Jun. 23, 2023 By John Schilling
Runners of all ages from New York City and beyond gathered in Flushing Meadows Corona Park bright and early on June 17 for the annual New York Road Runners 10K, a sold-out event featuring a 6.2-mile course throughout the park.
“We had 11,000 adults that participated in the Queens 10K, the third of our five-borough race series,” New York Road Runners Senior Vice President of Events Ted Metellus said. “A sold-out race in beautiful Queens, running through all the monuments here and sites that make Queens an amazing place.”
The race’s course included views of the Unisphere, Citi Field and the Queens Museum. And while some runners participated to enjoy the views or achieve personal goals, others showed up ready to compete.
This was true for Yenew Alamirew Getahun, 33, of the West Side Runners and Harbert Okuti, 37, of the Westchester Track Club. Both Getahun and Okuti maintained a pace of 4:52 per mile, which resulted in the two finishing the 10K in first and second place, respectively, at 30:13.
Erica Crouser crosses the finish line of the NYRR Queens 10K on Saturday, June 17.Photo courtesy of NYRR
The 10K’s top 10 finishers for the men also included Marofit Mourad, Ezra Mutai, Dey Dey, Dietrich Mosel, Jay Schairbaum, Matt Young, John Flannery and Alfredo Mazzuca, all of whom finished with times under 32 minutes.
For the women, 26-year-old Fantu Zewude Jifar, a member of the West Side runners, finished the 10K first, in less than 34 minutes, and 28th overall. Another standout runner was second-place finisher Roberta Groner, 45, a New Jersey mom of three who broke the Women’s American Masters 45+ 10K Road record by over a minute with a 33:41 finish.
Behind Jifar and Groner, the top 10 for the women in the 10K included Marie-Ange Brumelot, Aileen Barry, Melissa Reed, Leila Mantilla, Alexandra Conway, Theresa McCabe, Alyssa Salese and Andrea Bradshaw.
Aside from the adults, even kids managed to get in on the fun with the NYRR Queens 10K’s Rising New York Road Runners races, allowing aspiring marathoners between the ages of 2 and 18 to participate in “various distance, free youth races range from untimed and non-competitive to timed and competitive.”
One of these young runners was 2-year-old Mia, who competed in her first-ever race. Mia’s mother, Mary, is also a runner but did not participate in the 10K this year due to a hip injury. Still, she attended so Mia could participate.
“She was very excited,” Mary said. “She wants to run a lot.”