State record
Med student from Philadelphia sets mark in EQT 10 Miler
Martin Hehir took a weekend away from medical school in Philadelphia to make the cross-state trek west to compete in the EQT Pittsburgh10 Miler.
He certainly made the trip worthhis while.
Competing for the race for the first time, Hehir broke away from a pack of nine runners about midway through the race, then pulled away from Kenya’s Stephen Sambu to finish with an event-record time of 46 minutes, 48 seconds to win the 6th annual running of the fall raceby seven seconds.
Hehir, 25, joins 2015 champion Tyler Pennel as the only U.S. natives to win the event. He received $4,000 for first prize and an extra $1,000 for being the top American finisher.
And there’s no doubt in his mind he has Sambu to thankfor it.
“That was huge. It’s hard to go that hard by yourself, clipping off 4:40 miles and it’s one of those things, you don’t wantto lose and when you’ve got someone right there who’s threatening to make you lose, you can dig a little deeper,” Hehir said. “Going asfast as we did can only happen when you’ve got a great group of guys going together.”
With temperatures hovering near freezing at the start on a crisp and sunny Sunday morning, Hehir started out as one of about 15 elite runners that quickly jumped in front as pace-setters for the more than 3,500 participants who took to the revamped track. For the first time, the race altered its usual path through the North Side and moved a few blocks south to the North Shore with the 3-mile marker set up on North Shore Drive in front of Heinz Field. There was a jaunt down General Robinson past PNC Park and an over-and-back across the Clemente Bridge for good measure.
In prior years, the course avoided the stadiums entirely and went past AlleghenyCenter instead.
“This was my first time racing in Pittsburgh,” Hehir said. “I love Pittsburgh. I’ve been here a few times visitingold friends and I know it’s a great city and get really good vibes and, this time of the year, it’s perfect weather goodfor a 10-mile race.”
The Clemente Bridge was one of the key features of the event. It was just past this point, right after the 5-mile mark, where the pack began to dissipate and it became a two-manrace.
“It was down to me and Stephen, probably around Mile 6.5 to 7, and neither one ofus was giving an edge,” Hehir said. “We were both hurting but we couldn’t break each other and, basically, it was 2-mile straightaway to the finish and, once we hit that, it was heads-down and, with 1.5 miles to go, I put on that little surge and really startedto pull away.”
Even when the two runners hit the 9-mile marker, though, Hehir only had about a 10-meter lead over Sambu, who had never lost a 10-mile race in his career. But as the two continued down Liberty Avenue toward the finish line, Hehir continued to extend his lead until he got the separation he neededto close it out.
Monicah Ngige didn’t break any records, but she finally did come away with a win in the women’s division on her third try. Buze Diriba, who won the past three years,did not compete.
Instead, Ngige pulled away early and the Kenyan closed it out with a time of 52:07 to defeat Ethiopia’s Gotytom Gebreslasie by 58 seconds.
“I like the course but I think it was little bit cold, but it was good,” Ngige said. “The course was a little bit tougher and I was very happyto be able to [win].”