RIYADH — Spaniard Adolfo “El Poderoso” Tejada won his second 10km race of the season Friday morning, beating off all-comers and ensuring that his running career in Riyadh ended on a high. In the third and final race of the 10km series, held near Janadriyah, Tejada led from the first corner onwards and recorded the quickest 10km time witnessed in the Saudi capital all season. His time of 39:34 was the first time any runner in the capital has dipped until the magical 40-minute barrier all season, with the cool conditions and chasing pack undoubtedly playing an important role in this feat. Petr Pospisil, more renowned for his triathlon exploits than his running exclusively, demonstrated that he is in good form for the forthcoming triathlon season. He clung on to Tejada's coat tails for the first 2.5km loop, before losing ground somewhat over the second half of the race, eventually finishing in 40:19, a highly commendable time and a mere second in front of third place finisher Russ McArthur, who has thankfully recovered from the illness he was suffering at the Subway marathon last month. The women's race also witnessed a close finish, with long time rivals Claudine Roghi and Deborah Karakesisoglu separated by a handful of meters throughout the race. In the home straight, Kiwi Roghi almost pulled alongside her American challenger, however, Karakesisoglu found strength to hold off Roghi and claim victory on the line in a time of 47:25, less than a second in front of Roghi. Finishing third among the women was Nichole Kard, who continued the good form she has shown since December by finishing in 55:52, a large improvement on the times she was running in the 2012-13 season. The club now moves on to its final race of the season, a 5km race to be organized in the handicap style, with all runners starting at different times and in theory finishing all together.
