August 27, 2013
For immediate release
Contact:
John Schumacher
(916) 804-3742
schumacher@runsra.org
Olympian and SRA standout looks likely for World Championships
Olympian Kim Conley, a former UC Davis standout who competes for the Sacramento Running Association’s Elite Team, finished fourth Sunday in the women’s 5,000 meters at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines.
Conley’s 15 minute, 37.80-second effort left her just behind winner Jenny Simpson (15:33.77), runner-up Molly Huddle (15:35.45) and third-place finisher Shannon Rowbury (15:37.27). Former Davis High School standout Chelsea Reilly finished fifth in 15:38.50.
A top-three finish would have earned Conley an automatic berth in the World Championships on Aug. 10-18 in Moscow. But Conley, who owns a 15:09.57 best, would still make the World team if Simpson sticks to her plan of skipping the 5,000 and defending her world title in the 1,500.
Simpson also does not have a World qualifying time in the 5,000.
Conley delivered a dramatic kick in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials to finish third and earn a trip to the Olympics, where she recorded a then personal-best 15:14.48 to finish 12th in her heat.
She followed up her Olympic effort by finishing second in the U.S. Cross Country Championships and competing in the World Cross Country Championships in Poland.
Lea Wallace, a former Sacramento State star and Conley’s teammate on the Sacramento Running Association’s Elite Team, reached the semifinals of the women’s 800 meters on Friday but did not reach the final after a 2:01.28 effort.
SRA teammates Daniel Tapia and Kevin Pool finished in the top 50 in the USA Half Marathon Championships in Duluth, Minn. on Saturday. Tapia ran 1:05:20 to finish 43rd in the 138-runner men’s field. Pool placed 48th with a 1:05.52 effort.
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.
SRA events include the recent Gold Rush 100k and Freedom Mile, the Folsom Blues Breakout Half Marathon on Oct. 19, the California International Marathon on Dec. 8, the Super Bowl Sunday 10k Run on Feb. 2 and the Credit Union SACTOWN Ten-Mile Run on April 6.
SRA beneficiaries include the American River Parkway, youth fitness programs, local running venues and aspiring young runners.