FRW Race History (short version)
In 1979 a small road race was organized on the streets of Albany. It was known as the Run for Life, and that inaugural race drew an impressive 500 women to race over a 10 kilometer course. These days that race is known nationwide as the Freihofer's Run for Women and attracts some of the most outstanding competitors in the world. Olympians, record holders, and athletes who aspire to be both; they have all competed at Freihofer's, compiling a race history that is nothing less than a reflection of the evolution of women's distance running. In this, the 23rd running of the Freihofer's Run for Women, the cumulative total of participants over the years will approach 41,000.
These past 22 years have seen some of the finest 5K (3.1 miles) and 10K (6.2 miles) battles ever to take place on the US road racing scene. Those battles have made the Freihofer's Run for Women one of the most competitive women's events anywhere.
1979
For the first two years of its existence, the race was titled the Freihofer's Run for Life. Two hundred and forty two women contested the inaugural 10K, with over 260 in the 5K. Appropriately, the over-40 10K title went to Nina Kuscik, one of the pioneers of US women's distance running. In contrast, the open 10K national championship title was won by the little known Karin Von Burg from Ithaca, NY who defeated Jane Welzel from Amherst, MA by almost half a minute.
1980
The 1980 Freihofer's 10K field was among the most competitive ever assembled in the USA, boasting Lisa and Lesley Welch, Judi St Hilaire, Kathy McIntyre, Nancy Conz, Ellen Hart and Marty Cooksey. Dana Slater took the title, though. A Poughkeepsie native living in New York City, she shattered Von Berg's winning time of twelve months previously by loping to a 33:26 victory.
1981
The Freihofer's Run for Life this year became the Freihofer's Run for Women. Although Nancy Conz ran the 10K 32 seconds slower than her 34:25 from last year (fifth position), in unseasonably hot weather it was sufficient to give her a winning margin of over one and a half minutes.
1982
Jacqueline Gareau of Canada became the first non-US competitor to win the Freihofer's Run for Women 10K. In cold, blustery conditions, though, the AAU championship title - confined to US citizens - went to second placed finisher, Kathy Boyle of New Lebanon. Diana Richburg captured the 5K for the second year in succession, confirming her status as one of the top high school competitors in the country.
1983
Ireland's Regina Joyce came face to face with adversity and overcame it in style. While leading the race, she was struck by a car. Thankfully, she was uninjured and powered the rest of the way around the 10K course to inflict a seven second defeat on Judi St Hilaire. Their respective times were 33:35 and 33:42. Over 500 women completed the 10K course in wet and windy conditons.
1984
The finest field in the history of the Freihofer's Run for Women was enticed by $20,000 in prize money and greeted by weather conditions more suited to December than April. Snow and wind buffeted the course but did nothing to prevent Betty Springs from Raleigh, NC from destroying Dana Slater's 1980 10K course record with a winning time of 32:50. A slightly modified course brought the start and finish to Madison Avenue near the New York State Museum. Denise Herman from Saratoga Springs was the first of 766 finishers in the 5K with a time of 18:06.
1985
The race was moved from its customary date in April to May 16th in order to avoid the unsettled Spring weather of previous years. Betty Springs, the defending champion, and Francie Larrieu-Smith responded by producing the closest 10K finish in Freihofer's history. As they raced across the line both athletes were so close that they were given the same time, a course record of 32:14, and a tie was declared. The first and second place prize money was combined and divided, giving Springs and Larrieu-Smith $4500 each. Behind Springs and Larrieu-Smith, Lynn Jennings and Lesley Welch also surpassed the old course record, making this the fastest Freihofer's so far.
1986
Betty Springs ran one second faster than last year and won the 10K by 19 seconds. In the 80 degree heat and oppressive humidity, Springs' time was outstanding. For the first year a wheelchair race was added to the day's program. Starting ten minutes ahead of the 10K championship, victory went to Brenda Zajac of Tampa, Florida who rolled an impressive 34:20.
1987
Having decided on Freihofer's as her only road race of the spring, 26 year-old Lynn Jennings from New Market, NH stormed away from the field just after the one mile mark and proceeded to win the 10K by a mammoth 53 seconds in 32:19. Of the slow first mile, Jennings commented, "I wasn't even breathing hard. I do some of my training runs at that pace."
