Kenyan enjoys weather, easy half-marathon win

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By KEN HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star

Raphael Kuto said he enjoyed the warm, sunny day to run the Lincoln Half-Marathon.

The Kenyan from Coon Rapids, Minn., was all alone in the 13.1-mile race after the first two miles and beat runner-up John Krumsee, a recent Creighton graduate from Chicago, by almost three minutes.

“Raphael just took off and I was running for second the rest of the way,” Krumsee said. “We were all trying to pick up the pace, but he was really moving.”

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Raphael Kuto won the men's half-marathon during the 2008 Lincoln Marathon Sunday morning. (Michael Paulsen)

Kuto said he felt strong and fast.

“Training in Minnesota this winter and spring made this day seem perfect to run,” he said. “It would have been nice to have somebody push me, but I was happy to be out there and not freezing.”

Laura Ferguson, a dental student at the University of Nebraska, won the women’s half-marathon by almost a minute over Molly Christensen of Bellevue and Christina Vullo of Omaha.

“I ran a personal best (1:22.31) and couldn’t have run any faster today,” said Ferguson, who was a high school standout at Millard West and played basketball at Creighton before taking up  distance running.

“We trained pretty hard for this even though dental school demands so much time and effort,” she said. “Running is a big stress relief. I think the more I run the better I feel.”

Michelle Quinlan of Lincoln finished fourth in the women’s half-marathon and James McGown of Sidney was third for the men.

The half-marathon had a record 4,631 competitors.

Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.