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Pleasant Valley Sunday
Youngstown 2010 Peace Race
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2010 Peace Race 2 mile
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Complete results from the 2010 Youngstown Peace Race 2 mile walk
It was a beautiful morning for a Kent State student who outran 1,464 others to win the 36th annual Peace Race
By Jon Moffett
Youngstown
Many people enjoy their Sundays by lazily watching football or doing yard work.
Andrew Carnes spent his running for six miles against some of the world’s top competitors.
Carnes, 23, won the 36th annual Peace Race on Sunday. The Kent State University student led almost the entire race through downtown Youngstown and Mill Creek Park. His time (29:25.7) was 24 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.
“I’m whooped,” Carnes said. “I’m totally whooped. I led, but I was being pushed the whole time and I was running with two excellent, excellent runners all day.”
It was a three-man race for the first four miles. Carnes held the No. 1 spot for much of the race, and was followed closely by Julius Kiptoo, of Toledo, and Abdelaziz Atmani, of Kentucky. Atmani, who won the race in 2008, finished in second place.
Atmani finished with a time of 29:49.2.
Kiptoo said he felt some tightness in his calf and had to ease up after the fourth mile marker. He finished in third with a time of 29:53.5.
The trio of runners, as well as hundreds of others from around the globe, began the 10k race at the corner of Hudson and Indianola avenues. The race took them on a scenic tour through Mill Creek Park and finished with a trot down Federal Street.
With a time of 34:47.4, Salome Kosegi of Kentucky was the first female finisher, with Becki Ordway (34:56.2) and Paige Biglin (36:30.8)second and third, respectively.
The 65-degree weather and cloudless sky provided a perfect day for the 1,465 runners, Carnes said.
“I still think I’m going to wake up from a dream because this is late October in Ohio,” he said. “For a 10k race, I think [the conditions] are great. It’s a little bit cooler, but it’s not too hot enough to really slow down the race.”
There was no slowing down for Carnes.
He said he paced himself by running with the aforementioned duo. But toward the fifth mile, Carnes had pulled away. But having the other runners nearby was a way for Carnes to judge how hard he had to push.
“It’s a double-edged sword because when you open up a little bit of a gap, you get this surge of adrenaline,” he said. “But then you feel the pressure mount. But for the last two miles of the race, I think I was running scared.
“I kept looking over my shoulder and telling myself I can’t slow down. But it’s so motivating to have guys push you, because it brings out the best in everybody.”
Kiptoo did his best to stay on Carnes’ heels. But he said a nagging injury to his calf forced to him to lose a little steam.
Kiptoo was born in Kenya, but now resides in Toledo. He said he was impressed with Carnes and said it was tough to keep up.
“The race was tough. This guy [Carnes] is fantastic,” he said. “I have run with him three times, and he is doing a great job.”
The 33-year-old said he had hoped for a closer race with Carnes, as the two have established a bit of a friendly rivalry.
But at the end of the day, the race is about peace. Not grudges.
Terry McCluskey, one of the race’s committee members, said the idea of the Peace Race came shortly after the Vietnam War ended. With the country still in turmoil, a Youngstown runner used the sport as a way to show unity.
And McCluskey said it is truly special to have such an important event right here in the city.
“Something like this is hard to find on a smaller scale,” he said. “You’ll find it in bigger cities and bigger races like in New York and Chicago. But to find it in a smaller city in mid-America, and for us to be able to compete on that national level for world attention is just so incredible.”