1988
Lynn Jennings proved herself to be the supreme road warrior kicking to a 10K win over Patty Murray from Park Ridge Illinois. Jennings received $5000 and a Honda CRX HF, while Murray claimed a cool $4000. The over-40 was especially intriguing, as Laurie Binder from Oakland, CA took first place honors, despite the presence of her two greatest rivals, Gabrielle Andersen and Barbara Filutze, and despite having contested the Olympic Trials marathon four weeks previously. A new event on this year's program was the Freihofer's Run for Kids which attracted 300 children between the ages of two and 12.
1989
The 5K became the featured event, and Judi St Hilaire from Fall River, MA flew across the finish line in 15:26, the fastest road time in history by an American woman and just six seconds shy of the world best. With the total from the 5K and 10K races reaching 2300, this was the largest Freihofer's Run for Women in the event's history. A Community Walk was also added to the schedule, with 400 participants completing as many half mile laps around the Empire State Plaza's Reflecting Pool in two hours as they could.
1990
Over 1700 women charged away from the starting line in the 5K, but only two were close at the front as the finish line came into view. Lynn Jennings, the 1988 10K champion, had to outkick Orgeon radio DJ Leann Warren to take the title by three seconds in 15:31. The Community Walk saw 900 local citizens circle the Empire State Plaza, while 1500 youngsters scampered through the Run for Kids.
1991
5K course record holder, Judi St Hilaire from Fall River, MA, returned to take a 15:41 victory. But it was the over-40 race that provided the drama. Nancy Oshier from Rush, NY led from the start and only realized with half a mile remaining that Jane Hutchison from Joplin, MO was on her heels. Hutchison surged past, but Oshier clawed back into the lead with just 10 yards remaining to take the $1000 first prize.
1992
The 5K field had an international flavor with runners from Brazil, England, Holland, Belarus, Portugal and New Zealand filling out the elite field. England's Jill Hunter was the favorite, but Brazil's Carmen de Oliveira took the race in a time of 15:39. The Brazilian went on to become one of the dominant competitors on the international road racing circuit.
1993
Lynn Jennings returned and lived up to expectation by dominating the 5K in cool conditions, although she failed in her objective of erasing Judi St Hilaire's course record of 15:26. Jennings' popularity in Albany was indicated by the hundreds who appeared for Friday's standing-room only Motivational Running Clinic which the Olympic silver medalist hosted. In the masters' competition, Carol McLatchie from Houston, TX scorched to a 16:51 victory, the second fastest time ever by a US woman over 40.
1994
Is there anyone who can get the better of Lynn Jennings? Seemingly not. She claimed her fifth Freihofer's title - and her second consecutive - with a powerful display that left second placed Gina Procaccio 15 seconds in arrears. "I felt really comfortable," Jennings enthused afterward. "I was really fit and ready to run. I kept thinking, 'I'm running well. I really have a shot at the course record'." But Jennings' time of 15:37 missed the course record and the $5000 bonus that would have accompanied it. Masters' star Carol McLatchie wrenched her back the evening before the race, leaving the way open for the unheralded Joanne Scianna from Saugus, MA to take victory in 17:32.
1995
Lynn Jennings proved indomitable once again, this time in a more demonstrative fashion than she ever had before. Despite a mid-race stumble while running in the footsteps of leader, Olga Appell, Jennings sprinted to a victory in a course record time of 15:24. This time sliced three seconds from the old course best and also represented an improvement on the fastest time ever recorded by a US competitor in a women's-only race. "There's a good lesson here," explained Jennings. "Never give up." In the over-40 category, Jane Welzel - a new arrival in the masters' ranks - defeated the more seasoned Carol McLatchie, 17:06 to 17:31.
1996
Lynn Jennings could rightly lay claim to owning a 3.1 mile stretch of Albany, NY real estate - to be precise, the length of asphalt comprising the Freihofer's Run for Women course. Prior to 1996, Jennings had won this race no less than six times and, in 1995, had set new course- and US women-only figures of 15:24. This year Jennings forged up the gradual incline that comprises the opening mile. At once she held a margin of five meters on the field. Anne Marie Lauck challenged hard in the middle of the race but, with the finish line coming into sight, Jennings made her move. And when Jennings kicked for home, the race was over. Jennings sprinted home in 15:21 with Lauck second in 15:24. The over-40 race was just as intriguing. Jane Welzel from Colorado raced to a 15th overall position in a time of 16:28, 23 seconds up on the surprising Alice Thurau from Fisher PA.
