Mendoza wins 10th straight

No. 10 didn’t come easy for Saul Mendoza, but that probably made it sweeter in the end.

Mendoza captured his 10th straight Bloomsday men’s wheelchair title, barely edging Krige Schabort, a South African who now lives in Georgia. Mendoza and Schabort both officially timed 27 minutes and 6 seconds, but Mendoza came across the line first.

“It was actually pretty exciting,” Mendoza said. “Krige was pushing great and it’s always motivating to push with somebody. Just to finish in the top three is something I would be happy with. Today, it was first place.”

Again. Mendoza broke Craig Blanchette’s record of eight consecutive race victories last year and he’s planning, if his busy schedule allows, on pursuing No. 11 next year. He said the course layout, which includes some lengthy hills, sets up perfectly for his strengths.

“I’m a climber,” he said. “That’s one of the main reasons I have an opportunity to be in the top three all the time. I hold on for half the race, but I do my move through Doomsday (Hill) because it’s a pretty hard hill and not a lot of racers are specialized in climbing.”

Schabort, 43, had a small lead entering Doomsday Hill.

“On the downhill before Doomsday he put a gap on me and I actually almost fell on the turn and for a moment I lost my momentum,” said the 40-year-old Mendoza. “I caught him almost at the end of Doomsday and from then on we worked together. I’ve raced against him for the last few years and he’s always a challenge.”

Mendoza said he’s feeling his age, but his times don’t necessarily reflect it. He was 13 seconds faster Sunday than in Bloomsday 2006 when he won by more than two minutes. Mendoza set the course record of 25:24 in 2002.

“To tell you the truth, I do a lot of racing around the world and the U.S. and this is one of the only races I’ve been winning for many years,” Mendoza said. “I’m 40, and it’s getting harder and harder every time, not only because of my age, but I have a lot of different projects in my life. I do a lot of speaking, corporate speaking in Mexico, but I always look forward to coming back here.”

Nice guys finish last

In Bloomsday, the nice guy actually finished sixth.

When a cell phone battery fell out of the media truck following the elite men’s race, Kenya’s Nicholas Kamakya didn’t have to try and return it to its owner – but he did.

“I didn’t know what fell, but I tried to get it. I couldn’t,” Kamakya said.

Then his watch fell off, which caused confusion on the truck when he bent over to try and pick it up. Everyone thought the watch had fallen off the truck as the runners made their way down Government Way.

“Keep going, don’t worry about it,” several media members and race officials shouted.

Kamakya failed on an attempt to throw the watch into the truck, and when it landed on the ground again, he checked behind him, slowed down and picked it up again.

“Keep going!”

That time, he successfully pitched the watch into the truck and flashed everyone a big grin.

“My watch was too heavy,” Kamakya said. “I was just going to throw it to (the truck) but I missed. It’s mine and I didn’t want to lose it so I just picked it up again.”

Then Kamakya, who was in the lead until shortly after picking up his watch, grabbed his first drink of water from Bloomsday volunteers. When he was done, he shared with the guys running next to him.

“I only needed a sip,” Kamakya said. “I thought maybe someone else needed some water, too.”

Kamakya’s lead faded away shortly after as the runners made their way onto Fort George Wright Drive, but his smile was still big after the race.

“It was fun,” said Kamakya. “I didn’t win, but it was a nice race.”

Racing among the Kenyans

Local Colville High School distance runner Justin Rose wasn’t expecting to win – or even place in the top 25 in his division.

That’s because the 16-year-old was racing in the men’s elite division, among some of the world’s finest runners.

“It’s relatively uncommon,” race director Don Kardong said of Rose’s age. “They have to be pretty fast to race in that division at that age.”

Rose ran the course in 40:37, good for a 14th-place finish among elite racers from Washington.

Rose had this to say about racing with the Kenyans: “It’s crazy, you see their pace and see what they are running and it’s just incredible – for me, it’s one heck of a race if you can even stay with them for the first mile.”