April 19, 2009
Duluth
News Tribune
Polson wins Fitger's 5K
After Friday’s temperatures climbed into
the 70s, Duluth native Jeremy Polson felt right at home in the more
seasonable 40-degree temperatures that greeted runners at the start
of the 20th annual Fitger’s 5K on Saturday.
“Some runners had tights on, but I guess
they’re not used to it,” Polson said. “The weather
was perfect.”
Polson, 31, responded by turning in a dominating
performance, breezing to victory in 15 minutes, 29 seconds —
28 seconds ahead of runner-up Matt Kramer of Cloquet. Amy Lyons
of Mounds View, Minn., who, like Polson, runs with St. Paul-based
Team Run N Fun, took the women’s title in 17:32, 12 seconds
ahead of defending champion Jen Houck of Duluth.
“The course makes a hairpin turn at about
the 2-mile mark, and I saw [Houck] wasn’t far behind,”
said Lyons, 23. “That helped me run faster.”
Duluth’s Herb Dillon (34:09) and Ely’s
Robbie Zbacnik (36:31) won the men’s and women’s walk,
respectively.
A record 1,561 people registered and 1,358 finished
(1,245 runners, 113 walkers) the event that kicks off the local
road race season. That is four times the number of entries from
just eight years ago, when 372 took part in the 3.1-mile race through
downtown Duluth.
Polson, a 1996 Duluth Denfeld graduate and former
University of Minnesota runner, helped bolster the men’s field,
which had nine runners break 17 minutes.
Three-time defending champion Mike Benchina wound
up eighth in 16:42, more than a minute off Polson’s blistering
4:59 per-mile pace.
Polson took off at the start and never looked
back. After crossing the finish line, he quickly returned to the
course to cheer on other runners. Polson set the course record of
15:07 in winning the Fitger’s 5K in 2002, the only other time
he has raced it.
Polson said the race usually doesn’t fit
his training schedule, but this year he used it as a tune-up for
next weekend’s 10K state championship in Minneapolis. He felt
he had plenty in reserve after Saturday to run the same pace next
week.
“I used this as a workout. That was the
plan, and it worked out great,” Polson said. “The big
goal for me right now is the 10K.”
Lyons also plans on racing the 10K next weekend.
While she has battled hamstring issues and was well off her personal
best of 16:19, she was still strong enough to hold off Houck. Lyons
has raced the event four times, winning in 2005 and 2006 and finishing
second in 2004. All proceeds from the Fitger’s 5K benefit
the Young Athletes Foundation, a Grandma’s Marathon youth
athletics program.
“I’ve always liked this race,”
said Lyons, who has never raced Grandma’s. “Maybe when
I’m older I’ll get into marathons, but right now, I
don’t want to do anything above 15K because I don’t
want to ruin myself for the shorter distances. I want to keep my
speed.”
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