By David Rogers. NEW YORK, N.Y. — Known largely for scenic, leisurely walks and romantic horse and buggy rides, New York’s Central Park was the venue for something more frenetic on June 10: the Mastercard New York Mini 10k for Women.
In an elite field of international runners, Blowing Rock’s Tristin Van Ord finished No. 11 out of more than 8,300 competitors on June 10.
Van Ord’s time of 32:34 for the 10k distance (slightly more than 6.21 miles) was hardly leisurely, a 5:15 mile pace around the challenging course that features several elevation changes as well as twists and turns in meandering around the park.
The jam-packed, competitive field included 26 runners all finishing under 35 minutes, topped by Ethiopian Senbere Teferi at No. 1 in 20:12, a sizzling 4:52 mile pace. Kenya’s Hellen Obiri was No. 2 (30:19/4:53) and Mexico’s Laura Galvan rounded out the top three (31:14/5:02).
“ZAP Assistant Coacch Ryan Warrenburg and I pretty much expected Tristin to run this course around 32:30,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea after the race. “The way she has been running in practice, we calculated that on a flat track in a stadium she would go 31:15 to 31:45, but in Central Park you have to add at least 30 seconds for the same distance. It is not an easy course. For Tristin, it was just a matter of execution and she did executed almost perfectly.”
Rea added that in such an elite field, finishing at No. 11 was outstanding at this point in Van Ord’s career.
“She was just two seconds outside of a top 10 finish, which is worth paying attention to,” said Rea. “Until the last 400 meters or so, she was running neck and neck with the tenth place runner, Emma Grace Hurley of Atlanta, for really about three miles. They were kind of alone, the runners ahead a little out of touch and the runners behind pretty far behind. So it was great for both of them to have that competition. They pushed each other. Until the last 400 meters, Tristin was slightly ahead, then gave up those two seconds as they neared the finish.”
Next up for Van Ord is the Atlanta Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race on July 4.
