TRUE WINS B.A.A. 5-K IN RECORD FASHION  

By Chris Lotsbom

(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved 

BOSTON (17-Apr) -- For the second time in three years, a New Englander won the B.A.A. 5-K, run through the streets of Back Bay a day prior to the 115th running of the Boston Marathon.  

Ben True, a native of North Yarmouth, Me., and graduate of Dartmouth College, broke away from a pack of six on Boylston Street just before the finish line in to capture the $5,000 first prize.

Less than ideal conditions --strong winds and misting rain-- caused the elite field to play a waiting game, reluctantly lingering until someone was finally willing to take the lead.  Marathoner Nick Arciniaga was the first to surge, doing so just before the one mile mark on Park Street.  The pack followed, passing the mile in a sluggish 4:40.  Under the golden dome of the Massachusetts State House, Arciniaga powered through a long downhill, chased by Kenyan John Korir and former Vilanova star Bobby Curtis.

Through the second mile in 9:20, the pack regrouped turning onto Commonwealth Avenue.  Oregon Track Club's Ben Bruce kept the pace honest, throwing in a quick surge.

By the time the group turned left from Hereford Street onto Boylston, the race really picked up.  Korir, Curtis, Australian Ben St. Lawrence, and True all seemed they had what it took to kick the final 200m to the finish line, the same which will be used for the marathon tomorrow.  

With 100m remaining, True went to a different gear, fending off the hard-charging Curtis and Korir.  Crossing the tape in 14:07, True set a new course record, breaking the previous mark of 14:29 set by Natick, Mass., native Jarrod Shoemaker in 2009.

Behind True, Curtis finished second, while St. Lawrence nipped Korir at the line for third.  

"I knew it was going to be a kick finish, we were just playing cat and mouse the whole race, and I knew noone was going to break away," said True, who is now based in Hanover, N.H., and coached by Tim Broe.  "It really wasn't a 5-K, it was a 200m sprint."  

True was worried coming into the race, for the last week he has been battling illness.  Luckily, he showed no signs of that today.  

"I ran the last two days and felt like I weighed 500 lbs., like an old guy," he lamented.

Being from Maine, the win was extra special for the 25-year-old True.  Both Maine and Massachusetts celebrate Patriots' Day, a holiday True remembers vividly as a kid.  

"We always had it off from school and would come down and watch the marathon.  It's great to be a part of [marathon weekend] this year."

The women's race was won easily by Lineth Chepkurui of Kenya in 15:52.  The 24-year-old ran in front wire-to-wire, and shattered the course record by exactly one minute.  Like True, she picked up $5,000.