Running

Freihofer’s Run for Women

Elite field expected at 25th annual race

by James O’Brien

You might call it business as usual at the 2003 Freihofer’s Run for Women, although business as usual at the Freihofer’s Run for Women means a field of the finest and fastest female competitors in the USA fighting it out on the streets of Albany for the national 5K road race championship.

As in past years, the field at the 2003 race – the 25th annual – will be superb, boasting names that are internationally renowned and others that soon may be. Although last year’s champion, Marla Runyan, is not returning, the names of those who are represent a veritable who’s who of US female road racing.

Although Runyan was a magnificent winner in 2002, she was chased hard to the line by Colleen DeReuck and Sylvia Mosqueda, both of whom have stated their intention of returning to Albany on May 31st. DeReuck and Mosqueda have forged reputations as ferocious competitors, especially in their favorite racing medium – the US roads, and though they will certainly be among the front runners this year, theirs will be no easy task.

In the 2002 race, Libbie Hickman, who had won in 2000 and placed second 12 months prior to that, placed fourth. For a competitor of Hickman’s ability and accomplishments, fourth was a position far from the front and far from acceptable. Even so, Hickman’s was an exceptional performance given that she had only recently returned to racing following the birth of her first child. For 2003, the Colorado resident is well and truly back in the competitive swing and, assuredly, poised to return to the sharp end of the pack.

Any evaluation of this year’s field would be hugely remiss were it to overlook the Freihofer’s Run for Women winners of 1999 and 2001. In the former year, victory went to Cheri Kenah, originally from Saratoga Springs and, not surprisingly, one of the most popular winners in the history of this storied event. Kenah will be back this year and eager to re-visit past glories. Following her 1999 win, she stated that her biggest motivation was being in her hometown. With comparable impetus this time around, can anyone prevail against the local heroine?

The 2001 winner, Collette Liss, is one who will certainly make a powerful attempt. Her Freihofer’s Run for Women victory marked her breakthrough into the truly elite ranks of US road racing, a position in which she has remained. Liss placed fifth last year; but with defeat comes experience and renewed commitment, both of which the Indiana resident will utilize to good effect.

As ferocious as the battles among the open competitors will be that for the title in the over-40 division. These masters competitors are truly that, being a group of the most experienced racers in the nation, all of whom prove that the competitive fires do not die with increasing age. Toeing the line this year will be Carmen Troncoso, winner in Albany in 1999 and 2000, the legendary Joan Samuelson, winner in 1998 (not to mention in the 1984 Olympic Games’ marathon), and Joan Mabe, winner at Freihofer’s Run for Women last year. They comprise a threesome that is nothing short of intimidating. Who will prevail is all but impossible to foretell. What is certain is that the question will only be resolved after a clash of mighty proportions.

All of which is music to the ears of George Regan, the man who, each year, ensures that the Freihofer’s Run for Women goes off without a hitch for every runner, no matter what their pace. “I’m extremely excited about this year’s race,” Regan enthuses. “This is our 25th anniversary and our field is shaping up to be one of the best of all time. I don’t know who the winner will be, but I do know that the competition is going to be superb. I can’t wait.”

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