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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend April 9, 2006 Sopagna Eap, the women�s winner at the 30th annual Pear Blossom Run, grabs water at the five-mile station. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell R(Eap)eat winner Sopagna Eap wins second straight run with time of 58:40 By DON HUNT Mail Tribune Sopagna Eap had two goals Saturday: Win the women’s division of the Pear Blossom Run for a second straight year and reach the finish line in less than 59 minutes. Objectives accomplished. The 25-year-old graduate student from Eugene ran behind eventual runner-up Dolores Bergmann of Eureka, Calif., for the first 1½ miles, then kicked it up a notch and easily won the 10-mile race in and around west Medford. Her time was 58 minutes, 40.22 seconds. Eap felt far more comfortable and confident than one year earlier, when she made her 10-mile debut and triumphed in 1:00:03.37. Advertisement "Even though I ran a lot of the race with no one around me, it definitely felt easier this time around," Eap said. "Last year I came in blind and had never run a race farther than 10K (6.2 miles). This year I knew what to expect." Bergmann, 34, finished a distant second in 1:00:33.73. Liz Wilson, 37, of Eugene captured third in 1:01:00.97, followed by nine-time winner and course record-holder Deanna O’Neil, 41, of Canby, who hit the tape in 1:05:07.53. Alanna Steinert, 23, of Grants Pass was fifth in 1:05:33.94. In the 12 months since the 2005 Pear Run, Eap has committed herself to long-distance running. She legged out marathons in Green Bay, Wis., and St. Paul, Minn., and won a half-marathon in Carlsbad, Calif. She also won a 10K race at Stanford University last week. "Last year’s (Pear Blossom) run motivated me to keep trying longer distances and I’ve had a lot of fun doing them," said Eap, who qualified for the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials with her time of two hours, 47 minutes at the 26.1-mile St. Paul event last October. "It’s fun to mix things up. If you keep running the same distance then I think you’ll get bored." Eap said the only pressure she felt Saturday came from her boyfriend, Todd Braje, who finished fourth among the men in 54:55.32. "There are some bragging rights at stake," Eap said. "I didn’t beat him but I won the women’s race, so we both have something to feel good about." At 5-feet and 91 pounds, Eap was dwarfed by many of the runners, but her small stature was no deterrent. "The people I run with are always joking that I have to take twice as many strides as everyone else," Eap said. Eap ran the last half of Saturday’s race virtually by herself, but was still able to push herself to a personal record time. "There’s a temptation to relax, but I wanted the PR and that motivated me," Eap said. "I had pretty good energy the last half of the race. It was just a matter of staying in the race mentally." Eap, the women’s first repeat champion since O’Neil in 2000 and 2001, will add one more goal to her list next year: "I’m still looking to see an actual pear blossom," she said. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail R(Eap)eat winner ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisement s