August 27, 2013
For immediate release
Contact:
John Schumacher
(916) 804-3742
schumacher@runsra.org
Conley places 12th in 5,000, Tapia is 27th in marathon
Sacramento Running Association standout Kim Conley finished 12th in the women’s 5,000 meters and SRA teammate Daniel Tapia placed 27th in the men’s marathon Saturday at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, Russia.
Conley, who lives in West Sacramento, delivered a 15-minute, 36.58-second effort after posting the fifth-fastest qualifying time (15:27.35) among the 15 runners who advanced to the final. The former UC Davis runner owns a personal best of 15:09.57.
Ethiopia’s Meseret Defar won in 14:50.19, followed by Kenya’s Mercy Cherono (14:51.22) and Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana (14:51.33).
Tapia, the 2012 California International Marathon champion from Castroville, finished in 2:18:32. He ran 2:16:29 to win the CIM and 2:14:30 to finish ninth at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich won the 70-man World race in 2:09:51, with Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa second in 2:10:12 and Ethiopia’s Tadese Tola third in 2:10:23.
Conley used an SRA training grant to step back from her duties as an Aggies assistant coach and focus more on her training. The result: a dramatic third-place finish in the women’s 5,000 meters at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials and a trip to the Olympic Games in London, where she recorded a then personal-best 15:14.48 to finish 12th in her heat.
She didn’t stop there, either, making the U.S. team for the World Cross Country Championships in March, lowering her personal best to 15:09.57 at the Prefontaine Classic in June and then earning a spot in the 5,000 meters for the World Championships.
Tapia also credits SRA support with helping him emerge onto the international stage.
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.