Jones Bucks The Pack, But Just For A While

It was a surprise to everyone to see a tall, slender American leading the front pack of elite men through the first mile of the 24th Lilac Bloomsday run Sunday morning.

More shocking was when he surged to a 10-meter lead going down Riverside to Latah Creek.

But not everyone was stunned. Particularly Buck Jones.

Jones was all smiles as he led the pack, beaming at the media truck and shouting, “A better photo op.”

Or, as he replied when asked what he was doing out front, “The bold, but stupid.”

Actually, Jones is an accomplished runner from Ellensburg. He finished 10th in 1994 and just last week was sixth in the 5,000 meters at the Penn Relays.

After receiving his doctorate from Washington State University a year ago, he moved to Columbus, Ohio, to do post-doctoral work.

“I expected to go out conservative, I’m more of a miler, but I was very comfortable,” he said.

Then he hit the downhill and surged ahead.

“The joy of long legs,” Jones said. “It’s really easy for me to run downhill. I thought I might as well enjoy it.”

He finished a respectable 12th in 36 minutes, 37 seconds.

“I don’t think (the early surge) cost me anything,” he said. “That’s probably about where I would have finished.”

As the No. 2 American finisher he had his 12th-place prize money of $500 doubled to $1,000. All American placers in the elite divisions received double prize money.

We are the champions

Eric Tollefson and Tatiana Salazar of Tacoma won the Washington state championships, held in conjunction with Bloomsday.

Tollefson, 26, finished ninth overall in 36:10, exactly 2 minutes behind the winner and well in front of the second place Washington runner, Corey Brantley of Spokane.

The former Central Washington University runner earned $1,400 for his finish.

Tollefson has quit his temporary job as a fisheries biologist to concentrate on the 10,000 meters at the Olympic Trials. He qualified for the Trials in an early season track meet at Stanford.

Salazar, 27, was surprised she won the state title. She finished 16th overall in 43:48, 3:40 behind the winner and just 16 seconds in front of No. 2 Washington runner Shelley Smathers.

Salazar, a marathoner from Russia, went to Tacoma in 1994 on a cultural exchange and met her future husband. They were married in 1996.

Bonus time

The top Spokane County finishers both earned money. They’re also getting a bonus from the Lilac Bloomsday Association.

Brantley and Janet Collar of Nine Mile Falls earned a trip to the Peach Tree Classic in Atlanta on July 4, courtesy of Bloomsday.

Brantley finished in 37:59, 3:49 behind the winner but No. 16 overall. He was also second in the state championships.

Because the state champion, Tollefson, opted to take the money he earned for his top 10 overall finish, Brantley got the $1,000 first prize.

No. 3 Washington runner was Ryan Craig, who graduated from Rogers last spring and is competing for the University of Portland. As a collegiate athlete, he had to pass on the $800 check. That meant the original No. 2 check dropped to fourth-place state runner Ryan Pauling, who was 18th, 1 second behind Craig, 8 seconds behind Brantley.

Collar was 20th overall in 44:31 and fourth in Washington. She beat Kari McKay by 44 seconds.

Collar picked up $500, plenty enough to buy souvenirs in Georgia.

Kim Jones on the mend

After winning the master’s division two straight years, former Spokane resident Kim Jones came in seventh (24th overall) this year.

Jones, who lives in Boulder, Colo., has been off for three months. She pulled her calf muscle two months before the U.S. Olympic women’s marathon trials in February, forcing her to miss the race.

“I’ve been training for three weeks and decided to run this. Don (Kardong) invited me and told me to come anyway,” Jones said.

Jones’ goal was to run a 6-minute pace and finish before the men started coming in. Her pace was slightly more than 6 minutes, finishing in 45:45.

Jones plans on trying to qualify for the U.S. Olympic track trials this summer in Sacramento.

“Right now, I’m just trying to get my strength back so by the end of June, I’ll be able to produce a good time,” Jones said.

Elena Viazova of Ukraine won the master’s division in 42:26.