Trafeh, Rhines win USA 15 km 2011 titles

INDIANAPOLIS – Both Mo Trafeh (Duarte, Calif.) and Jen Rhines (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) won their second USA titles of 2011 at the USA 15 km Championships Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. This year marks the 18th year that the Gate River Run has hosted the championships. Trafeh and Rhines were the respective men’s and women’s champions at the USA Half Marathon Championships on January 29.

Trafeh takes USA 15km title

With this year’s race once again featuring the Equalizer Bonus and ideal conditions, the elite women’s race started six minutes before the rest of the field.

Rhines and defending champion Katie McGregor (Minneapolis, Minn.) led the women through the opening mile in 5:29 and approaching 5 km, Rhines took control, opening a gap on everyone except eventual runner-up Nan Kennard (Boulder, Colo.).

By 10 km, Rhines had a seven second advantage over Kennard and was steadily pulling away. Though she still had her eyes set on the Equalizer Bonus, Rhines would have to settle for only the women’s title in 49:31 as Trafeh overtook her in the final mile to claim the bonus. Kennard took second in 49:56 with newcomer Megan Hogan (Minneapolis, Minn.) closing quickly to take third in 49:57.

On the men’s side, Trafeh took control early, passing 5 km in 14:08, 5 seconds ahead of the field. With his eyes on claiming the bonus for the second year in a row, Trafeh had a 12 second lead at 10 km, which he passed in 28:31 as Ben True (Hanover, N.H.) and Aaron Braun (Flagstaff, Ariz.) battled for second.

After catching Rhines with about a kilometer to go, Trafeh enjoyed his second straight 15 km title, hitting the line in 42:58. True outkicked Braun to claim the runner-up spot by one second in 43:26.