SMYTH AND DONOHUE WIN AT MIDNIGHT RUN
By David Monti
(c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission

NEW YORK (31-Dec) -- With a mix of light snow and rain falling and a spectacular fireworks display lighting up the sky, Patrick Smyth and Erin Donohue won last night's 31st Emerald Nuts Midnight Run, a four mile road race in Central Park hosted by the New York Road Runners.

Smyth, 23, the former Notre Dame star who was third at last year's USA 10 mile championship, won convincingly over Olympic 5000m runner, Ian Dobson, 18:35 to 18:53.  Ethiopia's Bado Worku Merdessa, who runs for the local West Side Runners team, finished third in 19:08.

Donohue, 26, an Olympian at 1500m, was the class of the women's field.  Wearing a bright pink long sleeve top and a warm hat to ward off the cold, she covered the rolling four mile course in 21:22.  That put her 20 seconds ahead of Leonora Joy-Petrina, a steeplechaser from New Zealand who lives in nearby Long Island.  Toni Salucci, who competed for Cornell University as a collegian, finished third in 21:47.

Slippery conditions made it impossible for the men's and women's course records of 18:12 and 20:54 to be challenged.

About 5000 runners took part in the race, many wearing festive costumes.

Top Results:

MEN -
1. Patrick Smyth, 23, Minneapolis, MN (Nike)        18:35  $500 + 100i
2. Ian Dobson, 27, Portland, OR (adidas)            18:53  300 + 100i
3. Bado Worku Merdessa, Bronx, NY (ETH/WSX)        19:08  200
4. Sean Brosnan, 32, Lafayette, CA (Mizuno)        19:16
5. Harbert Okuti, 24, New Rochelle, NY (UGA/WTC)    19:22
i = Earned time bonus for sub-19:00

WOMEN -
1. Erin Donohue, 26, Haddonfield, NJ (Nike)        21:22  $500 + 100i
2. Leonora Joy-Petrina, 27, Bayport, NY (NZL)      21:42  300 + 100i
3. Toni Salucci, 24, Raleigh, NC (adidas Raleigh)  21:47  200 + 100i
4. Tanya Zeferjahn, 25, Charlotte, NC              21:48
5. Alissa McKaig, 23, Blowing Rock, NC (ZAP Fitness 21:50
i = Earned time bonus for sub-23:00 (limited to top-3 finishers)

ENDS