By DAILY PRESS STAFF
CITYWIDE — In a thrilling finish down Ocean Avenue, Kenyan Haron Lagat successfully held off Jimmy Grabow to win the Los Angeles Sports and Fitness (LAS&F) Invitational at the Inaugural Saint John’s Santa Monica 5000 on Sunday, coming in at 14:11.
Lagat won $1,000 for his first-place finish, along with a $500 time bonus for breaking the 14:20 mark.
The LAS&F Invitational, which was first run in 2004 in Agoura Hills, brings together world-class athletes in Southern California to compete in the Championship of L.A. Road Racing.
“The lead pack set a really fast pace,” said Lagat, who volunteers as a student assistant coach for cross country and track at Texas Tech University while completing his studies there. “I struggled in the second mile and was tired at the end, but I refused to lose.”
In the women’s 5K, Kenyan Emily Chebet easily won (16:16) in her first race in the United States.
“I felt good and loved the course,”said Chebet afterwards. “I’ll be back next year.”
Silvia Mosqueda from South Pasadena led the women’s race in the beginning, but Chebet passed her at mile 1.5 and never looked back.
“I ran the first mile at a 5:03 pace — too fast for my conditioning,” Mosqueda said.
The winners in the 10K race were Edward Muge, from the AmeriKenyan running club in Santa Fe, who finished in 29:42, and Kelly Flathers, from Huntington Beach, in 36:40. The festivities began early Sunday morning under overcast skies as L.A. Roadrunners Coach Pat Connelly led a group stretch. The inaugural race, which attracted more than 1,500 runners, got underway at 8 a.m. as “Grey’s Anatomy” star Isaiah Washington fired the starting gun. Other celebrities involved with the race included: “JAG” actor David James Elliott, “C.S.I.” actress Yeniffer Behrens and Kim Powers from “Survivor.”
Race proceeds will help build the new Saint John’s Emergency Department, which serves some 30,000 patients each year.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 23, 2006. Read the original PDF.