Machuka By A Mile Repeat Winner Has No Trouble Overturning Course Standard

Josphat Machuka never broke stride, never broke a sweat and never even spit. He transformed Doomsday Hill from a vulture’s roost into a chicken coop. And he turned an elite field of distance runners into helpless followers.

The amazing Kenyan teenager blistered Bloomsday in 33 minutes, 41 seconds, breaking the record for the 12-kilometer course by 14 seconds. He became just the second runner in the 19-year history of Bloomsday to win twice and was the only one to do it back-to-back.

It’s a good thing the 7.46-mile loop through Spokane isn’t run straight uphill - it might have been worse than the wire-to-wire 28-second victory.

Machuka, 19, ran the third mile - virtually all uphill from the cemeteries on Government Way to Spokane Falls Community College in 4:21 and followed that with another 4:21 that took him to the start of Doomsday Hill, which he ran in 4:54.

That turned what was expected to be a good battle between Machuka and Mexico’s Armando Quintanilla into a race against the clock - and Machuka won.

His smooth stride became a powerful sprint over the last 300 meters to easily beat the course record of 33:55 established by Yobes Ondieki in 1992 and matched by Arturo Barrios a year later.

Quintanilla lost to Machuka by 3 seconds last year in a race that had five runners reach the crest of Doomsday Hill together and three finished within 12 seconds of Machuka when he became the youngest winner in Bloomsday history.

Sunday, the lead pack was down to seven runners midway through the second mile and four at the cemetaries.

Quintanilla was on Machuka’s shoulder when they turned off Government Way onto Fort Wright Drive. Moments later, with no noticeable difference in strides, Machuka was pulling away. By the time he passed the vulture mascot, a Bloomsday tradition at the top of Doomsday Hill, a span of just over 2 miles, the lead was 12 seconds.

The race went as Machuka expected, though his broken English made the explanation impossible to understand.

Quintanilla finished in 34:09, 10 seconds slower than his runner-up finish last year.

“I pretty much expected him to go out fast after the way he ran (a recent race). I didn’t think he was going to be that fast,” Quintanilla said through an interpreter. “Once he took off, I was just hoping I could hang on but couldn’t.”

Jon Sinclair was surprised it took until the 19th Bloomsday for someone to join him as a two-time winner.

“Yes, because most of the races around the country are won two or three times by the same runner,” the 1983 and ‘86 champion from Fort Collins, Colo., said. “But I’m not surprised because Don (Kardong, who puts together the elite field) does such a good job of getting quality runners.”

But no matter who is in the field next year, there will probably only be one favorite.

“In my heart I think this is my race now,” Machuka said. “I’ll be back.”

Later, he told the crowd at the awards ceremony: “Bye till we meet next year.”

No sweat. The vulture will be waiting.