Hurt, Coons pace 10-Miler field

It’s often said that the third time’s a charm, and for Charlie Hurt, that phrase rang true as he crossed the finish line first overall at Saturday’s Charlottesville 10-Miler. The former Western Albemarle and William & Mary standout came from behind on a chilly and overcast morning to outkick frontrunner Rob Cook for his first victory in three tries at the area’s oldest and most prestigious foot race.
Hurt’s stellar time of 51 minutes, two seconds represented the fastest 10-Miler time since Tony Simmons’ winning time of 50:46 in 1993 and, for Hurt, it was also an incredible 3:21 improvement over last year’s fourth-place effort.
Cook, who was an All-American steeplechaser at UVa in the mid-90s and topped out his track career with an 8th place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1996, led for the first 6 1/2 miles. At the four-mile mark the 36-year-old had opened up a comfortable 20-second lead on Hurt and 2007 runner-up Musa Gwanzura, by throwing in sub-five minute times at miles two (4:58) and four (4:55).
“I let him go when he surged on us at two miles.” Hurt said. “We were going plenty fast at that point and I wanted to stay in my comfort zone so I would be ready for the latter part of the course.”
Cook was still way ahead of Hurt coming off the Downtown Mall at the five-mile mark, as he registered a blistering 25:08, a time that was actually faster than his winning time at the MJ8K (4.97 miles) just a few weeks earlier.
“Looking back on it, I may have gone out a bit too quickly for the first half but I wouldn’t change a thing,” said Cook. “I was feeling really good through five miles and, to be quite honest, it was actually kind of fun taking it out so fast.”
Cook’s huge lead began to evaporate through the hills of the beautiful North downtown neighborhoods along 2nd Street, Northwood Avenue and Evergreen Avenue and then finally up the endless and legendary Lexington Avenue hill, where Hurt steadily gained on the frontrunner. As they headed up Water Street, Hurt surged by Cook for the lead.
“When he caught me at seven miles, he literally blew by me,” said Cook, who would eventually run a course personal-best of 51:55 — an improvement of over two minutes from last year’s time.
Hurt, 24, never looked back as he steadily chewed up the real estate along Main Street. Over the next mile, he quickly picked up a 10-second lead that he would not relinquish as he sprinted through the UVa grounds en route to his first 10-Miler victory. He was the second protege of Western Albemarle coach Lindy Bain to win the race in the last four years, following Alec Lorenzoni’s 2005 triumph.
“Usually when I catch a guy in a race, I’ll run alongside him for awhile before I regroup, but I was so excited I just decided to surge by him,” said Hurt. “I saw Rob look back just before the six mile mark and thought, ‘I’ve really got a chance of catching him now.’ The crowds were amazing and I kept hearing people yelling out my name, which really helped to keep me on my goal of winning the race.”
Cook seemed pleased and was gracious with his post-race comments.
“I’m very content with my running at this point in my life,” he said. “I’m really having fun.”
Meanwhile, former UVa All-American Dana Coons, 29, was carving up the course. The 2006 champ, who will be competing as the 12th-seeded racer at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston in three weeks, showed that she’s ready to race with the best. Her time of 58:34, which represented a ninety second improvement over her previous 10-Miler effort, is an average of close to 5:50 per mile over a challenging course.
Coons’ time was the fastest clocked by a female over this course since Joan Benoit-Samuleson’s 57:19 in 1993. She was never challenged, as her closest competitors were Carmin Green (64:37) and 2007 champ Andrea Wright (64:40). Wright’s time represented the fastest time ever run by a 46-year-old female at this race. Arlington’s Laura Jenkins (65:07) and 2007 runner-up Eliza O’Connell (65:19) rounded out the top five.
“I was happy with my time as this was an important benchmark for the Trials.” said Coons. “I’ve been really excited about my workouts and training of late. I would have liked to run a bit faster but oh my gosh, is this one tough course. That Lexington hill gets me every time and I always seem to fall apart for miles 7 and 8. I’ve been focused since the early winter about beating those two miles, so I’m pleased with how well I worked through them today.”
36-year-old Zimbabwean speedster Gwanzura (53:06 was caught in the last few miles by UVa 5,000- and 10,000-meter specialist Taylor Smith (52:25) for third place.
“I felt good for the first few miles but eventually I died over the last half of the course,” Gwanzura said. “The hills just killed me as I don’t have a
single one to train on down in Carolina, where it is so flat.”
Smith’s first experience seeing the 10-Miler course was during the race, felt pleased with accomplishing his goal of 5:10 per mile pace, and organizers Dan and Alice Wiggins were equally happy with the proceedings.
“We thought things went really well and we’re grateful for all the support we received from all the volunteers, residents and businesses along the way,” said Dan Wiggins. “We couldn’t hold this event without the cooperation of so many special folks in the community. We’re also delighted to be donating this year’s race proceeds to our wonderful friends at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad.”
Hurt summed up the feelings of most of the finishers when he exclaimed, “This was really awesome…I had a blast.”