Edwin Kurgat, Laura Galvan defend Carlsbad 5000 championships on race’s new course
Reigning champions Edwin Kurgat of Kenya and Laura Galvan of Mexico successfully defended their titles in the Men’s Elite and Women’s Elite races to cap Sunday’s Carlsbad 5000.
The annual road race in Carlsbad Village, with events throughout the day for runners of different ages and skill levels, featured an updated course that benefited from the picturesque weather.
Under blue skies with only wispy clouds, competitors ran parallel to the coastline on Carlsbad Boulevard. They were cheered on both by spectators there to take in the “World’s Fastest 5K” and the beachgoers who became impromptu fans.“The new course is way fun,” said Kurgat. “You don’t have to think about much, so I like it better than last (year’s) course.”
Kurgat’s appreciation for the course manifested in a final time of 13:46.11. His 4:26 pace edged him ahead of New Zealand’s Matt Baxter, who finished second at 13:47.74.
“I felt surprisingly good throughout the entire race,” said Baxter, who ran a 4:27 pace. “I just couldn’t quite hold onto Edwin as we came up that last hill … When I saw him in sights coming through his home stretch, I was giving it everything, because I knew if I was even close to Edwin, it was going to be a day I could be happy with.”
With a mile remaining and the runners coming up the slope, the 2019 NCAA cross-country champion from Iowa State Kurgat gained separation.
Kurgat and Baxter pulled away from American Ben Veatch — who, at Indiana University set the USATF American Junior indoor 5K record with a since-broken 13:57.27. Veatch finished third on Sunday with a time of 14:09.39.
His repeat first-place performance at the Carlsbad 5000 continued an impressive 2024 for Kurgat, who in January ran a 12:57.52 in the indoor 5,000 meters at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston.
An Olympic-qualifying time to his credit, Kurgat’s attention for 2024 turns to Paris and the Oymmpics.
“It’s a big year, Olympic year. I wanted to come here, have some fun, take a quick break and I wanted to use (Carlsbad) as part of my training,” Kurgat said.Likewise, fellow repeat Carlsbad 5000 champion Galvan ran an Olympic-qualifying time during the World Championships last August in Budapest, Hungary.
A native of La Sauceda, Guanajuato, Galvan will represent Mexico in Paris for the 5,000 meters. She has designs on qualifying for the 10,000, as well.
Ahead of competing for the nation this summer, onlookers at the Carlsbad 5000 waved Mexican flags for Galvan on Sunday.
“I really like the atmosphere,” she said. “It was crazier than last year because last year, we had many turns (on the course) ... The crowd was really, really amazing.”An enthusiastic crowd made for a welcoming environment to Galvan amid the intensity of Olympic preparations.
“Stress builds up. Coming here to a race like this makes it fun,” Galvan said. “I said, ‘If I win, great. If I don’t, it’s fine.’ Because what I wanted to do as much as winning was having a good race.”Galvan accomplished her goal of running a strong race, and winning again came with that.
She finished with a time of 15:19, 20 seconds ahead of second-place finisher, Marissa Howard. Carrie Verdon came in third at 15:49.
Each champion’s successful defense ahead of their respective pursuits of Olympic success provided fitting punctuation to an all-around idyllic spring North County day.
San Diego running legend Meb Keflezighi, a part-owner of the race, summed it up this way:
“Great turnout from the crowd, great turnout from the participants and perfect weather.”
posted Sunday April 7th
by Kyle Kensing