By Jimmy Boone
Sports Writer
TUSCALOOSA- An early-morning shower did little to dampen the enthusiasm of 109 runners at the Run for the Roses on Saturday.
Peter Coleman held off Japheth Koech in a last dash to the finish line.
Coleman finished in a time of 17:19, while Koech was a second behind at 17:20. Coming in at third was Tom Forrester.
Coleman said he was fortunate to get the win.
"Normally, I would not be able to stay with Japheth because he is such a good runner," Coleman said. "He has not run much this spring because he is working on a graduate degree."
Koech was a member of the University of Alabama cross country team last year, but finished his eligibility with the end of the first semester.
The race went through the middle of the University of Alabama campus across wet streets that often had puddles of water.
"It was a slow race, especially in the curves and turns," Coleman said. "You have to take it easy or you might fall."
Coleman said the race was very slow for him, also, because he has been training for a trip to the Boston Marathon.
"When you're training for a distance race, it's really difficult to
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come out and run a short race," Coleman said. "It's hard to put forth the speed when you have been working on endurance."
While the race results were being tabulated, Coleman and some other runners ran the course a second time as a cool-down.
Lusha Tronstad continued her dominance in the women's competition with the time of 20:17. Tronstad has won six races this season.
Coming in behind Tronstad was Joy Griffith at 20:39 and Laurie Charnigo at 21:48.
"This was a lot of fun today because I run most of this course every day," Tronstad said. "The course was pretty flat, and being familiar made it even more comfortable."
The wet conditions were not difficult for Tronstad.
"We are doing a project on the Sipsey flood plain and I am studying aquatic insects," Tronstad said. "You just have to be careful not to slip."
Just behind the top three was last year's winner Nancy Van Kuren. This year Van Kuren was the fifth woman to cross the finish line.
"We had a lot better competition than last year," Van Kuren said. "I always enjoy running the course and it is good to run on campus."
Van Kuren, whose husband is Dean of Engineering, said she runs a lot on campus.
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