UAA track team shines at Heart Run HEART RUN: UAA women claim the top six spots, men finish the race 1-2-3.

If you're a trail-user in Anchorage, maybe you've seen them: The magnificent pack of runners in UAA gear, looking fast and graceful as they train for college competitions almost always held someplace other than Alaska.
They bring abundant glory to the university in the form of championships in track and cross country and academic honors in the classroom, but their achievements mostly must be admired from afar. The Seawolves rarely have home track meets and they're doing good if they have one home cross-country meet a season.
And so they took advantage of a break in their collegiate schedule to run in Saturday's Heart Run, turning the state's largest 5-kilometer race into a showcase of their talent.
Running some of the fastest times ever recorded at the Heart Run, the Seawolves claimed the top six spots in the women's race and the top three in the men's race.
"It was nice to compete at home," Alfred Kangogo, a junior from Kenya, said. "It's nice to have people see us run, so we can say thank you for giving us this good place to train."
The Seawolves said thank you by injecting drama into the race that ushers in springtime and the running season with one massive gathering. The 32nd annual event attracted 5,803 participants.
In the men's race, the drama came at the end when Micah Chelimo, a sophomore from Kenya, sprinted past Kangogo in the final 10 meters. He triumphed by one second, clocking 15 minutes, 4 seconds. Yon Yilma, a junior from Edmonds, Wash., who ran with the Kenyans for much of the race, placed third in 15:14.
In the women's race, the drama came at the beginning. Ruth Keino of Kenya, a sophomore who was recently named UAA's Athlete of the Year, survived a push from behind that sent her tumbling to the ground at the start of the race to cruise to the women's title in 16:58.
"I went maybe two steps and then I fell," said Keino, who started at the front of a crowd of about 2,000 runners entered in the timed 5-K event. "A teammate came and tried to prevent me from being crushed."
The fall left Keino with a nasty scrape on her shoulder and several other scratches -- and it left her with some ground to make up. She said she passed about 50 people before getting back in contention.
"I started chasing people down. Not running. Chasing," Keino said.
She reeled in all the women ahead of her and opened a decent gap. Following her across the finish line were five teammates, a pack led by second-place Shoshana Keegan of Anchorage in 17:16. Soldotna's Ivy O'Guinn placed third (17:20), Anchorage's Emma Bohman fourth (17:40), Anchorage's Susan Bick fifth (17:44) and Juneau's Katie Krehlik sixth (17:49).
While runners wearing the green and gold of UAA were the story of the race, runners and walkers wearing red were the story behind the race.
The Heart Run is a fundraiser that annually brings in more than $100,000 for the American Heart Association while also raising awareness for the signs of heart trouble and stroke, the nation's No. 1 and No. 3 killers. Participants who are current or former sufferers of heart problems or strokes wear red ballcaps that designate them as survivors.
Julie Michels ordinarily doesn't like running in large groups or wearing hats, but she did both Saturday. Proudly.
Michels was born with a hole in her heart that required open heart surgery the summer after she finished sixth grade. Her life improved enormously afterward and now she's a healthy 39-year-old who stays active by running and by keeping up with the pre-schoolers she teaches at Anchorage Christian Schools.
"I do this to show everyone you can overcome your difficulties," Michels said. "I like to motivate and inspire Alaskans to be outdoors, especially during the long winter months."
Darleen Walsh of Palmer, 58, has overcome more difficulties than most. In 2006, she was diagnosed with massive heart failure -- even though she was fit from running five to six miles a day. She spent nine hours on an operating table so doctors could repair a valve and deal with some other issues.
"My goal was to run my first Heart Run, which I did in 2007," she said.
One month after that race -- eight months after learning she had heart failure -- Walsh got another grim diagnosis: stage 2 colon cancer. Surgery and chemotherapy followed, and four years later Walsh is doing well.
"Now I run as a cancer survivor and a heart patient," she said.
Michels won the women's mended-heart division in 24:39, meeting her goal of a sub-25:00 run. Alin Vale topped the men's mended-heart division in 19:16.
The winning times by Chelimo and Keino rank among the best in Heart Run history. Chelimo's 15:04 marked the fastest performance since Marcus Dunbar ran 14:48.5 in 1997 (although in 2004, Jerry Ross won in 15:04.9) and Keino's 16:58 is second only to Chris Clark's record of 16:57 set in 2000.
Who knows what kind of times the Seawolves might have run had they approached Saturday's run with the focus and intensity they'll take to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships in two weeks.
UAA coach Michael Friess said he instructed his runners to approach the Heart Run as a workout, not a race. Most of the Seawolves wrapped up their finals the day before the race, and Friess wanted them to have fun.
"They could've been just rolling today. They could've gone 25 seconds faster," he said. "I told them I didn't want them to run hard, but I wanted them to win."
Chelimo and Kangogo were able break away from Yilma and turn the last kilometer or so into a two-man duel.
In the final several meters, the workout turned into a race. Kangogo was ahead by maybe two or three strides as they neared the finish line, only to see Chelimo blaze past him in the final 10 meters.
"We needed to find the No. 1 and No. 2," Kangogo said.
Kangogo and the rest of the Seawolves were happy Friess decided to enter them in the Heart Run instead of use Saturday as a regular training day.
"For quite some time we have been running out of state," Chelimo said. "Normally when we run on trails, (people) say, 'We do not see these guys racing. What's going on?' Today we got to meet with them and interact with them."

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Reach Beth Bragg at bbragg@adn.com or 257-4335.

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Heart Run
5 kilometers
Men's top 15 -- 1) Micah Chelimo 15:04; 2) Alfred Kangogo 15:05; 3) Yon Yilma 15:14; 4) Jake Moe 15:23; 5) David Kiplagat 15:32; 6) Brent Knight 15:35; 7) Mark Iverson 15:45; 8) Thomas Hill 15:48; 9) Nathaniel Grabman 15:50; 10) Silas Talbot 16:19; 11) Aaron Wheatall 16:22; 12) Matt Novakovich 16:31; 13) Thaddeus Seethaler 16:32; 14) Jeff Heuseveldt 16:34; 15) Mark Brady 16:43.
Women's top 15 -- 1) Ruth Keino 23 16:58; 2) Shoshana Keegan 17:16 5:34; 3) Ivy O'Guinn 17:20; 4) Emma Bohman 17:40; 5) Susan Bick 17:44; 6) Katie Krehlik 17:49; 7) Najeeby Quinn 18:06; 8) Miriam Kipngeno 18:14; 9) Stojanka Lende 19:05; 10) Danielle Dalton 19:07; 11) Amber Stull 19:19; 12) Shannon Donley 19:19; 13) Danelle Winn 19:22; 14) Hallidie Wilt 19:25; 15) Merielle Vania 19:29.
Mended hearts
Men's top 5 -- 1) Alin Vale 19:16; 2) Howard Mozen 19:49; 3) John Haywood 22:25; 4) James Conley 23:14; 5) Mark Theroux 23:31. Women's top 5 -- 1) Julie Michels 24:39; 2) Kelly Smith 25:44; 3) Susan Bury 29:45l 4) Rebecca M P Vale 33:00; 5) Darleen Walsh 38:21.