2019 BOLDERBoulder Elite Race

The 2019 International Team Challenge at the BOLDERBoulder 10K

Kenya’s Benard Ngeno set the pace from about the get-go, running a 4:20 for the first mile in eventually winning with a 28:29 time, the eighth-fastest in BB history (his others splits were 4:35, 4:43, 4:39, 4:32 and 4:43, as he also recorded the fastest miles for the 2, 3, 4, and 5-mile marks. Ethiopia’s Terefa Delesa ran the fastest 6-mile split at 4:32. It is the third-fastest time this millennium (last year’s winner won in 28:18). His 29-second margin of victory is the largest since
2001, when Kenyans James Koskei and Joseph Kimani finished 1-2, but in 29:00 and 29:29.

Ethiopia’s Hiwot Yemer edged teammate Meseret Tola for the title, winning in 32:49, which tied for the 11th fastest time in race history; Tola’s clocking of 32:55 is the 16th-fastest. This marked the fifth-time there were multiple sub-33 minute times, joining 1999 (four), 1995 (two), 2008 (two) and 2011 (two). USA’s Aliphine Tuliamuk posted the 18th-fastest time (33:00), which is the third-fastest by a USA runner (trailing Elva Dryer, 32:51 in 2005 and Deena Drossin, 32:56 in 1999).

The  Ethiopia men won for the 10th time in 22 International Team competitions (second straight), edging Tanzania by two points, tied for the third closest margin (last done in 2017, when the United States edged Ethiopia by two). Kenya, which has won seven men’s titles, finished sixth, it’s lowest-ever (sans two years when it didn’t have one runner finish); however, with  Bernard Ngeno winning, it marks the first time a team that finished as low as sixth had the individual champion (Morocco finished fifth in 2008 with the winner, and fourth in 2007 as well); all other years the winner has been in the top three. The  Ethiopian women won for the 13th time (10th in the last 11 years—finished second in 2016); the 16-point win over team U.S.A. Red was the second-largest in team competition history; trailing only a 26-point win by the U.S.A. over Romania in 2002 (it was the fifth time Ethiopia had a double-digit winning margin … Both U.S.A. teams (men and women) were scored as follows: first three finishers comprised the “Red” team; the second three the “White” team and the final three the “Blue” team.

Men’s Team Standings
ETHIOPIA  (2-7-11) 20
TANZANIA (3-5-14) 22
ERITREA (4-12-13) 29
BAHRAIN (6-10-15) 31
U.S.A. RED (8-9-16) 33
KENYA (1-20-21) 42
U.S.A. WHITE (17-18-19) 54
MEXICO (22-28-29) 79
U.S.A. BLUE (24-25-31) 80
JAPAN (26-27-34) 87
SOUTH AMERICA (23-30-35) 88
RWANDA (32-33-36) 101

Women’s Team Standings
ETHIOPIA (1-2-5) 8
U.S.A. RED  (3-10-11) 24
KENYA (4-6-19) 29
JAPAN  (7-9-21) 37
U.S.A. WHITE (12-13-15) 40
PAN AFRICA  (8-14-27) 49
U.S.A. BLUE (17-18-24) 59
BRAZIL (20-22-23 65)
MEXICO (16-25-3)0 71
LATIN AMERICA (26-28-29) 83