1997
Lynn Jennings returned to take one more Freihofer's title, but this time the laurels went to the emerging Elva Dryer from Albuquerque, NM. Dryer ran tactically throughout the race and injected a devastating surge with three-quarters of a mile remaining that decided the outcome immediately. Jennings had to work hard to hold off local favorite, Cheri Goddard, as they took second and third respectively. Star of the day, though, was over-40 winner, Ruth Wysocki, who scorched to a 10th place overall finish in a new world record of 16:06.
1998
The Freihofer's Run for Women celebrates its 20th Anniversary with its largest field yet: 3,383 women strong. At the head of the field, where she normally finds herself was multi-time champion Lynn Jennings. This time Lynn had plenty of company in a group which included local favorite Cherri Goddard-Kenah, Libbie Hickman and others. A few runners tried to push the pace early to collect on the one and two mile time bonuses ($1,000 at each point), but it soon became clear a tactical battle lay ahead. As the runners exited Washington Park for the last time for the sprint down Madison Avenue, it was done to Jennings, Goddard-Kenah and Hickman. At the top of the hill Jennings kicked into another gear as she has done so many times at Freihofer's and left Goddard-Kenah and Hickman to fight it out for second third. After a one year absence, Lynn Jennings returned to her throne as the USA Women's 5K National Champion.
1999
With one of the strongest Run for Women fields ever assembled in Albany, local favorite Cheri Goddard-Kenah finally became the hometown hero after a string of near defeats. With a crowd of more than 20,000 cheering her name as she headed down Madison Avenue for the finish line, Goddard-Kenah narrowly outlasted Libbie Hickman, of Fort Collins, CO in a time of 15:31. Said Goddard-Kenah, “Somebody on the hill said I had 10 feet on her and I was trying to save a little for the finish. I didn’t realize she was that close.” Joining Goddard-Kenah in the open field were an additional 3,266 registrants. Carmen Ayala-Troncoso, 40, of Austin, Texas claimed her first Freihofer’s master’s title in a time of 16:37, while Ruth Wysocki of Canyon Lake, CA was second in the Master’s division and 28th overall in 17:15.
2000
For Hickman, the third trip to Albany was a charming experience, as she finished paying her dues through the Freihofers 3-2-1 "food chain" by winning the 22nd annual competition in a time of 15:35. It was much more enchanting than her previous two trips to Albany where she came a close third to Jennings and Kenah in 1998, and finished just in Kenah's winning shadow in 1999. In the master’s race defending champion Carmen Troncoso, 42, from Austin, TX, emerged victorious again in a time of 16:26. Three seconds behind her was Judi St Hilaire, 40, from Somerset, MA, the woman who won the open division in 1989 in a course record of 15:26, and who took the crown again in 1991.
2001
Fifty-two degree weather and intermittent rain didn't deter a record field of more than 3,500 competitors signing up for this year's Freihofer's Run for Women. Collette Liss (28, Valparaiso, IN) emerged as the winner after a race in which she controlled the field from the gun, turning back challenges from last year's second and third place finishers, Blake Russell (25, Medford, MA) and Sylvia Mosqueda (35, Los Angeles, CA). Liss reached the finish line in a time of 15:47 with Russell second (15:58) and Mosqueda third (15:59). Past open winner, Judi St Hilaire, dominated a world class master's field, racing to the line in 16:18. Second placed Mary Knisely was nine seconds in arrears.
2002
None could match the combination of speed and strength exhibited by Marla Runyan, as the 33-year-old Oregonian stormed to a nine-second victory in a time of 15 minutes, 27 seconds - the fourth fastest in Freihofer's history. Runyan is legally blind. Runyan's inability to see the route clearly may have cost her the course record — 15:24 set by Lynn Jennings back in 1995. Throughout the winding third mile in Washington Park, Runyan held the mid-line of the road, following the lead vehicles, rather than cutting the tangents, as those following were doing. The masters' title went to 40-year-old Joan Nesbit-Mabe from Chapel Hill, NC, a third place finisher in the open race back in 1996.
2003
Marla Runyan made all the right moves through the downtown streets of Albany on her way to defending her USA 5k Championship at the Freihofer’s Run For Women. She broke the tape in 15:25, just a shoelace behind Lynn Jennings’ 15:24 course record (1995). In the master’s race, also the USA 5km Master’s National Championship, Carmen Ayala-Troncoso took the lead early and never relinquished it, earning her third master’s (’99, ’00 and 2003) title in a time of 16:47. Her victory, in her 12th appearance at Freihofer’s, ties the great Barbara Filutze who claimed three masters wins in 1990, 1992, and 1993.
