Barno, Abrha Surge to Victory at CIM
To the winners go the non-alcoholic beers. L-R Dereje Abera Ali, Julius Keter, Elisha Barno (Photo credit Alex Chiu)
By Ellen Moore
Kenya’s Elisha Barno made his move after the 20-mile mark, surging ahead of the lead pack at “The Wall” to win the 33rd annual California International Marathon in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 51 seconds on Sunday.
Serkalem Abrha of Ethiopia used a similar strategy, pushing ahead of the lead group and running alone for the last six miles to win the women’s race in 2:31:29.
Much of the drama happened behind the leaders, however, as the chase for the U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying mark played out in the women’s race.