By David Rogers. HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (remote) — With a chance to compete in a race he watched growing up as a kid, Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance elite running team member Ryan Ford returned to his hometown on May 26 and won the historic Cotton Row Run 10K.
Although there were other elite professional athletes competing for the prize money among the 1,555 runners, including a sprinkling of international entrants, Ford blew away the field. His winning time of 29:04 for the 10K distance was about a minute and a half slower than his all-time best a year ago (27:40.80 at Parliament Fields in London, England) — but two minutes and a second faster than his nearest competitor on this day, Sam Chelanga (31:05) of Fayetteville, N.C.
“It may not have been his fastest 10K time,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea after the race, “but as his first race following the Boston Marathon just over a month ago on April 21, it was an impressive result. And it made it just that much more special being in his hometown.”
The ZAP Endurance team will be busy in the coming weeks, hoping to qualify team members for July’s U.S. Championships in Eugene, Ore. While Amanda Vestri has already qualified in both the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters races, and plans to compete in both, she and teammate Tristin Colley have both entered the Mastercard New York Mini 10K in Central Park on June 7. Others, including Ford, Eric Van Der Els and Dan Schaffer will be trying to meet the qualifying standards on June 14-15, at the Portland (Ore.) Track Festival.
