Boilermaker Road Race: Women's 15K comes down to final steps as new champions crowned

UTICA ― A familiar name finished at the front of the Boilermaker 15K field Sunday, but it was not the one spectators may have been expecting.

John Korir, the 27-year-old runner-up at his first run through the streets of Utica last year, won the race this time, finishing ahead of Jemal Yimer, his Kenyan countryman and a record-setting winner the last two years. Both runners bear Yimer's 2022 time, but Korir was five seconds off the 2023 record with his winning time of 42 minutes, 10.04 seconds.

Korir, the 2021 and 2022 Los Angeles Marathon winner, is not the same John Korir who won the 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004 Boilermaker. He is the younger brother of Wesley Korir, also a two-time Los Angeles Marathon champion, and the winner of the 2012 Boston Marathon.

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Yimer, also 27, won the 2023 Los Angeles Marathon.

Korir defeated Yimer by more than eight seconds, a margin similar to Yimer's win last year. There was a gap of almost one full minute between them and the third finisher, Wesley Kiptoo.

"It feels good," Korir said, comparing the finish this year to last year. "It's nice (to see) all the people out cheering."I'm looking forward to coming back next year," he added.

Almost 8,000 runners completed the longer race Sunday, with more than 3,600 others running the 5K event earlier in the morning and finishing in the same location in front of the F.X. Matt Brewery. The early races started at about 65 degrees but the temperature climbed steadily through the morning and reached the mid 70s with 15K runners continuing to finish.

"When you race, you don't feel that much," Biya Simbassa, the first American 15K finisher, said of the heat and humidity on the course. "After you finish, that's when you feel it."

The Ethiopian-born Simbassa came to the United States as a child and is now based in Flagstaff, Arizona. Having run the Boilermaker previously in 2022, he finished in 43:52.48 Sunday and placed eighth.

"This is not an easy course," he said.

Boilermaker newcomer wins women's 15K

Grace Nawowuna was crowned as the Boilermaker female 15K winner after edging Emmaculate Anya Achol at the finish line.

Nawowuna won by a margin of less than .2 seconds, with the two breaking the ribbon side-by side in 49:17.82 and 49:18.00. Both were born in Kenya and now run out of West Chester, Pennsylvania.

"In my mind, I didn't expect to win," Nawowuna admitted after the race.

Cynthia Jerotic Limo, a third Kenyan, was just over one second behind Achol at the finish, with defending champion Jesca Chelangat fourth, 17 seconds back.

Annamaria Kostarellis, a Rochester native from Arkansas, was the top American finisher in eighth place. She, too, was running the Boilermaker for the first time.

"I heard about (the Boilermaker) growing up," said Kostarellis. "When I thought about taking a trip back home, this seemed like an opportunity to represent Rochester."

Kostarellis added the Boilermaker to her schedule after she withdrew from the U.S. Olympic trials with an ill-timed injury; the former Baylor University runner had planned to compete in the 10,000-meter run. The Boilermaker experience did not disappoint.

"It was so exciting," she added. "I love the energy. I love the community.

"I hope (to return). Please have me back."

Newcomers win 5K

Like Kostarellis, Brendan Carter from Watertown, Massachusetts, and Annika Hurley from Glastonbury, Connecticut, made their Boilermaker debuts as winners of the men's and women's 5K, respectively.

The 27-year-old Carter paced the men at 15:37.88 with tough competition from Deansboro's Dan Casatelli, a junior-to-be at Waterville High School. Casatelli, 16, ran the 15K last year in just over 62 minutes, but opted for the shorter race this year as he builds back up after a month off following the high school track season.

Carter was running "the shortest race I've done in a while," admitting he was too late signing up to get into the 15K field. He made the trip to Utica while meeting up with a friend from Cobleskill, and used another runner early in the race to help guide him on an unfamiliar course.

"About two miles in, I'd kept my eyes on and knew his body language," Carter said. "When I passed him, I wanted to make sure that was the only time."

Carter took the lead on a downhill and led the rest of the way.

Hurley did enter the 15k but switched to the 5K. Friends of her boyfriend attend SUNY-Brockport and are Boilermaker regulars.

"I decided to join them this year," she said. "It was a lot of fun."

Hurley completed the course in 19:02.26, with a winning margin of 1:45 as the only female to break 20 minutes. Katie Laris of Clay ran second with Connie Allen from New Jersey third.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Boilermaker Road Race: Women's 15K comes down to final steps as new champions crowned