Kenyan Repeats Triumph Nyakeraka Claims Another Men’s Title After Brown Stops To Tie His Shoelace

In kindergarten, when your shoe comes untied, everyone waits for you.

When that happens during Bloomsday, no one stops, and Jon Brown is convinced that cost him $4,000.

Lazarus Nyakeraka took advantage of Brown’s misfortune at the base of Doomsday Hill and pulled away from Herzon Otwori with a half-mile to go to defend his title in the 21st Lilac Bloomsday run Sunday morning.

Nyakeraka’s time for the 12K course was 34 minutes, 19 seconds, 12 seconds slower than a year ago when he dominated the race.

This time, Nyakeraka only dominated the end, leaving everyone to wonder what might have happened if Brown had not stopped to tie his right shoe.

“I would have won, there’s no question in my mind,” a distraught Brown said, estimating it cost him about a half minute to tend to the offending lace.

Brown finished 16 seconds behind Nyakeraka.

“All of a sudden I could feel one of my shoes become very loose so I looked down and, runner’s worst nightmare, my shoelace had come undone,” he said. “That has never happened to me before.”

Brown crossed T.J. Mennach Bridge before stopping, letting Nyakeraka and Hezron Otwori get away and Alphonce Muindi and Peter Githuka, had who dropped out back around the turn onto Fort George Wright Drive, go by.

Brown reeled in the first two Kenyans and seemed to make up ground on the other two before settling for a strong third place.

“I started up again and about a half a minute later, the other one comes undone,” Brown said. “I thought ‘I’m not stopping again’ so I carried on, shoe lace undone or not. Next time that happens, I’m not stopping.”

Brown, 26, a British runner living in Vancouver, British Columbia, was fourth in 1994. He finished in 34:11 when Josphat Machuka won the first of his consecutive titles.

Nyakeraka, who led wire-to-wire and won by 25 seconds last year, was concerned. When Brown stopped, the leaders were running three abreast.

“This year’s run was a bit tough because people were running in a (pack) and they were running so good and they were running very strong so I thought if they could run it that way to the end then I had no hope,” he said. “But when we reached around 4.5 miles, then I felt my body can resist. Then we were five, then four, then we became three. Then I started the fight for the first award.”

“Bad luck for Steve Jones (meaning Brown) when his shoe lace went off.”

Otwori stayed beside Nyakeraka until about two blocks before the courthouse.

“I was tired, I’m used to running 10K’s,” said Otwori, who finished ahead of Nyakeraka in a Washington, D.C., 10K race last weekend. “I had a feeling. I hoped to do well in 12K.”

Nyakeraka said, “I’ve run this course, so I know the course well. When we reached around a kilometer to go, I knew I could run my own pace. I’ve not been training, I’ve only run two meetings, so I believe I’m coming to my own standards.”

Nyakeraka, 21, became the third two-time winner and second to win consecutive races. He earned $7,000, Otwori got $4,500 and Brown $3,000.

Otwori, 20, who now lives in Albuquerque, N.M., was fifth last year, 49 seconds behind.

“The weather was fine and it was enjoyable,” he said. “The course was good except one hill (Doomsday). After finishing that, the course is almost over. It’s a very tough hill.”

“Probably, I’ll come next year and I hope to be in good shape, so that I will be the one who is holding the record of winning three times.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos (1 color)