Long runs were not part of the regimen for women’s winner

Practice, it is often said, makes perfect. Except where Kristin Price is concerned.

Price won the women’s portion of yesterday’s SunTrust Richmond Marathon despite a training regimen that was as spontaneous as it was unique.

“I didn’t do any long runs” while preparing, said Price, a 26-year-old resident of Raleigh, N.C. Coming to Richmond at all, she said, “was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I like it that way, to tell you the truth. If I plan too far in advance and work too hard to get ready - who knows? I might get hurt.”

The only thing Price hurt yesterday was the pride of her competitors. A former N.C. State All-American and the NCAA 10,000-meter champion in 2002, Price delivered a take-charge performance on a humid, windy day. Her time (2:45:02) was more than 80 seconds faster than that of runner-up Hirot Legesse of Ethiopia.

Price’s moment of greatest concern, she said, occurred at the start when she lost touch with the women who set the early pace.

“When you can’t see the leaders, you’re never really sure what to think,” she said. “All you can do is try to run the race at your own pace. You have to treat it almost as though you’re out by yourself on a training run.”

The concern passed quickly. Price, a former assistant track coach at the University of Richmond, established a tempo with which she was comfortable and soon began to reel in the frontrunners. By the midpoint of the race - near the intersection of Forest Hill Avenue and Westover Hills Boulevard, she was one of the leaders.

Price ran with the pacesetters for the next 8-9 miles. The race at that point was more cerebral than physical.

“It was cat-and-mouse,” she said. “No one wanted to make a move. No one wanted to take the lead. We were all playing games with one another.”

Simultaneously, boisterous wind gusts were playing games with the frontrunners.

“You really felt it the last 6-or-so miles,” said third-place finisher Phebe Ko. The wind “made it really hard to develop any kind of rhythm. All you could do was try to ignore it and push through it.”

Legesse agreed. “It was more the wind than the humidity,” she said.

Shortly after passing mile 23 on Brook Road, Price glanced over her shoulder and saw that another runner was beginning to close the gap.

“That’s when I said, ‘OK, that’s it.’ I’m not going to play games any more.’”

Ko of Baltimore said Price’s commanding performance, lack of training miles notwithstanding, was not surprising.

“She’s a great runner,” Ko said. “This is the kind of thing she’s capable of.”

Ko, a former Duke standout, should know. She and Price were Atlantic Coast Conference rivals as collegians.

Price, who earned $2,500, was joined in the SunTrust field by Kara Price, her twin sister. Kara placed 29th (3:27:37).

- Republished from inRich.com

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