American Lindsey Scherf joins South African Annie Bothma and Japan’s Shiho Kaneshige to lead Team JUSARSA to women’s victory; Kenya’s Julius Kosgei, Eritrea’s Amanuel Mesel and American Ahmed Osman help Team Flagstaff edge Ed’s Elite and former BYU stars Jared Ward, Clayton Young and Jacob Heslington 

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The men’s virtual competition in the elite marathon relay of the second Chaski Challenge came down to an exciting final stretch Saturday matching athletes competing in Flagstaff, Ariz., and Provo, Utah.

The women’s matchup was all but decided following an exceptional opening leg by South Africa’s Annie Bothma, forcing athletes running in Louisville, Colo., and Nashville, Tenn., to play catch up the rest of the way.

The virtual relays, involving three athletes on each team running separate legs of 12 miles, eight miles and 6.2 miles (or 10 kilometers) to account for the full marathon distance, showcased competitors from nine countries participating on 12 teams at varying altitudes and venues, along with different terrain.

RESULTS

Team Flagstaff prevailed in the men’s relay in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 50 seconds, just ahead of Ed’s Elite finishing in 2:12:15.

Team JUSARSA won the women’s competition in 2:17:01, with Nomad Redux taking runner-up in 2:35:10.

Team Flagstaff included Kenya’s Julius Kosgei running 60:49 for the opening leg, running at 7,874 feet elevation in Iten.

Eritrean Olympian Amanuel Mesel, competing at 6,909 feet in Flagstaff, covered the 8-mile leg in the fastest split of 39:24, before American Ahmed Osman – a three-time All-American at Northern Arizona and 2010 NACAC Under-23 10,000-meter champion – completed the final 10 kilometers in the same location in 31:37.

Ed’s Elite, consisting of former Brigham Young standouts coached by Ed Eyestone, took an early lead competing at 4,550 feet in Provo on the strength of U.S. Olympian Jared Ward running 60:16, the fastest split of any athlete for the first 12 miles.

Clayton Young, the 2019 NCAA Division 1 10,000-meter champion, clocked 41:32 for 8 miles, putting the pressure on another former BYU All-American, Jacob Heslington, to try to rally for the victory.

Although Heslington ran 30:26 over the final 10 kilometers on the road course, the second-fastest anchor leg of any team behind only Ecuadorian national record holder Bayron Piedra (30:23) of Los Morlacos, his comeback effort came up approximately 200 meters short in the virtual marathon.

Los Morlacos, with Ecuadorian athletes competing at 8,400 feet in Cuenca, took fifth in the men’s competition in 2:17:15, trailing fourth-place Kallpa Runners (2:17:05), another trio comprised of athletes from both Kenya and Ecuador competing at 8,200 feet in Santo Domingo.

Zimbabwe’s ‘A’ team, running at 4,888 feet in Harare, took third in 2:16.42.

Team JUSARSA featured Bothma competing at sea level in Stellenbosch, American Lindsey Scherf running in New York and Japan’s Shiho Kaneshige also racing at sea level early Sunday morning in Tokyo.

Bothma covered the opening 12 miles in 61:05 to build a nine-minute advantage over the field, before Scherf – the women’s indoor marathon record holder – clocked 41:15 for her 8-mile leg, extending the gap to 14 minutes over Nomad Redux.

Although Kaneshige had to wait until the track opened at 7 a.m. local time Sunday in Tokyo to begin running the final 10-kilometer leg, she still produced the fastest closing split of 34:41 over the final 6.2 miles.

Hiruni Wijayaratne, an 11-time Sri Lankan national record holder and South Asian Games gold medalist, ran the first 12 miles in 70:51 competing at 5,335 feet elevation in Colorado.

Americans Laura Paulsen and Whitney Macon completed the Nomad Redux relay on a road course in Nashville. Paulsen clocked 46:13 for the 8-mile leg and Macon ran 38:06 over the final 10 kilometers.

Team Zimbabwe, competing in Harare, was third in 2:57:12 and Cusco Runners, featuring a trio of athletes running at 11,000 feet in Peru, took fourth in 3:06:38.

Desiree Linden, 2018 Boston Marathon winner, ran the 8-mile leg on Team Brave Like Gabe (3:32:41) that also included Suzanne Markuson and Haley Pinard, two women who were selected following their bids in an online auction, with all proceeds going to support Brave Like Gabe Rare Cancer Research.

Before the virtual marathon relay took place, double amputee Brian Reynolds made an attempt Friday at lowering his own T62-64 all-time 5-kilometer best of 16:39. Reynolds clocked 17:05 in Brookdale, N.J.