Ethiopian Review

By Andrew Aragon | Deseret News

Utha — Alene Reta made his first trip to Utah a memorable one. Reta, an Ethiopian who lives in New York City, easily took first place in the Deseret News men’s 10K race on Friday morning. Reta finished with a time of 27:46.4 — the best time since the course was reconfigured to more accurately reflect a 10K race — and he bested second-place finisher Ernest Kebenei by a little more than 30 seconds.

“I liked the race,” Reta said. “It was easy, not very tough.”

It was easy for Reta, he said, because it suited his style. He likes to run downhill, and the course, which begins at Research Park and finishes at Liberty Park, is certainly a downhill course.

“The 10K was a very good course,” said Reta, who won $1,500 for taking first place. “It was pleasing. It was a hard altitude, not (too) hot. It was my first time coming here.”

Ernest Kebenei, a Kenyan who lives and trains in El Paso, Texas, has raced against Reta before and knew the Deseret News course was a good fit for Reta’s strengths.

“I saw he was in the race and I said, ‘my friend,’ ” Kebenei said. “He used to win a lot of races. He likes running fast.”

The rest of the field had a hard time competing with Reta and Kebenei, who ran well despite feeling like the weather on Friday morning was too cold. The third-place finisher, Stephen Muange of Farmington, N.M., was a little more than 20 seconds behind Kebenei.

Former Weber State standout Seth Pilkington was the top finisher of the local runners. Pilkington took fifth with a time of 29:07.2. Kyle Perry, the All-American athlete from BYU, was seventh with a time of 29:20.8. Three-time Deseret News 10K winner Teren Jameson was eighth at 29:24.9.

Jameson said he was impressed by the performances of Reta and Kebenei.

“Those guys came in and they went out fast,” he said.

Jameson has competed against elite runners from other countries in the past and enjoyed his share of success against them. He enjoys the competition.

“It’s more of a drive for them,” said Jameson, a former University of Utah cross-country runner. “It’s an opportunity for them to have a better life doing this than what they probably would have. You try to do your best. It’s nice to have competition like that. It really brings out the best.”

Also bringing out the best in Jameson was the presence of both Pilkington and Perry. The odds of keeping up with the recent collegiate stars weren’t great for Jameson, 32. But he kept them in his sights throughout the race, and came close to pulling even with Perry late in the 10K.

“I was trying to run down Kyle in the end,” Jameson said.

It takes a lot to compete with guys like Pilkington, a former All-American and one of the best track athletes in Weber State history, and Perry, the 2009 NCAA champion in the steeplechase.

Jameson runs approximately 50 miles a week to stay in shape and compete in races like the Deseret News 10K. He earned $150 for taking third place out of the Utah runners.

“I’m not in the best shape I’ve ever been in,” Jameson said. “It’s still fun. I’ll still try to keep doing this and enjoying it.”