Monday, May 02, 2005 - 12:24 PM

Reuben Chebii has convincing victory at Sporting Life 10K, while Toronto's local favourite and Spring Run-Off and Scotia Marathon champ Kassap bows out at 9.5 km...

Defending champion and course record holder, twenty-three year old Kenyan Reuben Chebii, returned to Toronto for a convincing win at the Sporting Life 10k, in 28:41, ahead of a record field of 7,253 participants.

Conditions were excellent, with sunny skies, a light Westerly breeze and temperature around 9° Celcius for the 9am start on Canada's most famous street—Yonge—just north of Eglinton. This year, the runners were also given all of the street for the first time, and they filled it impressively, for the plunge down to Roundhouse Park behind the CN Tower, a net drop of 87 metres, appropriately labelled "Canada's fastest 10k".

For the first few kilometres, Chebii was content to sit back in a lead pack of 9, that included Ontarions Danny Kassap, Zeljko Zabol and Giitah Macharia, Montrealers Bagdad Rachem and Oukid Fethi, Pete Watson from Buffalo, and fellow Kenyans David Korir and Michael Musilli. Shortly after the pack passed 5k (in 14:10), near Rosedale subway station after the long downhill from St.Clair, Chebii struck with a sharp, decisive surge. Immediately, he opened up a gap of some 100m and the race was over. Unlike last year, when he was pushed until the last kilometre, Chebii was then able to cruise the second half of the course and leave the others to fight things out for the rest of the places.

Korir hung on best to take second, some 32 seconds back, and last year's Canada Running Series champion, Giitah Macharia of St. Catherine's ran a smart race, finishing strong, just 6 seconds behind Korir, in 29:19. They were followed by Musilli, Rachem, Ottawa's Joseph Nsengiyumva and Saskatoon's Jason Warick, with the top 7 men all coming home under 30 minutes. Kassap dropped out.

Megan Brown of Puslinch (near Guelph) had an equally convincing win in the women's race, finishing more than a minute ahead of Judith Navier and Krestena Sullivan (34:07 to 35:15 and 35:44). Pre-race favourite Jackline Okemwa pulled up lame with a sore calf, but hung on gamely for 4th in 35:56.

In a particularly generous gesture, Brown donated all of her $2,800 winnings to Camp Oochigeas, the charity of the day, which helped push them over the $100,000 mark in funds raised to send kids with cancer to this unique camp.

With a 22% increase in the number of runners over last year, there was an air of expansive joy throughout the morning. Now an "event" rather than just a run, this year's Sporting Life 10K attracted its share of Toronto celebrities, including Councillor Olivia Chow (herself having fully recovered from thyroid cancer last autumn), Health Minister George Smitherman, former-mayor Barbara Hall, and Global TV's Susan Hay. Everyone seemed to enjoy the 6 bands along the course, the sunshine, and Elevation: U2 Tribute Band who played at the post-run party. Elevation, who just returned from U2 Tour gigs in Vancouver, starred a familiar face, Shawn Brady, himself a 31 minute 10k man, as Bono.