SHELBURNE FALLS — More than 600 runners braved the heat and humidity to run in the 38th Bridge of Flowers 10K Classic Road Race on Saturday morning and Agawam’s Glarius Rop paced the field to win the event in 33 minutes, 15 seconds.
Rop, who won the event in 2013 and finished second in 2014 but did not run last year, made his return to the Iron Bridge Saturday morning. He decided to run in the event at the last minute, signing up late this past week and said he wasn’t sure how he would do because of a busy summer of running. The native of Kenya and former American International College runner had plenty in his tank, as he won by 36 seconds over Eric Blake of West Hartford, Conn., who came in second at 33:51.
Despite winning by a wide margin, the race was not easy for Rop, who had a 30-yard lead heading onto Crittenden Hill, which is a one-kilometer climb near the mid-point of the race. During the ascent, Blake came from behind and actually passed Rop at the summit of Crittenden, but as the runners headed down the backside of the mountain, Rop not only regained the lead, but opened up a wide margin and led by the length of a football field when the runners hit the bottom of the hill. He was never challenged from that point on.
Last year’s winner, Matthew Brooker of Albany, N.Y., finished third in 34:14, and collapsed after crossing the finish line but got hydrated and was fine afterward. Shelburne’s Dan Smith came in fourth in 34:28, and Mark Rabasco of Pittsfield was fifth in 35:51.
The women’s race was highlighted by a pair of newcomers including Everett’s Semehar Tesfaye, a former Division I collegiate runner at North Dakota State University and Iowa State University. Tesfaye made her debut at the event a memorable one as she led a competitive women’s field, finishing 11th overall in 39:03.
Heather MacLean, an incoming senior who runs on the UMass cross country team, also made her debut at the event and came in 13th overall and second in the women’s field in 39:23. Westfield’s Apryl Sabadosa finished third for the second consecutive season as she came in 15th overall in 39:48, while last year’s women’s champion Karen Bertasso of Albany was 16th overall and fourth in the women’s field in 40:17. Heidi Westover of Walpole, N.H., who won the event in 2013, was fifth in the women’s field (20th overall) in 41:30.
Full results can be found at www.coolrunning.com.