For immediate release
May 1, 2014
Road Runners Club of America honors SRA’s Folsom standout
The honors keep rolling in for Folsom’s Shadrack Biwott.
A series of impressive performances has earned the Sacramento Running Association standout the 2013 Road Runner of the Year award in the Open Division from the Road Runners Club of America.
Biwott, 29, won the 2013 USA Running Circuit Championship with several strong efforts including second-place finishes in the USA 12k (34:35) and 20k Championships (1:00:20) and third-place finishes in the USA Marathon Championships (2:13:26), USA Half Marathon Championships (1:02:24) and USA 10k Championships (28:35).
The Sacramento Running Association also selected him as its 2013 Athlete of the Year.
Biwott is scheduled to be honored at the Road Runners Club of America’s annual convention on Saturday in Spokane, Wash.
“I was very thrilled about it,” Biwott said of his latest award. “You go working hard and somebody recognizes you, it always makes you feel good.
“I was able to stay healthy. When you stay healthy and you train, something can happen.”
Biwott also credited his coach, Matt Lonergan, and the Sacramento Running Association’s support as essential to his success.
“When you have a great group of people who support you along the way, it makes it easier,” Biwott said. “It was a great year.”
Biwott, a former University of Oregon star, is off to a good start in 2014.
He finished 39th out of 113 starters in the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark in March, then came back eight days later to win the Credit Union SACTOWN Ten-Mile Run in Sacramento with a 47:58 finish.
He plans to run in the 12k Lilac Bloomsday Run on Sunday in Spokane and then compete in the USA 25k Championships on May 10 in Grand Rapids, Mich.
After those two races, he’ll focus on lowering his personal bests in the half marathon (1:01:40) and marathon (2:13:26). He has already qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
“I want to bring down my half marathon and marathon times,” he said.
The Sacramento Running Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding ways to encourage people of all ages and abilities to run. The SRA is committed to developing new, quality running events that appeal to a broad variety of runners.