Korir's backup plan includes Bluegrass 10K

By Travis Waldron - twaldron@herald-leader.com

Lexington already has one track star in the Summer Olympics in former Lafayette sprinter Tyson Gay. Friday morning, the city will get to see Jacob Korir, an Eastern Kentucky University track and cross country runner who could also have been bound for Beijing had he gotten the chance.

Korir will defend his title and attempt to become the ninth consecutive Kenyan winner in the 32nd annual Bluegrass 10,000 Friday. The race starts at Main and Rose streets and winds in and out of downtown before finishing on North Limestone.

Course map, Page B3
Bluegrass 10,000
When: 7:30 a.m. Friday
Where: Downtown Lexington
Friday's other races: Crank wheelchair division, 7:20 a.m.; Standard wheelchair division, 7:25 a.m.; Fun Run, 8 a.m.
How to register: Walk-up registration is Thursday night in the Thoroughbred Room at the Lexington Convention Center from 5-9 p.m. The entry fee is $20.
Catch themif you can
Last year's men's and women's champions in the Bluegrass 10,000 plan to defend their titles Friday. Here were their winning times in 2007:
Jacob Korir: 31 minutes, 10 seconds
Jamie King-O'Shea: 37 minutes, 52 seconds

The defending champion will be there, but Korir would rather be in his native Kenya, training for the Olympic team that will head to Beijing next month. Visa problems kept him from making the trip home to take part in the Olympic trials.

Could he have made the team? Korir says so, even though Kenya boasts a rich distance-running heritage that rivals any in the world.

Normal winning times in the Kenyan trials are in the 27- to 28-minute range. Korir said he has consistently been around 28 minutes in the 10,000. A top-four finish would have qualified him for the Olympics.

”It would've been tough,“ Korir said. ”But for me, running in Kenya wouldn't have been that big of a problem. It all depends on who's the best that day. Kenya is very competitive.“

Korir had a successful career at EKU, where he won four individual Ohio Valley Conference titles. The Bluegrass is the first step on Korir's journey to professional distance running. He completed his collegiate career by finishing fourth in the 10,000 at the NCAA Championships in June.

Korir said his immediate goals include qualifying for the 2009 World Championships.

”I look at the Bluegrass as a chance to build up over the summer,“ Korir said. ”It gives me a point of where I'm at. I'm going to devote this year to training, and I'm going to see how far I can go.“

Ideally, Korir said, that would be the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

”You get to represent your country. That's different than representing a team or a school,“ Korir said. ”It's special. It's an honor.“

Reigning women's champion Jamie King-O'Shea is also defending her title in the Bluegrass, which is open to all runners, walkers and wheelchair users.

Awards are given to the top 15 men's and women's finishers, the top finisher in each age group and the top finisher in each of the two wheelchair divisions, the standard wheelchair and the crank.

Pushing children in strollers, rollerblading, roller skating and skateboarding are not allowed in the main race but are permitted in the Fun Run, a 1-mile race that begins after the start of the 10,000. Entry fee for the Fun Run is $12.

An awards ceremony follows the race at 10:30 a.m. at the courthouse.