Ethiopians Yimer And Diriba Cherry Blossom Ten Mile winners but the wind slowed down everyone

On his first trip to America, 21-year-old Jemal Yimer broke away from a dwindling lead group in the last mile of Sunday's Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run to win the race in a time of 46:17. His compatriot Buze Diriba won the women's race in 53:45 after finishing second here the past two years. In a race full of stories, another highlight was 60-year-old Joan Benoit Samuelson's single-age and 60-64 age group record for women of 1:07:56. Given the dire weather forecast of snow on Saturday night earlier in the week, runners and race organizers were delighted to awake to clear blue skies and peak cherry blossoms this morning. While it was a cold 35 degrees at the start, conditions were ideal for racing, though it was a bit too windy for really fast times up front.

posted Monday April 9th