Boulder – Berhanu Adane had just run 10 kilometers at altitude, and it was as if he had just gotten out of a recliner.
No shortness of breath. Dry singlet.
Imagine when the native of Ethiopia becomes more acclimated to training for marathons.
“He’s shifting to marathons,” said Adane’s coach, Yilma Berta. “He’s getting more used to that now. He’ll go to the San Diego Marathon next week and see what will happen then.”
The fact that Adane’s winning time of 29 minutes, 37 seconds Monday in the 28th Bolder Boulder was the slowest since 1988 did not lessen his smile. He beat Mexico’s Alejandro Suarez by two seconds for his second win in Boulder, the previous coming in 1999.
“It was a close race,” Adane said, through an interpreter. “I am very happy to win it again. It’s a great race, a very nice city to be in.”
Adane pulled away from Suarez near the end, overtaking him up the hill before heading into Folsom Field.
“He had the experience before of winning here,” Berta said. “He knows the (course). He waited until the hill. Mostly in Ethiopia, we have hill training. So, it’s nothing for him.”
Adane trains at roughly 2,400 feet above sea level in Ethiopia. He still had no trouble with the Boulder altitude of nearly 3,000 feet higher.
Adane also overcame some recent Achilles tendon injuries, along with a knee problem.
“I feel good now,” Adane said. “The weather was good, the course was good. I’m happy.”
Adane, 28, won $3,000 with his victory, with Suarez taking home $2,000. Albuquerque’s Brandon Leslie was the highest American men’s finisher, seventh in 30:10.
Adane managed to wear the correct singlet this time. In his 1999 victory, Adane had to borrow a singlet from another runner to match his Ethiopian teammates.
Adrian Dater can be reached
at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com.
