Posted on July 9: Old-time distance running meet displays 25 laps of pain

McMaster's track will be the site of one of the fastest 10,000 metre events on Canadian soil today.

The Hamilton High Performance 10,000 Meter Footrace features 10 Americans, seven Canadians, four Kenyans and one runner from the Congo. The race gets under way at 9 p.m.

“Old-time distance running makes a return to McMaster,” says meet director Peter Self. “Twenty-five laps of pain will be on display Wednesday night from this high-quality field.”

The top seed for the event is Peter Ntabo (28:01) a native of Kenya who currently resides in Hamilton. The two seed is a Niagara resident, formerly of the Congo, Giitah Macharia (28:02). The third, fourth and fifth seeds from the United States are Rich Brinker (28:36), Brian Sell (28:36), and Joe Driscoll (28:48).

Brinker is a three-time All American at Central Michigan University; Sell is a two-time All-American at St. Francis University; and Driscoll is a three-time All American at the University of Portland. Other notables in the field include Canadian National Team members Eric Gillis (30:40) from Antigonish NS and Andy Hahn (29:55) of Windsor, as well as First-Team All-Canadian Taylor Murphy from the University of Guelph. A complete list of the confirmed participants
can be found at http://www.athrec.mcmaster.ca/athletics/teams/crosscountry/summertrack2003/high_performance10k.htm

There will be two pacemakers in the event who will set the pace for a
29:20 performance, ten seconds faster than the FISU qualifying standard of 29:30. A number of runners in the event will be looking to meet the FISU standard in order to qualify for the FISU World University Games taking place in Daegu, Korea from August 21 to 31.

McMaster cross-country head coach Bradley Young commented, “We have
accommodated a grassroots movement to have a fast 10,000 metres on the track. Initially this race did not appear on the fixture list, but due to overwhelming participation by the community and response from athletes, the event is a go. The hosting of this elite event is important for McMaster because it contributes to the continued growth of our cross country and endurance program.”

The Hamilton High Performance 10,000 Meter Footrace is part of the
Hamilton Summer Twilight Series with proceeds benefiting the Marauder
Cross Country program.

For further details about the summer track series and the list of
confirmed participants in the Hamilton High Performance 10,000 Meter
Footrace visit www.athrec.mcmaster.ca/summertrack/

Also read 10 km under the lights at McMaster in today's Hamilton Spectator. For access, McMaster users can click here from a main campus computer.