BOULDER — You can add two Ethiopian runners to the list of people with gripes about the airlines.
The countrymen, Dmessew Tsega and Gebo Berka, gave proper credit to Morocco’s Ridouane Har- roufi for his second consecutive Bolder Boulder triumph Monday.
But, no, the two Ethiopians weren’t done any favors by the airline responsible for getting them to Boulder, an odyssey that included 36 stranded hours without food in London’s Heathrow Airport.
“We were a little tired getting here,” Tsega said through an interpreter.
Tsega, who finished second, one second behind Harroufi, still pocketed $3,500 for his trip, and Berka received $3,000 for finishing third. But the mechanical problems that stranded them in London didn’t allow them to get to Boulder until Thursday, and the lost time adjusting to the altitude here could have been a factor at the end.
And it was an exciting finish to the men’s elite race. Harroufi was trailing the two Ethiopians at the 5-mile mark, but his tremendous kick gave him the first feel of the finishing tape. Harroufi, who finished in 28 minutes, 32 seconds and won $4,500, said his strategy was indeed a tortoise-and-hare one.
“I stayed back a little to watch them and then wanted to make my move at the end,” Harroufi said. “I’m very happy to win again. I plan on training even harder for next year, to make it three in a row.”
Harroufi passed Berka on the downhill stretch leading into Folsom Field to become the first back-to-back men’s Bolder Boulder winner since Kenya’s Thomas Osano in 1991 and 1992.
“I thought they might be a little tired at the end,” Harroufi said. “They got off to a very fast start for a 10K.”
The cool temperature allowed Harroufi to post the third-fastest time in the 30-year history of the race.
“The conditions might have not been good for the spectators,” Har- roufi said. “But for the runners, it was very, very good. It would be nice to have it like that every race.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
