Grand Rapids witnessed a historic day of running this past weekend as the 48th annual Amway River Bank Run took place, featuring a clean sweep of American records in the 25K by Casey Clinger and Carrie Ellwood. According to WZZM13, Clinger, a 26-year-old from Provo, Utah, established a new American record time of 1:12:16.82. Clinger managed to shave nearly a minute off the previous men's record set at last year's run by Diego Estrada.
Ellwood, on the other hand, set a new pace for the women's category, with a finishing time of 1:22:26.19, as per woodtv. Remarkably, Ellwood's victory arrives just a year after Betsy Saina set the former women's record at the same event. At 31, having left her career as a first-grade teacher to pursue running full-time, Ellwood's determination paid off as she cracked the women's only 25K American record.
Clarity on the course's technicality surfaced when the three leading men momentarily took a wrong turn but since it fell within the permissible 25-meter buffer, their times validly stood, as Greg Meyer, a seven-time River Bank Run champion, informed woodtv. Meyer said that "all three of the top men finishers broke the previous American record for the 25K," confirming the high caliber of competition present on the day.
Apart from the records, another narrative unfolded as runners competed in a "race within a race", where elite women were given a head start over the men to account for the average finish time difference. Ellwood managed to maintain this advantage and triumphed both in her category and overall, creating a stirring moment as she kept the women's winning streak alive. "Some spectator in the last half a mile said, you’ve got 200 yards on the men," Ellwood told woodtv, adding, "and I was like, 'Oh my god, I need to keep the women’s streak alive. I need to beat them!' "
Alongside the record-setters, the event celebrated various other victory tales, including Tom Davis's consecutive win in the handcycle race, and Miguel Jimenez-Vergara's repeat triumph in the wheelchair category. Davis's preliminary time of 37:06.73 set the pace for his category, and Jimenez-Vergara's 57:37.53 earned him another title, as he confessed to warming up throughout the race and hitting his stride halfway through. "You kind of climb at the first half and you’re bringing it home the second half, and I really like a fast finish," Jimenez-Vergara shared in a statement obtained by woodtv.
Not to be overlooked were the feats in the 5K and 10K races. Shuaib Aljabaly snagged the 5K men's title while Melissa Winchester emerged as the women's champion. For the 10K, Ethan Gregg and Becca Richtman stood victoriously atop their respective fields. To relive these moments and check specific runner times, MLive provides a comprehensive resource for all run times from the event.
