CARLSBAD — On a picture-perfect spring morning for racing along the oceanfront streets of downtown Carlsbad, Great Britain’s Emilia Gorecka edged out American Sarah Brown to win by one second at the 33rd running of Carlsbad 5000 today in a time of 16 minutes, 4 seconds.
“It was a tight race, but the crowd support and energy along the course was phenomenal. I wasn’t sure I’d hang on until I’d actually crossed the finish line,” said Gorecka. “Carlsbad is absolutely a beautiful town and I’m so happy to start my outdoor track season here.”
A European champion was also crowned in the men’s race. Sweden’s Kalle Berglund made his first 5k a memorable one, outlasting Ethiopian Gebre Abadi to win the final sprint to the finish line in a time of 14:15.
“The other athlete had a lead of 80, 90 maybe 100 meters and I wasn’t sure if I should go with him or stay in the group and save energy,” said Berglund, who is the national record holder for 1500m who recently represented Sweden at the IAAF World Indoor Championships last month. “It’s a 5k race and I’m a miler but after the last turn I knew I had second place secured so I decided to push the pace and was able to get the win.”
The day started with the men’s masters division at 6:58am with the Masters Men 40 and over, where Ireland’s Neville Davey successfully defended his title with a time of 15:20. In the women’s masters race, three-time U.S. Olympian Jen Rhines won in 16:48.
“It was beautiful out there, we have to get up a and run little earlier as a masters but I decided to push and there was no wind and perfect conditions this morning,” said Rhines, who made her Carlsbad debut in 2007 at the age of 32 when she finished second to current world record holder Mesert Defar. “At the start I look over and see (Canadian Olympian) Courtney Babcock and we were both 14:52 runners in our prime, if you take care of yourself and do all the right things we’re able to do this into our 40s and enjoy it.”
Roosevelt Cook won the men’s 30-39 division for an 8th consecutive time, while Meriah Earle was the first women in that age group (17:05).
Regardless of performance or time, all participants got to enjoy the same rewards at the finish line. Runners over 21 toasted their achievements in a beer garden sponsored by Pizza Port, while Betamaxxx, jammed on stage to 80s cover songs as part of the race’s finish-line.
Race weekend kicked off on Saturday with Junior Carlsbad. More than 1,500 junior runners ages 12 and under took part in one of the nine age-group races. For complete results, photos and more, please visit RunRocknRoll.com/Carlsbad-5000.
— Dan Cruz
Results
33rd Carlsbad 5000 – March 25, 2018
Place, Name, Country, Time, Prize
Men’s Elite Invitational
- Kalle Berglund, Sweden, 14:15, $2,000
- Gebre Abadi, Ethiopia, 14:20, $1,000
- Ole Hesselberg, Sweden, 14:27, $750
- Dan Nestor, 14:30, USA, $500
- CJ Albertson, USA, 14:31, $250
Women’s Elite Invitational
- Emilia Gorecka, Great Britain, 16:04, $2,000
- Sarah Brown, USA, 16:05, $1,000
- Alycia Cridebring, USA, 16:18, $750
- Emily Myers, USA, 16:22, $500
- Ellie Abrahamson, USA, 16:32, $250
Men’s Masters
Neville Davey, Ireland, 15:20, $500
Women’s Masters
Jen Rhines, USA, 16:48, $500
