Saturday, September 4, 1999 -- Charleston
27th Annual Charleston Distance 15 Mile & 5K Runs
Story and photos by Marty Lamp

[Coverage]
Pics: [Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Set 4] [Set 5] [Set 6] [Set 7] [Set 8] [Set 9]
[Set 10] [Set 11] [Set 12] [Set 13] [Set 14] [Set 15] [Set 16] [Set 17] [Set 18]
Results: [15 Mile Overall] [15 Mile By Class] [5K Overall] [5K By Class]

Simon Sawe and Andrew Musuva sprint to the finish

It was a great morning for running in the capitol city of Charleston on Saturday, September 4th. Sky's were blue, and temperatures stayed in the upper 80's for the 8:00am start of the 27th Annual Charleston Distance 15 Mile and 5K Run. Over $10,000 in prize money was up for grabs for over 1100 runers of all ages and abilities.

Both races started after the Star Spangled Banner was sung, with the 15 milers taking off first. All 5K racers started 10 minutes later. Both courses meandered through the city streets, starting on Clendenin Street, and heading east. The 15 mile course was flat to rolling, looping through residential areas and ending in Laidly Field Stadium for a lap in front of the cheering spectators.

Nadya Guselschikova on her victory lap

In the 15 mile race, Simon Sawe(1:14:53) broke away from a shoulder-to-shoulder duel with defending champion Andrew Musuva(1:14:55) about 40 meters from the finish line to win. Sawe's triumph, although 2 1/2 minutes behind the course record, provided one of the most thrilling moments in the history of this event.

Sawe, a 30 year-old native of Kenya who lives in Albuquerqe, NM, spent most of the day running with three of his fellow countrymen- Musuva, Gideon Mutisya(1:15:04), and Elly Rono(1:15:26). The four Kenyans separated themselves from the pack within the first two miles. Mutisya held a slight lead at the 5 mile mark, but at the 9 mile mark, Musuva was in the lead.

"I was hoping it would break into a two-man race", Sawe said. "but I was comfortable running in a group".

Larry Taylor takes the lead from the start

At the 14 mile marker, Sawe slipped into second place behind Musuva, while Mutisya was running third. Upon entering Laidly Field, Sawe and Musuva were side-by-side, with Mutisya just behind. At he final turn before the finish, Sawe exploded for a burst, and Musuva couldn't answer. "My kick is my savior," Sawe said afterwards. "Usually, Musuva can outkick me, but today he didn't respond."

The first female to finish the 15 miler was Russian Nadya Guselschikova(1:27:16), who resides in Rockville, MD. More than three minutes behind was Tammy Slusser(1:30:40), while Karolina Szabo(1:32:29) rounded out the top three female finishers. In the 5K run, Larry Taylor(16:02) returned to defend his title from the year before, winning his third straight time. His time was 9 seconds faster than his previous record. George Washington track standout Brooks Crislip(16:20) was close behind for the second place finish, and Ed Frohnapfel(16:36) rounded out the top three finishers.

Running feels great at any age

In the 5K run, Larry Taylor(16:02) returned to defend his title from the year before, winning his third straight time. His time was 9 seconds faster than his previous record. George Washington track standout Brooks Crislip(16:20) was close behind for the second place finish, and Ed Frohnapfel(16:36) rounded out the top three finishers.

Jessica Taylor(18:33), daughter of Larry Taylor, was the first female to finish the 5K, edging out Kelly McGraw(18:42) by only 9 seconds. Jessica taylor, a track and cross country standout at Fayetteville High School, improved on her record of 19:17 set last year.

The largest and loudest ovation on the day was for 92 year-old John Pianfetti(51:08), who competed in and finished the 5K. Thanks go out to Pat Board, Pam Anderson, Mark Courtney, and all the volunteers and policemen who helped make this classic event possible.