Date: Fri 29-Aug-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: KIMH

Quick Words:

Bee-Race-1997

Full Text:

1997 Newtown Bee Race

B Y K IM J. H ARMON

There was no rain. No Kenyans. No Tanzanians or Russian coaches on vacation in

the United States. It seemed as if nothing would keep Sergio Ribeiro from

repeating as the Newtown Bee 10k Road Race champion.

And nothing did.

Oh, it was nip and tuck there for a little bit, between the third- and

four-mile mark, as Nelson Rocha moved out in front and made a bid to unseat

Ribeiro from his status as defending champion.

But that lasted for just a heartbeat or two, maybe a dozen strides, because

Ribeiro - who admitted that he had lost his focus for a bit - found another

inner well of fuel and left Rocha to breathe his exhaust for the final stretch

run down Brushy Hill Road.

Ribeiro crossed the finish in 31:51.14, a little less than six seconds before

Rocha, and - amazingly - nine seconds off the pace he ran a year ago under the

onslaught of torrential rains.

"Today was so humid," said Ribeiro, "I have a headache. You know, the rains

help a little bit, keep you comfortable. But this has been better than days

before."

Ribeiro - who won the Comcast Twilight 5k Run on August 16, the Rocking

Rooster 5k on June 7, and the O'Brien Memorial on January 1 - led the race

almost wire to wire. But Rocha, who is a familiar shadow to Ribeiro in area

road races, made his bid on Brushy Hill.

A bid that lasted just a few seconds.

"Most of the races during the year," said Ribeiro, "we run together. He is so

close to me. Today he was good. Between the third and fourth mile, I lose my

mind a little bit. He was coming close, pushing a little bit. After that I

think I woke up, got on my pace again, and went to the end."

Rocha - who won the DeMille Firecracker 5k on July 4 - couldn't keep pace with

Ribeiro after that. The extra burst that Ribeiro put on to distance himself

from Rocha widened the gulf to almost 100 yards at one point, but Rocha was

still able to finish only six seconds after Ribeiro.

It was the closest finish in some time.

"You never know," said Ribeiro. "Coming closer, you never know if he was going

to beat me. But I'm so happy I was able to beat him."

Like always, the initial climb up Point O'Rocks Road separated the real

challengers from the rest of the pack. Ribeiro and Rocha took off ahead of the

swarm and were dogged for quite some time by a third runner who stayed just

off the pace, but was running hard to keep up.

Along Boggs Hill, though, Ribeiro and Rocha turned it into a two-man race,

with Ribeiro out in front and Rocha drafting along behind. Mandel Leal, who

ended up taking third, was over three minutes behind the duo.

It stayed that was along Boggs Hill and over to Platts Mill and the big climb

to the top of Platts Mill did nothing to change that. But while starting down

Brushy Hill, the race became tight.

The five-second differential was the second-closest finish in Bee 10k history.

In 1985, Bob Hensley and Mike Ambrose were separated by just one second. Two

years ago, Farid Haillen of Russia defeated Peter Simon of Tanzania by

slightly more than six seconds.

Last year, Ribeiro defeated Rachid Tbahi by 11 seconds.

This year, the Danbury runner said he has his focus set on the marathon and

the all the training he has been doing in preparation has tired him out. But

when Rocha slid into first for a bit, tired or no, Ribeiro found a way to win.

A Rookie Wins

When Darlene Gillotti was thinking about running the Newtown Bee 10k for the

first time, people she works with - who have run the race - said the course

was a little hilly.

A little hilly?

The 6.22-mile track has brutal climbs up Point O'Rocks and Platts Mill Road

and to describe it as a little hilly would, in the estimation of race

veterans, seem a little soft-pedaled.

"This was a tough one," said Gillotti, 35, the first female finisher, who came

in 54th overall at 44:24.83. She finished over a minute ahead of her nearest

competitor, Elizabeth Thompson, who crossed the finish line at 45:35.44.

Gillotti, who listened to a walkman while running the course ("Sometimes it

distracts me, so I don't think about how tired I am," she said), liked the

course enough to think about coming back.

"I just saw it in the paper and said, I'm going to run this one," she said.

"It was between this and the Mad Dash, which I ran last year. Someone told me

it was hilly, a good workout. I liked it."

The winning time this year, though, was slightly less than seven minutes off

the winning pace set a year ago by Sue Faber of Oxford, whose first-place

finish came 11 years after her first Newtown Bee 10k victory.

In other divisions, Tom Marks of New Milford was High School Male division

champ, coming in 8th overall at 37:58.78. Pat Dennen of Newtown High School

was second in the division, 11th overall, at 38:24.14.

Emily Marks came in first in the High School Female division, finishing 90th

overall at 48:18.76. She finished less than a second ahead of Libby Covelli,

who crossed the line at 48:19.52.

There were 170 finishers in the 13th running of the Newtown Bee 10k, the 170th

being Dana Robinson, racing in the high school division, who crossed the

finish line in 1:14:46.08.