Yemane Haileselassie, the former Eritrean Olympic steeplechaser now a road racer for McKirdy Trained in Flagstaff, won the Boston Half Marathon on Sunday morning in 1:01:46 — 12 seconds off his personal best set in Houston earlier this year.
Haileselassie took the lead before the 10-mile mark and expanded it, beating second place Isaac Kipkemboi of Kenya by 17 seconds.
This has been a productive year on the roads for Haileselassie. He finished third in the New York City Half in March, second at the BolderBoulder 10K in May, and was last month at the Twin Cities 10 Mile.
In the women’s race, NAZ Elite’s Mercy Chelangat placed eighth in 1:10:43.
A day earlier at the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon, Great Britain’s Julia Paternain, a recent Flagstaff edition with McKirdy Trained, finished second in 1:10:15, in a race won by Emma Grace Hurley in her half debut (1:08:25). Flagstaff’s Sara Hall was third in 1:10:26.
Paternain, who ran collegiately at Arkansas, last month finished fifth in her road racing debut at the Twin Cities 10.
Flagstaff runners had a good day Sunday at the Phoenix Half Marathon. Flagstaff’s Aaron Davidson, coming off a victory last month at the Akron Marathon, was the overall winner in 1:08:13. About 20 minutes later, after changing shoes, Davidson came back and won the 5K in 15:59 — a nice cooldown for him.
NAZ Elite’s Alice Wright was the women’s winner in 1:13:09, followed by Run Flagstaff’s Shannon Smith in second at 1:15:16. Flag’s Peter Schommer was the third male finisher in 1:10:44.
In the Phoenix 10K, Flagstaff’s Melissa Berry was the women’s winner in 35:26, more than a minute ahead of the competition. Former NAU cross country runner Jack Shea was the third male in 31:59.
A current NAU runner, freshman Kiki Vaughn (currently being redshirted), won the Phoenix 5K in 17:01. Vaughn is the daughter of Sara Vaughn, top American finisher in last week’s New York City Marathon. NAU’s Maisie Grice was second in 17:07.
Turning to the trails, Flagstaff’s Caleb Schiff, best known as a restaurateur (Pizzacletta, Indian Gardens) finished second overall — and top male — at the Pass Mountain 50K in Mesa with a time of 4:55:01. Natalie Horn of Fountain Hills was the overall winner in 4:46:32. At last year’s Pass Mountain 50 Miler, Schiff placed second overall.
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