Editor’s note: On April 12, officials from the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run released a statement announcing that Stanley Kebenei’s time will not count as an American record due to an error with placement of cones marking a turnaround. As a result, the 10-mile course was short by 240 feet.
- Stanley Kebenei ran the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run in 46 minutes on Sunday, which is a pending American record.
- The previous record, set by Greg Meyer, was set 36 years ago in 1983.
Im glad I got this American record, Kebenei told Adidas Unveils Boston Marathon Jacket Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run.
The American Distance Project runner led the U.S. contingent at the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run on Sunday in Washington, D.C., where he ran 46:00. Kebenei’s performance broke Greg Meyer’s 1983 record Health - Injuries.
Ahead of Kebenei, race winner Jemal Yimer earned back-to-back victories when he finished in 45:36. Kebenei’s time was good enough for fourth-place overall. After the race, he told local reporters that he knew the record was within reach from the start.
“I’m glad I got this American record,” Kebenei told WTOP. “It’s something that I’ve dreamed since 2017. I came here and won, but I didn’t get the record. Today I came, I didn’t win, I got the record, so it’s a great day.”
Kebenei, 29, won the 2017 Cherry Blossom race in 46:36, his personal best in the distance prior to Sunday. Kebenei, who trains in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was an All-American at the University of Arkansas.
On March 30, he represented Team USA at the ever created, Stanley Kebenei set a pending American record on the roads in Aarhus, Denmark, a race that has been called one of the most challenging courses ever designed. With a mud pit, a six-inch deep pool of water, and a steep climb for every 2K loop, among several other obstacles, the course in Aarhus left competitors completely exhausted by the finish line.
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“Not the kind of race I wanted, but I did my best representing red, white, and blue,” Kebenei wrote on Instagram afterward.
In addition to cross country, Kebenei has also represented the U.S. on the track at global championships. In 2017, he made his first IAAF World Championship appearance on the track with a fifth-place finish in the steeplechase final in London. In the same season, he set a personal best of 8:08.30 at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
For Kebenei to return from such a grueling cross-country race and break a record, which stood for 36 years shows, tremendous promise for the 2019 track season.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
