Boulder – Elva Dryer broke into a grin as she ran up the hill toward the stadium, grabbing an American flag from a spectator as she went by.
As she entered the final stretch, Dryer waved the flag and practically laughed as she made her way toward the finish line.
Though her family wasn’t among the 35,000 fans in the stadium, she knew they were at home watching and she wanted to enjoy the moment.
Dryer became the fourth American woman in five years to win the Bolder Boulder 10-kilometer run on Monday, pulling away over the final two kilometers to beat Ethiopia’s Merima Hashim by 94 seconds.
“It was really special given the opportunity to run a race like this, being a Colorado girl and knowing my family was at home watching,” said Dryer, who grew up in southern Colorado. “They couldn’t be here, but they were watching on TV and this was just for all the friends and family and all the people who have supported me through the years.”
Gudisa Shentama won the men’s race, pulling away over the final few hundred yards to become the third Ethiopian men’s winner in the 27th version of North America’s third-largest road race.
Shentama ran with a large lead pack for most of the race before distancing himself with countryman Mohammed Awol and Kenyan Thomas Kiplitan over the final few kilometers. Those three stayed bunched together until Shentama made a hard push up the hill into Folsom Field to take home the $3,000 first-place check.
Shentama finished the race in 29 minutes, 21 seconds and Awol passed Kiplitan in the final 50 meters to give Ethiopia the team title.
“We ran as we planned – stay close to the front, break out and hold the front,” said Awol, who was 8 seconds behind Shentama. “I kept my eyes on the Kenyan runners the first part of the race. I didn’t want them to get away. We ran the race as a team.”
So did the women.
The U.S. team was considered one of the favorites before the race, thanks in part to Deena Drossin, a three-time Bolder Boulder winner and a bronze medalist in the marathon at the Athens Olympics.
Drossin injured her foot and had to pull out just a few weeks before the race, leaving the U.S. scrambling to find a replacement.
Dryer had plans to run another race over Memorial Day weekend, but changed so she could help teammates Jen Rhines and Colleen De Reuck.
It worked out well.
Dryer finished in 32:51 as a replacement – fifth-best in race history – and Rhines and De Reuck weren’t too far behind, taking third and fourth to give the team title to the United States. Dryer also did some cheerleading, pumping her fist on the final turn to encourage her trailing teammates.
“It was an opportunity for me to be on a great team and it’s a unique race,” Dryer said. “I’m glad I did it.”
Hashim almost didn’t let her pull it off.
The Ethiopian runner finished in 33:17, the sixth-fastest time ever – not bad considering she ran a 32:14 the night before at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.
“I got away from the group early and I intended to stay in the lead,” Hashim said. “I didn’t have anything left and she ran away from me. Running yesterday in San Francisco hurt me. I didn’t have enough energy.”
