Sunday, May 15, 2011

Ridouane Harroufi and Lineth Chepkurui Win 2011 Bay To Breakers

Bay To Breakers finish line by zennie62
Bay To Breakers finish line, a photo by zennie62 on Flickr.

The man crossing the finish line in the photo is the overall winner of the 2011 Bay To Breakers. His name is Ridouane Harroufi - the Moroccan become the first non-Kenyan to win the Zazzle Bay To Breakers. Later expressing a desire to "win it all," Harroufi's time of 34.26 didn't set the record, and he won by three seconds, but it was enough to clear his objective.

Lineth, a Kenyan, continued her dominance of the Bay to Breakers, winning for the second straight year and for the third time since 2008. Chepkurui's time, 39:12, came even though she complained of a minor hip pain that she feared would hamper her performance this year. It didn't.

The pre-race greatly hyped Meb Keflezighi finished in 7th place with a time of 35:34. Hey, give Meb credit; it was his first Bay to Breakers race.

The first Americans to win for the men and women were Jason Hartmann of Boulder, Colorado, and Oakland's Magdalena Lewy-Boulet. Her time was 41:26; his time was 35:28.

Other notable finishers were Stanford's Annie Bersagel and Cal's Bolota Asmeron, who posted times of 42:09 and 36:40, respectively.

As this blog post is created, this blogger is at the press tent in front of thousands of people crossing the finish line, and on a day where it was scheduled to rain.

Thankfully, it didn't happen. As Chepkurui later remarked, the weather was "perfect."

Stay tuned. I still haven't spotted that Talking Dog yet.

Lineth Chepkurui beat Mamitu Daska in Zazzle Bay To Breakers by 1 second
Lineth Chepkurui and Ridouane Harroufi win 2011 Bay To Breakers. Harroufi first non Kenyan to win in 20 years
Bay To Breakers finish line
Bay To Breakers finish line
Bay To Breakers finish line...waiting...
Bay To Breakers finish line...waiting...
Bay To Breakers we pass Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park
Bay To Breakers we pass Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park
Bay To Breakers mile mark 5
Bay To Breakers mile mark 5
Bay to Breakers at top of Hayes Street Hill
Bay to Breakers at top of Hayes Street Hill
Bay To Breakers security
Bay To Breakers security
Bay To Breakers elite runners warming up.
Bay To Breakers elite runners warming up.
Bay to Breakers start line!
Bay to Breakers start line!
Vern Glenn and Officer Carcelen
Vern Glenn and Officer Carcelen