Boston B.A.A. 5k and Invitational Mile – News – Beadlescomb, Abebe Win B.A.A. 5 KM In Sprint Finishes

BEADLESCOMB, ABEBE WIN B.A.A. 5-K IN SPRINT FINISHES
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2023 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved – Used with permission.

BOSTON (15-Apr) — It was a very nice day for the Michigan-based Very Nice Track Club here in Back Bay this morning.  In a wild sprint finish, Morgan Beadlescomb emerged first from a group of a dozen athletes who were still bunched tightly together after 13 minutes of nervous running, breaking the tape of the 13th edition of the B.A.A. 5-K in 13:25.  His Very Nice teammate, Canadian Ben Flanagan, finished one second behind, and could hardly believe what had just happened.

“It was nuts,” Flanagan told Race Results Weekly, moments after crossing the finish line.

Flanagan was referring to the final kilometer of the race where 18 men were running closely together on Boylston Street headed for the Charles Street finish line next to Boston’s iconic Public Garden.  While Ethiopian Tsegaye Kidanu was the nominal leader, nobody wanted to make a move until the last minute after the course takes a 90-degree left turn with about 200 meters to go before the finish.

“I turned around approaching mile 2 and everybody was there,” Flanagan continued.  “The whole field.  So, I had to back off a bit to save something for the final straight.”

Beadlescomb, who has a mile personal best of 3:52.03, had been near the front the entire race which saw the first two miles go down in 4:21 and 4:25, respectively.  Like Flanagan, he knew it was going to come down to the final sprint, and he was ready.

“I knew I had a chance to win at two miles,” Beadlescomb told Race Results Weekly.  “I was feeling so good and everybody started getting antsy right after the two mile mark.  So, I was just trying to be patient and hang out.”

Beadlescomb, who represents adidas, timed his move to perfection.  Running in the center of the roadway, he jumped to the lead just after the turn and put two meters on the field.  He shot one look over his left shoulder just before the tape, but the gap had held.  Today was his first-ever road race victory as a pro.

“I knew I had one in the chamber with 200 to go, and I knew it was going to be dangerous,” Beadlescomb said.  “So, as soon as I made that move, as soon as I started that surge at the corner, I knew I won.”

Flanagan, who represents On Running, was able to hold off half a dozen men who were on his heels, and it was Kenya’s Edwin Kurgat, the former Iowa State star, who got the third spot on the podium in…