Thursday, October 28, 1999

Keeler on favorite course for Avon run

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BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Kelly Keeler is looking forward to returning to Cincinnati after moving nine months ago. And if Keeler runs the way she's capable of running, her return could be a triumphant one.

        Keeler will be back Sunday for the Avon Running National Championship.

AT A GLANCE

• What: The 10k Avon Running National Championship   • When: 9 a.m. Sunday. • Where: Fountain Square; course follows Columbia Parkway out and back.   • Who: More than 1,000 women, some of them winners of Avon regional races.   • Cost: $20 by Saturday; $25 race day.   • Information: 513-345-3057. www.avonrunning.com/cincinnati

        “I think she can win it,” said Julie Isphording, the race's local chairwoman. “She's running really well.”

        The 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) race will start and finish at Fountain Square. It follows the Heart Mini-Marathon course out Columbia Parkway and back. It starts at 9a.m.

        Keeler moved to Minneapolis in January when her company transfered her there. Before the move, she dominated the local women's racing scene. Keeler won the last four Heart Mini-Marathons and the last three Thanksgiving Day races.

        She was going to be in town for business Nov.1-3, so coming in early for the race worked out perfectly.

        “I can't wait,” she said. “I really miss Cincinnati. I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends.”

        Keeler, 37, lived in Cincinnati for eight years. She didn't take up running until 1993, but two years later, she was the top female runner in town.

        A top-three finish in Sunday's race will earn her a trip to the Avon Running Global Championship in Milan on May 21.

        Keeler said she'll be in good shape. She won the Minnesota state road-racing championships in both 5k (16:49) and 10k (33:31).

        But she wouldn't declare herself the favorite Sunday.

        “It's hard to say, because I don't know who's coming in,” she said. “But I love the course. Heart Mini has always been my favorite course. I know it like the back of my hand.”

       

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