New York Road Runners – Oakley New York Mini 10K – A Celebration of Women in Running

There was no contest in this morning’s Oakley New York Mini 10K, as Mary Keitany of Kenya set the tempo from the start with a quick pace.

At the 5K mark, she had a 15-second gap on the field; over the next 3.1 miles, she stretched her lead with calm, determined focus to break the tape in 31:15, a full minute and 15 seconds ahead of Betsy Saina of Kenya. Fellow Kenyan Edna Kiplagat was close behind, taking third in 32:39.

Those times are even more impressive considering the conditions: nearly 80 degrees with 56 percent humidity and 10 miles-per-hour winds made for a tough race for the nearly 8,000 runners in the women-only event, now in its 44th year.

“It was hot, very hot,” Keitany said at the finish, wiping sweat from her brow. For Saina, for whom today’s race was her first time racing a 10K in Central Park, the second 5K was harder than the first. “It was challenging,” Saina said, but “It was an honor to run with these women. And the crowds helped a lot.”

As an NYRR Club Points race, the Oakley New York Mini 10K also draws many of the fastest women in the New York area.

The West Side Runners took first place this morning, led by Etaferahu Temesgen in a blazing 32:50, good for fifth overall.

New York Athletic Club took second with Central Park Track Club – New Balance third.

Now sponsored by Oakley, the Mini had humble beginnings but a grand aspiration: to create a space in road racing for women. At its inaugural running in 1972, just 72 women ran the six-mile course, then sponsored by Crazylegs shaving gel. Three weeks later, Title IX was signed into law, allowing women the right to compete in school sports. Road running would never be the same, and neither would the Mini.

Throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, each year drew more and more runners, and over the past 40-plus years, many of the sport’s most famous women, including Joan Benoit Samuelson, Grete Waitz, Deena Kastor, and Paula Radcliffe, have lined up to race.

Among the thousands who have followed in their footsteps is Alicia Sanchez, an IT professional from Spain who began running when she moved to New York in 2013. “It’s great,” she says, noting that, “A lot of women who don’t run will run this race—it’s a good way to get hooked on running.”

Thanks to those 72 pioneers back in 1972 and all the women runners who have come since, next year’s race will no doubt see many familiar faces as well as many new ones. Still smiling from her own 47:50 finish this morning, Sanchez said it best: “As long as I’m here, I’ll run this race.”

New York Road Runners