Cynthia Jerop wins second straight Fifth Seasons 8K

CEDAR RAPIDS — Nearly one month ago, Cynthia Jerop had Tuesday's date circled on her calendar.

No, not because it was Independence Day.

She had a title to defend.

Jerop returned to the 32nd running of the Fifth Seasons 8-kilometer race on Tuesday morning in downtown Cedar Rapids, and once again walked out with a title. Jerop won the women's division of the race, finishing with a time of 27:19.

'I came here to defend my title, because I won last year, and I decided I'm supposed to come this year and defend it,' Jerop said. 'So I'm happy I won.'

Jerop, originally from Kenya, is a professional runner training out of Minneapolis. She has already won several races in her career, including the Austin Marathon.

She didn't have any trouble leading the pack at the race on Tuesday, either, finishing nearly a full minute ahead of the next runner.

Yet for Jerop, the 8K course spanning all the way down Third Avenue to Bever Park was not a very tough distance. She's been training for the Boilermaker, a 15-kilometer road race next week that is held every year in Utica, N.Y., so Tuesday was more like a warm up.

'I'm getting ready for the Boilermaker, so this was kind of a speed walk for me today,' Jerop said.

Jerop was one of nearly 30 elite runners who competed in the 8K race, a group the Corridor Running Club — which puts on the race — tries to appeal to each season.

Hannah Rigler, one of the race coordinators who works with the elite runners, said that simply getting runners like Jerop to return year after year to compete in the race is huge, and is one of the reasons why the race's reputation is so high.

'It's extremely flattering when runners, especially elite runners, want to come back … to our race year after year and give it their all,' Rigler said. 'I think it creates a really great atmosphere.'

So while it wasn't the highlight of her racing schedule by any means, Jerop said she is thrilled to be able to keep her title.

And when next year rolls around, Jesop said there is no doubt she'll be back in Eastern Iowa.

'I feel proud because the race is OK, and it's faster paced, but … it's kind of OK because it was just preparation for the big race coming up.

'I'm going to come back and defend next year.'

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