of Africa, and ran for Iowa State University until he graduated two years ago. He expects to gain U.S. citizenship by the end of the month and wants to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials next February.
By the four-mile mark of the Stockade-athon, he had a 17-second lead over Sam Morse and Thomas Young, with Eric Macknight not far behind them.
Macknight was able to pass Morse and Young to finish second 31 seconds behind Mebrahtu in 46:41, and Morse (46:45) and Young (46:49) sprinted through the finish line not far behind.
"At the beginning it was very slow, and the wind was very challenging and the course is hilly, so when I could see I wasn’t going to break the course record, I just tried to win," Mebrahtu said.
>From humble origins,the Schenectady race has grown to over 1,600 finishers the last four years and is considered one of the best 15k road races in the country. A total of 1,568 runners finished the race today. Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic gold medalist in the marathon, served as official starter to help commemorate the anniversary.
Below are the top 10 men and women and a link to the complete overall results:
MEN
1. Yonas Mebrahtu (27, Flagstaff, Ariz.), 46:10
2. Eric Macknight (26, Ballston Lake), 46:41
3. Sam Morse (32, Camden), 46:45
4. Thomas Young (35, Fort Lee, N.J.), 46:49
5. John Busque (23, Manchester, Conn.), 47:34
6. Conor Cashin (23, Albany), 47:43
7. Jaime Julia (31, Albany), 48:25
8. Kiplangat Tisia (26, Rochester), 48:42
9. Ryan Millar (24, Clinton), 48:44
10. Scott Mindel (29, Ballston Lake), 49:21
WOMEN
1. Hannah Davidson (25, Saratoga Springs), 51:19
2. Salome Kosgei (35, Highfalls), 52:17
3. Jodie Robertson (31, Melville), 53:59
4. Karen Bertasso (31 Albany), 56:10
5. Katie O’Regan (30, Lititz, Pa.), 56:29
6. Renee Tolan (41, Clifton Park), 57:12
7. Sara Dunham (39, Plattsburgh), 57:56
8. Brittany Burns (27, Watertown), 57:58
9. Diane Ryan (33, Malta), 58:58
10. Kimberly Milton (33, Clifton Park), 59:09
http://media.dailygazette.com/img/photos/2015/11/08/StockadeAthon01__t650.jpg?5711a3b57decb389a12ba40e20471e031ff69545
Yonas Mebrahtu of Flagstaff, Ariz., was the overall winner at the 40th annual Stockade-athon Sunday in Schenectady
Received on Mon Nov 09 2015 - 05:58:01 EST