2004
For the third straight year Marla Runyan dominated the field at the USA 5 km National Championship hosted by the 26th Freihofer’s Run For Women in Albany, NY. The 2000 Olympian came torturously close to Jennings’ course record of 15:24, stopping the clock this time at “15:25.something” which rounds up to 15:26. Meanwhile, Colleen De Reuck, in her first year in the master’s division, grabbed the headlines with her 3rd place 15:47 finish. In doing so she destroyed Ruth Wysocki’s 16:06 set at Freihofer’s in 1997 and, just for good measure, a pending 15:55 world record set by Russia’s Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova in 2003.
2005
The 27th annual Freihofer's Run for Women 5K was open to non-US runners for the first time since 1992. And it turned out to be all about 28 year-old Asmae Leghzaoui from Morocco. Leghzaoui had been on a barn-storming campaign since her return from a two-year suspension for EPO use. In Albany, therefore, the question was not so much if she would win, but if she would better the 10-year-old course record of 15:24 belonging to Lynn Jennings. That question was quickly answered. A mile split of 5:00 saw Leghzaoui with a 20m gap, a margin she extended all the way to the line. Blasting through the finishing tape she stopped the clock at 15:18, a massive six-second improvement on Jennings' venerable mark.
Asked about the controversy that surrounded her appearance here - four runners, including Kenyan star Lornah Kiplagat, and 2004 World Cross-Country champion, Benita Johnson from Australia, withdrew in protest - the winner commented, "A mistake like that (her EPO use) will never go away. It will always be a fingerprint. But this will give me some motivation. When I speak publicly about what I have done, there is a sense of relief for me."
Carmen Troncoso, 46, running her 15th Freihofer's Run for Women, won the USA Masters' 5K National Championship with a time of 17:07 that placed her 18th overall.
2006
Albany, NY (June 3, 2006) — Lornah Kiplagat (32) was the favorite for this year’s race, having dominated almost every race she had run this year. At the tape, however, it was Australia's Benita Johnson who prevailed. Nine Olympians were on the starting line, but hopes of an improvement of Asmae Leghzaoui's 2005 course record (15:18) were dashed by torrential rains.
Kiplagat charged immediately to the forefront, opening a stride lead on the main pack within the first 400m and 10 meters within the first half-mile, but with Johnson immediately in her wake. Despite the soggy conditions, the first mile was passed in 4:58. At this stage, this was purely a two-woman race. The chasing pack — including Amy Rudolph (Providence, RI), Dorota Guca (POL), Lineth Chepkirui (KEN), Sally Barsosio (KEN) and course record holder Legzhaoui (MAR) — were 20 meters back and fading.
Natalya Berkut (31) from Ukraine, however, was determined that this would not remain just a two woman race. A 2004 Olympian at 10,000m, she was a proven quantity, though one running under the radar. The leaders' sensors picked her right up, though, as she charged through the second mile, closing the gap entirely so that, by mile two (10:06), a two-woman race was suddenly three.
Neither Kiplagat nor johnson responded perceptibly to the appearance of a new contender. With three quarters of a mile remaining, approaching the exit from Washington Park, Kiplagat, surprisingly, began to fall adrift. At once, she lost 10 meters and, once again, this was a two-woman race. It was only with 200m remaining that the winner was decided. With the line and $10,000 immediately before her, Johnson fired up the afterburners and decided the result with a panache that enlivened the rain-soaked crowd assembled near the finish. Johnson's winning time of 15:27 gave her a two second margin over Berkut. Kiplagat placed an isolated third in 15:47.
In the masters’ race, for women aged 40 and over, Freihofer's legend, Carmen Troncoso (Austin, TX) prevailed yet again, defending the title she won in 2005. Troncoso's time of 17:11 placed her 19th overall in this, her 15th Albany appearance. In total, it was her fifth victory in the masters competition.
2007
From a field of 3,123 world-class road racers, defending champion Benita Johnson (AUS) outpaces 2005 winner and course record-holder (15:18) Asmae Leghzaoui (MAR) to claim her second Freihofer’s Run for Women title. Her time of 15:22 is five seconds faster than 2006, and the third fastest winning time in Freihofer’s history. The over-40 competition is also a hard-fought contest.
Canadian pro triathlete, Lucy Smith, edges Russia’s Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova by 11 seconds to win her first master’s title in a time of 16:32.
